The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-02-04
NEEDS OF CITY DEPART MENTS
 ARE ExPL AIMED Tax Board Inquiries Into Acquisitions of Officials. GROWING EXPENSE
 OF CITY IS CITED Deficits Are Found to Exist in Many Departments Fur
 ther Inquiry to Be Made. 

ther Inquiry to Be
 Made.
 Members of the board of apportion- ment intend to know what work the board of appraisal of benefits and damages does and how it is done by the present board before they grant the appraisal appropriation for the coming year. Commissioners Kirk ask ed Attorney Steiber, clerk of the aip-a praisal board when he appeared last night to explain the items in the ap-' propriatfon asked for by his board.3 Clerk Steiber was told to make an esd-s mate of the amount of money due the city for benefits from public improve ments which had been assessed az ga1nsts tax payers, and have the estimate ready for the board within ten days K The session which lasted four hours. proceeded with little varied mono- tony It was little like meetings of former years and though members of the board questioned many of the items in the requisitions of various departne ents they gave little indica ton of what they intended to cut: James B1akeIey who never fails to att tend a meeting of the board of appor- tionment and who most always may. be depended upon to start some thing, sat STnTOI1Sn Ene- SeSSlOn WIFI out once speaking word There promised to be a little ex- citement when the personal tax col lectors were being heard and Mayor Wilson interrogated sColIector John E. | Kemp1e
 z T see you have asked for full sal-
 aries for the year for each collector z said the mayor to Collector Kenpfe. 1T might remind you that your terms expire two months before the end Of | the fiscal year and you will not con
 tinue in office after your terms ex- pire.,'
 ssSo we understand returned MT. l Kemple suavely esbut this tax has got l to be collected by some one Mir Mayor and we presume that the city will have to pay for the scoIiection so we l put in the salaries for the full year, 1 The mayor failed to ruffles MT Kem-
 pie and he at last gave up the at tempt.
 Judge A. B. Beers appeared for the | library board and asked for the x I mill tax for the Library fund' usual I 1y laid. The board asks for $27,875 in which the city auditor concurred-
 Judge Beers said the membership Of the members had increased ?, s46 in
 past fiscal year, larger by nearly LOGO I in any; recent year HsIIe said the scoHe Of the pub1fc ii 0Iad-y was constantly being extended. He said no one out .side of the libraries knew how much the young men in the factories were I seeking technical know1edge from 1 books supplied by the library
 l Alderman ssteigIer appeared for the Icora rnittee on Memoria1 day asking an
 appropriatio of $1,150 for the ob-
 servance of the day. The largest item i was for music, $Se2.50- Flowers. flags and markers for soldiers graves made I up about s4o0 more. Judge. Beers
  of last year and 27 soldiers have died I since.
 Harbor Master Garry Paddock apl. l peared for the committee Son harbor 1 improvements asking $500 for dredg- ing in front of the city yard dock l that barges may be unloaded there to I better advantage. The harbOr master also explained what his own requisi- l lions which was the same as former years, $1,559. E | City Attorney VIII Conley, Jr. ask f ed for $3, 500 for legal expenses which l is in excess of other years He said 4 his department had carried a deficit I each year and he would have two years of tax liens te forecIose-
 Attorney T. E. Stefber appeared for the board of appraisal. of 5beneffts and damages asking for S. S.85O Q, an increase lofS $50 over last year for case in which to keep the maps for which the board has constant use. Commission CT Kirk asked if the work of the board I was caught up so that money could be gotten in that was due the city on benefits assessed. ..The job is a' cinch ds1a,t E said MT. Kirk. s'The board
 ought to get busy And get the work done
 l Tn response to the question of Co1n- missioner Macdonald, Attorney Steib- CT sadd he was not prepared to answer how much money was due the city in benefits assessed for paweInents and I other city Improvements. Connnfs- soner Kirk wanted to know if the in formation would be furnished the | board as to hoW much money due the city was outstanding and how many matters were pending Comrnissioner l Macdonald said it would be necessary
 for the appraisal board to furnish the apportionnent board the dnfornation. Judge B. F. HalIen of the Probate court appeared to explain hfssrequest for $1,550 expenses of the court in cluding a deficit of $350. Judge Hal len said that owing ito an increased number of papers the increased ex- | pense was necessary. He said 97 per cent. of the business in the district 1 was transacted in Bridgeport and oth- ] CT towns in the district could not be induced to share in the expense.
 The estimate Of s2.000 for fees for
 Judge Thomas c. yCoughlin when he appears on the items for the city
 court. an appropriation calling for l $16,18O. He said he had reduced
 these fees to $1,60O after a confer Il ence with the probation officers He said the business of the city court was N constantly on the increase. Judge 4 Cough1in said that since the arrests in the police department were about l 4,o00 yearly the police departm ent naturally had many enemies. Judge I Coughlin said about 98 per cent. Of the arrests were really necessary and good Judgment was used by the of hcers.