The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-03-11
THUMBS DOWN
 FOR PAVING
 COMMISSION

OVdsD sH1E O O OES Hartford, March 1.-The Republi- can p1na1anx was solfdly massed in favor of taking away the powers of l the paving and sewer commission al ] the hearing before the legislative Committee on cities and boroughs, yesterday. The charter amendment which provides that the commission shall have control only over "a wear | ing surface which is laid on a solid l concrete base Of Portland cement was considered. The mayor, city attorney and five aldermen appeared in favor of the measure. No one ap- 1 peared against it.
 Mayor Wilson said that owing to a, conflict between the paving and sewer commission and the board or aldermen as to the powers of the two bodies much pavement work that mad been contemplated had been halted l by injunction proceedings and that the question which had arisen over the powers of the boards is in lit1ga,- ton.
 Aldermen Walker. Broderick, stei- g1er, Cole and Caldwell appeared in favor of the bill.
 Much opposition developed to the proposed charter amendment to change the registration of vital stae- tistics from the town clerks office to the office of the board of health. As sistant Town Clerk c. D. Winton op- posed the plan on the ground that it would be much more expensive there is no fire proof vault at the health office in which these valuable records can be kept MT. Winton said in part,
 ..It is not true that one clerk can keep these records. The town clerk, Hz.s .- -T-- are engaged on these records part of the time and one clerk is employed on them all the time. There are only two other cities in the state where the records are not kept by the town clerk and in these cities the records are handy to his office
 Dr. Mcclellan health officer of Bridgeport, said he had to make a weekly report of vital statistics to the Federal government and he was put to considerable inconvenience in go- ing to the town clerks office to ob- tain this infornatio on. William Zepp, of the health board, said his com mission felt the registry of vital sta tistics should be in their department but if the committee felt that the change would cost too much he would not ask that it be made.
 Tt seems that all the fads and fancies of government are thrust up Ofe6 sentative Kelly. Tn other cities they get them one at a. time, but in Bridge port they are all rolled in a bundle placed on our doorstep and we are expected to eat them for breakfast see no reason for this change. It is true that this registration is kept differently in Hartford and New Ha- ven, but 1t costs $7,0o0 more in New Haven than in Bridgeport to file the same statistics and in Hartford it costs more also. although I have not the hgures.' Mayor Wilson opposed the amendment.
 Max Cohen and Building Comnnis- sfoners Botsf0rd and Burns appeared in favor of the charter amendment in creasing the salary of Building In- spector Rowland from $1, 500 to S2,- 900. MT. Cohen quoted figures from a number of other cities the size of Bridgeport to show that building in spectors received even larger salaries than the amendment provided for the Bridgeport building inspector and that inspectors in other cities had more assistants. MT. Cohen said the aggregate amount Of building per ntts in Bridgeport granted in 1914 was $3,334,282. Already in 1915 he said building permits aggregating' more would be. He said the in- crease in the duties of the inspec- tor entitled him to the increase in salary
 Mayor Wilson explained that the charter amendment embodied in House Bill. No. 367. which was also before the eomnfttee was introduced at the instance of the city auditor, president of the sinking fund com mission and himself It provides that pavement bonds Series A, school bonds and stratford avenue bridge bonds, need not be issued with date of July 1, 1914, as the original home rule bill on the matter provides but in order to save interest charges may be issued at any time prior to Jan uary 1, 1916.
 Two charter amendments which were introduced by Senator ComIey at the instance of the Good Housing provides that the common council shall have authority to regulate the interior construction Of buildings in stead of the walls and roofs only as at present The other provides for an extension of the limits within Which wooden buildings may be erect ed in the city. The first amendment also provides that the common colln- cil of Bridgeport may enact another building code.
 Senator Comley explained another proposed charter amendment which Will s1Ve the common council power to refer orders to lay curbs, gutters and sidewalks to the director of pub- lie works instead of the city engineer. He said the amendment purposed changing a grammatical error in the charter which now assigns to the assistant tax collector some duties of the collector which cannot be and were never intended for the assistant to perform.
 He said that the city of Bridge port intends shortly to have a revis- ion of it's ordinances Under the present charter it would be necessary to publish all these ordinances in the daily newspapers which would entail great and unnecessary xpense This same amendment is intended to relieve this situation.
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