Norwich bulletin., 1917-02-22
VOTE $50, ,OOO FOR ELECTRIC PLANT
appropriation Made by Special City Meeting After Lively Discussion of Gas and Electric Management- Com missioner Shea Says Shaved Estimates and Abnormal Times are Responsible for Departments Unfortunate Condition on-Prominent Citizens Take Decided Stands Various Question:

| fix price on the output of the plant
 l that will net profit at the end of the
 year of not less than per cent. and
 l not more than g per cent. on the city's investment (378.0o0), that you will ad-
 init is a very difficult thing to figue
 i cut. especially in war times and more I especially when you must do it 13 or
 | IA months in advance.
 Subject to City Fathers.
 Again your commissioners are sur-
 l ject to your city fathers. and your
 l court of common council which may I change it's political complexion every year. There is where they are some :
 l times up against politics, a something,
 that should be kept entirely out of
 | your gas and electric plant
 Your present commissioners are,
 | believe, all interested in the success of your plant. if there was anything
 | in connection with it that looked like
 | waste. extravaganza. or politics, they
 would. I hope. rise up in arms against | it, so trust no one here will attempt
 Q hold the commissioners responsible
 | for the conditions that confront us
 l tonight A good deal has been said, through the press and otherwise, about selling gas below cost The eases referred to are contracts made I Undoubtedly in good faith" by a previous board, and I fail to know of
 any contract or extension of service of either gas or electricity, considered by or willingly consented to by the pres ent board, that has not been and will | be under anything like normal condi- tions,s a paying investment for our city. Appropriations Cut Down.
 About two years ago we made up our estimates for twelve months run ming expenses. and asked for an ap- propriatio1 of $153.000. Your finance committee cut us down $20,000. Still we came out, at the end Of the year, vJi n n rff ] wards of $30.000 of the earnings of the plant to help maintain and support fire and other departments. A 1itt1s less than a year ago we made up running expenses s173.000, the finance committee again cut us down s10, 900. Had that S30r000 been given us. in- stead of using it for other depart ments, and had we been able this year to get our coal at the contract price of s1.55 instead of from s4.50 to s6.5o at the mines. there would have been but little occasion for this meeting to- night and a possibility N pulling through this year without raising the price of eiIher gas or electricity to the consumer, and I doubt very much If there :s a corporation, a butcher. A this town or any other town who could continue this present year if he sold his wares at the prices he got two years ago.
 II we are a little behind under the very abnormal conditions fhat exist this year, but let no citizen or tax payer be discouraged Poor years will come at the end of this present year our plant will show a profit to the city. and that you will be forced to admit that you have had pretty fair service at pretty low cost. and ! almost sim cereIy rope that you will have no hes l itation in granting the request asked | for by your humble commissioners. and vote for the resolution. I thank you.
 Price Increases to Blame. Mir. McWilliams again took the floor and said: With all due respect to | MT. Shea, he has not answered my question. In response MT. Shea said I that the expense was incurred through 1 the widening of North Main street. the l big increase in prices. etc. were few of the reasons why the plant was not making a showing. Still MT. McWill- jams insisted that his question had not been answered and Cashier Ma pies was called upon by the chair. MT. Naples placed the blame on the large increase in prices One Of the items he made reference to was coal. The department was getting coal at $140 a ton and they now have to pay six dollars a ton he said. Steam coal they were getting as low as $1.35 a ton and lately they had to pay as high as ss.5o ton for it. s5.50 at the mines Is the average now.
 Every Effort to Get Coal. Superintendent s. J. Kehoe offered a few words of explanation. He said the department had taken every step possible to get coal through, but found 1t impossible to do so. He said that today there is probably three quart and that is the way it has been for the past three weeks; the plant has been operating from hand to mouth. He said the department was forced to buy The plant is this year called to do 4 great deal more than it ever has; in fact it is called up to do more than 1t is capable of doing. The new boil CTS are still on the ground. Some of the unusual expense incurred by the department has been due to the in- stallation of transformers, etc, as many local industries have changed over from steam to electric power. l Mir. McWilliams again got possess sion of the floor. He said that 1t has only taken four years to run the plant l into the ground but it took nine years to build it up. He made reference to the fact that during three years
 Appropriations Cut by Finance Com rnittee.
 Cashier Naples spoke next He said
  thee years have cut the appropriations $40, ,00o. A the close of the depart ment's last fiscal year unpaid bills to the amount of $36.000 were carried over and these have been paid out of this years appropriations. MT Ma ples also said that there was on de- posit with the city treasurer $56, 900. If the city treasurer has $56.000 Of the gas and electric departments mon ey, said E. A. Tracy. why are we asked to come here to vote $5e,oo0 Because we have to come to the coun- cf. for any appropriation, said MT. Shea.
 It seems to me that we are here for the purpose of voting on the $50.00o appropriation said Alderman Dolbeare. He said that last year the department closed the yearNwith sS6. 900 in unpaid bills and that ss6.ooo in unpaid bills was only $14.oo0 less than the S5o.- 900 asked for He was in favor of the passage of the resolution