Norwich bulletin., 1918-02-12

At special city meeting held Mon- day evening in the police court room at the court house sum not to ex- ceed $75.000, was. at the request of the board of commissioners of the gas and electric department, appropriated from the gas and electric receipts for the operation of the municipal gas and electric plant for the remainder of it's fiscal year. There was but small attendance at the meeting which lasted about fifteen minutes and there was no opposition to the coEn- missioners' request, , The meeting was called to order at 8 o'clock by His Honor, Mayor Allyn l.. Brown, and the call was read by City Clerk J A. Desmond.
 Statement by Commissions Shea.
 Daniel T. Shea, member of the board of gas and electric commission CTS, in clearcut statement, outlined the situation in which the gas and electric plant finds itseR at the present time
 Nearly year ago, in the closing months of our financial year, which is now fixed as April 30th. said Mir. Shea, we were brought face to face with our annual, and one of our most difa- cult problems. that of determining what the actual operating and over head expenses, including interest, dis placements and general upkeep of your gas and electric plant, would be for
 the year 1913. Together with what I might say, the actual or at least prob 1 able gross receipts of the plant would 1 be for the same period of time. These problems are made more difficult by I reason of a statute enacted and at present governing municipaiiy owned ! plants.
 This is law which says we mus, l show a profit of at least 5 per cent. l and it must not exceed 8 per cent, or 1 the city's investment. Rather d nay 1 row margin to work within in ordiRar; l times, and extremely so in these ab- normal war times.
 This law not oniy reduires you, commissioners to form these estimates 1 but to turn over the gross receipts of your plant each year to the city treasurer and then through a citl
 meeting and court of common coun. cil we have to ask and sometimes ever beg back a sufficient amount for op, erating expenses; a system which, tt
 my mind, should be changed.
 However, last spring, when we wer, considering what we thought would be a fair amount to ask for, condition, were then far from being normal, ant
 we hoped then that they would becom,
 no worse-and having then no way O judging the future except by the past
 we took a chance and asked the com mon council to grant Us an appro priation of $215.259 plus interest t,
 the amount of s31,4Se.
 ] Increase in Payroll.
 l None of us then were prophets an,
 could not foresee an almost inmedi
 ate increase demanded in our payroG.
 which had to be grented-an increas
 which in eight months amounted t t$12,615. .l3-nor could we see coal tl1a we thought then had reached it's pric
 limit jumping from about $650 t $10.50 in some cases, making an adde
 cost for the same eight months of $32, 025.60. Nor did we anticipate an in creased item of fire and liability in
 surance of about $2,500-oil, anothe . very important item, soaring in pric, Neither could we picture Long Islan
 sound frozen over to Fishers Island 24-inch ice on our rivers--four feet c i frost in the ground-heatless days