The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-01-28

Alderman John A. Cornell. while the Common Cor neil sat in breathless silence, opposed further bonding, without refer endum to the people, and dis passionately exhibited the if nancial policy of the adminis- tratiOn as malfeasance of the grossest character, destined to plunge the city into bank ruptcy.
 Section 97 of the Charter provides -'The Board of Apportionment shall have no power to make appro- priations in excess of the revenues of the city for any year, and in no case | shall the expense of the city exceed the revenue for any year, except in l cases for the purposes for which ponds are sued ........ nor shall ! any Board contract debts in excess of | its appropriations, and if any such debt be so contracted it shall not be paid out of any future appropriation. If any special appropriation in ex- | cess of the unapprOpriated revenues of | the city for any purpose an estimate of same shall be prepared by the audi l tor and submitted to the Board of | ApporuOnment and Taxation at spe- cial meeting called for that purpose, and said Board at said meeting, or at 1 any adjournment thereof shall have | power to make such appropriation | and to lay q special tax to meet same, 1 but no such appropriation shall be 1 made unless d special tax is laid sui 1 ficient to cover the amount Of the 1 excess of such appropriation over the ] unappropriated revenues of the city" \ Deficit of $4OO,OOO In the face of these provisions We l find that the city is obligated to pay | for the year commencing April | 1918 ] and ending March 3f, 1919 ithe fiscal year) the sum of approximately $2S9.- | 5S123
 | This means that to date the city has l expended it's entire revenue for that | fiscal year and is in debt to an amount l of practically $290,0 beyond it's rev | enues. The effect of this is that the 1 city must continue to carry on it's school system it's police department. 1 fire de- .,rtment and other necessary 1 branches without any money legally | appropriated to pay the help until | March 31, 1919. and by that time the i salaries of school teachers, ffremen. 1 policemen and others will bring the 1 indebtedness up to practically $400,- GOO.
 Not in the annals of the city has there ever been a spectacle of such wanton mismanagement
 | Never before has this municipality l found itself in a position where with every cent of it's moneys expended l 1t faced still a full s30O,0O0 of obliga- ! tions with not d penny to pay it's school teachers, it's firemen and police men.
 Consequently the financial conduct of the administration has not only been grossly and flagrantly rank. but in express and studied violation of the manifest provisions of the charter.
 Bonded for S9,772.OOO
 The city is already bonded to the extent of s9,772,OO0. which is practf- cally the full extent permissible at present.
 This great bonded indebtedness was made possible only by an arbitrary raise of the Grand List for 1917 over the Grand List of 1916 of 27.730, 639
 This following an arbitrary raise of the 1916 list over the 1915 list of S2S.- 4O4,5
 This in turn following an arbitrary raise of the Grand List of 1915 over that of 1914 of $23,944,9l9
 
 uable building permits representing taxable new buildings was $f.O21, 1,SS1 Those from April l, 1916 to 1917 amounted to $9,987,766. Those from April l, 1915 to 1916 amounted to s. GAO, 1885. If these amounts are de ducted from the arbitrary raise of the Grand List it will be readily seen that they are out of all proportion to any bona fide increase in value.
 Now comes a raise of $24.000000 more.
 Arbitrary Increases.
 In 1915 when the grand list was raised $36,693,363 over that of the grand list of 1914 we are informed that property was then taxed to 90 per cent. of it's actual value. leaving only 10 per cent. for the incre- SC i'll succeeding years. and yet between 1915 and 1917 over and above value of all building permits the grand list was raised in all $42,125,520
 The fact that these raises of the grand list were arbitrary and made for the purpose of serving only the selfish ends of the coterie of parasites
 that inhabits the corridors of the city hall, becomes apparent from the fact