Norwich bulletin., 1920-03-13

Cross examination by Adelard Mo rin of President D. T. Shea of the city gas and electric commission and Mar 1 tin B. Jensen, one Of the commission CTS, enlivened the special city meet ing in the town hall Friday night. MT. Morin was out to find out whether the s1 ,0O0,O0e city gas and electric plant l was making any profits. The answ- | CTS he got led him to remark that i've are only kidding ourselves when we think We have good proposition from business standpoint in the city gas and electric plant. Commissioner l Jensen told him that the plant showed a profit in its fifteen years of $16s,- S4S.
 The meeting had an attendance of
 about 300 when called to order by | Mayor J. J. Desmond at o'clock with City Clerk William R. Frisbie read
 ing the call for the meeting.
 Corporation Counsel Joseph T. Fan n.ag presented a motion to allow the city to borrow the city to borrow not | to exceed s70,000 to pay interest and current expenses including balance of
 salaries and commission, the amount borrowed to be returned from certain expected receipts.
 Mayor Desmond explained that there
 was expected $23,00o due from the
 town, $8.000 from the water depart
 Tnent, $4,000 from the court house ac-
 count, and s3.o00 from the state. The
 water department has already paid
 in $10,000 where only SS,000 had been
 expected from them
 Tn view of this S10,000 payment / I
 torney Tanning made the amount |
 his motion s6o,0oo.
 MT. Morin asked what commission the city paid and was told it was to
 the tax collector for collecting taxes. In answer to Alderman c. V. Pen dleton Mayor Desmond gave these
 mounts which the city treasurer fig
 ured were needed.
 Street department, s1o,ooo, payroll;
 fire department. s9,000 payroll; police department. S7,000. payroll; interest due April 2, s6,972.50 and s2,5oo;
 monthly mills at common council
 meeting. averaging s11.oOo for three months. total $33,00o, which makes a total of $6S.472.50.
 Councilman Edward Crooks asked : why the fire department was mention
 ed as needing 5000. He said they I had $7,S00 on hand to meet s7,S0o ir
 payrolls and the department could get along for the rest of the year on the s $500 left. He didn't want the impres. n sion gained that the fire department Il hadn't enough money to get along or even if $2,500 was cut of it's appro. I priation last year.
 Gas and Electric Money.
 Corporation Counsel Tanning intro e duced a motion to appropriate s27,
 900 for the general expenses of tn
 gas and electric department, the sam
 to be paid back out of the receipts o 3 that department.
 Mayor Desmond explained that thi l. meant the gas and electric departmen g wanted to be excused from payin le back now the balance of a S45 900 loa n, made from the city in 1918.
 n President D. T. Shea took the foo = and said he wanted to enlighten tn n people-some of them need it-for " e- have been led to think by misleadin )0 anonymous letters from a snake in tt of grass that money for the gas and cleo ; tric plant comes out of the tax pay h CT. but it never does and never vii F. declared MT. Shea. He went on 1 C, speak as follows:
 'n We are asking tonight for a lit 'k more time in which to pay back 1
 the city the sum of $27.000 we borrow
 ed about two years ago for sort
 working capital But on the otht s hand we are not going to say anythin ,t about the sum of SPA. 1886, whic 4 sum the city has owed the gas ar . electric plant for the past five year U, When we borrowed the above mer es toned sum of s27.000 we did Il, ol promise to pay back this amount T, any particular time, So that in real ga ty there should be no need of conir 1g before you for an extension of tim 1- However. year ago when We maC Is, up our budget, the finance commi he tee chopped that amount off of our al n- propriation. Little was said about d. at that time, as the way things look, l. then, we. thought we would be ab
 to spare that amount out of the r
 ceipts before the end of the year. ,s At that time we had our years su' " ply of coal bought and supposed Y ny had our pay roll settled for at lea lp a year. But soon after demands we '4- made for more pay, which were gran CT ed. Soon came another and still a ny other request, until these three rais es amount to over a dollar day to ca VII man. Then came the miners striI or then the government seizure of co ne which deprived us of at least on ro third of our years supply. Then car or the great storm, that tied up ever th thing and caused us to beg and D ng a fancy price for coal, wherever
 could get a carload or truck load
 keep the plant running. To be bri
 had not all this happened during SE past nine months. we would not ha -e- the occasion for this meeting tonie n as far as the gas and electric depa- for ment is concerned.
 nd This resolution was voted. MT. Fla tz- ming next presented a resolution to ew low the gas and electric department he borrow as needed $23,000 in the aggl in- gate for general expenses.
 In explanation of he need for u i've President Shea spoke as follows: it'll Now as regards the borrowing nee $23;000 Is concerned, we may ne7 vas need this sum. We simply want aut
 .ority to borrow it, as a precautions
 measure, and for this reason;
 soon as we realized that we would l DS get the coal we bought, we purchas to, a few cars here and there to the nu ygr Der of a hundred or more. Some Po- this we know was confiscated, but the Ldo know that about St cars are on .ax. way between the mines and Norwi as Should these come in lump, it nd- thought we might need some money ,al- pay for them. And we believe it to of good policy to borrow money, WI the you can and save the cash discoul
 A as well as the city's credit. lust Thus you all can see our side of
 case. If our request is granted 1 p
 mise you the plant will soon pay b.
 both amounts. There will be no n r; Of an Investigating committee and