Norwich bulletin., 1921-08-02
COUNCIL REFUSES 10 APPROVE
 WATER INSPECTORS s SALARY INCREASE


 water boards bills were presented for approval by the council. When these bills were presented wordy confict started between Councilman CrcoksI Al7 ] dernan Murray and Mayor 4erou, re- gardfng points of order barliamentary pr,cedure, and the powers of the eoun- cil, This all was occasioned when May or Aerou called the attention of the council to the bill for salary of Inspec- tor James w. Semple which read S10e for the past month, an increase of $2o over the month of June. The council after the battle of words had subsided, voted to disapprove the bill. Immedi- ately upon the passage of the vote AL derman Raymond objected to the appro- val of the bill of S41.66 for salary of Reuben s. Bartlett, as president of the board. This went the same way as the other. Then motion was made to pay MT. Semple his usual salary of $50 and this was passed. Then motion to pay the salary of the president was lost While this business was being transact ed the arguments pro and con ragged with many hot words.
 The meeting was called to order promptly at S.15 o'clock with a large gallery of spectators present who ex- peeted to see some fireworks but many ef them left before the real pyrotech- nical display began.
 Mayor Lerou in opening the meeting addressed the council as follows:
 The suggestion offered at the July meeting of the court of common council l that the board of water commissioners is
 mon council does not. as provided by the
 charter of the city, approve and confirm l its nomination of president of the board, leads me, in the public interest, to
 call to your attention briefly some of the
 conditions now existing in that depart
 ment of the city in the hope that you will 1 take some action which will prevent a
 recurrence of some of these matters now pending.
 First. The city is defending suit at law on appeal to the supreme court of errors, on account of action taken by the 1 board of water commissioners, jury ] having awarded a verdict against the 1 city for $25 900 on April g, 1920. This
 appeal was argued before the supreme
 court last April. The men whose acts the city is defending against were not
 appointed deputy sheriffs, special eonsta-
 bles or reservoir policemen. but they
 were sent to the city property with load
 ed Winch esters, which resulted in an in
 jury to a person to whom jury of thii
 county awarded $25,000. The reading ot the record in this case, comprising 54l pages, would be profitable reading tt those who hold the view that the recort
 of the board Of water commissioners hal been such as to render it's judgment anC
 conclusions always wise and not subjec to any question.
 Second. The city of Norwich througl
 the board of water commissioners ap tpeared as defendant in the superior eeur
 in the case known as Burnap vs. tn -rC
 went to the supreme court. It was de termined by the supreme court that Bur nap was unlawfully dismissed under tn special act of the legislature I take , that the facts and circumstances sur 7 rounding this case are sufficiently famil : far to all of you, but it illustrates con : dition which does not breed confidence o : promote the public interest.
 Third At the time Stony Brook res ervoir was constructed, after the agon
 of spirit and travail of soul familiar t
 most of you, no provision was made fe z gates to shut off Fairview reservoir froT
 Stony Brook The result has been tha | during the night season water from Ston
 Brook has run into Fairyiew, Ston Brook being on slightly higher elevs s ton. 1 understand that some steps ar c being taken to remedy this condition an d suggest that this be done as soon as DO; J, sible so that there may be independeT = control of each of the city's reservoirs D Fourth. There is an area quite nes g the Fairview pond which is not owned b e the city but which should, in my judi C ment, be so owned if satisfactory tern d can be arranged with the owners. e not, the question of condemning this Ian
 should be carefully considered The us
 made of this land and it's close proximit
 to the reservoir constitutes more or le: T of a menace to the purity of the wate
 This area, forested with pine or red pin 7 would far better conserve and protect u - city's supply than the use to which tn :, land has been put these many years pas n Analysis of the water will, in some meai S ure, determine the extent of contamin; ' tion from this source.
 70 Fifth Two competent and experience n men, after surveying the watersheds
 the city, have estimated that 6G0 ,0t
 board feet of standing timber was lcl
 and carried away from the property
 the city This was done under contra
 but the records of the board of wat l. commissioners show in no place whel n this contract was authorized. In fact. e may say that inquiry by me at the b n ginning of my term as mayor as Nj t. whether there was such | contract or nj v brought the response from the presidel
 
 e there was any contract and that he q Q not know it's terms if there was one. St e his name appears on the contract. I Sixth. The federal and state healt s authorities cond emned the city's wat 5 supply. Under the federal law, the city 'f water supply was placarded in the raj V road stations of the city as Unfit ,. Drink" Happily this condition has bel $ overcome and frequent analysis of u | hot f- fn I-f.- f The Department Payroll. Id might enumerate other things. IT Id water department maintains four aut v. mobiles; three foremen at wage b. S132 a month each and one foreman s, s120 a meath; a supervisor, so-calle or who really functions, I should say, in t n capacity of the president at salary C. $1,800 year; a cashier at salary
 $1,S00 year; a clerk and stenograph e, at $50 month; an inspector at s1.00o IF year; with some other employees engag ed as watchmen, repairmen and In oth s. capacities.
 I recommend that Caleb " Seville, t y, engineer-executive of the Hartford boa ve of water commissioners, or some oth i'll equally experienced man, be called en consultation and that he be asked a. make an intensive, critical survey of c ne water system; that some such persol
 advice be sought and his recommendati
 obtained so that the city may get great
 return from this valuable property a he tha tit may be more efficiently admin li- tered and some consistent, scientific, bl ,,- mess policy may be adopted in order nn avoid the costly errors of the pats n- that this valuable property may not 5i- the football of parfEan politics or np used for the promotion of personal CT