The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-02-21
ANNUAL SHOWING
!. OF TOWN FINANCES
Few Copies of Auditors
Report to Be Issued
= Today
FLOOD CONDITIONS
INCREASE EXPENSES
Selectmen Recommend so Cent Tax on
Grand List for Coming Year-School
Directors Recommend 100 Cent Tax


1t is expected that few copies of the
annual town report, which is being printed
by E. L. Hildreth & Co. will be ready for
distribution before night. The Reformer
publishes herewith the selectmen's report
entire, with a summary of other reports
The annual report of the board of Sc
lectmen for the year ending Jan 81,
1921, is herewith submitted
The year has been a stirring one in town
affairs and TO 90 into minute detail would
require very lengthy report which might
be tiresome. The auditors report does,
however, go into detail and shows where
the money of the taxpayer has gone.
Town House.-The plan of leasing both
the Auditorium and Festival hall to
party to be run for private gain did not
prove very satisfactory, excepting finan-
cially. Financially it was a good ar
rangement for the town. But after CON
slderlng the matter very carefully we de-
clded to go back to the old plan of placing
the affairs in the hands of a manager.
Accordingly Mr.. f. ]. FentOn. who had
made us the most favorable proposition
was given the management and thus far
we believe has given good satisfaction.
The armOry having been rented for
other purposes left the high and parochial
schools without a place for gymnasium
and Company without a drill hall. In
response TO the requests from committees
representing these bodies for the use of
Festival hall, we saw no other way than
to comply. The high and parochial
schools pay no rental. Company | pays
a small rental of SO night and agrees to
furnish part of the janitor service. The
room opposite the box Office was rented
TO the high school to be used for shower
baths at a rental of $500 wear. The
wear and tear on the building this year
Will of course be considerably larger than
: usual
! 1t seemed to your selectmen that the
amount of insurance carried on the build
| ing tS2J00O) was entirely Inadequate.
| We therefore had an appraisal made by
| two well-known contractors who estab-
| llshed valuation of 100000. We had
the insurance increased to $4,000 to take
advantage of the 50 per cent rate.
Bridges.-The bridge proposition is one
that has been uppermost In the counsels of
the board during the whole of the year
Nearly all our bridges are too light for
present-day traffic and must receive atten-
tion soon.
On March IS. when we were all con-
graduating ourselves that all danger from
high water was over, the floating ice
jammed at the Vernon dam where the win
ter Ice had not gone out. This caused the
water to set back so that the floating ice
would not clear the big Connecticut river
bridge and it jammed against the bridge
pushing it off the abutments. Aside from
the loss of the bridge. a good deal of other
damage was done One life was lost that
of Cornelius Flanagan, who was crossing
the bridge as it went out
The little river bridge was consider
ably damaged. The road across the is
land, Vernon road and the suspension
bridge approach were all badly damaged
To establish communication with HinS-
dale and that section several proposed
schemes were investigated The most
feasible one seemed to be a trestle bridge,
Accordingly a contract was made with the
+. L. Ley Co. of Springfield Mass. for
the erecting of the trestle and on June
this was ready for traffic.
Meantime We had engaged Mr.. John w.
Storrs, well-known bridge engineer of
CONTINUED on Page 81