The Winslow mail., 1922-09-01
IMPORTANT BOND
ELECTION ON
SEPT. Z

Any taxpayer voting on bond
election should make it his or her
particular business to find out what
they are voting money for, why and
how it shall be spent, if it is an
expense that should be carried by
bonds and before giving their con-
sent TO bond issue the taxpayer
should be certain that money voted
will be spent as intended in the
bonds and by men competent to
handle it.
| The Winslow Gas Plant has been
great source of loss TO the Town
Of Winslow and a greater source Of
! trouble to the Town Council This
| plant as most of you know was
bought for the town by bond cleo
tion two years ago. The price of
the plant was $4,000 and a $4,000
bond issue was voted = to buy the
plant and differences on $4,000 was
to be used for improving the Gas
Plant and for extending the mains
to supply additional users.
Very little if any improvements
or extensions were made. certainly
not over $1,000 worth, and the bal
ance of the bond money was used
up running the plaintiffs is what
the books show Then on tor of
this e1,100 of bond money the sue
cesslye managers of the gas plant
used up the meter deposit fund,
borrowed from the town treasury,
and used credit of the town until
when the present council took over
the plant an additional amount of
$4,000 had been spent, and further
the gas nlant was run down to such
an extent that six weeks later-like
the proverbial one horse shay-it
fell to pieces at once, making it
necessary for the present council to
put another two thousand dollars
into the plant rather than to risk
the wrath of hot and angry house
wives during the summer months
The reason for such enormous
losses in the gas plant, almost a
thousand dollars month since the
town bought the nlant, are the US
ual reasons of most business losses
-mismanagement That covers the
case precisely. The plant was run
by men who did not have any in
terest in making the plant a sue
hand. Waste i'll buying, waste in
the nlant. gas wasting into the .open
air, the plant allowed to deteriorate
until twice as much fuel as was nee
essary was used making gas. Books
kept in a haphazard fashion until
the only person who could straight
en- them out now would be a certi-
he'd public accountant.
Thn
Plant owes nine thousand dollars,
divided approximately as follows.
Two thousand in outstanding bills,
seventeen hundred to the meter de-
post fund, and the balance to the
town treasury
The money. owed by the gas plant
to the town treasury is money which
was raised by general taxes and
should be used for other necessary
expenses of the town, such as
streets, sewers and other public ex-
penseS.
Your council is now asking you to
vote twelve thousand dollars worth
OF general bonds at six per cent to
pay this nine thousand dollar detic-
1t and the balance to be used to fur
ther improve the plant and install
new meters.
The council feels justified in this
for the following reasons:
Cd They have overhauled the
plant and put it in an economical
working condition and will keep it
So. ii
% They have installed a good
competent man as manager and will
have nothing else
(3) The report of the gas plant
operation costs and revenues show
that with careful management the
plant can be made to carry itself
The gas plant committee has
checked up the revenues and ex-
penses for the month of August and
finds as follows:
Expenses for August 1922
l67 bbl. Gas Oil a 1925 per
In low,