New Britain herald., 1925-03-04

nite basis for alloeating the expense of this improvement, It is hoped that some amlcable arrangement can be reached that will insure this im- provement, as 1t will open up a most desirable tract for residential build ing.
 "I again call attention to the necessity of providing roadway to connect Putnam street in N. D. Manor with the Rockwell road in the park. This connection would greatly convenience a large number of people.
 Tt will be necessary for us when preparing tho budget, to provide for new bridge on the cross street be- tween Burlington and Stafford ave- nues,
 Most of the Improvements out 1 lined above can be made with little or no expense to the city as the ben ents to adjacent properties will prac- tically cover the cost of the im- lprovements.
 "Due 10 a consistent and intelli- gent policy of rigid economy during the past few years, the city's fnan- cial status has been greatly improv- ed, and at the same time, the serv- Ice has not suffered. l think we have also been able to check very i largely, a tendency once prevailing to spend laNshly, relying on future generations to pay the bills. To put | 1t another way, we are making good in our determination to pay as we go.
 q certainly appreciate the spirit of rcasonableness shown by the various departments when estimating their requirements, and also their efforts and determination to live within their appropriation. I am convinced that as a general proposition, our City government Is being operated as economically as 1t can be under present day costs. At the same time, I presume there are many taxpayers to whom taxes are a real burden, but I wonder whether the public generally realizes that in addition to the district school tax which in sev- cral district amounts to five mills, more than Al per cent of all the moneys raised by general city tax, goes to the support of our schools. We all take pride in the high stand ard which Bristol schools have al ways maintained, and none of us, l venture to believe, would willingly jeopardize the education of our fu- ture citizens. Furthermore, experi- ence warrants the conclusion that our people desire to be liberal in educational matters, but it is import ant for us to bear in mind that liber- ality and extravaganza are not sym onymous terms-also in practice they almost universally produce op- posite results.
 The following statistics are inter esting. In 1913-1914 our total school enumeration was 1852 and there was expended from the general City fund s53,456.30, anaverage of $15.95 per pupil. In 1923-1924, our enumera- ton was 5,597. and there was ex- pended from the General City fund s254,1S1.30, an average of $45.1 per pupil, an increase in total expenses in tbe ten years of approximately 3751s per cent. Or to put it in an- other way, the increase in enumera- tion in the ten years has been ap- proximaely 67 per cent and the in crease in expense per pupil nearly 1S4% per cent. In addition to this, district school taxes have been ma terialy increased in a number of dis trcts. These statistics are naturally somewhat disturbing, and are calcu- lated to induce speculation as to what may happen in another ten years.
 q sincerely trust that the school board will not consider the forego- ing remarks as a criticism or re- flecton of its management of schoo1 affairs. It may be that these con. stantly mounting costs are intVt- able, but they certainly arc startling and l submit that in justice to the taxpayer, we should make most thorough and painstaking effort tc find some way without sacrificing eff . ficiency, to at least arrest this up. , ward swing of expense if we canno turn it the other way.
 q am pleased to believe that oul : City Departments generally are nov 5 so well organized and are operating ? so efficiently and economically tha