New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1928-12-29
Finance and Taxation Board
Facing Annual Pruning Duty

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Facing Annual Pruning Duty
Soon the municipal pruning
ahears; after "a .year.s-idteness, ssSill
be shipping merrily away as the
board OF finance and taxation ex-
plodes the pet schemes of city COM
n,iAsioners and again discards oft
repeated requests Of departments
for costly improvements.
Faced with a special tax OF one
fifth OF one mill already laid to
provide additional funds for the
school board. and with the knowl-
edge that the grand list will be no
higher than that of last year and
therefore will produce no more
revenue. the board Of finance and
taxation will be called upon to hack
out all but maintenance appropria"
tons II an increase in the mill rate
is to be avoided.
As the annual preparation Of a
budget comes TO- the fore one thing
seems so certain as to make in
quiry unnecessary. and that is that
the common council will maintain a
"hands off, policy as far as the
budget Is concerned. 1t would be
strange II the council failed to profit
by its mistake of last year In med
ding with the estimates of expen-
diture after the board of finance
and taxation had completed its
work, for In SO doing, the council
nearly crippled the organization Of
government without any perceptible
benefit to the city.
Effecting a cut that was 10 per
cent almost all the way down the
budget. the council reduced appro-
priations which the board OF finance
had included only after assuring it.
self that they were absolutely nec-
essary. Pursuing its arbitrary pol
: icy, the council, for instance. took
10 per cent off fuel appropriations
which were made in the same
amount as the actual expenditure
for coal in the preceding year. That
these appropriations must be cx-
ceeded in many instances is GER
tainty.
The school committee after item
izing needed repair items. convinced
the finance committee that there
was no trace of padding and it was
allowed.$ IL, 900. which -. was. less
than the amount represented AZ
needed. but which was the lowest
point at which the budget prepar-
ing group felt efficiency and econ
! omy could be made to meet. But.
the common council. with no fur
Their investigation, reduced the
item, and the result was special
tax of one fifth of a mill before the
fiscal year was well under way.
The board of public works pre-
scented its report showing the streets
on which repairs were advisa BILE,
and under ross-questioning. of the
finance commissioners singled out
the necessary items of street AMI
sewer work. These, only, were in
Guided Then came the council cut,
and what was the result? The re-
serve fund for liquor license rebate
was tapped of its entire amount.
which must be provided at a later
date from some other account, and
a loan of so5.oo0 was negotiated
which, naturally. must be paid.
The special appropriation for re-
modelling No. 1 fire station was re-
duced below the amount appropri-
ated, which was an actual bid figure.
and as a result the station remains
in an incomplete condition This and
the general curtailment of work in
other city departments which the
common council caused with L
financial saving which was negligi.
BILE will proba bly, be sufficient to i'm
press upon the ward representatives
that the trainers OF the charter
were right when they created a
special commission to make up the
estimates of income and expense.
Some Of the improvements which
long time members OF the board Of
finance and taxation might label as
"chestnuts" will be urged again this
year, by departments which have
not become discouraged by annual
refusals. The requests. of the board
of health and Of the fire commits
sioners alone would work an in
crease of about two mills, which TIL,
board of public works. police and
health boards would probably match
with special items of about the
same cost:
Urged by residents of the western
section Of the city to again make
an attempt to procure for them a
fire station and protection. the fire
board will come forward with a re-
quest for a house. pumper and
! two 'platoons Of four men each. The
cost Of this improvement would be
between $4,000 and 100000. The
/ proposal has been before the board
several times and has been turned
down, not on the ground that it is
not needed. but because of the cost.
| Whether the finance board and the
common council will feel disposed
to undertake the item this year re
mains to be seen within a few
weeks.