The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-03-17
Senator Culhane's Bill Causes Anger In City
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the city must make a proportional outlay and that the engineering de- partment estimates costs of sewer layouts to the city as almost twice the $250 front foot assessment, or an average of $477 front foot.
 Perhaps 1t would be good idea to let the approximate 2,000 men on WPA lose their jobs," commiS- sioner remarked. Then the people here and in Hartford would wake up to the emergency created by such half-baked measures as this one. We would have them marching in the streets again, the welfare depart ment, already facing crisis with a peak load of relief, could do noth- ing without money"
 Bill Ineptly Drawn
 Evidence of how ineptly the bill was drawn is the provision that inter- est on delinquent tax assessments be reduced from g per cent to six per cent" The rate has been six per cent for many years, members of the board remarked.
 The controller was tied to the op- position by his own report on con- dition of balances in the welfare department when he sought trans fer of approximately $133,000, the balance in the finance boards re- lief contingency fund to the well fare department. The Republican aldermen and others have sought elimination of this fund from fi- nance board Jurisdiction since the budget was devised, contention being that it might be used for political purposes before an election" Another Political Angle
 Another political ramification at yesterdays meeting (which was not concerned with politics, only salva- tion of the city's financial positionD was the split" of the controller from his office clerk, Republican Alder man Thomas F. Bane, who made po- litical capital of promised support of the sewer assessment bill sponsored by Culhane. The controller now has foresworn publicly his employe and a couple more Republican aldermen who attempted to capitalize the ap- peal of east-end property owners.
 When the board passed the reso- lution calling for defeat of the bill by a unanimous vote, President Patrick M. Perriello of the alder men, presiding as chairman in ab- sence of Mayor Frank Hayes, called for individual ballots on the pro- posal. There were attending the meeting: Commissioners Judge, Harley w. Tripp, Controller Row land and President Perriello, Re- publicans; Commissioners John A. Hayden and Edward J. Fitzgerald, Democrats.
 Request For $49,50O
 Soon after the boards action on the sewer bill, a request from City Engineer Charles A. Root was re- ceived for appropriation of $49,500 to pay the city's share in cost of storm water and sanitary sewer construction now. employing HOO men. Under stress of demands for additional money for potential well fare costs, other WPA projects in the schools, about $l8,O00 asked, the board will ask minute detail of the needs.
 Tax Collector William A. Ennis was asked to appear to report on the condition of the revolving sewer fund and this showed about $38, 1000 due the fund from 1880 through 1888, about $34,000 (which would be lost under the Culhane. bilD due since January 1, this year. The controller and, later, James P. Pur- cell, his accountant, reported that about $100,000 actually is due the fund, but some of this has been turned over to the corporation counsel.