The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-12-05

conuuct Ok our finances haA been q gradual, but all.inelusive one. 10 hes suffered, oe course, from the tAct that a municipal office, whether or not N is charged with the task ot admlnieterlng . six or seven million dollar business, ls apparent. " not supposed to function with tho ordinary tools of business. Under my predecessor and during ny ads mlnlstratlon there has been a con~ stant effort Co run on office, deal. ing in the disposition of the peo. ple's money, along every-day bus. inesslike lines. In that respect there has been the closest cooperation from all departments and officials 10 that the task of accounting for collections and payments Is being moulded into one compact unit which will bear the scrutiny of the most exacting executive,
 I am q firm believer in cordial relations between the public and the municipal government In my own department it b necessary to main- tain such relations at all times, for we are constantly dealing with the public, whether it is in the matter Of an adjusted pay check for an employe, Q pension for a retired eua. ploye, 0 speedy processing of bin presented by a local vendor, reiFn- bursement of Q tax over-payment or a myriad of other details which bring the office of the comptroller in contact with other persons and firms. weighted down, as munich pal activities must be with charter and statutory requirements, every effort is made to facilitate such transactions with little delay or annoyance to the individual
 Similarly, efforts are made to maintain husinesslike relations with local banking institutions, invest ment houses, and agencies interested in marketing of municipal securities Waterburys bonded debt of $l2,- s32,000 (i2-3i-4e) Is not out of line with that of other American cities in our population group. Further more, the regular annual debt pay ments are cutting into this figure and unless future administrations go in heavily for issuance of bonds another ten.year period will see Waterbury well out of the woods as far as debt and interest payments are concerned, constituting as they do a Sizeable share of the annual tax dollar.
 one thing has helped the city'S de1t position. In the last six years the city issued only one series oi water bonds, those used in meeting the costs of building the second pipe line and the Pitch Reservoir. They totaled Sl.l5s00o. By 1857 the city will have retired all of those bonds and it is worth mentioning that a cushion is presently being created to absorb some of the weight of this additional debt redemption when maturities begin in 1853. A system of reserving surpluses in the opera ton Of the Water Fund from veal to year. 10 be applied to the unusual water debt from 1853 through 1857 should go far towards aiding the city fathers of that generation in keeping their finances on an ever keel.
 Secaraties Eagerly Sought
 T have naticed in handling oul municipal securities that . grea' many of them, with os course, at. trective rates of interest. are eagerly sought as investments for trusts estates, etc. IL is interesting to nots when registering bonds the names og new and former holders, a vel as to draw conclusions that con- fidence and trust are being placed in the soundness of the City O; Waterbury by the transaction. Var ious reports that pass over my desk reflect, too. the confidence that is placed in local finances by virtue of a constantly improving condition and a tendency to make municipal progress along a steady upward line rather than by sudden starts ano stops.
 one small matter which think should be called to the attention O. local taxpayers is the fact that con- ditions are just about right for Wa terbury to adopt what is termed ir this state the uniform tax year Whether this is done by adopting the plan offered by the state ol whether it be done by changing tax-due dates iS academic at the moment. The real point, though, i. that Waterbury should be able tS go through a fiscal year without recourse to short term borrowing Naturally, an upset economy in ths nation would involve Waterbury and our municipality, like others would be subject to the pressure O. tax delinquencies. During this cur. rent year tax notes were sold ir February and bought back in June the amount of interest paid, S7et for use of e600.0Oo for l20 days. Il is worthy of comment. too, that thi. short-term loan was made to thu city by q local bank-the Waterbury National Bank, which, to my way o. thinking, is further proof of re. newed confidence in the financial structure of the city and it's deter. imitation to continue to gain suct recognition.
 Getting back more specifically tC the uniform tax year, I hope it may come to pass in Waterbury within q few short years. It is no radica departure from the normal way 0. conducting a city's business. It's { trend towards elimination of ths evils of short-term borrowing whicl many cities regarded for years a almost civic duties. Tax notes arr
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