USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Melrose > City of Melrose annual report 1906 > Part 1
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ORED 1628
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CHARLESTOWN 1629 POND FEILDE 18 38
MALDEN
BORTH END
1649
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OR
MILED AND FOUND CORRA GT
AUG 31 1907
EDWIN C. GOULD AUDITOR
CITY OF MELROSE MASSACHUSETTS
Annual Reports 1906
WITH
Mayor's Inaugural Address Delivered January Ist, 1906
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TO CHARLESTOWN 1629
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POND FEILDE 1638
· MALDEN ·
NORTH END
1649.
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IN
INCORPORAT
ED 1850
PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE CITY CLERK
MELROSE THE COPLEY PRESS 1907
CHARLES J. BARTON, MAYOR
INAUGURAL ADDRESS OF HON. CHARLES J. BARTON MAYOR OF MELROSE,
DELIVERED JAN. 1st, 1906.
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Board of Aldermen :
Chosen as we have been by the citizens of Melrose to administer the Government of the City for this year, we must all remember that few, if any of us, were unwilling to be thus chosen ; that most, if not all of us, requested our fellow citizens to accord us the privilege of spending this year in the service of the City, and while at times this labor may seem irksome and we may all be tempted to shirk some of our duties, let us not forget that it was in ac- cordance with our desires that the people have honored us in electing us to the honorable position which we now occupy.
It is our duty, Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Board, to so conduct the affairs of the City that we shall call upon our people for as little money as is possible and get for our people all that we possibly can, for the money that they pay into the City Treasury. We must remember that the law of our State compels us to keep the current ex- penses of the City within the limit of $12 per one thousand dollars of taxable property, and in making our appropria- tions this must not be forgotten by any of the Departments, the Board of Aldermen or the Mayor. For myself, Mr. President and Gentlemen, I want to state at this, the first meeting of the City Government, that I am firmly and irrevocably opposed to the borrowing of money for any of the ordinary current expenses of the City. If the amount which the Commonwealth of Massachusetts allows us to demand from our people in the shape of taxes is not suf- ficient to run the departments of the City as at present
4
CITY OF MELROSE
organized, then the City Departments will have to be re- organized and the expenses cut down so that we can, at the expiration of our term of office, hand over the Government of the City to our successors without any legacies in the shape of temporary loans which would have to be repaid out of the scanty sums that the tax levy would bring them, consequently, Mr. President and Gentlemen, I urge upon you a careful investigation of all the Departments of the City so that you may satisfy yourselves, not as to what any of our Departments want, but as to what our Depart- ments need, and as to how much we can appropriate to- wards supplying their actual needs. I trust you will re- member that in the year that is past there was appropriated in the annual budget sums which in the aggregate amounted to $180,712.II or within 21 cents per $1000 of the $12.00 limit, that since the passage of the budget the additional amounts of $11,544.13 have been appropriated, making the total amount appropriated for current expenses since the beginning of the fiscal year, $192,256.24, or $10,419.52 in excess of what the stated law of the Commonwealth ex- pressly provides. It is a source of regret that of this amount, $11,544.13 is in the form of temporary loans which must be repaid from this year's tax levy, and this fact is a reminder that we must exercise great care in our appropriations for the year of 1906.
Mr. President and Gentlemen, I am a believer in the en- forcement of the law, and when the Commonwealth says that certain payments must be made in each year for the establishment of sinking funds for the payment of indebt- edness at maturity, I believe it is our duty to demand from our citizens, and their duty to pay to the City Treasury, every cent that it is necessary for us to have in order to comply with the laws of the Commonwealth, and to enable us to keep faith with those who have invested in our certificates of indebtedness. This, Mr. President and Gentlemen, is something which has not been done in the past, and be- cause it was not done by those who preceded us before the establishment of the City form of Government, and only
5
MAYOR'S ADDRESS
partially by our predecessors in the City Government, is one of the reasons why we are buried under a load of debt, and why the amount we were compelled to pay in 1905 for Interest Charges, Sinking Funds and Loans was above $46,000, or about $3.00 for every man, woman and child within our borders. To tell the whole story in a few words, we must be economical in our expenditures for current expenses, we must pay into the sinking fund every dollar that the law provides we should pay, we must be governed in our expenditures by the knowledge that the Law says we must not exceed $12 for every one thousand dollars of taxable property.
The financial condition of the city, as submitted to me by the Auditor for the year ending December 31, 1905, is as follows:
Funded Debt.
School House Bonds. $200,000.00
Sewerage Loan Bonds.
350,000.00
Surface Drainage Bonds.
60,000.00
Town Hall Bonds.
45,000.00
Water Loan Bonds.
225,000.00
$880,000.00
There is in the Sinking Funds to be applied to the pay- ment of these bonds when they mature :
School House Sinking Fund ... $43,164.33
Sewerage Loan Sinking Fund.
104,462.10
Surface Drainage Sinking Fund 6,727.83
Town Hall Sinking Fund. 4,701.03
Water Loan Sinking Fund. 111,027.80
$270,081.09
Permanent Debt.
Borrowed on account of :
Central Fire Station note $6,791.14
Ell Pond Park notes. 9,000.00
Central Fire Station, School
Building and grading grounds 30,550.96
6
CITY OF MELROSE
Public Grounds notes. 7,927.88
Stone Crusher notes.
5,998.90
Surface Drainage notes
2,000.00
Sewall School notes.
1,500.00
Melrose Common notes. . . 2,500.00
$67,541.00
Municipal Debt.
Borrowed on account of :
Brown Tail and Gypsy Moths ..
$2,500.00
Elm Street Sidewalk 2,000.00
Sewall School
500.00
$5,000.00
There have been loans authorized on account of appro- priations made during the year 1905, which must be in- cluded in the tax levy for 1906, as follows :
Brown Tail and Gypsy Moths ..
$7,500.00
Building South Avenue. . ...
2,000.00
Election Expenses Contingent. .
260.00
Ell Pond Park.
500.00
School Department.
784.13
Sewall School.
500.00
$11,544.13
Permanent Debt.
$880,000.00
Permanent Loans
67,541.00
Municipal Loans.
5,000.00
$952,541.00
Temporary Loans in anticipa- tion of taxes ..
$108,929.61
Cemetery Trust Funds
12,139.00
E. Toothaker Fund
1,167.13
122,235.74
Less Sinking Funds of the Funded Debt.
$1,074,776.74
270,081.09
$804,695.65
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MAYOR'S ADDRESS
Assets.
Cash on hand.
$25,592.80
Sinking Funds.
270,081.09
Due from Commonwealth. 3,319.00
Uncollected taxes
163,678.19
Uncollected tax titles.
6,465.78
Uncollected tax sales taken by city
339.06
Uncollected sewer assessments
34,085.06
Uncollected street watering as-
sessments
2,975.92
Uncollected sidewalk assess-
ments
300.24
Gross debt.
Less assets.
$506,837.14 $1,074,776.74 506,837.14
Net indebtedness
$567,939.60
Our material assets are :
School Houses and lands.
$414,450.00
Public Library.
40,600.00
City Hall, Fire Station, etc.
159,025.00
Public Grounds, Parks, etc ....
40,000.00
Cemetery
32,650.00
Stone Crusher
8,000.00
Water Works
463,673.21
Fire Apparatus
29,106.50
Sewerage System
394,088.86
Surface Drainage System
85,148.30
$1,666,741.87
An analysis of the Audtor's statement shows that our net Funded Debt is $11,160.60 less than last year, and our net Municipal Debt is $20,154.90 more, and our temporary loan in anticipation of taxes is also $7,529.61 more.
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CITY OF MELROSE
1904.
Funded Debt.
$927,000.00
Less Sinking Fund. 305,920.49
$621,079.51
1905.
Funded Debt.
$880,000.00
Less Sinking Fund. 270,081.09
$609,918.91
Funded Debt reduced.
$11,160.60
1905.
Municipal Debt.
$72,541.00
1904.
Municipal Debt.
$58,720.00
Less Sinking Fund. ....
6,333.90
$52,386.10
Municipal Debt increased ....
$20,154.90
1905.
Temporary loans in anticipa-
iton of taxes $108,929.61
I904.
Temporary loans in anticipa-
tion of taxes.
101,400.00
Temporary loan more
$7,529.61
The tax rate of $18.00 per one thousand for 1905 is divided as follows :
State tax
$18,600.00
.94
County tax
15,272.57
.72
Metropolitan Sewerage tax ....
12,077.04
.80
Metropolitan Park tax.
5,922.31
.39
Interest, Loans and Sinking
Funds
46,332.47
3.02
MAYOR'S ADDRESS 9
Overlay
5,488.01
.34
City tax.
180,712.II
11.79
$284,404.51
$18.00
The City tax of $11.79 is divided as follows :
Bonds for City officers.
$190.00
Charity Department
7,200.00
Contingent, general
104.02
Deficiencies, Board of Health. .
I20.00
Fire Department.
11,834.88
Health Department
3,625.00
Insurance
365.00
Memorial Day
250.00
Military Aid
200.00
Police Department.
12,371.40
Public Library
3,302.31
Salaries as provided by ordi-
nance
I2,700.00
School Department.
85,713.00
Melrose Common
300.00
Public Works Department.
City Hall.
$1,680.00
Collection of Ashes
1,380.00
Engineering Division
2,350.00
Highway Division
21,500.00
Parks
100.00
Public Works office.
1,170.00
Sewer Division, maintenance ...
500.00
Sidewalks
1,000.00
Street Lighting.
12,256.50
Brown Tail and Gypsy Moths ..
500.00
$180,712.II
Real estate valuation. $13,865,950.00
Personal valuation. 1,463,745.00
Total
$15,329,695.00
IO
CITY OF MELROSE
Number of dwellings, 1904, 3,319
Number of dwellings, 1905, 3,334
Borrowing Capacity for 1906.
Year
Total valuation
Abatements
Net valuation
1903
$15,225,105.00
$233,700.00
$14,991,405.00
1904
15,411,530.00
117,850.00
15,293,680.00
1905
15,329,695.00
155,000.00
15,174,695.00
$45,459,780.00
Average valuation for 1903-1904-1905 is 15,153,260.00
Two and one-half per cent. of the same is Net Municipal Debt.
$378,831.50
281,219.77
Borrowing Capacity for 1906.
$97,611.73
In the matter of the cities of Malden, Medford and Mel- rose against the Commonwealth relative to the taking of Spot Pond, the City Solicitor reports that the Auditors have rendered their report which shows that to Melrose the sum of $273,682.00 was awarded, from which sum was deducted the amount already paid by the Commonwealth, viz., $77,- 500.00 with interest to June 30, 1904, leaving an unpaid balance of $196,182.00 which, with interest to June 19, 1905, amounts to the sum of $284,071.54, interest being computed from January 1, 1898, the date of the taking.
The report of the Auditors was duly made to Court but the case has not yet been settled, as the Commonwealth has the right to take the matter, if it so elects, before a Jury for final consideration. I might add that of the $77,- 500.00 and interest which was paid to us by the Common- wealth, $100,000.00 was placed to the credit of the Water Loan Sinking Fund, and should this award be paid during my term of office I will recommend that it be used to reduce our indebtedness and thus lessen the interest burden.
Among the other assets of the City is a claim against the City of Everett and another against the town of Read-
II
MAYOR'S ADDRESS
ing, both for services rendered citizens of those places at the time of the smallpox epidemic in 1902. I trust that these two cases will be settled before long. Melrose does not want anything from her neighbors that is not right and will press no claim that is not legal, and believing that Everett and Reading will be willing to meet us in the same spirit, I shall endeavor to have these matters settled at as early a date as is possible.
In the Inaugural Address of His Honor, Mayor Buttrick, delivered to your Honorable Board in 1905, I find the fol- lowing :
"In the method of keeping our books and accounts of the several departments, I believe there is an opportunity for improvement, and while there is nothing to investigate, so far as relates to the ability or integrity of our officers, yet I think that if a committee was appointed by your Honorable Board who would carefully examine into our clerical work, there might be a uniform method adopted which would be appreciated not only by the officers themselves, but by those who desire information from the various departments. This and other questions of a like nature could be con- sidered by a committee, and if in their judgment there appeared to be a reason for a reorganization of the clerical work in the departments, they could make their report to your body for action, therefore, I recommend that a com- mittee be appointed, who shall take these matters under consideration and that early action be taken."
I can only add to this, that I am heartily in favor of this proposition. I voted for it when a member of your Hon- orable body and my experiences since have convinced me that it is of great importance to the City of Melrose that the action suggested by the Honorable Mr. Buttrick be taken at as early a date as is possible, and I trust your Board will give this matter your early and careful consideration.
In this connection I want to call your attention to the crowded condition of the offices in City Hall, particularly the one occupied by the City Clerk, Assistant City Clerk, Auditor and Treasurer. The attention of the Board of Al-
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CITY OF MELROSE
dermen of last year was called to the Treasurer's office. I do not consider that it is good business policy to have this official, who has the custody of the City's money, placed in an office where a great many people having business with the other officers have free entrance behind the railing. Often the Treasurer has thousands of dollars on his desk and is obliged to leave the money unguarded while he goes to the window to make payments to city employees, and it is not fair to him to allow a condition of affairs to exist that might result in the loss of some of the funds entrusted to his care. It is also not just to the City Officials who have their desks in the same office, or to the citizens who might be in the office on business at any time when funds had disappeared to be placed in a position where even a breath of suspicion might be directed towards them. Give this matter careful consideration, gentlemen.
Another office in City Hall that in my opinion is not large enough for the proper conduct of the business, is that oc- cupied by the City Collector, and as it is small, poorly lighted and worse ventilated, it is no credit to our city.
Another fact that we should look into when considering this question is this-the lack of vault room in which to safely store the valuable books and papers belonging to the various departments. It is true that the departments have safes of various makes and ages, but it is an open question as to their safety in case of fire, and it is a well known fact that their capacity is not large enough to contain all the books and papers that should be securely safeguarded. It may be that the only solution of the difficulty will be the building of a one-story addition to the City Hall on the Essex street side, and if that be so, I am of the opinion that it is your duty to carefully consider it.
Public Library.
Our Public Library is a credit to the city and it is a matter of regret to me that our financial condition will not allow of a more liberal appropriation.
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MAYOR'S ADDRESS
Schools.
The amount to be appropriated for the maintenance of our present system of education is one of the most serious financial problems that will confront you. Yearly the ex- pense has grown and you will find that this year you will be asked to appropriate more than was called for in 1905. The reasons will be given you by the School Committee or their representative, the Superintendent of Schools, when you have the article in the budget relative to School Ap- propriations before you for your consideration.
I am opposed to any large increase in the appropriation for Public Schools, for I believe that with a readjustment of the curriculum of the High School, a large amount of money can be saved. I am, as most of you are well aware, a firm believer in the two years Commercial Course, so- called. In fact, that is practically what the course of study in the High School now demands. The difference in opinion between the School Board and those citizens who think as I do, being that the School Committee are in favor of the last two years of the four years term being devoted to studies pertaining to business or commercial life, while we are of the opinion that these studies should be in the first' two years of the school course.
From all that I have been able to learn at least 60 per cent. of the scholars in our High School take the Com- mercial Course. Many of them, or their parents, are de- sirous of having the privilege of choosing the two years' course, and I believe that they should be accorded that right. I do not believe that our people should be taxed, or the other departments of the city cramped for funds, in order that the School Committee may compel children against their wishes, and desire of their parents, to spend two years in studies which they do not want to take, and which will be of little or no use to them when they go out into the busy world to fight the battle of existence. This is what is practically being done in the four years' course. To show you that I am not alone in my opinion as to the
-
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CITY OF MELROSE
percentage of scholars who attend our High School for the purpose of obtaining a commercial education, I will quote you from the Inaugural Address of one of my predecessors in which he states: "There has been one great advance made to my mind in the establishing of the Commercial Course in the High School and as a result of this Course we find that while the rate of increase in average member- ship for all the schools for the year 1902 over the year 1899, (the last year of the Town Government) is 9.9 per cent., the rate of increase in the average membership of the High School during the same period is 48.6. This is due largely to the desire of the scholars to become in a measure ready for good paying positions when they graduate from the High School, and this brings us back to the financial ques- tion again. If the same education requisite to find employ- ment at once can be furnished by our High School instead of the scholars attending a Commercial College in Boston at the large expense necessary, are we not doing right in providing the means for so doing?"
The agitation that is going on relative to the present system of education is not confined by any means to the City of Melrose. In the great metropolis of the country they are at present wrestling with the same problem and I am pleased to take my stand alongside of the Hon. G. B. McClellan, the Mayor of the City of New York, when he expresses himself very strongly as being in favor of a sys- tem of education that will embrace much more of the three R's, as they are sometimes termed, and less of the so-called fads and fancies of the up-to-date educator. I dislike very much to see among the educated people of our community a tendency to underrate the value of the three R's, for I have seen in my business experience that one great fault with the graduates of our Public Schools is, that they are deficient in "Readin, 'Ritin and 'Rithmetic."
In the report of the School Committee for the last year the Superintendent of Schools, in speaking of a new branch of studies that have been installed in the schools, namely, "Work in Civics," which has been placed in the ninth grade
I5
MAYOR'S ADDRESS
and for which a period of each week has been set apart for special instruction, states the plan of work begins with a consideration of the necessity of Government and an ap- proved view of the different types, that have characterized Social Evolution, and then deals with salient features of Municipal, County, State and National Government success- ively. There is no text book in the hands of the pupils in studying the local City Government as a type of Munici- pal Administration, but each pupil is supplied with a copy of the City Charter and such other documents bearing upon the Administration of City Affairs, for example, copies of the Mayor's Inaugural, Board of Health Regulations, etc., as may be available and useful. Through the reading and discussion of these documents and the thoughtful considera- tion of topics that naturally arise therefrom, an endeavor is made to acquaint pupils with the main principles of Local Government. Methods similar in kind are followed in the consideration of County, State and National Governments. The Superintendent goes on to state: "As was to be ex- pected, our work in this line has fallen considerably short of the ideal. I feel certain, however, that what we are doing is a step in the right direction, and more experience on the part of the teachers will bring satisfactory results." He further states that to his mind such work as this is far more valuable to young people than much that goes under the head of the three "R's." This you will understand is one of the studies in the ninth grade of the Grammar Schools.
I beg to differ from the gentleman from whom I have quoted, because in my opinion the more of the three R's that he speaks about, known to the illiterate as "Readin, 'Ritin and 'Rithmetic," the more I say, of these studies that the boy and girl can acquire in the Grammar Schools, the better he or she will be fitted for whatever station in life he or she may be called upon to occupy, and to many a worthy boy or girl the ninth grade marks the end of their school life. The people of our City decided at the last elec- tion that they were opposed at the present time to the en-
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CITY OF MELROSE
largement of the High School and to the expenditure of any considerable sum of money for that purpose. The rea- sons that actuated those that voted in the negative were varied and many. I, who cast one vote upon the popular side, voted against it, not because I wished to deprive any- one of a High School education, but because I believe that, as I have said before, with a proper readjustment of the courses of study in the High School building and with the pupils being given an opportunity to choose as to whether they will take a two years' Commercial or a four years' College course, there will be so many of them who will decide in favor of the two years' Commercial course, that the High School building will be large enough for all of our purposes for many years to come. Do not misunderstand me, Gentlemen, if any boy or girl in this city desires to obtain an education that will fit them for entrance to Col- lege, I believe it is the duty of the City, and it should be the pleasure of the City, to provide the means for such an edu- cation, but I also believe that if a boy or girl who reaches the age of 17 or 18 years desires to enter a business life, it is also our duty and should again be our pleasure, to provide the means with which they may be equipped to make their way in the world of business.
I am aware that the School Committee are elected by the same people who have chosen us, and that they have the confidence of the people and that they, and they alone, can decide upon the studies and length of terms in our schools ; but we also represent the people and we will be called upon to appropriate the money to carry on the schools. If the finances of the City are in such a condition that we cannot find money with which the schools can be carried on under the present conditions, is not the School Committee bound to readjust the school courses to correspond with the finan- cial situation? If we had the money at our disposal and refused to appropriate it, we would be doing very wrong, and is it not an equal wrong for any department of the City to call upon us for more money than we can legally, lawfully and rightfully give them? To increase the school
I7
MAYOR'S ADDRESS
appropriations and yet keep within the $12 limit, we will have to cut down the appropriations for some other depart- ment, and can you name any department that can have its appropriations materially reduced without seriously impair- ing its efficiency or practically crippling it?
There has been one item of expense that has been miss- ing for several years in our school expenditures; one that I think every citizen would be glad to see restored, and that is the expense of graduating exercises in the Grammar Schools. As I have stated before, the ninth grade marks the end of the school life of many a girl and boy, and I think it fitting that upon their finishing the Grammar School course they should be given a diploma so that they could have something to show that they were graduates from our Grammar Schools, but this, as in other matters connected with the schools, rests entirely with the School Committee.
Police Department.
From the Chief of Police I have received a number of suggestions regarding the department which is under his particular charge. He states that in order to do the work 'efficiently it would be necessary for one additional officer to be added to the present force, but in view of the present financial condition of the City, I do not see how we can go to our people and ask them to allow themselves to be taxed the necessary amount of money that will be needed to pay the salaries of any additional police officers. I was very much pleased to learn from him that during the last year the number of arrests for drunkenness were only 59, 19 less than the preceding twelve months. In 1899, the last year of the town, arrests for same cause were 96. This is a rec- ord of 1905 for sobriety and temperance that I think cannot be equalled by any community of like size in the Common- wealth. In addition to their regular work, the Police De- partment has been of great aid to the sick and injured. The ambulance has been called for 135 times for use within City limits and 25 times for use outside of the limits of the City.
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