USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Saugus > Town annual report of the officers and committees of the town of Scituate 1922-1924 > Part 9
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128 47
Oliver Ditson Co.
11 16
Denison Manufacturing Co.
15 33
The Beal Press .
55 07
Kenney Bros. & Wolkins
58 93
W. R. Schultz. 1 50
35
Appendix - Financial Statement
Jeanne E. Bradford
$10 00
J. L. Hammet Co.
452 71
Standard Oil Co.
3 80
George E. Williams Co.
20 00
Felix T. Daus Co.
1 09
Cambridge Botanical Supply Co ..
96 75
H. A. Wales Co.
9 00
A. T. Thompson Co.
4 75
Carl Fischer
3 37
Wright & Potter
42 78
Frost & Adams .
9 95
William E. McVey
18 46
Underwood Typewriter Co.
1 25
E. E. Babb & Co ..
9 35
L. C. Smith Bros. Type. Co
2 00
Boundbrook Press .
42 64
Royal Typewriter Co.
50
$1,097 83
FUEL, HIGH SCHOOL
The George F. Welch Co. $641 48 641 48
FUEL, ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
The George F. Welch Co.
$667 35
James Litchfield 10 00
Waldo Litchfield .
40 00
717 35
REPAIRS, HIGH SCHOOL
The George F. Welch Co. $18 44
Bosworth Beal & Co.
17 20
William E. Moran
67 80
F. T. Bailey & Co.
171 98
Charles G. Everett 1 56
1
27 98
REPAIRS, ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Galen Watson . $5 00
F. T. Bailey & Co. 660 17
36
Appendix - Financial Statement
The George F. Welch Co $37 69
R. W. Robbins . 9 00
Frank L. Young
5 00
Ellsworth Curtis 37 50
$754 36
TRANSPORTATION
Joseph W. Appleton . $1,170 00
Front Street Transportation 4,775 00
G. Wilbur Damon 855 00
Egypt Garage 472 00
Satuit Garage
232 00
Aaron Bates . 392 00
Ralph Sylvester . 690 00
G. Dana Yeaton, Insurance
1,386 00
Franklin Publishing Co.
5 50
Town of Marshfield
39 00
10,016 50
HEALTH
Surgeons and Physicians Supply Co.
$43 60
A. B. Curtis .
4 00
T. B. Alexander, M.D.
200 00
F. A. Derby, D.M.D. 1,000 00
J. F. Bresnahan 2 95
1,250 55
MISCELLANEOUS AND SUNDRIES
Russell Fish
$0 50
Electric Light and Power Co 132 97
The George F. Welch Co
29 75
H. I. Dallman Co
41 77
Charles T. Fish .
4 25
C. W. Carlander
2 65
James Litchfield .
60 00
Ernest R. Seaverns
99 30
The Seaverns Store 3 58
37
Appendix - Financial Statement
New England Telephone and Tele- graph Co.
$161 18
Mitchell Bros.
22 75
Masury Young Co.
69 24
Carpenter Morton Co.
5 51
William Stanley .
1 50
F. T. Bailey & Co.
169 23
Richard Badger Co
158 00
G. Dana Yeaton
202 65
J. R. Ainslie .
36 00
W. F. Mitchell & Co
64 80
C. M. Wagner .
7 34
Standard Oil Co.
2 28
Mary E. Madore
104 50
Ward's .
4 35
Jetson Wade.
160 80
Mrs. Harold A. Merritt
77 50
W. P. Richardson .
141 60
George E. Williams Co
8 22
Scituate Grocery Co
5 49
J. W. Appleton .
64 48
Ridge Hill Farm
60 64
Total .
$1,902 83
HOUSEHOLD ARTS
Mitchell Woodbury & Co.
$32 43
The George F. Welch Co.
46 65
Ginn & Co.
19 86
Ellsworth Curtis.
65 76
Whitcomb & Barrows
3 82
The Macmillan Co.
8 07
Jordan Marsh Co
224 59
F. E. Bragdon .
92
William Leavens & Co.
52 56
F. T. Bailey & Co.
7 50
The Seaverns Store.
2 53
Scituate Grocery Co.
73 44
38
Appendix - Financial Statement
Olive Barrows .
$90 50
C. M. Wagner.
5 22
Standard Oil Co.
2 85
Jones, MacDuffey & Stratton
11 43
R. H. Stearns Co.
28 00
J. L. Hammett Co
1 49
J. B. Hunter Co.
40 75
Doris D. Ward.
6 36
Total
$724 73
NEW EQUIPMENT
J. H. MacDonald . $577 22
F. T. Bailey & Co.
341 16
The George F. Welch Co.
20 18
Mitchell Woodbury Co ..
17 40
Whitney Fire Appliance Service
26 40
William J. Roberts . 35 00
J. L. Hammett Co.
271 90
E. R. Seaverns
555 00
F. E. Bragdon . 12 37
W. Stanley Dorr
59 90
Total
$1,916 53
NEW GROUNDS
C. M. Wagner $1,219 57
Philip S. Bailey (Crushed Stone) 201 00
H. T. Cole. 200 00
Total $1,620 57
39
Appendix - School Statistics
CHANGES IN TEACHERS
The following resignations and elections have been made during the year.
RESIGNATIONS
High School:
William W. Locke, Science
May 1922
Jenkins School:
Anna E. Murphy, Grades IV and V
May 1922
Hatherly School:
Howard F. Barrows, Principal
May 1922
Rosamond F. Benson, Grade I
May 1922
ELECTIONS
High School:
Esther B. Murray, Science
July 1922
Jenkins School:
Flora L. Patten, Grades IV and V
August 1922
Lucy A. Whittier, Grade III
September 1922
Hatherly School:
Carlton A. Burney, Principal
July 1922
Doris A. Tobey, Grade I
August 1922
Mildred A. Newman, Grade II
September 1922
TEACHERS
ADDRESSES
PREPARATION
YEARS
SALARIES
HIGH SCHOOL L. A. Martin Esther B. Murray M. E. Hastings
Scituate
3
$2,400 00
Scituate
1
1,200 00
North Scituate
Dartmouth, '99 Framingham Radcliffe; Boston Normal
5
1,600 00
North Scituate
Salem Normal; B. U. Secretarial Science
2
1,700 00
Scituate
Wheaton
2
1,500 00
Scituate
Salem Normal
2
1,300 00
Scituate
Simmons; Columbia Summer
2
1,700 00
JENKINS SCHOOL Nathaniel Phillips
Marshfield Hills
Bates
5
1,400 00
Anna L. Hughes
Scituate
Framingham Normal
2
1,200 00
Flora L. Patten
Scituate
1
1,200 00
Scituate
Gorham Normal
1
1,000 00
Lucy A. Whittier E. Gertrude Gardner
Scituate
41
1,200 00
Lillian M. Weeden
Scituate
2
1,200 00
North Scituate
Hyannis Summer
1
1,300 00
40
Appendix - School Statistics
Nettie E. Elliott
B. M. Dudley Grace H. Callanan Olive Barrows
HATHERLY SCHOOL Carlton A. Burney
Anne L. Cunneen Eunice M. Cole Sara M. Kane
Doris A. Tobey Mildred A. Newman MUSIC Jeanne E. Bradford
DRAV AWING Doris A. Ward
North Scituate Greenbush Greenbush North Scituate North Scituate
North Scituate
Scituate
Hyannis Summer Fitchburg Normal
4
1,200 00
2
1,100 00
17
1,200 00
1
1,200 00
1
1,000 00
N. E. Conservatory, Institute of Music Pedagogy
3
500 00
Mass. Normal Art
2
500 00
MEMBERSHIP BY GRADES ON DECEMBER 22, 1922
HIGH SCHOOL
GRADES
I
II
III
IV
| V |VI
VII
VIII
I II
III
IV
Total
High School
56
31
15
15
117
Jenkins School .
25
23
30
23
18
20
17
18
174
Hatherly School.
23
11
31
29
16
16
22
18
166
Totals
.
48
34
61
52
34
36
39
36
56
31
15
15
457
Appendix - School Statistics
41
42
Appendix - School Statistics
ENROLLMENT, MEMBERSHIP, ATTENDANCE AND TARDINESS FOR TERM ENDING DECEMBER 22, 1922
Enrollment
Membership
Attendance
Per Cent of
Attendance
Tardiness
Number of
Pupils Tardy
Pupils
Transported
Pupils Carrying Lunch
High School .
119
117
106
92
81
41
108
108
Jenkins School:
Grades VII, VIII
36
35
34
94
10
6
16
24
Grade VI.
22
20
20
96
10
6
11
13
Grades IV, V
44
41
39
93
9
9
16
25
Grade III
30
30
28
95
0
0
13
19
Grade II
24
23
22
96
1
1
8
13
Grade I.
27
25
23
92
6
4
14
18
Hatherly School:
Grades, VII, VIII
43
40
40
95
8
5
27
35
Grades V, VI.
34
32
32
95
1
1
16
22
Grade IV
30
29
28
95
8
7
16
19
Grade III.
32
31
30
95
3
3
22
23
Grades I, II.
44
34
32
35
13
9
25
26
Totals
485
457
434
150
92
192
345
43
Appendix - School Statistics
ATTENDANCE HONOR ROLL
The following named pupils have been present every session of the sixteen weeks of school, beginning September 5 and ending December 23, 1923. Because of this record their names are registered here.
SCITUATE HIGH SCHOOL
Evelyn Bonney
Barbara Brown
Helen Jellows
Martha Lincoln
Ellis Damon Lawrence Peters
Aulalia Pinkham
Eunice Clapp
John Prouty Richard Wherrity
JENKINS SCHOOL
Grade VIII William Jenkins Ruth La Vange Ethel Stonefield Grace Ward Frank Whittaker
Grade IV Virginia Beals Anna Tufts
Grade VII Frank Dwyer Harold Stonefield
Grade III Mary Cronin Charlotte Hall Bernadette Lavoine Frank Vinal
1
Grade II Mary Clark Allen Tierney George S. Ward
Grade I Joseph Lavoine Lawrence Merritt George Vinal
Grade VI Barbara Cohnan James O'Connor Ethel Tierney
Grade V Arthur Chase Francis Murphy John Hayward
Harold Burbank Louis Haartz Wallace Torrey
Helen Healey Margaret Vinal
44
Appendix - School Statistics
HATHERLY SCHOOL
Grade VIII Doris Burbank Sturgis Evans Karl Haartz Irma Hobson Malcolm Merritt Allen Vinal Helen Webb
Grade VII Sarah Baker Parker Chase Velma Damon
Hester Fish
Charles Mitchell
Evelyn Sears
HATHERLY SCHOOL
Grade VI Olga Bongazone Gertrude Jones Nellie Mitchell
Grade V Robert Breshanan Earnest Dillon Earnest Hobson
Grade IV Francis M. Hill Doris E. Newcomb Jeanette Nichols Louise Nichols
Grade III Libero Bongarzone Frederic Dorr Ernest Hill Walter Jones
Stanley Murphy
Frederick Timpany
Grades I and II Florence Cummings Ruth Dorr
Peirce Memil Librar
ANNUAL REPORT of the OFFICERS of the Town of Scituate MASSACHUSETTS
For the Year Ending December 31 1923
ETTS
SATUIT
RPO
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
Officers of the Town of Scituate
FOR THE
YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1923
M
VMOJ
SETTS
IN
SATUIT
CORPORA
PRINTED BY THE BOUNDBROOK PRESS, NORTH SCITUATE, MASS.
TOWN OFFICERS, 1923
Selectmen and Overseers of the Poor. - JAMES W. TURNER, Chairman, Scituate; CHARLES W. PEARE, Egypt; ERNEST R. SEAVERNS, North Scituate.
Assessors .- HENRY A. LITCHFIELD, Chairman, Egypt; ERNEST R. SEAVERNS, North Scituate; CHARLES W. PEARE, Egypt. Town Clerk .- JETSON WADE, Greenbush.
Treasurer .- WILLIAM P. RICHARDSON, Scituate.
Collector of Taxes .- HAROLD W. COLE, Greenbush.
School Committee .- PHILIP S. BAILEY, Chairman, North Scituate; MARION C. ALEXANDER, Scituate; W. CLEVELAND COGSWELL, North Scituate.
Superintendent of Schools .- F. E. BRAGDON, North Scituate. Board of Health .- DR. WILLIAM P. GROVESTEIN, Chairman,
Greenbush; GEORGE T. OTIS, Scituate; JOHN W. BURKE, Scituate.
Highway Surveyor .- ARCHIE L. MITCHELL, North Scituate. Park Commissioners .- LOUIS E. COLE, Chairman, Greenbush; FRANK H. BARRY, Scituate; JOHN F. DALBY, Egypt.
Chief of Fire Department .- ERNEST R. SEAVERNS, North Scituate.
District Engineers .- District No. 1, MAURICE O'HERN, Scitu- ate; District No. 2, LOUIS E. COLE, Greenbush; District No. 3, ERNEST R. SEAVERNS, North Scituate; District No. 4, ALBERT F. TURNER, Minot; District No. 5, PHILIP L. SCHUYLER, Egypt.
Constables .- JOHN F. TURNER, Egypt; CHARLES M. LITCH- FIELD, Egypt; * ELMER F. BURROWS, Scituate.
Police Officers .- JOHN F. TURNER, Chief, Egypt; CHARLES M. LITCHFIELD, Egypt; * ELMER F. BURROWS, Scituate; GEORGE FERGUSON, North Scituate; DAVID O'HERN, Sand- hills; JOHN STONEFIELD, Sandhills; J. EDWARD GILLIS,
*Deceased.
3
4
Town Officers
Scituate; CHARLES B. JENSEN, Scituate; MICHAEL F. WELCH, Scituate; WILSON S. BROWN, Greenbush; WILLIAM O. CLAPP, North Scituate; WILLIAM H. BROWN, North Scituate; GEORGE BARBOUR, Scituate.
Registrars of Voters .- * CHARLES F. CLAPP, Chairman, Green- bush; JETSON WADE, Clerk, Greenbush; WALTER J. STOD- DARD, North Scituate; WILLIAM STANLEY, Scituate.
Auditor .- WILLIAM M. WADE, Greenbush.
Tree Warden and Local Moth Superintendent .- WILLIAM F. FORD, North Scituate.
Sealer of Weights and Measures .- EUGENE H. LANE, North Scituate.
Forest Fire Warden .- ERNEST R. SEAVERNS, North Scituate. Advisory Board .- WALTER HAYNES, Chairman, Scituate; SAMUEL AGNEW, Secretary, North Scituate; WILLIAM O. CLAPP, North Scituate; HAROLD W. POLAND, North Scitu- ate; J. EDWARD HARNEY, Scituate; WILLIAM W. WADE, Egypt; ROGER S. DIx, Greenbush; DONALD S. PITKIN, Scituate Center; WILLIAM E. SUPPLE, Scituate.
Surveyors of Lumber, Measurers of Wood and Bark .- ANSEL F. SERVAN, Scituate; GEORGE S. BAILEY, Egypt.
Fence Viewers .- CHARLES N. TURNER, North Scituate; THOMAS O. JENKINS, Greenbush; W. IRVING LINCOLN, North Scituate.
Field Drivers .- Constables.
Pound Keeper .- CHARLES G. EVERETT, Scituate Center. Inspector of Animals .- AARON BATES, North Scituate. Inspector of Plumbing .- ARTHUR R. MERRITT, Egypt. Inspector of Meat .- J. FRANCIS BRESNAHAN, North Scituate. Inspector of Milk .- GEORGE T. OTIS, Scituate.
Public Weighers .- ANDREW J. FINNIE, Scituate; J. SANFORD FITTS, Greenbush; NELSON P. EWELL, Greenbush; C. ALBERT BROWN, Egypt; CHARLES O. CHASE, Egypt; ANSEL F. SERVAN, Scituate; ANDREW J. FILLMORE, Scituate Center.
*Deceased.
REPORT OF SELECTMEN
To the Citizens of Scituate:
In submitting our report for the year 1923, we respect- fully call your attention to a change of form which is made necessary by adoption of the State accounting system, which it was voted to adopt at the last Annual Meeting.
The accounts as rendered explain themselves and are in accordance with the State system and will be the form for future reports.
It will be noticed that the entire report of the audit is printed for your information, the Selectmen, feeling that, inasmuch as this audit and change to State system was voted, it manifested the desire of the voters to see the results.
It would seem wise at this time, if it be your desire, to accept the act of law providing for a Town Accountant. This could take a portion of the detail from the labors of the Selectmen.
We submit the report of the Committee on Pumping Engine, including records and recommendations for 1924.
Bids for the re-shingling of the Town Hall were advertised and contract given to the lowest bidder. This puts the build- ing in good condition with exception of painting.
We call your attention to the fact that the present safes are filled to capacity and, for the protection of valuable records, it will be necessary to provide another safe.
Complaints have been received about improper guide- boards and some steps should be taken to direct the travelling public.
Our attention has been called in several instances to obstructions such as stone walls, buildings and hedges which are in the highway, and some action should be taken for their removal.
In submitting this report we call your attention to the fact that the expenses this year greatly exceeded those of any
5
6
Selectmen's Report
preceding one. The demand for the coming year has the tendency of being still greater, owing to the rapid growth of our Town.
Respectfully submitted, JAMES W. TURNER, CHARLES W. PEARE, ERNEST R. SEAVERNS, Selectmen.
January 1, 1924.
July 28, 1923.
To the Board of Selectmen,
Mr. James W. Turner, Chairman, Scituate, Massachusetts.
Gentlemen:
I submit herewith my report of an audit of the accounts of the Town of Scituate for the year ending December 31, 1922, and the installation of a system of accounts, as petitioned for by vote of the Town and in accordance with the provisions of Section 35, Chapter 44 of the General Laws. This report is in the form of a report made to me by Mr. Edward H. Fenton, Chief Examiner of this Division, who was placed in charge of the work.
Very truly yours, THEODORE N. WADDELL, Director of Accounts.
Mr. Theodore N. Waddell, Director of Accounts,
Department of Corporations and Taxation, State House, Boston.
Sir :
As directed by you, I have made an audit of the books and accounts of the Town of Scituate for the year ending December 31, 1922, and in addition, have installed a system of accounts in accordance with a vote of the Town on March 12, 1923, the following report thereon being submitted:
The financial transactions of the Town, as recorded on
7
Selectmen's Report
the books of the several departments receiving or disbursing money for the Town, were examined and checked.
The books and accounts of the collector of taxes for the unexpired term of 1922 were examined and checked. The recommitment of taxes for the years 1919, 1920, and 1921, and the commitment for 1922, were footed and reconciled. The collections, as appearing on the tax collector's cash books, were footed and checked to the commitment books; in addition thereto all checks found in the collector's safe were checked to the commitment books, so that a list of outstanding taxes was drawn off as of May 21, 1923.
In order to verify the outstanding accounts, notices were mailed to all persons whose names appeared on the books as owing money to the Town. A number of persons who made claims to the effect that their taxes had been paid were given an opportunity to substantiate their claims by presenting receipted bills or cancelled checks. Twenty-one persons, whose accounts appeared as open on the commitment book, proved payments to the collector amounting, in the aggregate, to $2,624.40, which had not been entered on the cash book by the former collector. After adding the above amount to the amounts collected and entered in the cash book, and crediting the collector's accounts with the balance on deposit at the Rockland Trust Company, the audit disclosed a cash discrepancy in the accounts of the former tax collector, H. Grant Doherty, amounting to $1,762.44. Appended herewith are summary tables of the several tax accounts, and a recon- ciliation of the tax levies committed to him for collection.
The corrected list of outstanding taxes, after adjustments were made for the accounts subsequently proved to be paid, was then recommitted to the new Tax Collector, Harold W. Cole.
The books and accounts of the Town Treasurer were examined and checked in detail. The cash book was footed, and the recorded receipts were checked and verified by a comparison with the records in the departments collecting money for the Town and with the several other sources from which money was paid into the Town treasury. The pay-
8
Selectmen's Report
ments were checked with the orders approved by the Select- men authorizing the Treasurer to disburse Town funds and with the original bills and pay rolls on file.
The cash on hand as of July 1, 1923, was reconciled with the bank statement, which disclosed a discrepancy amounting to $726.90 between the amount called for by the cash book and the amount in the bank; and the Treasurer promptly made a deposit of this amount.
In connection with the above, it must be explained that the discrepancy was due to the fact that the Treasurer's bank account had not been reconciled for a number of years and no attempt had previously been made by the Town Auditors to verify the Treasurer's cash balance at the end of any given year. Had such a reconciliation been made at the end of the year 1919, it would have been found that the balance at the end of that year was actually greater by $150 than the balance as shown in the Town Report for that period, due to the fact that one item of $150 was charged in one instance to Roads General and at the same time to the Park Depart- ment accounts, without showing a receipt of $150 to offset the duplicate charge. Again, it has been the policy in the past for the Treasurer to make his payments prior to the receipt of the Selectmen's orders. By such a practice errors may easily be made, but with the installation of the State System of Accounting, the Selectmen's warrant to the Treasurer is given prior to the making of payments, so that the Treas- urer gets his authority to disburse money in the regular, legal manner.
In checking the bills on file, it was found that on several occasions bills were approved by heads of departments and passed by the Selectmen for payment which did not contain an itemized account of the quantity and price per unit of material purchased, or the kind and time of service rendered with the rate therefor. Thus, bills which read: "For ser- vices rendered, $100," or "Merchandise, $3,400," should not be passed for payment until a fully itemized account is fur- nished by the payee, so that all expenditures may lend them- selves to accurate classification and so that complete infor-
9
Selectmen's Report
mation may be on hand should any taxpayer desire to inspect the records on file.
Furthermore, no bills should be paid unless they are first examined by the Selectmen. The practice of the School Department of submitting a schedule of bills payable with- out actually presenting the original bills should be discon- tinued, since it is the duty of the Selectmen to examine these bills, even though this procedure may consume more time than the Selectmen formerly allotted to this work. Section 52, Chapter 41, General Laws, provides, in part, that:
the selectmen in towns shall approve of the payment of all bills or pay rolls of all departments before they are paid by the Treasurer, and may disallow or refuse to approve for payment, in whole or in part, any claim as fraudulent, unlawful or excessive . . .
The appropriations voted by the Town were checked to the Town Clerk's records. It was noticed that a number of receipts from various sources are added to the amounts appro- priated by the Town; and in some cases these credits are not, in any way, derived from the department to which they are credited. It is apparent that, in some instances, it has been the practice to make appropriations of smaller sums than are required for the expenses of departments, depending upon the receipts to make up the necessary amounts, thereby leaving an indefinite amount to be used by the departments. In this connection, attention is called to Section 53, Chapter 44, General Laws, which provides that:
All moneys received by any town officer or department, except as otherwise provided by special acts and except fees provided for by statute, shall be paid by such officer or department upon their receipt into the town treasury. Any sums so paid into the town treasury shall not later be used by such officer or department with- out a specific appropriation thereof.
It is therefore recommended that, in the future, all appro- priations be made for the full amount to be expended by each department, since, under the statutes, the assessors are authorized to use estimated receipts to a limited amount in
10
Selectmen's Report
fixing ยท the tax rate, so that appropriations on a flat basis would in no way increase the tax rate. If, through economy, a surplus should accrue in the treasury by allowing appro- priation balances to lapse at the end of the year, as is provided for in the State accounting system installed, the Town could appropriate from the surplus funds in the treasury such sums as may be available for any Town purpose. This method, while a change from the past, will not cause any increase in the amount to be raised by taxation, and will enable the department officials to plan their work better, as they will know early in the year the amounts they will have at their disposal.
In checking the expenditures against the appropriation accounts, it was found that several accounts had been over- drawn, which is in violation of the provisions of Section 31, Chapter 44, General Laws, which reads as follows:
No department of any city or town, except Boston, shall incur liability in excess of the appropriation made for the use of such department, except in cases of extreme emergency involving the health or safety of persons or property, and then only by a vote in a city of two-thirds of the members of the city council, and in a town by a vote of two-thirds of the selectmen.
The Selectmen should make every effort to discourage, and to penalize if necessary, any violation of the sections of Chapter 44 previously quoted, as is provided in Chapter 253, Acts of 1922, which is as follows:
Any city, town or district officer who knowingly violates, or authorizes or directs any official or employee to violate, any pro- visions of this chapter shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars; and the mayor, selectmen, prudential com- mittee, or commissioners, shall, and five taxpayers may, report such violation to the district attorney who shall investigate and prosecute the same.
In connection with the appropriations, it was further noted that the amount appropriated by the Town toward the services of the public health nurse had been paid over in total to the Public Health Nursing Service, which is contrary to
11
Selectmen's Report
Section 2, Article 3, of the Constitution of Massachusetts, which states that:
no grant, appropriation or use of public money or property or loan of public credit shall be made or authorized by the Com- monwealth or any political division thereof for the purpose of found- ing, maintaining or aiding ... any college, infirmary, hospital, institution, or educational, charitable or religious undertaking which is not publicly owned or under the exclusive control, order and superintendence of public officers or public agents authorized by the Commonwealth .
The amount appropriated for the District Nurse should be expended under the direction of the Selectmen, who may arrange to pay part or the whole of the nurse's salary, but only on regular warrants to the Treasurer.
The receipts of the Town Clerk on account of dog licenses for 1923 (the records for 1922 were not available) were checked and verified, as well as the accounts of the sealer of weights and measures.
The savings bank books, representing the investments of the various trust funds in the custody of the Selectmen, were examined and verified.
Appended to this report is a balance sheet for the year ending December 31, 1922, as well as a balance sheet showing the financial condition of the Town as of July 1, 1923.
Since the Town has adopted the State system of account- ing, I feel confident that in the future it will be much easier for the several officials to perform their respective duties, as they will have information before them at all times relating to the condition of the appropriations; and since the system provides for a reporting of all revenues to the accounting department, complete information will be available to inter- ested citizens from the accounting officer's books.
The books and accounts under the new system were opened as of January 1, 1923, and the financial transactions to July 1, 1923, were entered therein.
The system as installed provides automatic checks which will furnish the administrative officers with information that should prove helpful in carrying on the work of the respective
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