Word: curleys
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Since the city cannot get enough money to run itself from valuations it must turn to the tax rate for a source of income. The assessment valuation plus the tax rate gives an index figure which a city must maintain to operate properly. Thus, throughout Curley's administrations, the tax rate has been going up and, if the valuation were to drop to the real value of the land now, the tax rate would be even higher...
...During Curley's term, however, there existed an "abatements racket," whereby certain property owners were given rebates on their assessment by dubious re-evaluations. If a landlord wishes to get an abatement on his assessment in Boston, he applies to the City Assessor's office and pays the fee demanded. Whether or not the abatement is granted, that fee is attached to the property owner's assessment from that year on; the money apparently goes directly to the Board of Assessors each year. That's one sources of excess intake in the Assessment Division. But, there is a further explicitly...
...Curley give the city any real compensation for all his spending? To a certain extent, yes. The police and fire departments are efficient services as far as doing their job goes. Reports by an impartial group of observers hired by the Boston Finance Commission, indicate that the services rendered by these departments are adequate but that they are both run too extravagantly. Boston pays the highest rate per capita for its fire department of any city in the country...
...increased 27 per cent over the past six years; the death rate for premature babiesis nearly 70 per cent whereas the average death rate for such babies throughout New England is 35 per cent. Boston has a system of health units around the city that were established by Curley but, again, according to the Finance Commission, the pay is not high enough in those units to encourage the employment of competent personnel...
...community could stand thousands more low cost housing units and still not thoroughly fill the demand for the slum clearance. Worse than this, the city is paying now on the average of $80 per month to subsidize each of the present units. Both McDonough and Hynes have constantly attacked Curley on the housing problem--accusing him of allowing privileged families who have incomes above the specified ceiling to remain in the units. Curley, on the other hand, has promised a million dollars in aid for housing in the city; only Curley has a habit of promising things in an election...