CHESTER, - Delaware County PA History

53
rJ'HI~
MUNICIPALI'l~Y.
Cl Hi~: cot'poratc powcrs of thc cit)' arc vcstcd in ~hc ~;ra)'or
J
and mcmbcrs of Selcct and COl11mon Councils, and undcl'
the Act of Asscmbly approved i\'Iay 25, 1887. the powcrs
of Councils have been incl'~ased so as to allow the expcnditures
of money for public illlproveml~nts, as in the paving' of streds,
scwerage and sanitary regulations. The privileges conferred by
this Act were at once takcn advantagc of, and one rcsult is seen
in the largc amollnt of paving done in 1888. It is only a
question of a few years whcn our principal thoroughfares will
be substantially paved and scwcred. Thc)' arc already well
lightcd, and the water supply is abun(lilllt and excellent, and
with good streets, Chester will hold a (nint rank among the
citics of her size in this countr),.
Although Cheslel' has bC(,1l making rapid strides in municipal
improvcments during the past five years, the tax-rate has bccn
but slightly incl·eased. Jn 1884 it was but fourteen mills,
and is but fiftecn mills for 1889. exclusive of the c\.Jllllty tax.
It will be noticed in the table which follo\\'s that one·thinl of
the total cit)' tax is for school purposes. OUt· schools are excellent,
the illonc)' I'nised is judiciously expcnded, and the tax is
most willingl)' paid. Thcre arc but few communities ,,,herc
such good results are obtained for the outlay pel' SdlOh\l', onl)'
$R.60 for ten months' tuition, including all nccessar)' supplics.
Bcsides this, there have been new stl'ccts opcncd, a largc
nUlllber of sewers built, and neal'l)' $100,000 expendcd in 1888
on paving alone.