| Show c. c FARMERS ASK LARGE SLASH IN VALUATION q tj Jordan District Group Grop Seeks 25 to 50 Per i t il Cent Cut L r t f By AL FERGUSON I IA A slash of 25 to 50 per cent 1936 assessed valuation of ot farmland fart farm land In the Jordan school district t was asked of ot county commissioners and Assessor Assessor J J. A. A SkIdmore Monday Mon iron iron- day by a group of farmers They i isaid said they will wUl be unable to p pay y their taxes because of drouth drouth and and III other adverse conditions over which they have had no control The petitioners own land und under one of ot the five canals drawing i ti ir water from Utah lake Jake Failure Fall Fail ure of ot that source of ot Irrigation i water last year resulted In less uless than one meals meal's supply of ot potatoes potatoes' from a acre 12 tract on one of ot the petitioners petitioner's farms it was explained ed to commissioners Noxious weeds also have placed d much of the acreage ou out of pr pro productivity the tho farmers said laid And soil conditions resulting from the drouth have become such that it will probably require years to toreni rem rem- ery cry Express Sympathy County commissioners listened expressed sympathy and t turned to Mr Skidmore The assessor ex explained ex cx- ho he has not completed the 1936 assessment and assured farmers farm farm- ers era that when it is completed it it will be as nearly as possible on a fair and equitable basis After that If commissioners desire to consider consider con con- sider aider a decre decrease e of ot 25 per cent Inthe in inthe inthe the value It will become a matter of ot policy It Is ls the commission that fixes tax levies and passes upon budgets which tax ta revenue must support If n the valuation is too low Jow the levy must bo be raised or the budget t trimmed to meet available revenue said Mr Skidmore Statistics laid before the group croup by the assessor and his assistants assistant showed the average value of land in the Jordan is per acre cre In Granite the neighboring tax distrIct district dis dish north of ot Jordan the average value of land is per acre Values thus far fixed this year have hav taken into consideration the probability probo ability of a water supply from Utah lake Jake which will nearly equal supply from that source The figurea figures figures fig fig- ures urea were obtained from the office of ot the state engineer it was e ex explained explained and it was estimated ther there will be about acre feet available available available avail avail- able this year Farmers immediately attacked the water statistics on the ground they fail faU to take take- into consideration evaporation and seepage after the water passes measuring devices at atthe atthe atthe the lake outlet They declared that not more than 75 per cent of th the water which passes lake weirs actually ac ac- ad gets to th the crops to be gated Might flight Be Offset A reduction of 25 per cent cent i in 1936 values of ot Jordan farm lands Jand would remove from the tax rolls explained William Villiam J. J Enstice Eustice Eus Eus- tice deputy county assessor If It the same reduction is applied to lands under all aU five of the tho Utah lake Jake canals the total sum lopped hopped from tax rolls this year w will vill ll be e because of conditions of ot which farmers complained Such a reduction might be of offset off set to some extent by an increase in assessed valuation from mines and Industrial properties appraised by the state tax ta commission Mr Mw Skidmore pointed out That how at how bow ever cannot be determined at this this' time Certainly mines and Indus indus' tries were granted some concessions concessions' when they were lard hi hit by the depression This may bo bl the he time ime timeto to consider the matter from the tIe viewpoint of ot the farmer Commissioners declined to take taker take any definite action on the matter matte until assessed valuation figures ar an art more nearly completed The delegation of farmers i included in eluded Hyrum Stocking William Kasworm A. A F. F George T. T Sharp J. J R. R Peterson Lancelot Bil Bills and William WilHam Gardner |
