| Show THE CITY TAX QUESTION THE opinion of city attorney hall on the tax question will be found in full in our report of the city council proceedings the rist gist of it is that in his view the board of equalization can only baabe inquiry and art act upon the complaints of taxpayers and increase e and lower bower the individual assessments and rake make them equal with each other that Is an opinion as is an opinion as captain ca I 1 pt an cuttle would say according to this no assessment however too small could be raised to make it tair fair and just unless the owner of the property made complaint about it how many complaints would be heard beard about too low a valuation on real or personal property if the board has power to increase any valuation with f out a complaint from the property owner it has also the power to lower a valuation without a complaint such a limitation of the power of the board is ama a maa iest niest absurdity and would defeat the object of the charter find and the ordinances in this respect jerbich ia to secure a j just and fair as yell as equitable assessment of all fero perty real and personal the charter provides that the board shall have power to alter add to take oki from and otherwise correct and said amid assessment roll 21 2 1 this is in the original charter and the law of lifts 1888 which is amendatory of it pro ades that it shall hall be construed trued to be emulative and supplementary to it I 1 abt in the light of a repealing statute what may the council sitting as a board of equalization equalisation do then besides waring shearing complaints and acting upon them it may add to take from and otherwise correct creot and revise said assessment ses roll it is not limited to the individual complaints as the attorney deems me to think but can correct and re vee the entire assessment roll suppose the assessor were to make a general addition to last years valuation of real estate and place it beyond marketable value would the attorney mean to say that only the property owners who made complaints ste gain redress drese re where would be the fairness liness fa and justice and equalization in lowering the assessment on p we 9 and not on others who were equally injured it was argued by the mayor last night that the taxpayers taxpayer tax paye who had not complained were largely in the major ity and their heir silence showed they were sath satisfied fied with the assessment imbat abat to la a great mistake there are hundreds of taxpayers who are thoroughly dissatisfied and angry but they know by last years experience that their complaints would be vain they did not want to be insulted sneered at and jeered by the assessor or any other person and ana so made no complaint nt the gri grievance evince is that real state estate has been placed at too high a valuation alua tion generally considering t the h state of the market and the citizens look to the city council for a remedy it is a wholesale wrong and needs a wholesale out cut to right it that the city council has power to relieve the taxpayers either by a horizontal reduction of the assessment or by a reduction of the rate any sane person can see by reading its chartered powers little technical pottering lottering pott ering over lover a crabbed construction of part of the language of the charter may answer the purpose of that part of the council that wants to retain the excessive revenue demanded but the whole purport and intent of that instrument must be considered in order to arrive at a lull full understanding of its scope and the powers of the council A reduction is required the council has has power to make it general aud uniform let the work be done without delay and aind if it to is done wisely there will be no difficulty in the way but the citizens universally will approve of the action |
