Show V THE TAX SUIT united states district afy varian monday evening filed the appended petition for a writ of certiorari to review the recent action of the city council in adopting the resolution reducing the th tb e valuation on real property 20 per cent hiram johnson vs the mayor and city council of salt lake city and J F jack recorder of mid city the petition of hiram johnson above named respectfully chowe that he is a citizen of the united states resident and taxpayer within the city of salt bait lake territory of utah that the city of salt lake Is a city of the first class incorporated under the laws of the territory of f utah and defendant jack to is the recorder of said city and the custodian of its records that heretofore and prior to the pro ce edings hereinafter stated the assessor and collector for said city in such behalf duly commissioned and author iced during and for the tb year 1891 as by law and ordinance of said city required regularly and lawfully assessed all the property real and personal subject to taxation situate within the corporate rate limits of said baid city as near as may 9 be in accordance with the actual cash valuation thereof and the city council of said city in accordance with law and the ordinances thereof uly tuly levied the necessary municipal tax on the assessed value of all taxable real and personal property within said city authorized by law and required for mun municipal iclal purposes that thereafter the annual assessment roll was waa returned by the said assessor and collector to the said aid city council as provided by law and nd thereupon the city council aforesaid did fix a day for hearing objections thereto and gave proper notice thereof that afterwards upon the day so fixed to wit the day of august 1891 the said city council with the mayor of said city presiding met and organized as a board of equalization and thereafter from time to time met and adjourned and met again as such board of equalization for the purpose of equalizing and correcting such assessment roll that during the sessions of said city council sitting as a board of equalization aforesaid divers and numbers of taxpayers in said city appeared before such board and were heard in thear individual behalf upon complaints made concerning the assessed valuations by the said assessor and collector of real and personal pro property and in such connection the said as d board received and heard evidence a and nd t thereupon h hereupon determined all the cases in which complaints were made and changed and corrected each and every valuation so complained of as aforesaid in accordance with the facts and as justice required that it added to such assessed valuation in some cases and reduced the same in others both as to real and personal property and directed the recorder of the city to note such corrections and changes upon the said assessment ses roll which was done and I 1 thereupon the aw assessment roll of all the taxable property real and persona within the corporate of said city was fully fairly and uniformly I 1 equalized and made to reprise represent u t t the fair cash valuation of all said d property so returned upon said assessment roll and your petitioner shows to the vou court rt that thereupon the power of said mayor and city Cou Coonc acil ll sitting as a board of equalization or otherwise was exhausted and nothing further was authorized in the premises save the certification of the said assessment roll so equalized as aforesaid to the assessor and collector of said city that notwithstanding on the day of september A D 1891 the said city council with the mayor presiding without complaint being made and without evidence passed and adopted and caused to be spread upon its records the following resolution resolved that the assessment roll be corrected and revised by reducing the valuation of all real property and improvements to 80 per of the valuation as assessed except on such real estate and improvements as have before been or may hereafter be reduced in vialee by this board for special reasons the valuation of which to be reduced to 80 per of the corrected valuation thereof and that it be the sense of this board and the city council to instruct the proper official to refund to all taxpayers who ha have v 0 heretofore paid their taxes 20 per of the taxes paid by them on real property and improvements P that the said aard city council with t the he mayor aforesaid has adjourned its sittings as a board of equalization aforesaid and hats had refused and does now refuse to reconsider or rescind the resolution aforesaid that in the premises it acted entirely without jurisdiction and aad that the said resolution and order was and is void and your petitioner shows that notwithstanding the said J P F jack city recorder as aforesaid has noted upon the said assessment roll a reduction upon all the real property within the corporate limits of said city returned upon said roll as required by said order and is about to certify the same and unless stayed by an order of the court will certify the same to the assessor and collector aforesaid as the full complete and equalized assessment roll of said city and your petitioner shows to the court that he owns no real estate with in the corporate limits of said city and was assessed ase essed only upon personal property that his personal property was assessed at its full fair cash valuation that all of the property real aud and personal within the corporate limits of said city returned in said assessment roll as the same ame was revised corrected and equalized by the city council and mayoras mayor as aforesaid was and is assessed at the fair cash valuation thereof that the change or reduction in the assessed valuation of all the real property in said city as contemplated by the resolution aforesaid to is discriminating unfair and inequitable anif carried into effect would make the taxation of property within said city for the current year not uniform that there are a number of other persons taxpayers of said municipality who are the owners only of personal property which has been as assessed posed as aa equalized by the said mayor and council sitting bitting as a board of equalization at the full cash valuation thereof that the order of the said city council if enforced by the assessor and collector and acquiesced in by the taxpayers bene fitted thereby will result in reducing the valuation of all the real prope property isy within the corporate limits of said cit cita y to 80 pe per r cent of the true cash value and in ai all I 1 about thereby discriminating agai list those taxpayers who are assessed solely upon personality and adding to their burdens that petitioner hug has a right in common with all the others aforesaid similarly situated to have a fair just and uniform adjustment and equalization of valuations for taxable purposes and personally has a beneficial interest in preventing a discrimination in the values of real and personal property and in the equalizing of the burdens of taxation that there is no appeal or other plain speedy or adequate remedy whereupon your pe petitioner t prays that a writ of ce certiorari be issued directed to the mayor and city council of salt lake city and J F jack the recorder of said city commanding them to certify fully to the court at a time and place in said witt wiit to be specified a transcript of the re cord of said city council made on or about september 1891 and purporting to reduce the assessed valuations of all the real property within the corporate limits of said city 20 per that the same may be reviewed by this court in the meantime the said council and the said recorder be required to desist from further proceedings in the premises and particularly to refrain from certifying the assessment roll for the current year to the assessor and collector of said city and that upon the hearing judgment be given annulling the resolution and proceedings heretofore mentioned and set out and the whole thereof and that plaintiff recover his costs in this behalf incurred CHAS S VARIAN attorney for plaintiff on hearing bearing the petition judge anderson ordered a writ to issue and set the hearing for friday next the writ was issued and served upon recorder jack last night mr johnson the petitioner is a member of the firm of remington johnson co |