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Show IK YEAR'S TAXES. TfiaDity's Assessment Rons Up to $3,000,000. An Interesting Interview With the Assessor on the Question. A Reduction of $153,000 This Year Over the Assessment Assess-ment ct 1890. The Dispatch man invaded the City Assessor's office Monday, and found him busy with a long array of columns of figures, which he was adding add-ing up in order to arrive at' the sum total of the assessment. "You have about completed the assessment, as-sessment, I suppose"'" we asked. "Y'es, sir; I will submit it to the Council to-night." 'Can yon give the total yet?" "Not very exact; but it will not fall much short of thive millions.'' '"How much of a reduction is this from last year?" "Well, aceo'-ding to figures it will only be $153,000; but this is a case where figures prevaricate." "IIovso?" "Ah! You no doubt remember that some of our enthusiastic boomers claimed that l'rovo made one million dollars' worlh of improvements last year; but. suppose it was half of this sum, vet the assessment falls short over $150,000. You will then see that the reduction is nearly half a million dollars. In other words, the present year is like the lean cattle iu Pharaoh's dream, it swallowed up all the improvements im-provements of the fat boom year, and it seems to be anxiously looking for more." "Will this reduction in the assessed value make tho tax less than last year?" "'I don't know, but I think not; the City Council has great latitude in the levying of the tax. It can go up to teu mills on the dollar. Last year it was three mills. It is not reasonable that the city's expenses will be much less, and one mill is already levied by the City Board of Educatiou for the city schools." "Was the reduction made even on all the property?" "No, not exactly even; the shrinkage shrink-age in values are more on residence property and the farm land, than on the central business property, and on those two classes of property, most of the reduction fell." "Do you find it yery difficult to get at the property of the people for assessment?" as-sessment?" "Xo, not generally speaking; the lyil estate is a matter of record, and t at my snegpsttoii, th? Council had a set of plats made, on which is located each person's property, with his name. It is something, though, to keep track of the changes which have been yery numerous, last year especially. Of course you cannot weigh real estate es-tate like flour or sugar; you have to guess at the relative value, and this is the test that chiefly tries the assessor's judgment. The mortgages also are matters of record, and c;in be got at. And while very few persons feel to brag of their possessions when the assessor as-sessor calls, yet the, great majority are willing to bear their share ot the public pub-lic burden. Last year there was a ' great deal of harsh and, to my mind, unjust criticism heaped upon the assessors as-sessors for the raising of the values; but this was caused by a combination of circumstances over which they had no control. First was the new revenue law, demanding a full valuation; next the free schools, which had to be supported sup-ported by taxation instead of tuition fees; and, finally, the boom, which sent real estate up in the clouds for a brief season. But for ail that, there was scarcely any property sold for taxes, tax-es, and the people get the value of their money in education for the young, and in needed public improvements; improve-ments; so we are not so very much hurt after all." "Are you a Democrat, Mr. Samuel-son?" Samuel-son?" "Excuse me, sir; but I draw the line here; I have twenty pages of this assessment as-sessment roll to add up yet to-day. I believe 1 tried to court Democracy a few years ago. but was not much encouraged en-couraged in my suit." And with a merry twinkle in his eye, and resuming his pencil, the assessor said: "Politics some other time. Good day." |