Show 31 MILLARD ILLARD COUNTY TAXPAYERS HOLD MEETING A large group of millard county taxpayers met at the county court house last tuesday in response to a call issued by C W watts chairman of the county taxpayers group the purpose of the meeting was originally intended to organize for the purpose of securing a tax reduction by asking the county commissioners and state tax commission for a fifty per cent reduction on assessed valuation of real estate much aluch discussion of general tax problems and tax burdens was indulged in with various expressions and ideas for relief some individuals were eager for a flat reduction of 50 percent in all salaries while others advanced various curtailments curt ailments in public expenditures other than salary reductions county commissioner W D melville supt bupt W A paxton and county assessor maurice lambert gave figures and facts regarding revenue and expenses in both the county and school district the meeting wenton went on record as favoring a tax reduction and appointed a committee of four from each town to meet next tuesday with the county commissioners school board and the state tax commission the editor of this paper fully realizes the conditions under which the owner of taxable property in this county is laboring and while we do not feel capable of prescribing the proper remedy ander under the present condition we do feel some very strong convictions in this matter the fact stands out clearly that most of our trouble is trouble of the past our mistakes of local government are largely in line with the mistakes that most of us as individuals have made As a county we engaged in a spending spree over a period of many years we now owe a large part of that debt As a school district we built school houses lavishly and they are located where influent luene dictated that they should be located all this costs money to maintain so as we stated most of our troubles are troubles of the past no one can deny that our present county officers and our school board members and supt bupt sense the taxpayers problem let us have confidence in these public servants let us face the facts and meet the conditions we ourselves have brought about without wrecking our municipal institutions by ill advised radical action just because some individual thinks he could do this difficult job better than our present officers is no guarantee that such is the truth even if lie he is willing to work for half pay the cold facts are the things we must meet the meeting held last tuesday refused we understand to appoint a fact finding committee it would seem apparent that this information should be the first thing needed we urge every thoughtful citizen and taxpayer to consider this problem before he joins any movement which refuses to to study and face the facts in our tax problem we venture the following statement and expect them to be challenged if challenged we will meet it through the columns of this paper purely for the purpose of getting our readers to study this question 1 reduction 0 of assessed valuation of real property alone win wilf hot efe give u us s the relief desired d 2 A 50 percent reduction in public salary or general cut in general fund expenditures will not give us the relief desired to governmental matters and refusal and indifference to the payment of taxes is more largely responsible for our present difficulties than all other causes put together including the depression in conclusion as we look back a few years on local government we recall several instances where individuals who were leaders given power to handle our affairs by public confidence they posed as champions of the common people yet they led us into debt and almost destruction if some latter day moses alases is now attempting to rise and lead us to the promised land let us sit back and look this individual over very carefully if he is not tried and true worthy and well qualified we should not be misled without first finding the facts and facing them for ourselves |