The Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1846-1852, 1847-08-20
Alr. Garo's Report.
For he Lancaster Gazette.
Minority Report,

A Nf |
Of the Special Board Of Equalization for Fair
field County, Ohio.
Pursuantto an "act passed February 9th
lS47." entitled ian act to amendl the act for
levying taxes on all property in this State
according to its true value, "passed March
Cd 1916. The first section Of said act pro-
vides, "that the county Commissioners,
county Auditor, and county Surveyor,
shall be a Special Board of Equalization,
for each county, forthe purpose of making
a more perfect equalization of the rea!
property Of each county. Said special
Board Of Equalization, or a majority of
them, shall meet at the Auditors Office in
each county on the second Monday of
April next, and shall proceed to equalize
the real property of the county, according
to the first three rules prescribed in the
forty.fourth section ofthe act to which this
is an amendment. And said county board
shall have the further powerto add orde-
duct from the valuation ofany town, town
ship, or district, such per cent as will e.
~qualize the value of such town, township,
or district, or any part thereof with the
value of the other real property of such
county; provided said board shall not re-
duce the value of real property of the
county below the amount established by
the State Board of Equalization" And
being constituted member Of the special
board of equalization, ofFair6eld county.
| as a minority member ofsaid board, pro-
pose to publish the following statement
The board organized about two O'Clock
p. M. April u, 1847, and adjourned the
same day-previous to the adjournment,
the following resolution was offered in
!. view of an early action upon the proper
tional value of each of the townships in
the county, respectively:
Resolved, That a committee OF
be appointed to report to this board as
early as practicable the per cent. if any
to be added to, or deducted from, any
township, torn, or any part of a town, Of
the real property of this county, which
) was promptly pOted dOwn, and was imme'
diatcly foLlowed by a motion to adjourn,
which carried with only one dissenting
coice. The principal reason giver by
the majority, for thus evading the law,
i the duties of which, we had just made sol
emn oath, faithfully and impartially Il
., discharge, was, the respect they enter
tanned for the oaths of the district assess
o. ors, who were not members of the boar'
as formerly, and consequently could no
now take part in our deliberations, an
that with our limited information Of tn
average value of the different townships
we could not make any alteration for tn
better. Now let US examine the return
70 of a few parcels of property as handle
by the old board, and see how sympa
thetic these same individuals were las
d. August, in regard TO the judgment OF tn
or district assessors. | will instance tire
ms farms in Hooking township. The frs
containing four hundred acres, owned b
John 4. Brace, was valued at six thou
= and eight hundred dollars, and reduce
to six thousand dollars. Henry Sutzen
farm of one hundred and seventy'nir
Q acres, was valued by the district assessor
I'm IN at four thousand twenty nine dollars, al
rS by the board raised to FIVE thousand al
ore nine dollars. The Creed farm valued
two thousand eight hundred eighty-fo
no dollars, raised TO three thousand nj
ms, hundred and fourteen dollars. In Plea
ess ant township, s~ixty-eight acres known
eat the Mt. Pleasant tract, valued by the d
, ire trict assessor at two thousand aud for
10 dollars, was reduced TO one thousand al
twenty dollars; and with one sweepil
the resolution all the land in Auburn, Bel
Madison and Perry townships, valu
less than one dollar and twenty-five Gel
per acre, by the district assessor, W
rlised to one dollar and twenty-five Gel
! or per acre; and that too, against the EAR
tne EST of the several ASSESSORS
WHOM VALUED. The fact is that tho
last named parcels, valued less than &C
gress price are generally forty and Gig
ty (acre lots) or farms, principally str
ped of their best timber before entert
$. and mostly settled upon by persons W
limited means, who will have TO pay mt
tau on the dollar of real UaLae Accord
to the assessed value, than the prop
: be tors of those lands Of greater value. l
lets, result will be sufficiently apparent
MN N comparing a few pieces OF land as a S
for cimen. First take the Mt. Pleasant II
s. of 6S acres, valued at S2,040 reduced
81, o2o, by the County Board; add the
por cent. fixed by the State Board,
so,v. we have S 1886 20, which is 345
nself cent. less than the assessed valuation,
TAX that dowa.) Then take an eighty a
81. farm valued at SO cents per acre, and
T;,, y have 40 dollars, to which the old DO
added $50 per cent, making Sl0O, I
id on add the 81 per cent fixed by the 81
the board, and the amount is Sl3l whic
j, ,be 227 aud a half per cent. on the doila
bove the assessed valuation; now t
+, 227 and a half per cent. raised Oh tn
so acre farms, above the assessment,
add the "a and half per cent, redu
from the 6S acre tract, below the asses
valuation, and we have 200 and 62
rs. cent, the proportional departure, or
cent. difference on the dollar from the
sessed value between the poor and
Droprietor. After thus spending Il
m aIsO weeks in mutilating the district ass
poons, or's returns, the result of 30 much j
;ncreased the land property OF the W