New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1867-07-04
ORR local TAXES FOR 1867

OUR LOCAL TAXES FOR 1867
According to Controller COnnolly's estimate,
lust sent to the Board of Supervisors, the
amount to be raised by taxation in New-York
City for the current year is S2l ,SS9,j5j. Of
this the sum of $9,S9O,4A is for State purposes
the remaining $17,090,111, together with about
S2120.OOO from the General Fund, being re-
quired for city and county expenditures. The
amount raised by tax for State, county, and
city purposes in 1866 was S16,950,7G7. The in
crease for 1867 is $4,93s,7SS The valuation of
real and personal estate for 1866 was S7369S9,-
9OS and for 1867 it is 1881 ,S3G,513. The rate of
tax for 1866 was $3.50 per 500, while in 1867
the rate will be about S2.65 per 500. In 1866
the rate was 500. Before our people get dis
couraged by these figures let them consider
the sources of the increased taxation.
To begin with, more than half, or so, ,722,
is required to meet obligations incurred in
previous years. The dispute as to the liability
of banks and insurance companies to be taxed
upon that portion of their capital invested in
Government securities led the County Treas
urer to withhold from the State levy of 1865
the sum of Sjl530G. The decision of the
Courts has gone against the city, and this
money must now be paid. Then the first pay
ment on the County bonds issued to banks
and insurance companies to refund the taxes
paid by some of them, under protest, on their
Government securities also falls due this year,
and amounts TO 100000. The City Bounty
Loan is maturing, and calls for S40O,OOO; and
tho first annual nstallment of the State
Bounty debt of $GO,OOOOOO is also due, our
proportion of it being $l,2S9,41G. We had no
payment to make on this score last year, and
if we had none now, our share of the State
taxes would be 100000 less chan it was in
1866.
Now let us look at the remaining S2,4j9,S3i
OF Increase For three fifths of it, at least we
find no justification whatever. The Metropoll-
tan Police demands an addition of Si3i,3'O to
its already cxtravagant appropriation, and there
is no prospect or promise that it will he made
whit more efficient than it is now. The three
millions annually expended on this branch OF
the city and county government are at least
twice as much as need be spent if the man
agement of the department were toll
erably judicious and economical. The
cost of Public instruction is increased
by S4Sj ,02O, although ii is already good mil
lion more than il ought to be. The law au-
tborizes the imposition of a tax of S. for every
child attending school during the year. The
intention, undoubtedly was to regulate the tax
by the acreage attendance but the Board OF
Education chooses TO reckon the whole nuip-
Der who have attended at any time during the
year and if poor little ragamtiffin strays INTO
public school for only single hour, they
~ ~. al iaft
Like good many other things connected with
our common school system, this is a downright
impOsture.
That familiar old. swindle the new Court
House, gets $4,000 more than IL got last year,
whereas it ought TO have got nothing ut ali.
But to complain of this shameless fraud seems
little better than waste OF words. The re-
paving of Broadway is to cost SS90,sl7; the
arching of FOuIth-avc., which ought To be done
by the Harlem Railroad Company, slOOOOO;
and judgments against the city amount to
S271 600 How much OF all these appropra-
tions do our readers suppose are necessary or
legitimatef How many of the judgments were
honestly Obtainedi
Lastly, there is little bill of $3.50 for
counsel fees and expenses i'll conducting the
bank suits already referred to ; and of this
sum Mr.. Richard OGorman claims and by this
time we believe has received $4,000. Mr.
O'Gorman is the salared legal adviser of the
Corporation. He gets about $4,000 year for
attending to just such matters as these bank
suits and on what pretense he has the ell
frontery to demand. $4,000 extra for simply per
forming the regular duties of his office We are
utterly at loss to imagine.
We hope the disgraceful exhibit of the Con-
troler will incite the people to redOubed Wig
lance in scrutnizing every item OF local ex-
pendture for the future. Reasoning remOn-
STRANGE, indignation seem, it is true, to have
little effect upon our City Government, but
they do some good, and organized effort we
believe can yet do much more. 1t is 50 easy
to run into debt, it is so easy to make prom
Uses which need not be kept for several years,
that the enormous appropriation which has
lust been demanded for the expenses OF past
periods will be frequently paralleled unless We
exercise the most vigorous watchfuness.
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