The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-07-28
SEEKING TO KEEP UPVALUES
The County Commissioners Scheming to
Overthrow the New Appraisement.
The County Attorney Gives an Opinion Declar.
ing the Resolution Authorizing Rsas-
sessment Was Illegal and of No Effect.

In making just and equitable real estate ap-
praisement, Assessor Quill has had no easy time
of it He has earned his two dollars per day.
notwithstanding the refusal of the County Com
missioners. or the Democratic majority, to allow
his last salary account Every tax.payer can,
with little brushing up of recollection, call to
mind the issue the township election brought
out It was for a low appraisement
of real estate, although Commissioner
Sahm and the then assessor, Mess;ck, urged
that the values should be kept up on account Of
the thirty-three-cents levy. Before Quill went
into Office Messick had fifteen days work on the
appraisement, and the values his deputies made
on property in the center of the city were in no
instance reduced, but in a majority OF cases
raised. II believe" said a gentleman whose at
tention was called to the matter, "that this
slip-shod appraisement this raising of values,
was done purposely to hamper the in
coming Republican assessor I have other
evidences of it, and it all goes to defeat the will of
the people expressed at the last election for a
low appraisement Quill, in order to complete
the work in the short time left to him, had to
accept this false basis and do the best he could
in carrying out the will of the people. He
wanted the Board of Equalization to order new
appraisement, and, as we all know, the board did
so, giving him the fullest liberty allowed by
law"
Aside from the opposition of the County Com
mssioners it is thought other influences have
been at work to hamper the assessors course,
and when the Board of Equalization, Wednesday
last, met to consider the question of reappraise-
ment the four freeholders, Messrs. Bald
win, Yohn. Christian and Rowland, were known
to be decidedly in favor of the resolution to that
effect offered by the frst-named gentleman.
The County Commissioners, or the Democratic
members. sought to defeat their wishes and
those of Assessor Quill by calling upon
him to make at once certified return of the az
gregate values Of realty under the first appraise-
ment to the auditor. They urged that the Board
of Equalization had nothing to do with the as
sessor-that its material and information must
come from the auditor. The object of this can
be understood when the fact is mentioned that
such return to the auditor by the assessor
would end the work of the latter Thereafter he
would and could have nothing to do with
the values. If they were to be
changed, only the auditor could do it.. In this
event the Democrats could say: "Quill has
failed to reduce the values of real estate. He
has not carried out his promises. Besides, his
assessments are irregular, unjust and Cypress
ive." But the purpose of the Democratic Com
missioners In keeping up the aappraisement
would be gained. for it is not possible that the
auditor could have done anything more
than eoualize values expressed in
the appraisement This scheme was
defeated, and to the astonishment
of all who knew the true inwardness of the oppo-
stion to Quill making the reappraisement Mr.
Sahm voted for the Baldwin resolution 1t was
an eleventh-hour conversion, leaving only
Reveal and Captain Clinton in the@negative.
The last-named gentleman is honest in favoring
no REIMBURSEMENT He is satisfied with the first
one.
During the past week Quill, with his deputies,
has been working on the 5000, 900 reduction of
real values, 'front.' o'clock in the morning until
IL o'clock at night. The value of every piece of
property in Center township and the city has
been closely scanned, Irregularities corrected,
and the valuation reduced from Is to 20 per
cent. Taxpayers have during this time visited
the Office in great numbers, for information and
with complaints as to the first values placed
have expressed satisfaction at the reduc-
ton. AS an instance, four years ago
gentleman bought piece of
property for 81, 600. It was appraised at $50. 600
before Quill came into Office. He cut it down to
sc, 400, and the owner was not chary in his
thanks The work will be ready for the board
when it meets to morrow
After all, the opponents to the reapprasement.
particularly the Democratic County Commits
sioners will seek to overthrow it on account of
alleged illegality. They will, in this effort, be
backed by an opinion of Attorney Van. Vor-
his, the acting county attorney during the
illness of Mr.. Spencer. Yesterday he fled his
written opinion. which, in effect, is that the
Board of Equalization has used up it's full time.
1t is a debatable question, he thinks, whether
the equalizers can sit beyound the fifteen days.
He regards the statement of values made to the
board Wednesday last by Assessor Quill as of
no effect He says: ''The last day given as
SCISSORS to file their returns with
the auditor is the day on which
the Board of Equalization meets and
that is the first Monday in June. The fact that
an assessor has not complied with this require
ment of the law does not give the board power
to proceed without his return any more than the
auditor has power to make duplicates without it.
The board has no control over an assessment I'M
less it is complete, and it is not so without the
oath or affirmation of the assessor filed with
his return to the auditor The authority of the
Board Of Equalization begins where that
of the assessor ends. When the assessor
files his return he to have control it.
He can make no changes or corrections in 1t ex-
cept by authority of the auditor. The board has
no power to order reassessment unless there is
an aggregate of some kind before it. and there
can be no aggregate until the assessment is COM
pleted. The passage of the resolution is unau-
thorized void and of no effect whatever. No
reassessment could be, or was by its passage,
legally ordered in Center township"
This is the burden Of the opinion which
brushes aside as naught the law legaizng all
assessments not completed within the time re-
CURED With this opinion, the County Commits
sioners expect to overthrow all the work of re-
appraisement