Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-09-20
To TAXPAYERS.
A Scrap Of History for the
Past Two Years.
LOS ANGELES co. ASSESSMENTS.
How Mr.. MaSOn's Valuations Have
Been Reduced by the State
Board Of Equalization.

THE HERALD has given from time tt
time during the past two years discon
nected statements as to how the county
assessment was reduced by the State
Board of Equalization at Sacramento
These accounts have referred more par
ticularly to the history OF 1877
The reduction of ten per cent. fo
1883 has just been made and there
fore but little has been said about it
1t is matter in which taxpayers ar,
most concerned, and, therefore, learnin,
that Mr.. Gaffey, the member of the STATE
Board from the District of Southern Cali
fornia, was in town, the HERALD reporte
took occasion to interview him, and alst
Mr.. T. E. Rowan. The results are here
with submitted. They will prove inter
esting reading:
THE INTERVIEW WITH MR.. GAFFEY.
Mr.. Gaffey, said the reporter, the
HERALD received telegram from you
the other day setting forth that the
assessment of the county had been re-
duced ten per cent. again. Will you tell
me little more in detail about the work
done in our behalf before the State Board
during the past two years?
In reply Mr.. Gaffey said: "The total
assessment of Los Angeles county in
1887, exclusive of railroads, was $97 ,OOO, :
600, OF this about $76,00O,OOO was on
real estate.
The Board of Supervisors, represented
by its Chairman, Mr.. T. E. Rowan, and
Supervisor Venable, came before the
State Board and asked for reduction of
twenty per cent. Mr.. Sloss, the mem Der
of the State Board from San Francisco,
had visited the county with me and had
become convinced that the Assessor had
taken the boom prices as the basis of his
assessment. Mr.. Dunn, partly from his
own knowledge and convinced very
largely believe by the clear and con-
vincing statements of Messrs. Rowan and
Venable, voted with Mr.. Sloss and N.Y.
self and we got reduction of 10 per
cent. No other counties were reduced
m 'S7 although tried to get reduction
for the counties of San Diego, Santa
Barbara, Ventura and San Bernardino
believing that the assessors of all
those counties had taken the boom
as the basis of the assessment. San
Diego and Los Angeles, however, were
the counties that needed reduction
most
"What do you mean by boom prices ?"
"The revenue law of California re-
quires all property to be assessed at it's
full cash value, and the State courts have
defined cash value to mean what the
property would be taken for
for a just debt from a solvent debt
or. You can fix the values of land
for ordinary purposes by two things,
either the selling prices or the produc-
ing capacity of the property. Of course,
during ordinary times, the producing
capacity fixes the selling price
but in county where boom exists the
producing capacity is entirely lost sight
of, as ninety per cent. of the purchases
are made for speculative purposes. eff
you will now consider that in Northern
California, where, excepting in few
isolated cases, no boom exists or has
existed for many years most of the sales
are necessarily based on the producing
capacity, while in Southern California a
full-fedged boom has existed for the past
five years and nearly all OF the sales Fave
been speculative ones, you will
readily see that comparison of sales with
assessments in Northern California might
show an assessment of 80 per cent,
while the same comparison in
the Southern counties might only
show 60 per cent, yet the lat
ter assessment might be higher than
the former because based on boom prices,
which in many cases were four or even
FIVE times greater than the producing
capacity of the property would Justify.
What part of State taxes do we pay?
In 1887 sixty-four per cent of the total
increase in the State was in the four
southern counties, and if you add in San
Francisco, five counties of the state con-
tributed seventy-6ve per cent of the total
increase.
In 1888, out of the total increase
in the State, the counties of Los
Angeles, Fresno, Santa Barbara, San
Bernardino, San Diego, Tulare and Kern
with total property valuation of about
$3.50, 900 900 contributed fifty per cent. of
the total increase in the State. That is
to say the seven southern counties con-
tanning less than one-fourth OF all the
property in the State contributed one
half of all the increase for the year 1888.
''It would be safe estimate to say
that in those counties eighty per cent.
of the increase has been in real estate
values, proving very conclusively that
the assessors of those counties had taken
the boom prices as the basis for making
their assessment.
"Do you mean that our boom is un-
real?"
sI do not wish to be taken for pessi-
mist as to the future of Southern Califor-
MIA, for believe it to be not only the
garden.spot of California, but the choi-
cest place on earth. The trouble is that
people went wild over speculations,
and the development of our agri-
cultural and mineral resources
has not kept pace with the raise in land
values. The future, however, believe
will justify the foresight and enterprise
Of those who have invested here"
"What should assessors do?"
"For the present, in counties where a
boom exists the Assessors should be
careful, and make a conservative ASSESS
ment, and should not be led away by any
wild craze which may exist in their
counties. The assessment should be based
not on what some wildcat speculator
would be willing to give for property
but what good business man would
take the property for just debt from
q solvent debtor-"The Boards of Super
visors should carefully examine the roll
and endeavor to correct any injustice done
and if they take the same pains to put
their case before the State Board, as
Tom Rowan and Mr.. Venable did, the
injustice, if any exists, will be corrected.