Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-03-29
The Valuation.

1t has been rather emphatically al
legged that the value of the new county,
according to the figures of last year, was
$13,000.0e0. A great deal of elimination
has been heaped on a portion of the
press of Los Angeles, and particularly on
the HERALD for claiming that this esti-
mate was erroneous. All sorts of charges
were made in this regard. The pro.
moters of the new county are anxious, of
course, to make the people believe that
their taxes will be less, or at
least not greater, than they now are.
In some cases these office-seekers have
not been very scrupulous as to how they
we're to gain their ends. To show how
near the truth the HERALD has been all
the way through this, and how far awry
are the statements of some of those de-
string to hold Office were as to the value
of the property in the county, the follow
ing from the Auditors Office are SUBJ
mitted:
The total value of the property, accord
cording to the Assessors figures for
1888, was SO 100000. Deducting the Is
DER cent reduction ordered by the State
Board of Equalization, 81 SOC, 900, leaves
S., 900 900. Round numbers are taken
to avoid complicated calculations. The
only fair way to calculate the expenses of
the new county is to take the valuation of
last year as base. On this $8, ,000, 900, "a
in the 500 will give $320,000. Above
are given expenses running up to nearly
$500 900. In these estimates no provi-
sion is made for public buildings. Nor
is any made for any funded debt of any
sort. Only 7 justices of the peace and
. only the same number of constables are
provided for. Each township is entitled
to two constables. Right there add
AZ 1000. But seven townships will not
satisfy the people of the new county.
~ will be found that there will be
nearly a score of such subdivisions
set up, The new county is simply a
scramble for offices, and of course the
outlying districts will be anxious to stand
in in the game. Again the assessment
of property now being made is likely to
be very considerably lower than that OF
last wear, That is, if the valuation is
made by the officials of the old county.
IL the new county is erected the figures
will have to be raised instead of lowered.
Then, in the above estimate, the expenses
of making the Great Register are set
at 81, 500. Experts IN the county othces
here say that will cost IS 900. The cost
of copying the records is put at $50, 900.
II is the opinion of the best abstractors OF
the CITY that this will cost 100000. By
the HERALD's figures yesterday it will
cost twenty cents on the 800 of valua-
tion to pay interest on the necessary
bonds which the new county will have
to issue. The election expenses above are
set at $1,000. Those who have had
charge of such things here say it will
cost $1,000. ;,
The fiscal year of the old county ends
June 80, 1889. At that date the treas
ury of the county will be depleted, anC
there will be deficit of $3.50, 900. Il
cover this, bonds will be sold. The
bonded debt of the county will then bt
1881 900, of which the new county viii
have to assume about one-twelfth, o.
nearly $4,000. The property owned by
the county in its present shap'
will not be put at more thar
$500 900. of which the share OF thu
new county will be about $4,000. Sh'