Los Angeles herald., 1892-12-12

require by law the taxpayers to make
an annual statement OF real and per-
sonal property should be amended, and
provision inserted leaving it to the
legislature to say how often assessments
should be made, and providing that as
sessments OF land should not be made
oftener than once in two years, and that
the improvements and personal proper
W be assessed annually. This would
leave the legislature the power to pre-
scribe by law for the assessment of land
as often as it would be deemed to be
wise, but not oftener than once in two
years.
"rhe constitutional amendment No.
IA, voted for at the last general cleo
tion, if adopted, might modify our views
above expressed. This amendment pro-
vides for the mode OF adopting and
amending city charters, and was pro-
posed for the purpose OF amending the
constitution in part, by making city
charter, when adopted, the exclusive
law upon that subject. Under the con-
stitution as it now stands, our supreme
court has held that the charter
OF city may be superseded by a
general law. The constitutional amend
ment voted on provides that the charter,
when adopted, shall 'supersede any ex-
isting charter and all amendments
thereof, and all laws inconsistent with
such charter This amendment is an
act to enable cities to frame an original
or amended charter, and we find no pro-
vision in it which makes it retrosp &C.
tive or applicable to charters now in
existence. If we are correct in this
view, then it would only apply to such
city charters as may be hereafter framed
or amended, and the present charter of
the city of Los Angeles, therefore, would
be subject to general law.
"This condition Uf our city charter
would make revision of it almost in
dispensable. liz the constitutional
amendment spoken of has been ratified
by the people at the last election, it will
throw a serious doubt upon the validity
OF all proceedings for street improve
ments which are now being conducted
and which may be hereafter conducted
under the general law"
The general committee, after adopting
the report of the law committee, goes
on with several other recommendations
They recommend the employment OF
a competent attorney to prepare the
necessary enactments to be submitted
to the next legislature; that the law be
30 amended as to compel the tax collec-
tor to permit taxpayers in outlying cities
and townships to pay their taxes within
their own townships; that the Code of
Civil Procedure be 80 amended as to
permit court to be held in cities and
towns other than the county seat; the
framing OF a law for creation of new
counties by vote OF the entire people of
the county to be divided; they protest
strongly against the ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF
Los Angeles county, and particularly
against the creation of the new county
OF Pomona, unless it be submitted to
vote of the people of the county aud de-
cided in favor of such measure.
They also recommend public meet
ing OF representatives from the entire
county to consider the practicability of
adopting consolidated government for
the entire county.
In connection with the cost of asses
sing and collecting the public revenues,
the committee finds that during the
year 1891 the assessors Office cost the
county $3l ,20S II; the tax collectors Of
flee, $24 $40 10, and the treasurer's Of
fee, $469625.
The assessors Office of Los Angeles
city for the same year cost $9494 II and
the collectors office, $10,340 81. We
have not the figures of the cost OF the
city treasurer's Office. This makes a
total of $50, 800 27.
To this cum total there must be added
for the present year also the coet of a
county license tax collector at salary
of $500, with the expenses of his office
added, and also the sum of about $4500,
which the assessor receives for commits
sions on the collection of poll taxes, and
from $1,000 to $500 which he receives
on the collections of personal property
taxes, which will bring the sum total
for the assessment and collection of our
taxes for the county and city of Los An
geles in the neighborhood of SOC, 900. To
this sum must also be added the other
local taxes which are assessed and levied
in other towns and in the water dis
tricts throughout the county.
Upon the plan of reorganization pro-
posed, at least $4,000 per annum can
be saved to the people of the county.
In this connection, we also call atten-
ton to the emoluments which now at
tach to the county assessors Office. He
receives salary of $1,000 per annum,
and in addition thereto Is per cent of
the poll taxes collected, amounting to
about $4,000 per year, and from $1,000 to
$500 as percentage upon the collec-
tion OF personal property taxes, which
brings his salary in the neighborhood of
$4,000 per year. In addition to all
this he is provided with ample quarters,
and his light and fuel are paid he is
furnished a full staff of deputies to per-
form the labor, and is elected for four
years. We consider such an enormous
compensation for such an office an inde-
fensible outrage upon the taxpayers of
the county.
The committee also recommends that
steps be taken to procure the necessary
legislation for the establishment of q
sub.state treasury for state repositories
in Southern California.
The report as read was without dis
cussion unanimously adopted.
j. l.. Murphy was called upon by the
chair to explain some of the work of the
committee. He stated that all of the
reports had been unanimously adopted
by the committees. The state and
county governments had been previously
run in the interest of the ce.holder
and not of the taxpayers. He had
nothing to say against the men who
had framed the city charter. It was
framed during the days of the boom,
when people got rich in a short time.
But the boom had burst now, and it
was time to economic. The situation
in Southern California was worse than
in the northern part of the state. If
Tho truo ctata Of the Oovarumont ha,