Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-31
ABOVE ALL EXPECTATIONS.
Nearly Ready to Receive Payments
for the Business Tax.
APPEALS SOON TO BE DECIDED.
Some Concessions to Re Made on Property
Assessments.
MAYOR OBJECTS TO DOUBLE CURVES

Treasures office, as under the law the
books are to be turned over by the city and
water assessors tomorrow morning, June 1.
The business tax books are nearly COM
pleted and with the exception of adding up
the totals of the various wards could be
turned over TO-DAY. This work requires
considerable time, however, and there may
be two or three wards that will not be
ready before Thursday evening or Friday
morning. The water assessment books will
all come down to the Treasurer's Office to-
night and early tomorrow except that
of the Nineteenth ward, which will be one
day late This will be the first time in
years that the water assessors were not en-
tirely through with their work by the first
day of June, but the extraordinary wet
weather this spring has in various ways
held the assessors back in their house to
house canvass, and although larger force
of clerks than usual have been working on
the books night and dav for several weeks,
they will not come under the wire in
customary good form.
More Money From Water.
The water assessment is expected to ex-
total assessment was S723,976 IS Last
years receipts from water tax were $685.
101 "A, and the estimated receipts from that
source for this year are S640, 900. The indi-
cations are that the estimate will not be
reached. With the rapid development
made IN the East End in the past
year 1t would be natural to suppose
that the increase in the assessment would
hold up to that of the three or four
previous years when each showed an in
crease of about $40, 600 over the year before.
The building strikes of last year is the
only explanation given for the falling of,
but it is expected that the present summers
boom in building will make up for it, so that
the September supplementary assessment
will bring the net assessment for the year
up to the usual rate of increase.
a Sign That Business Is Booming.
The business tax is expected to yield
about S12S, 600 for the present year. This is
$40, 800 more than the Finance Committee |
estimated. Last years business tax re-
GENTS amounted to S241, ,563. The great |
falling off in this years assessment is due |
of course to the red uction in the rate from |
l mill TO !! mill on general business and |
from 10 mills to a Z mill on the liquor bust |
ness The footing on the various ward |
hooks have not been made. but rough es- |
innate shows that they will run consider |
ably higher than was anticipated.
The assessors attribute this to several |
causes. First that business generally has |
improved greatly during the year and the
returns made by merchants were larger than
in the previous assessment; second, that
Z fknra lc bn
figures than in past years; and, third, where
the merchant failed to make a return and
the board estimated his business, he gen.
orally accepted their figures because the
rate is so low that the tax amounts to COM
paratively little in the aggregate. How
ever there have been many appeals and the
assessors have been kept busy with them
for several weeks.
Final Decisions on Assessment Appeals.
The assessors have also been giving some
attention to the property tax assessment
appeals, and within the next ten days they
expect to announce their final decision on
all those cases, some 60 in number, that
have been appealed to court. Most of these
appeals are not solely against the new
of the board it is e1-
pected some concessions will be
made, which will satisfy the appellants and
cause the withdrawal of some of the suits
at least The assessors declare, however,
that no changes will be made where OBJ
lection is made to the classification of lot
depths on streets provided with city facili
ties as full taxable or built up property.
They declare that the only equitable way 20
assess property is to place the same pro-
portionate value on the land around big
as upon the small lot which may
adjoin it, no matter where the property
NAV be situated, and they believe that in
equity the Court will sustain them. 1t is
expected that the Court will take action on
the appeals before them some time during
the coming month, and the city officers will
20 have them brought up as soon
as possible.
The Mayor has Made No Statement.
1t was rumored on the street last night
that Mayor Gourley had signed the ordi-
nances giving the Duquesne and Msnches-
ter Traction Companies the right to run
along Market street, and that Councils
would not be called upon to take any fur
ther action in the matter. The Mayor how
ever. emphaticaily denied the statement
when called up bv telephone and declared
that he had not informed anyone what he
proposed to do, and would not until after
noon to-day.
The Mayor, it is understood, attaches lit
tie significance to the remonstrance sent to
him the other day signed by a number of
Market street people, and asking him to
veto the ordinances on account of the in
jury it would do to their business. He |
went over the routes proposed in both bills
personally on two occasions last week to
acquaint himself with the dam
age or benefit that would result bv their be-
ing put into effect, and it is said he found |
more to condemn the routes in the double |
curving of tracks at Fourth avenue and
" ood street corner than in having cars
run along Market street.
Danger to Private Vehicles.
If the privileges asked for are granted the
Manchester cars will pass up Fourth ave-
lue, and, turning at Wood street, will cross
he Central Traction cable tracks on a sharp
,urve and pass along the east side of the |
treet The Central cars will go along IN
IN opposite direction, crossing the Man
hester tracks on a sharp curve and passing
lp Fourth avenue, while the Duquesne and
second avenue cars will pass directly up
Fourth avenue across Wood street and over
he curves of the two lines first named.
his will make that course dangerous one
or any other kind of vehicle, as cars will
e passing one way or the other continually.
nd the Mayor, it is said, fears it will be
ext to impossible to prevent collisions
here.
1t is generally known that the parties in
crested in the ordinance are preparing for
Veto and are erdeavoring to secure full
tendance of Councils for this afternoons
leeting, when, lif disapproved, an attempt
ill be made to pass the bills over the veto.
he Common Council members who oppose :
he bills declare that it will be impossible
D get in that branch the three-ffths vote