, 1892-06-20
THE CITY ATTORNEYS OPINION.
His Views i'm Relation to the City
Assessment.

Assessment
City Attorney Linn furnished the city
board of equalization with the following
opinion on Saturday afternoon;
To the Board of Equalization of the City
of Olympia:
GENTLEdEN-In compliance with re-
quest from one of the members of your
honorable body, respectfully submit the
following opinion for your guidance on the
question of equalization of the assessment
roll Of the city Of Olympia.
Equalization of assessments has for its
general purpose to bring the assessments
Of different parts of a taxing district to
! the same relative standard, so that no pro-
perty included therein may be compelled
TO pay disprOpOrtionate part of the tax.
In conformity with this principle, sec
ton 2, of article VII of the state cOnstitu-
tiOn provides: "The legislature shall pro-
vide by law a uniform and equal rate of
assessment and taxation of all property in
the state, according to its value in money.
and shall prescribe such regulations by
general law as shall secure just valuation
! for taxation Of all property, so that every
/ person and corporation shall pay tax in
/ proportion to the value of his, her or its
! property" etc.
In pursuance of this requirement of the
constitution the legislature in providing by
statute for the creation and organization
of municipal corporation of the third
class in what corresponds to section No.
% of your charter, providing for a board
of equalization, directs that it "shau con-
tinue in session from day to day until all
the returns of the assessor have been
rectihed."
Section 3, Of ordinance No. 494 provides
that while you may raise the valuation of
any piece of property upon notice to the
owner, that you cannot lower the valua-
ton of any piece except upon the apphea-
ton of the party affected or his agent.
( This gives you very narrow scope as a
board of equalization and virtually ties
your hands and prevents you from accom-
plishing the very object for which the
board was created if you are not allowed
to so equalize the tax roll that in the end
the aggregate will exceed the aggregate
valuation when the same was turned over
to you by the assessor.
The language of the constitution does
not Oind you to the actual cash value Oi
the property. But the assessment must
bear the same proportion to the value of a
particular tract that all the other property
iu the district bears to its cash value. 1t is
not your right, but your duty, to place the
property upon the roll upon an equal foot
ing as to value, and, since you cannot
J lower valuations except upon application,
, the only means by which you can attain
the desired end is by raising such property
as is valued too low. This you should dc
F even though the result should be to add a
large amount to the aggregate Yualuation
of the tax roll.
1t has been intimated that you are as
suming the province of the assessor and
reassessing all the property of the city SO
as to increase the scope of Indebtedness OF
the city. This, of course, you have nc
power to do, and I am assured by the mem
bers of the board that you have taken nc
RnQb Won sitting 40 q hoard nj
equalization, and, as such, must be guided
by the rules which l have already men
toned; but if the incidental result is the
raising of the total of the aggregate valua-
ton Of the property of the city, this cannot
inYalidate the tax roll. You have no right
to raise property for the purpose of increas
ing the aggregate value, but if in equahZ-
/, ing, for the purpose of obtaining 8
/, proper and just proportionate val
ue of the property, as a basis upon
which to make levy of taxes, youincrease
the total assessment, even to a large per
oentage ofthe total valuation, as returned
by the assessor, it's valid. 1t has also beer
objected that you are sitting without
authority, and that you have no authority
to sit for longer than two weeks. This is
an error. Section % of the charter pro
Vides that you shall continue in session
from day to day until all the returns of tbs
assessor have been rectiied.
In equalizing property yon are not tC
simply make piece of property in a dis
trict or neighbOrhoOd correspond to the
other property in that neighborhood
Your work must extend over the whole
city; and if you find the property of one
portion is assessed below the other portions
of the city, you should raise all the prop
erty in that neighborhOod to the same
standard as the rest of the property in the
city. 0. V. LINN,
City Attorney.