Los Angeles herald., 1893-01-10
WHAT THE REFoRMRRs PROPOSE.

citation seems to have been doing some
very efficient work in the way of press
ing home to The attention of our legis-
lators several important proposed re-
forms. Although the time has been
very short since its organization, the
various committees of the aseocia-
ton having determined definitely
what they want and what they
believe the people want, have employed
an attorney to draft the bills desired,
and several have already been for
warded to Sacramento.
We learn that one OF them provides
that no county shall have it's territory
diminished by the creation of any new
county or the enlargement of any old
county without the consent Of the entire
county thus to be deprived of its terri
tory, expressed at the polls bya majority
of the electors voting. If such a bill
becomes law it will be benefit both
to the old counties and the proposed new
counties, because it is evident that bill
forming proposed new county would
be far less Objectionable to the legisls-
ture and far more likely to pass
when it is known that the new county
cannot finally be established without the
consent of all the territory and all the
counties interested. Formerly no coun-
ty could safely 60 ahead and construct
public buildings and improvements on
scale large enough to accommodate the
needs of the entire county without
taking the risk of practical dismember-
ment after the Improvements were
made, leaving the remains Of the county
numbered with the expense of compile
ting and caring for buildings and i'm
provements larger and more expensive
than necessary, and with the machinery
of county government far more costly
and cumbersome than would be neces-
sary for the diminished territory.
Another bill is for the consolidation of
county treasurer and county tax col
lector in the person OF the county treas
ursr. Heretofore the duties OF county
treasurer have been, it is claimed, al
most nominal-tbe treasurer, in fact,
being merely banker for the county,
and his duties consisting largely in the
keeping of set of books and periodical
~ sending balances to Sacramento.
There seems to the committee to be no
good reason why the Office of tax col
lector should be separate from that of
treasurer, and in by far the majority of
the states of the union, it is claimed,
there is 10 such thing as tax collector
separate and apart from treasurer. In
fact, the law Of this state has attempted
to vest the board Of supervisors
with the power at Sany timo of
go consolidating the Offices, al
though there seems to be some question
as to whether such power can, under
the constitution, be vested in the board
OF supervisors. In many of the counties
of this state, in the former periods of its
history. the legislature has made such
consolidation, and thus there is prece
dent for the bill under consideration.
OF course, it is to be expected that Off
cials who, like Othello, will find their
occupation gone if this bill passes, are
opposed to the measure, but as they are
placed in Office for the benefit of the
public and not for their own benefit,
and as there can be no reform without
affecting some special interests, the
movers for this measure do not antici-
pate that they will be successful in any
effort which they may make, if they do
make any, to defeat the measure. 1t is
claimed that there must be great saving
to a county by doing away with the
cumbersome machinery OF an entire
office.
Another bill is of special interest to
the people of this section who have
been unfortunate in finding property
purchased by them sold for taxes be-
cause assessed to unknown owners--the
unfortunate purchaser being unable to
find his property in the delinquent list
unless he has it searched for by an ex-
pert. We allnde to a bill similar in it's
features to the law in force in Ohio and
other states, which provides that, prior
to the recording Of deed there must
be an endorsement upon it by the
auditor that it has been presented 10
him, and that he has made the trans-
fer indicated upon the tax duplicate. 1t
will be readily seen that property now
standing ON the duplicate in the
name of an unknown owner, if sold to
purchaser, must, before the deed can
be recorded, be transferred to the name
Of the purchaser on the tax duplicate
and that in this way within very short
period of time in sections like this,
where transfers are numerous, all the
property will soon practically be as
sessed to the names of the true owners.
No one thereafter will have the mortifi-
cation and annoyance Of learning that
his property has been sold for taxes
without his own culpable negligence.
Another bill, and perhaps the most
important of ali, is proposition'where-
by every city 60 desiring can have it's
taxes assessed and collected by the
county at the same time as the county
taxes. 1t is easy to see some advantages
secured to the public by this bill. Pay
ment of city taxes at one place and at
one time of year and county taxes at
another place and another time of year,
together with the different places and