The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-12-12
WHAT The ASSESSORS SAY
Presented Their Case In 40 Informal
Way to the Couacilnen.
OF GREAT SERVICE TO CITY
II It 10 to Get All the Taxes II 10 En-
titled to. Assistant Assessor. .
Clerk and Assessors Working
Full Time Are Necessities.

Owing to its inability to muster .
quorum the judiciary committee Of COM
mon council did not meet last night to
consider the resolution cutting down the
city assessors salaries to $500 a year
and doing away with the assistant as
SCISSORS in years other than the triennial
year. A number Of councilmen, how
ever, who happened in sat around and
discussed the matter informally with
Assessors H. D. Jones and Rudolph
Buenzli, who were on hand to argue
against the resolution. and Common
Councilman Joseph Oliver. who was
there to look after the interests Of the
board Of revision and appeals.
To show the inadvisability Of the pro-
posed doing away with the assistant
assessors, Assessors Jones and Busnzli
held that 1t was impossible for the three
assessors to make as thorough and COM
plete an assessment as twenty-one men.
each having "a personal acquaintance
with every man, woman, child. horse.
COW and dog" in his respective ward.
These assistant assessors instead Of be-
ing an expense to the city are paying
investment. The additional number of
uO6S,COWo WuO uOToco, uO6Ss
that they manage to hunt UP each year
more than pays their salaries. Six years
ago there were one hundred and twenty
five dogs on the assessment books, now
there are Z. .Se6. for each one of which the
city receives $3.50 and in some cases 81.
Thus. as can be readily seen, the ex-
pense Of the actual work Of assessipg G
the real estate Of the city is paid for by
the dog taxes, the compensation Of the
assistant assessors being about 5000
per annum.
Arguments Of tho Assessors.
To combat the wisdom of that part of
the resolution fixing the remuneration
OF the board Of assessors at "a q day,
with one hundred days as the limit OF
time In which they are to be employed,
many strong arguments were produced
to show the necessity of their being con-
tinually employed: and incidents were
given to prove the wisdom OF such q
policy. During the past year by nose
ing about the assessors have discovered
taxables, which have heretofore escaped
assessment, one from which sufficient
revenue will be derived to pay the ex-
PSAASSo "a IhC dSoCooOIo OCPdEtIucuI lOT
six years. The main part of this was
coal lands in Hyde Park and Provi-
dence. the surface Of which has. hereto
fore, only been assessed.
With the same kind Of business argu-
ment the assessors made their clerk,
George Heusner, benefit instead Of a
burden to the city treasury by sending
him out to hunt up persons who have
no real estate but who are liable for oc-
cupation tax. BY reference to the poll
books, registry lists and the county
commissioners Office four hundred tax
able citizens were discovered, who had
been paying state and county tax in Or
der to vote, but who had been avoiding
the city assessors and escaping dty
taxes. These four hundred people wefe
worth at least $1,000 to the city treas
urer, SO when the clerks annual hire OF
$500 Is deducted 1t can be seen that the
city Is a net gamer Of $1,400. ~
lie Docs the Work Frcciy.
1t should be borne in mind, thdasses-
sors remark, that the clerk is bt sup.
posed to leave the office and dos this
additional work without additional
compensation and without any d4mpul-
sion whatever. u
The assessors estimate that he 1896
assessment will show an Increase valu-
alton Of over half million dolldts.