St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-09-08

examination will serve to show that
the amount assessed is only a small
portion of the cost of the property:
The Paxton block, a six-story brick
building 1872 feet square, together with
four-story brick adjoining 1t, 66 by
1872 feet in area, forming a tract 1893
feet front on Farnam street, by 1872 feet
on Sixteenth street, in what is con-
sidered the best part of the city, is
assessed at $65,OO0 for both land and
improvements. The New York Life
building, a ten-story Office building,
132 feet front on Seventeenth street by
132 feet on Farnam street, is, including
the land, assessed at 100000; the ''Bee"
building, seven-story Office building
covering two lots, each &C by 1872 feet, at
the corner of Seventeenth and Farnam
streets, is assessed at $65, 900. A vacant
lot on the corner of Sixteenth and
Farnam streets 66 by 1872 feet is assess
ed at SIS, 600, and a, vacant lot II by 132
feet on the corner of Fifteenth and
Farnam streets is assessed at 800.
These figures would, 1 think, justify
the claim that the assessment is only
10 per cent of the true value, the land
in that vicinity being held at about
$1,000 per front foot for inside lots; but
the residence property and the personal
property lists are, l think, assessed at
higher proportion of the true value
and L have assumed for this place that
Ii per cent as the ratio beteen the
assessment and the true value is fair.
In Kansas City the assessments are
much higher and the valuation is given
for the land and buildings separately,
property fronting on Main street be-
tween Ninth and Twelfth streets be-
ing valued at $700 to $500 per front foot,
and on the next street south of Main
street the assessment is at the rate OF
$400 per front foot These figures are
for the land alone
The site of the New York Life build
ing on the corner of Ninth and Wall
streets, is valued at 100000, and the
building at $240,000. Owing to the great
difference in the value of property
within a very short distance, caused
in some places by Irregularities of the
ground, and in other places showing
that a change is going on in the uses
of the property, substantial buildings
that were evidently constructed as pri-
vate residences of good class having
been abandoned as such and now oc-
cupied by negroes, and the paVements
in front of them allowed to become
impassable-this within a very short
distance of good business property
makes it difficult to fix upon ratio to
be used to determine the commercial
value. After an examination of the
personal property list 1 have assumed
that the assessment is about 40 per
cent of the true value, and have used
that figure believing that it will cor
respond with the ratio used for the
other places.
The next comparison in the schedule
shows the ratio of the total cost to the
city for city, state and county ex-
penses, in mills on the dollar of the es-
timated commercial value, and the
same items of cost in dollars divided
by the number of inhabitants as
shown by United States census of
$780,
From these figures it appears that
the taxes in ST. Paul and Minneapolis
are not only. greater in amount but
are greater in ratio both to the popu-
lation and the valuation than either
Omaha or Kansas City, and as in st.
Paul the cost both when compared to
s the valuation and population is great
er than in Minneapolis we are forced
to the conclusion that in st. Paul the
natural conditions are such as to
make the public business more ex-
pensive, or that work is done at public
expense which in the other places is
done by individuals at their own ex-
pense and therefore does not show in
the tax levy; or, that a large part of
the tax is used in the payment of old
debts, or that the methods in use are
eXtravagant.
The next and last division of the
schedule shows the amount disbursed
during one year under the following
heads: Bonds, Interest, City Officers,
being salary and expense account;
Public Works, intending to include
only such work as is paid for by a gen.
eral tax, and the salary of the officers
in charge of the same. Health depart
ment, School, Police, Fire Department,
Water Department, in cases where the
water works are owned by the city,
and the amount paid for the use of
hydrants, in cases where the water
works are the property of private cor
porations, and finally, the cost of
Street Lighting. There is also shown
the ratio that the sums expended under
each of the above heads bear to the
estimated total value given in mills on
the dollar. Another column shows the
cost of each department divided by the
population.
In this arrangement the actual dis
bursements are taken from the official
reports and arranged as near as may
be under the different heads, an exact
division in all cases being impossible
owing to the different methods en-
ployed, or insufficient detail in the sys-
tenn of accounting, but as it is in
tended to show each item used to
form each of the totals any discrepan-
cy occassioned by different methods or
lack of information will be apparent
and can be allowed for in using the
figures.
From this compilation it is evil
dent that the debt and inter
est disbursement will account for a
large part of the heavy tax that
ST. Paul is charged with. And it is
also evident that each of the other de-
partment expenses must be carefully
examined in detail to determine where
the greatest saving can be effected with
the least loss. And after eliminating
the interest demands the other ac-
counts do not show any extravagant |
differences, the greatest being the |
account headed, "City Officers,' which
will be taken as the subject of the next |
article.