Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1895-11-02
THE COUNTY LEVY +!
An Honest Statement of
County Finances.

County Finances.
Mess,s Editors Il am told that
pamphlet or letter is to be put in cir
culation charging that our present
county levy of one dollar in the hun
dred has been brought about BY the
wilful extravaganza Of our board of
county commissioners and that their
published accounts do not sufficiently
set forth the purposes of their expen-
ditures to comply with the law-as to
the latter charge the writer, not being
a lawyer, does not propose TO discuss.
The board have their counsel and
no doubt are guided by their advice,
but all itemized accounts of all dis
bursements made by the county treas
urer are always open to the inspection
of any citizen of the county, who takes
enough interest to examine it; as to the
charge that the present levy is due to
wiltul extravaganza, want to call the
attention of the public to the real
causes, over which the commissioners
had NJ control. The causes are two
decrease OF the taxable basis and an
increase in the amount to be levied,
due TO unusual expenses.
Now as to the decrease i'll the tax
able basis, owing to deaths. insolvencies
and losses by fire, etc, there is each
year certain amount OF property OF
the county that disappears. 1t often
remains upon the tax books, but does
not exist in any shape upon which a
tax can be collected. While not an
exceedingly large amount any one
year, its total in term of years reaches
a handsome sum. The commissioners
this year found upon the books from
this cause and by reason of errors in
crediting alterations of lands, an
amount of property assessed at $780,
600, upon which no tax could be col
lected, but upon which the yearly levy
had been laid by all the boards here
tofore. 1t was the combined loss and
and errors of this and former admin
istrations. They wisely determined
to take this property off the books. as
it did not exist, and no tax could be
collected upon it.
Now if we are to compare this years
levy with the ones heretofore, and
that is what we mean when we say
this one is excessive, in all fairness we
should give them all the property on
which the previous levies we're laid.
Ii we do that our basis for this year
would be s5,350,770. Now as to the
unusual expenses, Worcester county
last year was compelled to pay certain
expenses laid upon them by the courts
of law or demanded by the will of the
people or the necessity of the circum-
stances, which the board of commits
sioners did not of themselves create.
Their duty compelled them to levy the
amounts, but the expenses were not in
creased by them and, in judging their
administration, we have no right to
hold them responsible for any but
their wilful acts. Among these ex-
penses was the Mcdaniel suit removed
to Wicomico county, costing sSS2,O7;
Court House furniture, which they
were compelled to levy, as the enabling
act only allowed them to borrow to
build, not to furnish, 1856. Ocean
City Bridge, demanded by all the best
citizens of the upper part fthe county
without political distinction, $500, and
owing to large sum expended in
building. the school board last year
exceeded their appropriation by $4,000.
This had to be levied in this years
expenses. So we have as unusual ex-
penses included in the levy of 1895
the sum of s6,56S.07. The county
expenses for '95 were s50,507.70.
If We deduct from this sum the &c.
56S.07 of the unusual expenses, we
have s43, 939.63. Had the board had
only this sum to levy and this is all the
expense created by themselves as a
board, and had they had all the prop
erty on the books that was their last
year to levy upon, and to compare this
years levy with last in fair way we
must give them that, they would have
had basis of s5,350,770, on which
to raise S43, 93963. which would have
required levy of only SO cents.
If they had taken off the 100000
and had not had to levy the unusually
expenses the levy would have only
been SIC, and with all the unusual
expenses and all the property they had
last year they would only have had to
lay levy of 93c and fraction.
To an unprejudiced person it must
be clear, the increased levy is due to
the reduced basis coming at the same
time as the increased expenses. Take
either away and no one would have
grumbled at the levy, and yet certain
people seek to hold the Commissioners
responsible for these two things, over
neither of which they had any control
and which they no doubt regret as
much as any one, as some of them are
among our largest land holders. No
one would have felt agrieved at levy
of SIC or SIC and would have appre-
ciated that levy Of 94c was necessary
in time of unusual expense, and yet
il it had not been for the reduced tax
able basis these figures would not have
been exceeded.
So far from being reckless in ex-
penditure we see that but for these two
circumstances the levy would have
been even lower than last year. | for
one feel that these have managed wise
" and that they will have the CON-
mendation of every unprecedented man.
As parting word let me say that
the great lawoffice bugaboo does not
enter into this question at all, for not
one cent of the levy of '95 was levied
for that purpose. DEMOCRAT.