The San Francisco call., 1896-08-16
ASSESSOR MUST
PUT Up THE COIN
Auditor Broderick's S Demand
for the Uncollected
Taxes.
THE AMOUNT rs LARGE.
Siebe Has the Alternative of a
Suit by the District
Attorney.
TOTAL ASSESSED VALUATION.
The Auditors Corrections Made and
Report Rendered to the State
Controller.
THE AMOUNT Is LARGE.
TOTAL ASSESSED VALUATION.

Assessor Siebe's annual ordeal, the time
when he must turn into the treasury the
sum he has failed to collect in taxes on
personal property or stand prosecution
at the hands of the District Attorney, IL at
hand. and was heralded yesterday by
sharp demand from Auditor Broderick
that the law be complied with. Mr.
Broderick's letter was as follows:
Hon. John D. Siebe, Assessor Of the City and
Cost7ltu of San FrGnciScO-SIR: Pursuant TO the
provisions of section 1881 of the Pohucal
Code of California, nave the honor 10 INFORM
you that as Auditor of the City and County OF
San Francisco, l have, subsequent to the nrst
Monday in August, 1896, made careful e1-
animation OF the assessment DOCKS OF lne 1i!y
therefrom the amounts of all taxes that should
have been collected by the Assess or In purs1-
ance of the statutes OF 1893, chapter CCAVlll
of the Political Code. and which have not
been collected.
I have determined that the amount of taxes
that should have been collected and have not
been collected by you amounts 10 the sum OF
SI3S, ,299 90, as per my account to the AS
SCISSOR, ompanying this demand. l, there
fore, by this letter, demand that you, as
Assessor Of the City and County of San Fran
cisco, do pay into the treasury of the City and
County of San Francisco. within fifteen days
from date hereof, the said sum OF S139, 2S9 93.
said sum being the amount OF taxes so remain
ing uncollected by you, as hereinbefore stated.
Very respectfully, WILLIAM BRoDERIcK,
Auditor OF the City and County of San Fran
cisco.
Accompanying the letter was q state
ment making the following showing:
Total value of personal property roll; 1913 ,174s 80
Amount on which taxes have been COL
lected. zt'ozo'olo
Amount on which Assessor failed to
Amount Of tax uncoliected by the Assessor.
Sl98,2e9 SO.
The law requires that the Auditor must
make this demand on the Assessor, and
that the District Attorney, in csse OF fall
ure to comply with it, must begin proceed
ings at once.
Assessor Siebe won his case when tried
last year for failure to turn $40, $50 Ii un-
collected taxes into the treasury, Judge
Trout deciding in his favor on the ground
that portions of the law were unconstltu.
tionaI. The large amount OF the taxes
classed as uncollected are on the cash in
the vaults of the banks that have had in
functions served on the Assessor prohibit
ing him from collecting them. Deducting
these from the $1S8, 299 33 demanded, it
appears that the Assessor collected nearer
to the total amount due than last year.
Assessor Siebe declines to say what he
will do in the matter until he has looked
closely into the law.
E. d. Burrows, the Auditors account
ant, finished the arduous task of correct
ing the clerical and other errors in the
Assessors hooks yesterday and prepared
the annual statement to the State Con-
troller, to be used at the meeting of the
State Board of Equalization at Sacramento
on Wednesday next.
The revised figures show that the entire
Ii -,
or $29, 780, ,979 more than last year.
The complete figures for the past two
years are as follows:
Value Of real estate other than city
Value of city and town lots ....... la3, ,e79, ,2lO
Total value Of real estate. 1856, 1927, $50
Value Of improvements on real estate
other than city ana town lots..... $716,550
improvements on city and town lots. S7,7S1,361
Total value of improvements. $ss, SOC, ,9l5
Total value of real es-
tate, lots and i'm 1890; 1895
provements. 1885, 'ols'eo6 s275'sS4'2e6
Value Of personal prop
erty other han
money and solvent
Value of money and
solvent credits 17,122,4S6 S5,17S,734
Totals. .S327, ,sO5147 1857, 5s6, 12s
The number of acres of land assessed is
the same as last year, 27,200 while the
amount of mortgages on property has in
creased from $49, ,684 ,914 in 1895 to SOL, ,013,-
275 in the present year.
The large increase In the assessed value
of money and solvent credits is due to the
action of the Assessor In taxing the cash in
the various banks amounting to several
millions.
The question of who shall represent the
City before the State Board of EqualiZa-
ton has not yet been settled, but the
probabilities are that Auditor Broderlck
and Assessor Siebe will be the ones on
whom the duty will fall. Auditor Brod-
erick said yesterday that If the State Board
valuation of city property it will do so on
the showing that the taxes on over $6,-
0OO, 600 of personal property have not been
collected and that the valuation presented
to them is fictitious.
This will be an injustice to the City il
it is DONE" said Mr.. Broderick, "because,
while five banks have not paid the taxes
on the coin in their vaults, / believe that
they will yet be compelled to do so, and
that in consequence the total OF the uncol-
lected taxes will be less than last year.
The State Board probably figures that
unless it raises the total valuation the
State will not get its full proportion of
taxes from this City, but in view of the
TACT that leaving out the amount on which
taxes have not been collected the assessed
valuation Is many millions greater than
last year, l do not see what the State
Equalizers have to fear. A determined
fight will certainly be made to keep the
board from making a raise"
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"00IIIE IN TOWNn