The record-union., 1896-08-12
AUDITOR COIN BNJOlNED.
Injunction Suit Brought by County
Assessor BeFkey
To Prevent Him From Certifying the
County Roll tc the State
Equalizers.

County Assessor Berkey yesterday
applied to Superior Judge HinkSon and
ten proper showing) obtained from
him an order temporarily restraining
Auditor Cohn from adding up the coun-
" assessment roll and certifying the
same to the State Board of EqualiZa-
ton.
Under the law each County Auditor
IS required to make q return to that
board on which the latter bases it's
acts in the matter of eQualizing assess
ments Assessor Berkeys action has
been taken in consequence of the Coun
ty Board of Equalization having made
reduction of S51 $50 from his assess
ments of the Rancho del Paso.
Mr.. Berkey was not satisfied with
the statement filed by Mr.. Haggin's
Secretary, SO he sent g. deputy to the
ranch to make new assessment, and
the latter reported several hundred
head of horses more than the first
statement contained.
The law provides that when any
property owner shall wilfully conceal
any property liable TO taxation, or
make a false statement as TO the ma
ture of the property, the Assessor may
arbitrarily levy an assessment in ten
times the value of the property and
that such arbitrary assessment is not
subject to reduction by the County
Board of Equalization.
When the board met last month to
equalize taxes John Mackey, Superin-
tcndent of the Rancho del Paso pre-
sented an application for a reduction
in Assessor Berkey's valuation of the
horses on the ranch. He said there
had been no intention of making a
false statement, and in fact he did not
consider one had been made There
were hundreds of horses on the place,
ht said, that were absolutely valueless
for taxable purposes. With the excep-
ton of the colts in the East, but Cne
pair of horses had been sold off the
ranch in year.
MI. Mackey said there was really no
demand for horses at all, and he did
not feel justified in returning as taxa
bic property lot of animals that had
nc value at all. In fact, he said. it
had been found necessary to kill some
or the more ordinary stock and feed
their carcasses to the hogs.
Assessor Berkey maintained that his;
own action was proper and legal, and
that the law empowered him to make
an arbitrary assessment on the prop
erty.
The Supervisors differed with the AS
SCISSOR, however. They held that the
law providing for an arbitrary assess
ment did not mean that he might raise
the assessment on all the property of
a taxpayer who had-in his opinion
purposely omitted a portion of his
property when making a return to that
official, but that the arbitrary ASSESS
ment should apply only to the portion
omitted, if any.
Acting on this understanding of the
law the Supervisors refused to recog-
nize the Assessors figures as ''arbi-
trary,' and allowed the reduction re-
ferred to. Hence the action by Asses
sor Berkey to prevent the Auditor from
certifying to the roll as finally declared
by the Supervisors.
The case will probably be heard be-
fore Judge Catlin in a few days. as
Sacramento is one of the counties cited
by the State Board of Equalization to
show why their assessment rolls should
not be increased, and the Auditors
statement should be on file there