The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-07-29
TOWNSHIP THIEYERY
4Absurdly Low Assessments
Throw a GrieVouS Bur
den on the Cities
AVERAGE ABOUT 80 PER CENT.
Board of Equalization Shows Up
Gross Fraud in WeehaB-
ken and Gutenberg.

The County Board for the Equalization
of Taxes is evidently in earnest in its
determination to make the towns and
townships of this county bear their fair
share of the burden of taxation. They
have been shirking it, for years and put
ting an unequal share on Jersey City.
Hoboken and Bayonne, by returning
ridiculously low valuations on the prop
erty. It has been ascertained that the
assessors of the towns and townships
have been assessing the realty at from
80 to 40 per cent. of its value. while in the
cities the valuation is 10 per cent The
Board had the assessors Of the towns and
townships and their books before It yes
terday afternoon and the Commissioners
examined the valuations in Weehawken.
Gutenberg and Union Hill.
The meeting was called to order at 4:Se
P. M. by President Van Reiper. A COM
plant was received from J. Bernheimer
of West Hoboken that Assessor McDer-
mott had assessed his property at 5000.
which is more than it would bring If it
was sold The property is Improbable
anyway, as he is unable to get a tenant
for it. The complaint was referred to
the Assessor. Commissioner Morgan
stated that other complaints which had
been made had been referred to the as
SCISSORS and that the Board would DO
governed by their recommendations.
The Weehawken assessments were tnen
taken up for examination. Ihe Commis-
siCners had prepared themselves 10 pass
Judgment upon them by making a per-
sonal examination of the property: AS
SCISSOR O'Donnel had put valuation OF
ST. GOO on seven lots on the Bouleyard, op-
posite Duer place, owned by Carl Bitter.
The Commissioners had looked at these
lets and estimated their value at saV,uO0
In the opinion of the Board the assess
ment is less than 20 per cent. OF the ac-
tual value and the assessor viii De re.
quired to make a correction. The board
then took up the river front property in
Weehawken which Mr.. o. O'Donnell has as
| sessed at an average of about $40 hneal
| foot. ..
gan that you have assessed 800 feet OF
this property at $4,000, and here 10 the
Guidet property in Gutenberg assessed
The Weehawken property referred to by
Com missioner Morgan is the King estate.
| which is subdivided into rye ~ 2 parcels sI ana
Caroline Duer, Mary Richards ana I'd
ward King. The total frontage Of 1.750
| feet is assessed at $4,000, less than $40
II don't know that they will pay at
| even that assessment" remarked Asses
Sorz zO'Donnell.
THAT does not alter the fact that you
| have made the assessment ridiculously
low" said Commissioner Morgan. Wee
hawken is Supported by the railroad tax
I'VE don't get as much as Union Hill.''
| said the assessor:
Commissioner Mclean said that O'Don..
| nell had apparently left number OF
| houses out of his assessment BOOK en-
| tirely. He had discovered this by com
parison with the books Of the state lax
Board
.sThe State Board has some houses IN
my township that I can't find" said
O'Donnell. 81 think there are about SIX
| teen"
assessed The books show 4o3 houses
| this year. Mr.. Mclean said that the IN
surance map of 1894 show 434 houses IN
the township and about $50 houses nave
| sioners discussed the value of a number
| of pieces of property, including, the
Luxton property, and the Hlgnwooa anu
| estimated their total value at sIS5 5W, ana
| they are assessed at $1&.sSo when Is
| about 20 per cent of their value.
| the river front property" REMARKED COM
| missioner Morgan. addressing ODonne5m!;; as5!;
How am to get at the value OF u!
.'The river front property in Weehawk-
| en- is quite as valuable as that IN Gut
| tenberg.' = replied the Commissioner me i.as.
/
| front think that their property Is NOT
| assessable and they don't feel inclined
\ TO nav anything for it.
| Assessor Jac6b Schalk of GuttenDerg
| was next taken in hand and hauled over
| the Goals The Commissioners had looked
| at several pieces of property there last
/ Saturday and found the assessments
| ridiculously low One house and LOT
| which had cost S. 900, is assessed at 81 ,60U
1 Another. which cost 81, 900, is assessed at
| 5000. and so on through nearly the en-
4 tire list.
! The same condition of affairs exists in
4 Union Hill The Masonic Temple In Ber-
4 genline avenue, which Is worth 500. 00u, is
/ assessed at $4,000. Hockhausers furni-
/ ture store on the same block, worth az
l least $50 900, is assessed at much less than
| one-half So also is Schneider & SON.
| furniture store and other property in the
| same neighborhood.
i Commissioner Mclean said that a man
4 named Luck who is a trustee for con-
| siderable property there, had stated at
i public meeting last November that the
4 average assessment of property in Union
/ Hill is SO Is per cent, and the Commis-
sioners had found that to be the fact. The
| Board is in West Hoboken today making
1 a personal inspection of the property
l there All the towns and townships VIII
| be compelled to increase their valuations
and the city will get some measure OF
Is1E