The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-08-03
Low VALUATIONS
County Tax Board Says
Property is Assessed
Wrongfully.
DOWN TO99.l-9 PER CENT
Queer Excuses of Local AS
SCISSORS for This State
of Affairs.

shows that the property OF Huuson
County is assessed at 80 1-3 to II per cent.
of it's actual value. These figures the
Board claim have been reached by per-
sonal examination of many pieces of real
estate in several of the taxing districts.
The cost of the lot and the construction
of the building were taken and an al
lowance made for depreciation. In very
cases the filed records of cost of con-
struction We're examined and the result
shows that there is the startling varia-
ton of almost 9S per cent. in the valua-
tions of one municipality and those of
another.
1t has also claimed that this years
examination of realty has disclosed that
in many taxing districts the poorer class
of property has been assessed as high as
50 per cent OF its value, while the better
class escaped with less than one-half that
amount. That the result will be the sum-
mary raising of valuations in several tax
ing districts is conceded, but just which
will be raised will not be known until
Monday when the Commissioners will
hold their final meeting for the year and
apportion the State school and county tax
for the different municipalities.
Secretary James E. Connolly read the
official notification of the Freeholders that
the county budget had been fixed at 1884,
O9l.5S for the next fiscal year as against
$50. 9.SS for the current year.
The mistakes made by several of the
local assessors were presented in the fol-
lowing report from Secretary Connolly
Gentlemen-I respectfully report ITO your
honorable board that 1 have, under your
Il
books, containing the ratables, both real
and personal, in the different taxing dis
triots throughout the county with the fol-
lowing results
Jersey City-Correct.
Bayonne-Correct
Hoboken-Correct
North Bergen-Real, loss s8a, ,24O; per-
sonal, loss $40; total, loss, $23,51o.
Secaucus-Real, gain $40.
West Hoboken-Correct.
West New York-Real. loss, S. $50; per-
eeHeI, gain. $500; total. gain, $3.50.
Town of Union-Real, gain, 1920; per-
sonal, gain. $500; total, gain, $4,000
Weehawken-Real gain, $S6s0o; personal,
gain, $500; total, gain, $44,s00.
Guttenberg-Real, gain, $2,l25; personal,
loss, 81 ,925; total, net gain. $500.
Kearny-Real, loss. $3.50; personal, gain,
$500; total, net gain, s14,940
HarrlsonlReal, gain. SO
East Newark-Correct.
Iotai gam ...'........' SlS So d0 dsS
Total loss ......... ..............-...... 5oVoV
Net gain :. $40, 90
On motion of Commissioner Mclean in
cases where the field books of local as
SCISSORS were found incorrect the totals
were taken as corrected by the Secretary
and entered in full in the minutes
Commissioner Mclean then read the
report of the Committee of the Whole on
the examination of property in several OF
the taxing districts.
OF Hobokens valuations he said the
committee had found that next to those of
Jersey City they were the highest in the
county Property on Fourth street, they
thought was not assessed high enough,
while on other business streets where
there had been a depreciation old valua-
tions had been continued. The report
stated that over $500, 600 worth of property
had been examined in this city, and on
the basis OF this it was estimated aver
aged about 59.49 per cent of the actual
valuations.
The request of the local tax commissions
ers to be allowed to withdraw the as
sessed valuations of the piers and ware
houses recently destroyed by fire was re-
ported on adversely. 1t was held that
the county tax was levied on May 20 and
reported to the county board on the first
Monday in June. The fire did not take
place until July, and therefore the county
was entitled to a return on valuations as
they existed the first Monday in June.
This means that Hoboken will be obliged
to pay the State school and county tax on
this property according to its value before
the fire. In support of their position the
Commissioners pointed out that Bayonne
had asked no reduction for the property
of the Standard Oil Company destroyed
by fire. and the town of Kearny had to
stand loss of $4,000 from a fire under
similar conditions. 1t was held that a
precedent in such cases had been estab-
lished and it would be illegal to grant
the reduction asked.
c. de R. Leonard, a Hoboken Commits
siorer in reply to question as to
whether he had any comment to make on
the report said that he was not prepared
to criticise it in the absence of the senior
member of the local board.
On the bases of their examination of
several pieces of Weehawken property
assessed at s1S5, $50. and which they claim
is worth $47O,797 the Commissioners esti-
mate that the valuations of that township
are based on 39,43 per cent of the actual
worth.
Their report stated that they had
found that Assessor Hannah had in
creased the water front above the figures
of former years, but that it was still
low. He had also valued corporation
property, some of which, in whole or part,
had previously escaped taxation. The ap-
peal of the North Hudson Railway Com
pany against their assessment for their
tracks located on the West Shore Rail-
road Company's lands in Weehawken was
sustained and the township will have to
pay the State school and county tax
assessed against the same.
The report concluded that the Commits
sioners' examination had disclosed that
the better class Of property on Weehaw-
ken Heights was not valued at anything
Ike its worth and IN some cases 1t was
lower than in preeeaisas years. Some Of