The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-12-14
ARTICLE x

Most of the inquiries for specific in
formation on the subject of secon:
class city government which reacl
! The Trihune-are and naturally so
| rs to how the transition will aztec
| taxation.
This matter has been dealt Will
| in genaral way in these letters, but
/ as interest in this question seems e
tie paramount to that in all the others
| it will not be amiss to revive the sub.
| ject for detailed discussion.
| At present Scrantoniun pays
taxes on about one-thirl the actua
/ valuation of his property. The law
says the valuation shall be on the
''iair market value" Custom in this
city has made it an unwritten law
that the fair market value" of !,
property is one-third of the selling
price of land ana one-half the selling
price of buildings. Assessors have
aimed to follow out this proportion
but it is far from uniform, and as
they are wont to err on the side .of
their ncighbors as against the muni-
cipality at large, the fraction one
third is generally taken as the basis
of figuring out th. assessable valua :
ton of the city. IN round numbers,
tine assGssable valuation of the city
is $29.oo0,1o0. The actual valuation is
10000, 900.
1t is prescribed in the law of third
class cities that the levy for general
city purposes shall not exceed ten
mills. An additional levy. not to ex-
ceed ten mills can be laid to meet the
bonded debt but as bonds cannot is
sue without the consent of the people.
when the indebtedness has crossed the
narrow margin of two per cent Of
the assessed valuation, the councils.
practically, are limited to the expen.
diture of what money can be raised by
a ten mill levy.
T.EVIE.S FULL MILLAGE.
For twelve years Scranton has
levied the full ten mills. The special
levy for the sinking fund is less than
three mills. not quite one-thiId of the
possible extlQ ten mills. Last year, It
was two ana eighteenth mills. AS
long as we are a third class city,
councils cannot squeeze the taxpay-
ers for any more than what the pres.
ent revenue amounts to, except by in
ducing the board of assessors to
raise the valuation.
Boards Of assessors are human and
like others who have come into feast
ing at the public crib, learn to like
this sort of thing and religiously
avoid doing anything that would tend
to iniure their chances of q future
election. TO raise the valuation, they
would have to raise every property.
The board of assessors that raises
the valuation of every property would
simultaneously raise a something else
which the polite policy of The Tribune
forbids Its writer's from mentioning
unnecessarily. This consideration and
the influence exercised by large cor.
pOrations insures that the valuation
will, under present conditions grow
only as the city expands. This means
that under third class city charter
q Scrantonians taxes will not be in
creased.
The school board and poor board DO
not enter into the matter, because the
former having about completed it's
building operations cannot reason
ably be expected to increase it's levy.
and the latter, having finished its eX-
pensive improvements recently de-
creased the levy.
Now comes the question as to what
we can reasonably expect in the way
of taxation under second class
charter. Allegheny in strict obedi-
ence of the law of second class cities,
values all property at it's actual cash
price. What it brought at the last
recorded sale, with suhtractions fo-
improvements, destroyed or removed.
and additions for subsequent improve
ments is one of the standard means
for arriving at values. Allegheny's