The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-02-25
ExCEssIVE ASSESSMENTS.
The Chamber of Commerce. Bill for
 Relief From Them.


 The general interest in the subject of excessive assessments causes desire on the part of many taxpayers to read
 again the bill providing for relief from such assessments now pending in the
 General Assembly. This bill is unani-
 mously recommended by the Chamber of Commerce after careful consideration
 by that body. It is evident that tax
 payers of small means cannot afford an
 appeal to the Superior court, but under | this bill relief may be obtained without any expense in cases where the assess ment is excessive. The bill is as fol- | lows:
 | All Act to Prevent Unjust Assessments 1 of Real Estate for Taxation in the
 City of New Haven.
 Resolved by this Assembly:
 Section I. Any taxpayer in the city
 of New Haven who believes that any
 piece of real estate in said city owned
 by him is assessed at more than it's
 fair market value, may, within ten days
 after the thirty first day of December in
 any year, file in the Town Clerks office of the town of New Haven written
 offer under seal to accept, at any time ! on or before the fifteenth day of the fol- | lowing May, a sum not exceeding eighty per cent. of the assessment for a con- veyance of such real estate, with cer- | tificate as to title showing that he is | competent to make such conveyance. | Section g. On or after the eleventh day of January, and before the tenth of February following, the Board of Relief
 may reduce the assessment to the amount named in the offer described in Section 1, and, on failure to do so, shall
 on or before the said tenth day of Feb ruary, advertise such real estate for sale upon sealed bids to be filed in the Town Clerks office on or before a day named by them between the first and tenth days of April, to be accompanied
 by a deposit in certified checks payable to the City Treasurer of five per cent. of the amount bid. Such advertisement shall contain a substantial description of the said real estate. and shall be printed at least three times on alternate days in a morning newspaper and three times on alternate days in an evening newspaper published in said New Ha- ven, and a copy of said advertisement shall be filed in the Town Clerks office in said city.
 Section 8. All of the bids filed as pro-
 vided in Section ? shall be opened by
 the Board of Relief between the tenth
 and the twentieth days of April, and
 the bids relative to any one piece of
 property shall all be opened at the same
 time, and the owner of the property shall be notified at least three days be- fore such opening of the time and place thereof, to be present thereat.
 Section 4. If no bid shall be received exceeding the price named in such offer, or if no bidder shall complete the pur- chase as herein provided, or if the Board of Relief shall fail to advertise the said real estate, the assessment shall there upon be reduced by the Board of Relief to the amount of such offer, and if the property be sold under the proceeding herein provided the assessment shall be reduced by the Board of Relief to the amount paid for the property under such proceeding HA
 Section 5. If any bid or bids shall be l received of an amount equal to or great | CT than the price named by the owner | in said offer, together with the expenses of advertising and transferring, the ! Board of Relief shall forthwith give l written notice to the owner of said | property and all the persons making | such bids to attend at the Town Clerks office at a day and hour named in such notice, such day to be not less thanJ three (3) days from the time of giving | such notice, and the hour to be between ten o'clock in the morning and two o'clock in the afternoon, to complete ba tro n6 coid ,boI I thereupon be transferred to the highest of such bidders; and if the owner shall fail to execute a conveyance to such by a certificate of title, at said time and place, he shall be deemed to have failed to make the conveyance In the manner provided in this act; and If the person making the highest com petent bid shall fail to complete the purchase at such time and place he shall be deemed to have failed to com- plete the purchase in the manner pro- vided in this act. One-half the excess paid, if any, above the price named by the owner and the necessary expenses shall be paid to the owner and one-half 0 the city of New Haven.
 Section G. If such highest bidder shall ail to complete the purchase the real state shall then be sold to the next highest bidder in the same manner as provided in Section 5. and If he shall al to complete the purchase, then to he next highest bidder and so on until here be no more bids of an amount uf1icient to cover the price named in he offer and the costs. Section T. Every bidder who shall fail 0 complete the purchase when he is en- tiled to do so, as hereinbefore provided, hall forfeit his deposits. one-half to be aid to the owner of the real estate and ne- half into the city treasury. After he bids are opened the Board of Relief hall immediately return to the bidders he deposits accompanying any bids mich shall be less than the price nam- d by the owner in his offer, together 'ith the costs of this proceeding, and q soop ao tho prOpprtv is coId tho | |