Omaha daily bee., 1902-12-05
FAVOR ASSESSMENT REFORM
County Commissioners and Supervisors De-
eide on Legislative Action.
WANT TO FORCE FULL CASH VALUATIONS
Committee VIII Prepare Bill for
Legislature Designed to Compel
Assessors 10 observe Lett
ter Of the Law.

n now appears that county commission
ers and county supervisors OF Nebraska are
among those most determined to have fu-
ture assessing Of property done on a basis
of full cash value and that they will be
represented at the coming session Of the
legislature by a committee which will have
a bill ready for presentation and be pre-
pared to push II. This bill will be one to
empower county commissioners or super
visors to compel. by mandamus and fine, the
assessors to assess on such basis should
the latter be disposed to do otherwise.
Such is the substance Of the report Com
missioners Ostrom and Hofeldt brought
yesterday morning upon their return from
Beatrice. where they attended a called
meeting OF the commissioners and SUPER
Sisors' association.
This meeting was, they state, merely pre-
iiminary to and in preparation for the
regular session Of the association, which
is to open In Omaha January 20. At the pre-
liminary meeting, attended by sixty men,
representing thirty-hve counties. there we're
adopted a number Of resolutions covering
this and other matters. which resolutions
we're merely for the guidance Of the legis-
lative committee in framing bills that will
be presented at the Omaha meeting for final
approval before the legislators are asked to
take them up. The legislative committee
IS made up OF one man from each county
and the date of the general meeting this
year is moved ahead one month so that
the committee may get before this session
Of the legislature with It's demands.
Mr.. HofeIdt Discusses the Subject.
Hofeldt is the Douglas county member Of
the committee. He said:
THE law requires that assessing be done
on a basis OF full cash value and the asses
sors' plan Of assessing on a basis Of only
one-slxth. as in Douglas county, or one
tenth, as in some other counties, was never
suggested or approved by our associations.
Indeed, what we wish now is a law that
will enable county boards to compel, by
m~andamus. the assessor to obey the in
structions in the law and to fix a penalty
for him IL he does not. Among the sixty
commissioners and supervisors at this
called meeting there was not one but
favored making special effort to get through
the legislature a bill making such pro-
vision. Al the Omaha meeting there will
be 200 or more of the county dads and I
anticipate no opposition whatever. Our
committee will have a bill ready to be in
Epected and approved, but it is the purpose
to submit 1t to the legislature only in case
no legislator Is dlTedOy prepared WIN a
similar and satisfactory draft"
Among other resolutions adopted at the
Beatrice meeting was one preliminary to a
bill imposing upon county boards the work
of c~ondemning and appraising for the open
ing Of new roads. Under the present law
the county clerk first sends a man out to
''view'' the ground at $40 per view, and
then three other men at Sc per man, and
mileage, to act as appraising board. AS
all they do is to report to the county board,
which finally disposes of the matter as II
pleases. the promoters OF the new bill argue
that the commissioners may as we'll do the
work in the first place and save the county
the expense OF the viewer and the APP
praisers.
Bridges by Day Labor.
Still another resolution adopted and or
dered framed as a bill was one empowering
county boards to build bridges by buying
the material and having the work done as
day labor. The law as 1t now stands re-
quires that where a bridge is to cost more
than 500 bids must be advertised for
which means contract work. Commission
ers from som counties say they can build
bridges for less than contractors will bid.
The legislative committee, Of which Com
missioner welton Of Lancaster county is
CHAIRMAN, presented a dozeh r~esolutloht
for adoption, but some were turned down
One was preliminary to a bill empowering
county boards to employ any attorney they
see ht and practically forbidding the regu'
larry elected county attorney to concern
himself in a boards legal affairs except
upon invitation. Other commissioners II
is said, instructed that Welton was seeking
vengeance on Lancaster parties with whom
he has had personal differences and de-
clined to sanction his resolution.
At the meeting there. was presented, but
promptly tabled, a resolution expressing
approval Of the movement to have the tern
Of ofice OF county clerks, treasurers, sher'
ins and superintendent made four year,
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