Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1904-10-20
The Advocate on County Taxes.

Who will explain why the taxpayers OF Au
dubon county paid Sl6l 1881 last year, when
but a few years ago, they paid less than 500,
10000 each year If you are u taxpayer, yOC
fully realize the enormous increase in your
taxes and what are you getting in return more
than you got when your taxes were about one
half what they are now on the same piece OF
real estate The county has the same number
of officials and the officials did their duty and
smiled just sweelly. You have the same
court house. Your roads were then all equip.
ped with bridges Your children had the same
school advantages and il any difference you
then paid your teachers a little higher wages
and you lived Just as happy Are you getting
in return for your taxes twice as much as you
did then? Are you receiving anything in add
tiOn for your additional taxes? Are you salts.
fed with present conditions? These are ques
tiOns for you to answer and the only way to
answer them effectively is at the polls. The
next question is, can we be assured that we
can better these conditions by voting? Vote
for a change if you are not satisfied as it now
exists Advocate.
The above is mingling of truth
and fiction, principally fiction.
While there is more money used by
the county now than was used by il
several years ago, there are many
good and sufficient reasons for it.
Let US take the tax of single town
ship and analyZe it and see where it
goes On the back of a tax receipt
Audubon township is the first on the
list and we will take that. The Audi
bon township tax payer pays 30 mills
this year. The state, including the
special educational institution taxes,
is 35 mills. The state executive
council levieS that. Then the county
board of supervisors levies for the
county's several funds 12.4 mills.
Then the school board of that town
ship levied 90 mills. Then the town
ship with its board of health and its
road tax levied 4.2 mills more, max
ing 30 mills in all. Thus it will be
seen that in the ordinary country
township the county levy makes less
than half the tax and that the school
levy makes about third of it.
Another thing we observe on the
back of the receipt, that there is great
variation between the different town
ships in township and school levies.
An examination of tax receipts back
for several years shows that the state
and couaty levieS remain almost
exactly the same one year with an
other. These two facts show that
when our taxes are higher or lower it
is practically all caused by the vari-
alton in the township and school
levies, or the town levies il your
property is in town.
The editor of the Advocate does not
state how many years he went back to
find the time when Audubon county
taxes were only 100000. 1t might
not have answered his purpose to tell.
We all know valuations are some
higher than they were some years ago
and that more money comes into the
county treasury without increasing the
levy than used to come in. The board
has not thought it advisable to lower
the levy until the county has paid off
some OF its Indebtedness. In 1898 the
county had bridge bonds against 1T
amounting TO 81, 900. IL is now re-
duced 10 about $1,000. There were al
SO other debts against the county,
which debts have also been paid on.