The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1905-08-25
Concerning the Recommends
ton of the Tax Commits
sioners for a New As
SeSSment.
MeSSrs. Editors:
SesSnent
Communicated

| noticed in the Baltimore Sun
August 18th, some extrac from
the report of the Tax Commits
siouers of Frederick that struck
me as being, to say the least, a
little singular. In that report
these gentlemen say that they
found much valuable real estate
in the center of the business sec
tion of the city assessed at not
one half of its market value,
whilst the property of the me
chanicS and the middle classes
of people was taxed at more than
its market value. If this condi
ton really existed, it was clearly
the duty of the Tax Commits
Sioners to correct it. If they did
correct it as they ought to have
done, then there was not the
slightest occasion for them to
suggest that there was neces-
sity for a new assessment to rem
edy what they styled a reprehen-
sible and unjust condition. They
either did their duty as Tax Com
mlsSioners, or they did not. If
they did not it comes with very
bad grace for them to recon-
mend that a new assessment be
made, so that the responsibility
of correcting the inequality, of
which they complain, might be
thrown upon the shoulders of the
assessors, instead of being borne
by the commissioners themselves.
If they did do their duty, the in
capabilities and unjust and repre-
hensible condition of which they
complain, would have been com
pletely and entirely removed.
BY Section IA of Ordinance No.
Is, page 1874, of the Charter and
Ordinances of Frederick, it is
provided that lit shall be the
duty of the said Commissioners"
that is. the Tax COmmissiOners)"
or a majority of them, to value all
increase of property in Frederick,
and charge the same to the per-
son properly chargeable there
with, and to revise. amend, cor
rect, alter and change assess
mentS of the property of the citi-
zenS of Frederick, and to add to
or reduce the valuation of the
property, real or personal, of
said citizens, or any portion
thereof, as the case may require"
1t will thus be seen that it is made
the imperative duty of the Tax
Com miSsioners when they find
much valuable real estate in the
center of the business section of
the city assessed at not one-half
of its market value. to revise and
correct, and add to. the made
quate valuation such sum as iii
their Judgment may be necessary
to bring the valuation up to the
proper standard. If they found
other property no matter to
whom it belongs, taxed at more
than its market value, it was
clearly their imperative duty to
reduce the valuation of the
property thus too highly assessed.
The section of the ordinance just
quoted gave the Tax Commits
sionerS no discretion to refrain
from increasing or abating erro-
neOuS valuations, but imposed
upon them a plain, simple duty
to increase or abate wherever
they found too low. or too high,
an assessment on the books.
Why should citizens of the town
he burdened with the expense of
new assessment, when all that
could be accomplished by a new
assessment ought to have been &C
cOmpliShed by the Tax Commits
sionerS, if they had performed the
plain duty intrusted to them?
If on the other hand they were
unwilling to assume the perform
ance in full of the duties COM
mitted TO them, in all fairness
they ought to have resigned, and
let others, less timid, fill their
places. | have been induced to
make these brief observations,
because there has been so much
talk about a new assessment,
when there is in fact no necessity
for a new assessment at all If
the existing ordinances are faith
fully carried out. Whatever a
new assessment could produce in
the way of increasing the taxable
basis could have been brought
about by the Tax Commissioners
in much less time, and with much
less expense, if they had followed
the provisions of the ordinance to
which ailusion has been made.
Yours truly,
BUZFUZ.