The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1906-07-19
Many Taxpayers Make Objections
to Assessment Of Property
Made by City Assessors
MAY SEEK A RE-ASSESSMENT
Small Property Owners Claim That
the Burden of the Taxes in Keno
sha is. Being Placed on Those
Least Easy to Pay 1t

There is a movement among the
smaller taxpayers of the city to de-
mand some change in the valuation
of property as made by the assessors
and if leader can be found who is
willing to shoulder the. responsibility
Of demanding new assessment of
the property Of the city there may be
some decidedly interesting times III
Kenosha during the next few months
The report of the assessors which is
now being tabulated is not in any
way satisfactory to the owners of
modest homes about the city, for as IN
other years the burden of the tax has
| been placed on these people, while
the owners Of the better homes in the
city have been assessed so low that it
will be possible for them to get off
with very small amount of tax in
proportion to their holdings.
Notorious cases of bad assessment
have been noticed on the tax rolls and
| the assessors have declared that it is
| impossible for them to make any
| changes in these assessments. Not
withstanding the claim of the assess
ors, there is remedy for the people if
they care to take it. A letter adj
dressed to the state tax commission
brings the. reply that the tax COM
mission will take up the matter if a
complaint is made and properly adj
|just these assessments. Of course
such a new assessment of the real
estate would be a great expense to the
city and it is possible that it would
tie up the finances of the city for sew
teral years, but many people who have
watched the, assessment for year after
year declare that this is the only way
that the property Of Kenosha can be
placed on the proper basis.
The assessors seem to be able to see
value up to a certain point and after
this point is passed they adopt slid
ing scale which makes it possible for
the men owning large amounts of
property to,throW the; bnrdenof taxes
on the man with the small home. In
many cases these homes are unpaid
for and the small property owner is in
this way forced to bear double
burden of taxes and interest
When the matter was laid before
the assessors they declared that it was
impossib1essfor them to be right on all
property, but they had tried to make
an effort to be just with. all. The
glazing errors in the tax rolls as
shown to the board of review show
that another assessor should be added
to the force, as the present trio have
not had time to make a personal in
spection of improvements to property
as is demanded by the law.
A man who has taken great inter-
est in the taxing of property in Keno
sha, said Monday night: II am will
t ing to have the law carried out to the
very letter. I want the assessors to
assess my property and that of every
other man in the city at it's full value,
and with such valuation / am con-
WINGED that my taxes on this just basis
would not be half as large as they
were last year. The men who own
the most valuable property in the
city are the men who are slipping
away from paying the taxes. It is
not altogether the fault Of these men,
as the assessors assess the property
at a low value and they are, of course,
willing to accept the assessment.
Many assessments on the books of the
assessors today would be invalid if
called under the real reading of the
law, and on these invalid assessments
lit would be impossible for the city
council to make a tax levy. If some
man could be found who would be
willing to lay this matter before the
State Tax Commission and demand
some action, he would confer a great
benefit on the smaller tax payers of
the community"
An examination of the tax rolls
would convince the people of the in
equity of these assessments, and it is
to be hoped that the county board at
its coming session will make arrange
ments for the publication;of all valu-
atoms in the city and county.