The Monmouth inquirer., 1906-10-18
County Tax Board
COMPARING Valuations.

In frantic effort to Justify their
claim that the taxing values of Asbury
Park have been over assessed the
taxpayers of that city have applied to
the new county tax board, which fixed
tile valuations. for a comparison of
the ratables in many of the taxing dis
tricts of the county.
Thursday Asbury Parks aggrieved
indicated a second time their unwil-
lingness to accept the one hundred
per cent increase in the city's assess
ment by sending large delegation to
Freehold for a further conference
with the county board. The protest
ants not only demanded a substan-
tial reduction in the valuations as call
ed for by the city duplicates. but in
sisted that the figures should be COM
pared with assessments made in other
districts.
As is usually the case with Asbury
Park, Long Branch was chosen for
the first point of attack and the equal
izers were loaded with expert" testi-
mony. George E. Poland. a member
of the Long Branch Board of Assess
ment and Revision, was called upon
TO confirm the work of his board,
which the county board o. KID in
most ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS two months
ago. Mr.. Poland was quizzed concern
ing the method employed in arriving
at values in that city. Before the COM
parison had proceeded very far it be-
came evident that the only locality to
be compared in Long Branch was
the business section on Broadway be-
tween Rockwell and Second avenues,
and the only properties to be taken
into consideration were those of GER
tain successful merchants. whom AS
bury Park business men felt should
get all that was coming to them and
a little more if it were possible. On
some of these properties the expert"
had been working overtime. The
allegation was made, and in a meas
ure assented to by county board, that
these lands and buildings had not
been assessed by the Long Branch as
SCISSORS at the rate of 100 per cent on
the dollar of their real valuation. To
begin with, the expert hold that the
real estate between these points
should have been assessed for $500
per foot front Broadway. Much stress
was laid on the assessment on the new
store of Jacob Steinbach. The total
assessment levied by the Long Branch
assessors against Mr.. Steinbach's
property on the Goth of May was $780,
900. The expert submitted as the
true value of this property $l30, 200,
but for the sake of conservatism drop
ped his figures to $4,000. The as
sessment on the Rothenberg property
as fixed by the expert" was $500.
A number of other values, quite as ri
diculous, we're made by the expert. I"
Mr. Poland held that the valuations
as compared by these alleged experts
were all excessive. In substantiation
of Mr.. Poland's contention Augustus
Chandler, president of the New Jersey
Mortgage and Trust Company, who
acquired at a recent sale the property
adjoining the postoffice building, stat
ed that his company had paid less
than $500 per front foot for the land.
When Asbury Park bad finished its
attack on Long Branch, the borough
of Spring Lake was placed on the
rack and the comparison of values
there was continued Friday. A re-
view of the assessments of Shrewsbury
township will follow.
Just what there is to be gained by
this comparison, further than to pre-
clude the possibility of issuing tax
bills until after election, no one seems
to know
The tax duplicates of the county
We're ready for examination by the
county board month earlier this
year than they We're last year, but
they are still in possession of the coun-
ty board and from present indications
they will be seady for the taxpayers
to know before election what effect
the new scheme for equalization has
had