The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1908-01-21


| fees returned are correct Or that all the
I Judicial or other fees to which the
state is entitled have been actually
i collected.
4 This can only be done by am exami
nation by competent accountants of
4 the books and papers in the offices of
all officials collecting fees.
4 In addition to, this, all the state, i1fstf-
buttons should be- subject to quarterly.
certainly semiannuai, examinations as
to their financial affairs. 1t is the
states money they expend For what
| 1t is expended they should be exam
ined and a close watch kept by conlpe-
tent examiners, with reports to the
governor of any expenditure not found
to be within the law
In addition to this, no expenditure of
amy state Institution or department
should be made unless duplicate Bills
for the same are, sent to the board OF
audit that check and counter cheek
may be. Kept upon all expenditures and
against all appropriations and treasury
payments.
County Boards For the Equalization of
Taxes.
BY an act approved on the 18TH day
of April, 1906, county boards for the
Equalization of taxes We're created.
These boards were clothed with con
siderable power over the property OF
the citizen in respect to its valuation
for taxation and over the review Of as
sessments made by local assessors.
Tie board in each county consfsus.
of three members. They are paid BY
the state, and their annual cost to the
state is SOL 200, besides tile expense to
the counties
Such an expensive piece of govern
mental machinery should only be MAIN
tanned if results beneficial to, the. state
or the citizen flow from. it, For nay
self I have been unable to discern any
advantage resulting to the state or the
people from these boards. The osten-
sible purpose for the creation of these
boards was to procure the equalization
of values. If this Were tile real real
son, then the two years they have
been established is a long enough
time to accomplish this end, and their
further existence is Unnecessary.
In any view of the case the county
boards Of taxation, if they ever had a
useful purpose, have now served that,
purpose and should be abolished and
return be had not only to- the local as
sessment of property, but to the re-
view of assessments against the prop
erty Of individuals by local boards of
appeal in cases of taxation. Provision,
however,; should be made for some
board or body with power to equalize
by simple methods of procedure and at
small expense valuations between mu-
inequalities for the apportionment of
county taxes. Probably this can be
done through the state board of equal
ization of taxes.
In this connection and as incidental
to the. discussion of the equalization of
the value of the railway and individual
property | suggest, in view of the
claim frequently made that railway
property in this state is assessed above
its true value and the counter conten-
ton and belief OF many that it is as
sessed below its true value, that au-
thority be given to appoint two com
petent and eminent experts i'll the
valuation of such property to make an
inventory and appraisal of all the fixed
railway property in this state for the
information of the state board of as
SCISSORS, the state board of taxation, the
legislature and the people. Since estab-
fishing our present method of taxation
of railway property in 1884 no such
valuation has been made.
If the property of the railroad COM
panies is taxed in excess Of what 1t
should be, it is wrong and should be
righted. If it is not SO taxed. the peo-
pie are entitled to know the facts.
Nothing is wanted but that which is
just and right.
Constitutional Amendments.
Various subjects of amendment of
| the constitution of the state have been
before the people of the state for some
| time