The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1908-04-30
No. ~

900 and the amount of tax collected
has been 1,800.OO az a 3 per cent
rate. the valuation will be increased
to $100000000 and the rate may still
be per cent, and the amount of tax
collected will then reach to $4,000 900.
The officials will have that amount to
spend, and they always spend all they
can get
Debt, Debt, Debt.
The officials will have power to run
the public more deeply into debt.
wisely-made state law DEGREES
that the debt limit of a city shall
never exceed per cent of the tax
valuation except by a vote of the peo-
pie, when it may go to 8 per cent.
When the tax valuation is $50 000, 900
bonds may be issued by city officials
only to the amount of 81 400, 900. but
If the valuation jumps to 500 OOO, 900,
as permitted under this bill, the bond
issues may be increased to 81 900 900,
giving city officials power to issue
1000 900 more bonds without a vote
of the people
And there are other bills which will
permit city council to go even be-
yond the per cent debt limit. They
were introduced by Senator Howe, a
Johnson Democrat of Cleveland, and
they provide that certain classes OF
bonds, such as paving bonds, play
ground bonds. grade-crOssing bonds
and several others shall be exempt
from the per cent debt rule In
other words. a city administration
may exclude these bonds from its cal
culation, and then may issue other
bonds to the amount of 4 per cent of
the tax valuation. Waterworks bonds
are now exempt from the debt limit.
This quadrennial appraisement bill
would affect every city. village, ham,
let and farm in the whole state. II
the taxing officials could guarantee
that they would decrease the tax rate
or levy pro rata with the increase in
valuation fixed under the measure
one serious objection to it would be
removed.
Encourages Extravaganza.
The bill is nothing less than meas
ure to encourage tax extravaganza.
County, city and village officials
are always complaining that they do
not have money enough to conduct
the public's business, and yet the aV.
erage taxpayer feels that he contrib.
utes-by force, perhaps-more than
oh - tb
This bill, if enacted into law, would
give taxing bodies splendid opportu-
nifty to raise greater sums by taxation
and at the same time reduce the tax
levy. That would be possible because
the taxable value of q farm or lot, for
instance, could be increased so per
cent and the rate lowered 25 per cent.
The net result to the taxpayer would
be that his taxes would be increased
25 per cent, and if he complained, the
taxing officials could point with
pride" the the fact, and urge it as a
defense that the levy was reduced rs
per cent.
Altogether 1t looks as II certain
large corporate interests might be
greatly interested in this measure, Ii
the duplicates of the several counties
were doubled, it would give the state
itself twice US much money from its
levy as it receives now. The $4,000
900 paid to state support would be
raised to $1,000, ,000 and this would
help wonderfully well to meet the ex-
travagant appropriations being made
by the present legislature, and not
cost the interests" a cent more,
The opponents of the measure ar
que that all farm, village and city
realty owners should enter protest
against the passage of the bill by the
house and to that end the matter
should be taken up Immediately with
the representatives in the legislature
from YOUR county.