The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1908-04-30
$41,198.00


The last quarterly statement pub
lished by the county treasurer and
county auditor, shows that there is a
surplus in the county and salary funds
of BrookingS county amounting to
81, l9S.1J The county auditor has
not yet recovered from his arduous
labors Of furnishing tax figures design
ed to fool the voters. sufficiently topper
NIT his explaining why he recon-
mended the board that they levy "a
tax sufficient to raise SIG 500, when he
must have known that there was no
necessity of so doing. The high tax
bugaboo has lost its force in this
county and yet the taxpayers have a
right to know why il is that the pres
ent county auditor, who started the
cry of "hign taxes" has, to support
his false claim, seen fit to un~necessari-
~ increase the taxes by raising money
for which there was no use and for
which act he ought to be ousted from
Office, because the law does not uphold
sucn proceedings. The law governing
assessments for the county fund says
that only a sufficient amount shall be
raised to a the running expenses
Of the county, to which may be ad-
ded not more than five per cent as a
surplus. If the county auditor had
a right to violate the law to the ex-
tent of creating n surplus Of 100000
he might as well have encouraged
500, 900 or even $1,000, 600, provided
he could get the board to acquiesce
in mis- demands. The question of high
taxes was raised to support the re-
a%ctionists in their desperation to win
back the favor of the voters, by try
ing to drag down the present admins
tration to the same low level the so
called stalwarts had descended. 1t
was a false issue, and to aid them in
his county they made a special levy
for the county fund to burden the tax.
payers unnecessarily. just to make
them look at your tax receipt" If
this is not true then what is his ex-
cuse for so doing.
The county commissioners do not
uphold the auditor for drawing them
into this sort of trap, nor do they of.
fer any explanation for his action. So
far as the Register has been able to
learn from the board they have no ex-
cuses to make for the surplus that is
constantly accommodating. even though
they are straining every nerve to de-
crease the amount by transferring 1t
to other funds; in other words cover
ing 1t up. Something there is great
question II they have a legal right to
do so.
The taxpayers of Brookings county
are no worse "kickers' than those Of
other counties SO long as the none Is
needed, but they do demand an ex-
PLANTATION with regard to the taxing
of their property in order to raise a
fund which at present is and will re.
main idle in the county treasury.
Other counties Of the same class as
Bookings manage to get along with
from $1,000 to $4,000 surplus in the
county fund and some even show a
deficiency, while the salary fund is
SO easily figured that there Is abso-
lntely no reason for having any sur
plus to speak OF. OF course it may be
convenient to have a surplus in the
latter fund when the board acting up
he Recommendation of a states at.
torney, raises the salary Of a county
oficial and pays q back salary to an
other oficial just as he is about to
step out Of his position. but for what
other reason the public pleads igno-
rance