St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1909-07-17

! l IHS DOnu issue, the issuance OF the
certificates of indebtedness, and the
present bond issue, copies of ordi,
] nances, notices, letters, ETC., ETC., anC
t Will take pleasure in doing this.
Please look into this matter at your
earliest convenience and let me hear
from you. Yours very truly,
81 E. H. RICHARD.
June %, 1909.
II Edward H. Richard, Esq, Atty,
Covington, La.
Dear Sir. In re $40, 1000 Covington
5 per cent School Bonds. We have
/ your favor of June 21. We have
bought quite a number of issues of
bonds in Louisiana, but have only been
able to get elections held for bonds
IN few cases. In these we readily
, use the bonds among our clients, and
we note that you have had such an
election, which complies with the plain
requirements of your State Constitu-
ton. We regret, however, to say
that if you will study the decision of
your Supreme Court in the Crowley
case, some years since, you will see
that your issue of bonds can not be
legally made, and would be held in
valid by said Court. tits simple mat
ter of arithmetic. The bonds must, Of
course, be based on the assessed val
uatlon of last year, 1915, 900, the four
mill tax, if all paid, would produce
81, 400. On the valuation you give
this year the mill tax would produce
81, 2OO, less amounts unpaid. The in
terest at 5 per cent on $40, 900 of bonds
is 81, 900. The principal must be paid
IN ten years which, requires So, 900 per
annum to meet. The total amount
which should be covered by your tax
is S6, O00. In three cases your court
has held that the necessary expenses
OF maintaining the schools are a first
lien upon the taxes, and in the Crowley
case that bond issues in excess of the
amount provided by the tax were in
valid. We wish we could see some
way OF helping you in the matter, but
deem it impossible, under the circum-
stances.
Thanking you for your courtesy,
we are, Yours very truly,
G. H. COFFIN.
The tax was first collected in 1907
on an assessment of less than 5000, 600.
The same thing confronts us in re-
gard to the taxes of 1908. So, there
fore, it will be clearly seen that the
amount realized from the four mill
tax during these two years amounts to
about So, 800 annually; it is true that
the assessment roll for the year 1909
shows an increase to more than a |
million dollars, giving US on the four
mill tax over $4,000, but even with |
this increase, it will take several
years to catch up the loss made during
the first two years the tax was col
lected. Now beyond that, on the |
$40, 600 issuance there would be an in
terest of $4,000 per year to be paid; |
this in ten years, even though the |
bonds were made payable every year,
and certain number retired, would |
amount to more than $4,000. The !
interest received from the banks as
the depository Of this special tax
would not amount to $4,000, so there
fore you will readily see that diff
ference of $4,000 in the interest alone
would exist, for which there is abso-
lutely no provision.
| cannot blame anyone having money
to invest, rejecting proposition Of
this kind. | have stated from the
first, that this, without doubt, is one
of the hardest and. most complicated
matters, have ever had to, contend
with. | do not doubt but what sale
of about $50, 900 worth of bonds on
this special tax would go through, but
then $40, 900 will not by big margin
complete the school house.
The issuance of certificates of in
debtedness by the Mayor and Town
Council instead of calling for an cleo
ton, for the issuance of these bonds,
is in my mind fatal mistake, for we
cannot by any means or method rene
dy this. These certificates stand in
the way of the Council abrogating and
repeating the special tax of four mills
voted for in 1906, and calling for
new tax to be voted and carried and
also stands in the way of our getting
a sufficient amount of money to com
plete the school house.
think | understand the situation as
we'll as anyone else, and have also ap-
pealed to my brother attorneys con-
cernlng this matter, and knowing what
| do, after looking into the matter,
what they tell me will not bring me
any nearer solution of the problem
which confronts US to-day. l am per-
tectly willing to do all in my power to
try and straighten this matter out.
and would ask the Town Council that
they instruct the Mayor to get all the
attorneys of the town of Covington
together as a special committee to
look into this condition of affairs,
(and am sure that every attorney
will gladly lend his assistance to SO
worthy cause) and possibly by a
conference, ways and means may be
devised and solution of this problem
could be found.
Hoping that l have made myself
clear, | remain very respectfully,
EDW. H. RICHARD,
Town Attorney.