The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1910-10-07
Tax Question Ably Handled
Continued from Page y

four desperate efforts to amend it fail.
However, back to the main subject,
The Board: Let us suppose a case. Let
US suppose that our board realizing the
enormous amount paid to the state and
the small sum, less than half, returned
to us. was anxious to remedy this de-
feet as far as in their power lay; tie
only way that the board could do any
thing would be to value the property
in the county, for taxation as low as
their consciences would allow and then
raise the mill tax as high as necessary
to meet the need OF the county. For
example, take a piece of property
worth 81, coo on the market, the law
requires that properly to be assessed
at its value, 81, 900 at a state tax OF
six mills and a county tax of ten mills,
the state tax would be SIP, n the
county tax, 500, making a total Tor
both of $32, but now suppose the board
puts a value on the property of Sl,OOo,
half its market value, the state tax
would be six dollars and if the board
set the county tax high as twenty mills
the county tax is $40, making a total
of s26, thus by making lower the value
of the property and raising the County
mill tax, the county gets the same but
4 part OF the s%unjust sum taken from
u county by the State is kept lin the
pockets of the people, for the State tax
as sh.wn above is but one half as
much as before. Even at the above
suggestion, our county would still be
be contributing much more than it
gets back but not as much as it would
have under q low mill tax and a high
valuation.
Let the public investigate, let the
public examine the full record Of this
present Board nom The day they were
installed until the present time, take
the administration as a whole; you viii
find that they have wrestled with
grave ard heavy problems; and yet the
taxes, levied h Ills Board this year
ar less tAal A.t4 olore &ad that the
fault of the 3oa-d is a REDUCTION
of the tax rate rather than an IN
CREASE thereof, to the proof there
Of.
The fax levied recently by the Board
is nineteen end one half mills on TIE
dollar, prior to the present Board, ex-
cept as hereinafter explained it was
sixteen and sixteen and one half mills.
The people voted on themselves at the
initiation Of the Board a THREE mill
levy for road purposes, it was a very
proper thing to do, later the people
voted on themselves a tax of one and
enc half mills for extra school purposes,
another good thing; well, come back to
the nineteen and one half mill levy and
subtract therefrom the four and one
half mills levied by the people by their
votes on themselves and you have left
the sum Of fifteen mills, from that sum
subtract the State tax of six mills, and
you leave the sum of nine mills, with
which you can righteously charge this
Board with leyying, WHICH is ONE
AND ONE HALF MILLS LESS than
the levy on the property Of the county |
BEFORE they went into Office. The
above are facts and facts hurt no one.
But the Board did make a mistake, |
the very first year Of their term they
made a considerable reduction Of the
rate; it ought not to have done, the
western portion Of the county bitterly |
fought this reduction, while the east
ern portion Of the counny fought Tor
the reduction, it was reduced by a vote
OF three to two, Gibson and Baker vot-
ing against the reduction and Roberts,
Shaw and Olson voting for it; that
was the error, | was present at the
time before the board, heard The argu-
ment and thought then and know now |
that the board was making an error, |
but as it was an error on thessright side,
| was rather glad; since that time the
county has been pinched for funds and
IT needed only a court of the duration
and expense Of the last one to throw
Us hopelessly behind, though this court
was not the sole reason and cause of
the deficit.
The public should closely watch it's
servants, should c~riticise them sharply
when they do that which is not deemed
for the best interest of the whole PEG
pie and should also in justice, give
them a word of commentator when
they do well. The records will bear
out the above statements.
Much has been written and more said
about the issuance of Bonds by the coun
ty to cover this six or seven thousand dol
lar deficit and reduce the levy; it is not
right thus TODD even separate and apart
from.the legal obstacles in the way. Shall
we, who have brought about, either by
a failure to properly estimate the needs
OF the county or by extravagances or