The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1910-06-16
CLOSE TO LOCAL ASSESSMENT
Calumet County Alone Has a Lower
Per Cent of Excess in the State
Over Local Assessment Than Keno
sha County.

The Wisconsin State Tax Commits
sion has taken cognizance of tfe com
plants that have been made by Keno
sha county in regard to state and local
assessments and the commission has
sent to this paper letter in regard to
this subject which is of very great
interest and which pays high tribute
to the assessment made by local asses
sors. The letter shows that in the
estimation of the state tax commission
there is only one county in Wisconsin,
Calumet, that has fairer assessment
than Kenosha county. The letter
which is self explanatory follows:
Editor of Kenosha Evening News,
Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Dear Sir
Joseph E. Dalton, the supervisor of
assessment Of Kenosha county, has sent
us number of clippings from your
paper in which, among other things,
you speak of local assessments of
property in Kenosha county as being
made on higher basis than the as
sessment of taxable property in other
counties; and the further statement
appears that by reason Of such higher
assessments in Kenosha county that
county suffers injustice in the state
assessment
We write you on the subject not for
the purpose of engaging in any argu-
ment or controversy, but merely to
help you to fuller understanding of
the facts if practicable, to the. end
chiefly that the people of Kenosha
county may be made to understand that
their county is not prejudiced in the
state assessment by reason of the fact
that property in that county is as
sessed more nearly in compliance with
law than it is in other counties The
principal fact which we wish to bring
to your attention is that in making the
state assessment the tax commission is
not concluded by nor does it accept the
returns of local assessors. On the con-
trary the, commission makes the state
assessment on data substantially indie
pendent of the returns~of local asses
sors. It would seem impracticable to
| Id :. q
ing the state assessment within the
limits of an ordinary letter. On a
separate sheet herewith enclosed we
give you the figures which will enable
you to compare the state assessment
with the local assessment in the diff
ferent counties of the state The
state assessment figures given on such
sheet are those for the year 1909, the
latest figures available The local as
sessment figures given for purposes of
comparison are those for the year
1908, the state assessment being made
from data corresponding in point of
time to the period of the local assess
ment of the year before. On the same
! sheet are given percentage figures
which indicate the excess of the state
! assessment figures over the local as
sessment figures with which compari-
ison is made. From these figures you
twill perceive that, excepting Calumet,
Kenosha county is in effect given ere
dit for making it's local assessment
more nearly in compliance with law
than any other county in the state In
other words the valuation, of taxable
property in Kenosha county per state
assessment exceeds the total as return
ed by local assessors by smaller per-
centage than the corresponding figures
for any other county except Calumet.
The excess of the state figure over the
local figure for Kenosha county is less
than % per cent, while in other coun-
ties, except Calumet, the excess ranges
all the way from about IS per cent up
to more than 100 per cent.
You will observe, further, that there
is no uniform relation or anything APP
preaching a uniform relation between
the state assessment figures and the
local assessment figures for the differ
ent counties throughout the state.
This indicates pretty plainly we think
that the commission is not controlled
by the local assessment figures, but pro-
ceeds upon data substantially indepen-
dent of the returns of local assessors.
1t indicates further that in making the
state assessment the counties whose
valuations are made more nearly in
compliance with law than other coun-
ties have not thereby suffered any in
jury; nor are those counties whose
property is grossly undervalued in To-
cal assessments receiving any substan-
tial gain in the state assessment on ac-
count of their failure to observe the
law requiring assessments to be made
at full value
Under separate cover we send you a
copy Of our pamphlet Of instructions
to assessors and boards of review in
which this question Of the undervalua
tion of property is discussed somewhat
lat length. The discussion begins on