Arizona republican., 1910-04-05
Now Congress Will Be Ask
 ed For Special Act WANT ASSESSMENT PLAN
Council Agrees to Plan of Business Men to Get Power From Congress to Levy Assessments. - To Be. Submitted to Vote.

Belorr q large gathering oI titlIVit9 of Phoenix. made up for the most part Of men holding heavy interests in the downtown section of the city. the council last night passed q resolution putting the matter of sewer Tor Phoenix up tO congress and thereby delaying the sewer by the length oi time that il will take congress to act on the matter.
 The crux of the proposition which the business men or Phoenix confront ed the councilmen with is this: The heavy taxpayer don't like the bond plan of paying for the sewer. as a larger share of the burden than they think equable would fall upon them They want some form of direct assess ment The city has the right to vote bonds for sewer purposes but has not the right to levy by direct assessment without the consent of congress.
 The business men present were per fectly willing to permit the taxpayers of the city to decide which system they prefer That means that an cleo ton is to be called to determine the will Of the people in the matter. But th,. application to congress will be mad,. first as an election at this time would delay matters so that the pres ent session would be oyer before the application could be made and the bill passed
 The resolution, introduced by COun- cilman Stauffer and unanimously passed. "instructs the city attorney to draw up an act permitting the tax payers of Phoenix to pay for sewer system on the assessment plan. in case the taxpayers decide on such plan as against d bond issue.
 IL was stated by J. c. Adams and others present that such an act could be got through congress within sixty days and the council was asked for this delay of sixty days in the matter If the act is passed at this session then there will be a special election called to deter mine which of the two plans is to be used and also to vote on the bonds at the same time, provided the bond plan is the one adopted. The bonds will of course require a two-thirds vote while the expression of opinion as to which is the preferable plan will require a majority only Whether or not the two can be embodied in one election without com lSl''iA W III iEsiNf ip UT termined later.
 one of the arguments brought up In favor of the proposition to take the matter to congress was that consider able opposition to the bond plan had developed. It was stated that a large number of those who registered for the bond election would have voted against it as they did not believe that il was an equable arrangement.
 Perhaps thirty men gave their views on the subject last night. Everyone of them was in favor of getting sewer but the method of paying for il was what proved the stumbling block. Al the start there was little opposition To the proposition as presented by the big taxpayers They used the term assessment plan without defining 1t till clear understanding of just what direct assessment means. Councilman Cisney was one of those who had to be shown. After |. C. Adams had eN- plained in a general way the proposi- ton of asking congress for permission to make direct assessment Cisney ask ed, Are you going to make 1t a front foot assessment or q valuation of the real estate without the improvements assessment?"
 Adams said that that was matter which could be safely left to the city attorney when he drew up the Ordin- ance. Rev J. F.. Crutchfield then said that any front foot basis would be de feated at once as the large majority of taxpayers have small properties in the outlying districts and would out number those heavily interested in the . business district. It was then asserted \by several who oppose the bond issue. that such was not the intention of their application to congress: that they wanted to be left free to choose an equable manner of levying the cost 'and one that would be satisfactory to the small as well as the large tax payer. This seemed to be the concus- sus of opinion
 In making his motion Stauffer said, "I am not. of course. In favor of assessing q lot worth $500 the same amount as q lot worth s2O.O00. but if the business men of the city want this matter submitted to vote the coancil should grant them the right"
 A plan that seemed to meet with some favor was advocated by O. S Thompson and Claude Cisney It is a plan that has been adopted in other cities and consists of a bond issue for
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