The Washington times., 1912-08-25

The law should be changed to pro.
vide for an annual assessment of real
estate,
Repeal of the Fixed Tax Rate.
on personal property the tax rate Is
~ per cent of the full true value. on
real estate the tax rate as applied Is
less. The Commissioners call II ~ per
cent on two-thirds of the value. which
would make the rate per cent II the
assessor had assessed the true value.
But he has not. The assessment shows
approximately but A per cent Of the
true value, so that ~ per cent on
theoretical two-thirds reduces itself to
O.66h of per cent on the true valua-
ton. Therefore, the real estate tax
rate, which looks like one dollar In the
hundred turns out to be only 66h cents
In the 500.
Surely. this is an extraordinarily low
realty rate for large city. but.
whether low or high, the rate should
not be fixed. At one time fixed rate
may rails. too much revenue, at another
too little. The only businesslike and
lust way is to let the rate be determin-
ed by the needs of the budget, as is
done in other large cities.
Recording of True Consideration.
As Assessor Richards has said, rela-
tive to the determination Of real estate
values: IAN assessor judges more by
methods Of comparison than anything
else, but primarily his ideas are based
on sales. He has no other rule
to guide him. (p. 1D. How to learn
the terms in these sales becomes an
important question. Ordinary public re-
ports in an active real estate center like
Washington are unreliable, since the
consideration ostentatiously given 10
sometimes falsfied to affect the mar
ket. An assessor depending upon such
information may make bad assessments.
Therefore the true consideration In
sales Is to be desired. That can be OBJ
tained by the simple expedient Of re-
quiring the true consideration in all
real estate transfers to be recorded.
The average Of such consideration will
serve to indicate the height and tend
ency OF the market, and thus afford one
important factor Of scientific assess
ments.
The assessor urges the enactment of
law compelling the recording of such
true consideration p. 33), and your COM
Purdy testified lp. 29i) relative to the
efforts in New York and elsewhere to
get this valuable help for municipal as
=.
lication would interfere with yeal estate
transactions, he answers conclusively
that this Is one of the businesses which
the New York State Supreme Court has
decided are are charged with public inter-
1t is also worthy OF note that Mr..
NJ. I. Weller. an extensive property
owner and a public-spirited citizen Of
Of the true-consideration principle and
observed that the Pennsylvania Rail-
road Co. for which he has acted In
real estate matters, insists on the true
consideration being written in all it's
deeds (p. 1860.
Twelve Field Assessors.
The number Of realty assessors now
in the field is three. They have the
title Of assistant assessors. The law
directs them ito view each separate
tract or lot" a task impossible of per-
formance except in the most superb
cial way. This Is precisely the way in
which II has been done. The two per
sonal tax assessors have six assistants
and an extra allowance for clerk hire.
The three real estate assessors use no
field help whatevef. Thus, eight men as
sess personal property yielding 81, 900, 900
in revenue, while three men undertake
to assess real property yielding a rev.
enue five times larger. Three men with
the best intentions could not do II right.
President Purdy. comparing relative
conditions In Greater New York, is OF the
opinion that from l6 to 20 assessors
would be required here to do the work of
an annual assessment properly o. 2SD.
Assessor Richards holds. however, that 10
men would suffice lp. 16). The commit
tee is Of opinion that u assessors would
be better. / for each of 10 assessment
sections into which the District should
be divided, and to act with the as
SCISSOR as reviewing stan.
Commissioner Rudolph observes that
expense of additional assessors in the
neld would be negligible as against the
increased revenue to be obtained from
an annual assessment ID. %.
Each section will be protected from
me isolated and individual Judgment of
IT'S us neia assessor. by the proposed sec
tional maps. approved in advance, and
nxing values of inside and corner lots
IN each square, and base values in
suburban areas. The field assessor
o9 eHeh ,ocoi conifnes n,sn himself to the ANALYSIS
square and section ana is powerless to
discriminate in favor or against his
section. IT has been demonstrated
mat given basic data on typical lots,
values can be Justly apportioned.
Abolition of the Personal View"
The law requires that each piece of
property shall be personally viewed"
by the assistant assessors collectively
1t is and has been obeyed in the most
perfunctory manner. Riding by q
house in a comfortable carriage at a
fair speed may comport with the let
ter of the law. but not with its spirit
Opp. 145-li6). There should be a per-
sonal viewing OF each piece of prop
erty, but when its history and record
Is once fixed. the changes In its char
acter, If it be ground, will be sectiond
and not individual, until 1t is improved.
A similar premise is true of an i'm
| provement. Under proper administra
! ton the detail of field work becomes
| largely clerical and the functions OF
| the Assessor and his assistants rise II
the broader lines of equalization, ad-
justment, and standardizing, rather
than OF securing data The persona.
view should be stricken from the law
and become matter of administrative
judgment.
A Board of Appeals.
The three assistant assessors OF rea!
estate are also three of the six MEM
bers of the board of review whic
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