Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1912-06-04
VILLAGE |MPUGNS
ASSESSORS ACT
South Orange Trustees Vote to
Appeal from Order Removing
Assessment from College.

Maintaining that Village Assessor DR..
Joseph Arnold, in signing an order a n
ceiling the assessment of $50, 500, which
he had previously liked on a portion of
the Seton Hall College land, was done
without proper authority, the South
Orange Village Board of Trustees, at
an adjourned meeting last night, di-
rected, by resolution, the village counsel
to apply to the State Board of Equali-
cation Of Taxes to seek to ave the or
der set aside and the case reopened. The
village governing body, which it was
believed had been neutral regarding the
assessment of the college property, went
Of record as favoring the assessment.
The resolution condemning the action
of the assessor was introduced by Trus-
tee Edwin S. Allen and adopted unani-
mously.
1t appears that DIR. Arnold. who besides
being assessor for the village Is a pro-
fessor at Seton Hall College, was d.
rected a year ago by the County Board
Of Taxation to assess that part of the
college land onrth of South Orange ave-
nue. which contains about fourteen
acres. To this the official protested.
claiming that 1t was unfair. The order,
however, was imperative and the assess
ment was placed. At the same time DR..
Arnold was ordered to assess rectories
and parsonages.
In my opinion the law which seems to
lead to such a consequence, to tax re-
ligion and education, is unjust" said
DR.. Arnold today, when seen regarding
last nights action taken by the Village
Board.
II levied the assessment, however" he
continued, because / hold obedience to
the county board, my superiors. After
1t was levied the Seton Hall authorities
appealed to the State Board, and in the
course of time / received notice of the
appeal, but l did not know then that the
village or village counsel had been mott
fed"
Subsequent to his Notification of the
appeal, the assessor says, the attorney
for the college, William Kearns, pre-
scented to him, through an assistant, a
set of papers concerning the appeal, in
which was a clause containing a "Judg-
ment In anticipation that Seton Hall
was entirely exempt from taxation under
its charter and that he signed the docu-
ment.
Il did So said DR.. Arnold today, be
cause that Judgment Is nothing more than
own personal judgment in the mat
ter. ! did not believe at that time that
the village was interested. believed
the local board was entirely neutral in
the matter and had left the matter to
the college, county board and State, l
being the mouthpiece of the county board,
which was thoroughly acquainted with
my views.
Following my signing of the judg-
ment, (which 1 tool to be more or less
of a formality. the State Board OF
Equalization of Taxes rendered a judg-
ment approving that view"
The assessor said he does not con-
slider that he had done anything seri-
ously out Of the way, particularly when
the judgment had to be passed by the
state board before 1t became effective.
The village governing body claims he.
as assessor. signed away a village right
This is not so, he says, inasmuch as
the papers had to be passed upon by a
higher body.
Assessor Arnold claims that the late
James Nee. Morrow, village counsel for
thirty years, always contended that the
college was exempt from taxes under
the provisions of its charter. He cited
instances where other institutions were
not compelled to pay taxes. including
Dartmouth University. which won an
appeal.
Following the meeting last night vii
lage President Francis Speir said the
village had not taken any action be-
cause he had been Informed by DR.. Ar
mold that the college had decided to
place the land In question on the mar
ket. He claims that former Judge Jay
Ten Eyck. when village counsel, main
tained that the land should be taxed.
The executive maintained that RI. Ar
mold had no authority to act as he did,
1t is likely the case will be reopened.