Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-06-14
COMMERCIAL ASSOCIATION CON-
MITTEE GIVES DETAILS OF
ASSESSMENTS.
DIRECTORS APPROVE
How to Determine the Actual Taxable
Valuation Of Real Estate and
Personal Properties; The
System.

port recently given the board Of
directors of the Ottumwa Commercial
association by the special committee
of the association which visited Bur
lington. The directors approved OF the
system followed by Burlington, and
the following report of the committee
explaining in detail the Burlington
plan, was today issued for publication
Your committee appointed TO 1nvestl
gate the system of assessing taxes al
Burlington spent day there, going
| over their methods.
We found their plan working to the
entire satisfaction Of the community
and we believe they are pursuing q
practical and equitable system OF
assessments.
They started out exactly as the
commissioners of Ottumwa did. They
took. the first year, only a small part
of the real estate and raised the
assessments just as was done here.
The result was that they had some
thing over one hundred law suits on
their hands and general cry tnat the
city was ruined and property ABOUT 10
be confiscated. Just as the commission
ers here, they had not time IN which to
demonstrate their plans fully. we
might say that these suits never came
to trial. They we're compromised ana
adjusted and errors corrected. with
the result that the assessments on
these properties were made salts.
factory to the owners and still showed
an increase of over one million dol
lars over previous assessments.
They are not nearly through with
their work of getting all properties on
an equitable basis. The assessor In
formed us that he still had about two
years work ahead before it would be
completed.
The system they follow, as we I'M
derstand it, is substantially as 1ol.
lows: In the first place, they employed
as assessor a man who was thor
oughly familiar with real estate
values in the city. He devotes his en-
tire time to the work, and is busy all
the year. At present they give him an
assistant who works up the details.
They pay the assessor a good salary,
about $4,000 a year, and say that the
EXPENSE of the office is not much more
than under the old system, when the
assessor employed numerous assist
ants to get the work done In short
time.
Use Card System.
In assessing real estate they use
card which gives In detail every TACT
bearing on the value OF each piece OF
property. They also use plats OF the
entire city, each lot showing the value
placed on the ground and the value
of the improvements.
In assessing residence property, they
first fix the value of the land, taking
into consideration surroundings, con-
veniences general market value, etc.
They then get in detail the improve
ments. all of which is noted on the
card belonging to that particular piece
of property. In noting these details,
they first get the size of the house by
actual measurements. They note the
kind of foundation, the amount OF eel
lar excavating, the material OF which
It IL built, the interior finish, whether
it is hard wood, cypress or pine, the
floors. whether hard wood or soft
wood, the kind of heating apparatus,
the kind Of plumbing, when 1t was
built, and in fact, everything that
bears on the value. When they get all
this information, the building is then
placed in a class and It's value Is
determined by multiplying the number
of square feet by a value per square
foot determined by series Of values
worked out in advance.
We did not go into just how they
fixed the value of the classes by
square feet, as it is quite lengthy, out
the principle is, houses OF the same
material and same improvements and
age are worth the same per square
foot of cost.
Passersby Counted.
In assessing business property they
first fix the value of the ground. They
determine the difference in value by
the location and general desirability.
For instance, they count the number
of people passing on different sides OF
a block and past certain corners to
get a comparison and place the value
Of A. location on the ground assess
ment only. The improvements are
then taken up and valued the same
as in residences. In fixing the amount
of assessment, the ground goes in at
actual value, the improvements at
cost, less allowance for depreciation,
etc.
There are many cases where
property owner feels that he Is
assessed higher than his neighbor, but
when he comes to the assessor to in
vestigate, he finds such complete and
lust information regarding his prop
erty that practically without excep-
ton he is satisfied. For instance,
there may be two houses exactly the
same size and apparently of the same
value. One of them, however, may
have a hot water plant, quartered oak
finish and hard wood floors, while the
other house has hot air, cypress finish
and soft wood floors. These differ |
ences place the two houses In differ |
ent classes of value, but when the
owner finds that his assessment is
greater only by the difference in actual
value he can not complain. Having all
the facts regarding each piece Of
property noted on a card, makes the
matter of comparison very easy.
Invoice Is Considered.
In assessment of stocks of merchan-