The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1913-12-04
PRESENT SCHEME IS AFALURE.
Committee May Recommend That the
Assessors Work During Entire Year
or That Charter be Changed to Per
nit Employment of Single Assessor.

Chairman Conrad Shearer of the
finance committee of the common
council has issued call for a meeting
to be held on Friday afternoon at
which time an effort will be made to
work out some plan to secure better
assessments Of the property in the city
OF kenosha The present three assessor
plan is declared to be a failure. The
books containing the valuation of the
property Of the city have not been
turned over to the city clerk in time
to make the tax levy or returns to the
state as required by law and the EN-
ployees Of the office of the clerk have
been kept working night and day in
order to get the tax lists ready to turn
over to the city treasurer.
Nearly all Of the officials of the city
are of the opinion that Kenosha s plan
of assessing property is all wrong and
that some progressive plan should be
adopted even il it is necessary to break
traditional rules and inaugurate new
plan of assessment. Other cities in the
state with a single assessor complete the
Wor kof valuing property in the time
set by the law and in these cities the
cost of making the assessment is found
to be much lower than in Kenosha.
Time was when the two assessors Of
Kenosha completed their work on time
and had no assistance in the way of
clerks ann stenograp piers. Now the
city is forced to employ clerks to assist
the three assessors and not once in the
past four years have the books been
turned over to the clerk in the time
set by law
In some way the assessors have got
ten in wrong a d it seems impossible
to get them out Of the rut and into a
new way of working. Many of the
officials Of the city have hoped for the
coming of the commission form Of gov
eminent as a palacea for this trouble,
but before such a change is made some
thing must be done. Amendment Of
the city charter to provide for the EN-
ployment Of single assessor has been
suggested. Another plan is for the as
SCISSORS to work during the entire year.
This has been repeatedly suggested and
the council has made trial of the plan
by putting the assessors to work sew
eral months earlier. The plan has not
prove successful. Even with the extra
months in which to work the asses
sors have been almost as far behind
with the work this year as when they
worked but four months. Of course
the cost Of making the assessment has
been largely increased by this extra
work
Statistics from other cities indicate
that Kenosha pays very high for her
assessment. The council would not OBJ
ject seriously to the cost if results were
attained, but the present assessment
has met with a lot of criticism by
representatives of the state tax com
mission on account of the failure Of
the assessors to properly list personal
property in the city. 1t is declared by
the supervisors of assessments that the
peronal property assessment is decided
~ unsatisfactory in Kenosha. The real
estate assessments are regarded as fair
ly equitable. The whole matter will be
threshed out at the meeting on Friday
afternoon. Supervisor Dalton will be
present at the meeting.