The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1914-03-26
MUST WAIT FORINPROVEMENTS
Aldermen Are Unanimous in Declaring
That no improvements Can be Grant
ed New Territory Until After own
ers Have Paid Taxes to the City.

The city Of Kenosha will extend its
fatherly care over big slices off the
towns Of Pleasant Prairie and Somers
as the common council at the adjourned
session on Friday night voted unani-
mously to pass the ordinance providing
for the annexation of the large terri
tory to the south and west of the CITY.
The territory in area more than one
third as great as the present city, in
cludes all the land in the towns Of
Pleasant Prairie and Somers from the
lake on the east to the Rategar road
on the west and from Selma avenue on
the south to the north limits of the
Hannah subdivision west of the city.
The passage Of the ordinance marks
the end of a battle for annexation
which has beer on for many years.
Many of the members of the council
voted for the ordinance with doubts as
to its being the best thing for the
city and for the people annexed. 1t
was held that a lot of the territory was
not ready for annexation to the city,
but other portions of the territory had
sought annexation for years and the
members of the council believed that
these people should be given the bene-
fits of city rule. In order to make the
annexation of this property possible it
was necessary to take in all Of the
property named in the petition for an
nexation. The property annexed will
some time become valuable as tax
paying property to the city. The larg-
est valuation in the piece annexed is
the portions of the plant of the Thos.
B. Jeffery Go. which have in the past
been in the town of Somers.
Before the final vote on the ordi-
nance was taken there was long dis
cussion of the question of public i'm
provements for the new territory and
the aldermen went on record as being
opposed to the extension of public i'm
provements to the new portion of the
city until after such time as the peo-
pie residing in the new lands shall have
paid taxes to the city. Under the law
it will be impossible to assess the
property in the annexed territory until
May, 1915, and this will mean that no
taxes will be paid to the city treasury
until February of 1916.
1t is not expected that any effort
will be made by the council to extend
public improvements westward until
after this first installment Of taxes has
been paid.
Aldermen from the third and ninth
wards insisted that the people in the
territory fully understood conditions
and that they did not expect improve
ments until they actually paid some
thing into the city treasury.
The passage of the annexation ordi-
nance means much for the holders Of
vacant property in the big territory, as
this property can now be put on the
markets with the assurance that within
a few years at the latest the city will
extend to it city sewers, city water, gas
mains, electric service and police and
fire protection.
1t is probable that the passage of the
ordinance viii greatly boom this subur-
ban real estate and the men who own
this property have been among the
most active in seeking TO secure annex
alton. The city viii be forced to find
some way for the extension of police
and fire protection. Notwithstanding the
fact that no provision has been made
for this added expense in the present
appropriations of the city. It is pos
sible that the new eouncil--and these
problems will be for the consideration
of the new aldermen-will decide that
the Improvements, including police and
fire protection, must be held back until
the new territory is paying taxes into
the city.
Under the law the property may be
annexed to the city in time to permit
the city to collect the licenses of the
six saloons in the territory and they
will come under the city license law
in June of this year.