Rocky Ford enterprise., 1914-02-20
oTERo COUNTY TAXES
Taxes viii Be rIuch Higher for 1914
Which Will Be Good News for
the Taxpayers

If the county officials look forward
with any great degree of equanimity to
the period when the taxpayers will have
cards notifying them of the amount of
taxes they will be called upon to pay for
the year 1918, they will certainly be en-
TITLED to an award of a gold medal for
being drawer than the traditional, alle-
gorcal, or whatever kind of lion it is.
alleged to be possessed of a great sur
plus of courage, according to the La
Junta Tribune.
Assessor Gauger and his official force
are now at work extending the tax rolls
for the year, 1918. The tax rolls should
have been in the hands of the county
treasurer on January /, 1914, but the
work of extending the taxes was held up
on account of the suit in the supreme
court between the city of Denver and
the state tax commission, and all the as
SCISSORS in the state were notified to dis
continue work on the tax rolls pending
the decision of the supreme court. The
tax commission raised the valuations of
almost every county in the state, and in
this they were sustained by the supreme
court. The assessed valuation OF Otero
county was raised about SS5,ooo. the
raise being confined to the valuation on
cattle and sheep. This amounted to
cent on the total valuation of the county.
The assessor expects to have the work
of extending the taxes completed by
March lst, and the rolls will then be
turned over to the county treasurer when
all taxpayers will receive their little
postal cards notifying them Of the
amount they will be expected to pungle
up for the good and welfare Of Otero
county in the year of our Lord, one thou
sand, nine hundred and fourteen.
The total property valuation in Otero
county for the year 1918 is S25.5e6.565
on full cash value basis. This is an in
crease of more than Sl,oo0.0o0 in ex-
cess of three times the valuation of the
previous year.
The levy for county purposes was fix
ed at So mills. Last year the county
levy was fourteen mills on a one-tnird
valuation, and if the levy for the year
1918 had been made on the old system
it would have been over 20 mills. an in
crease of nearly fifty per cent for county
purposes. The high county levy was oc-
easioned by the fact that Otero county
will spend about 900 this year for
the primary and regular elections. this
summer and fall. and besides this
amount, $4,000 had to be raised for
the new concrete bridge in La Junta.
There is also special levy of one mill
for the payment of registered warrants
in three county funds, all Of which have
been overdrawn for several years past.
A special levy for the payment of regis
tered warrants is something that never
happened before in the history of the
county and would never have occurred
had the affairs of the county been con-
Quoted on the business basis that was in
vogue previous to 1909.
The total levy in mills, Tor state, coun-
ty. municipal and school purposes in the
various cities and towns of the county,
with the total levy for last year. given
for comparison, is as follows:
1912 1913
La Junta 80 26.5
Rocky Ford---------- -----------6s lis 2i.g
Manzanola a------------------------55 Ills 2U.5