New Iberia enterprise and independent observer., 1915-07-03
TRUSTEE SUBERBIELLE'S AN
NUAL REPORT.

New Iberia, La, June %, 1915.
1o the Citizens and Tax Payers of tn
City of New Iberia, La:
In accordance with the Requirement.
OF the City Charter, l beg to submit thi
my second annual report as Trustee .
the Department of Finance. This repo-
will not deal with collections, and dis
bursements as statements relative there
to will necessarily form the greater par
of the Auditors report which will b
published after the annual auditing 0
my department is completed, about tn
first of August, next. Report of tn
operation of the Light, Power and Wate
Plant during the last twelve months wi
be published after the close of the books
of that Department, June 30, 1915.
l am impellsd to submit my annual re
port earlier than usual with the view o
correcting, as early as possible, erron
uous impressions concerning City affairs
that have been created by statement.
and groundless charges have resulted III
greater injury to the welfare of the City
than to me.
The desire to answer my critics in 7
personal way is subordinated to the pur-
pose of presenting to you a review of my
official acts from the time l took charge
of my Department to the close of my
second year in office, so that you will be
able to intel4igently' conclude whether
my stewardship merits your approval OF
not
In order to be as brief as possible and
to set forth my statements in clear
manner. will treat the various subjects
under appropriate captions, as follows:
ASSESSMENTS.
As City Tax Collector, during the past
two years, I have been forcibly i'm
pressed by the existing inequalities in
assessment of property in this City, and
the complaints of the many over assessed
taxpayers finally interested me in the
question Of equalization of assessments.
Anyone who will even casually investi-
gate the assessment roll will convince
himself of the necessity for equalization
to fix the proper proportion of taxation
that each one should bear. 1t is hardly
conceivable that anyone would defend
present assessments, when on their face
they show that many property owners
are made to pay a part of the tax that
in justice should be borne by others.
Ny efforts in that direction did not meet
with favor with the members of the Po-
lice Jury, who, acting as the Board of
Reviewers, finally passed upon the matte
of fixing assessments, subject, however,
to the approval of the State Board o.
Equalization of assess
ments, wherever tried, has proven sari,
factory and under this plan assessments
Of some taxpayers are invariably in
creased, but the resultant increased bur
den of taxation is put upon those who
should bear 1t. It is obvious why GER
tain taxpayers are opposed to equaliza-
tion.
Much has been said and written with
reference to my efforts to equa.lze as
'ess raents, and that while I pretended to
or,ns about equalization ny principal
'bject was to increase assessments. In
.eply to such criticisms, have only %
make reference to my previous state
nent on the subject, wherein l made il
plain that increased revenues for the
city was necessary, and that this addi-
ional revenue could be incidentally Sc
.ured through equalization a
ute for my plan of equalization a special
AK for the purpose of giving the City
additional revenue hae be.r sr~.-e-."
jood, but will special tax be votedo
And if voted, will the inequalities in
present assessments be corrected? VIII
lot the same ground Of complain as to
in assessments exist even
lfter the suggested tax is voted? Will
lot the under-assessed still have the
dvantage of the over-assessed? :
CORONER'S FEES.
Instead of paying the Coroner for his
ervice at the rate of one hundred and
fifty dollars per annum, as was done
~ the former Council h.'I - 49, -
ition that the Coroner should be COM
en.ated under the fee system in ac-
ordance with law. which fixes fee If
en- dollars for each inquest. Under this
Ian the City has saved during the past
wo years the sum of two hundred and
inety dollars. as there has been but one
,ouest held in that time.
IBERIA PARISH AND RENT OF JAIL
LOT.
Some time alter the exp;rat;o, of 49,
.ase of land on which the City Jail
land, the Police Jury made demand upon
lie City for a rental Of twenty dollars
er month for use of said strip of land
objected to the paying of this rent for
,e reason that the City having contri-
uted to the erection Of the Jail and
ourt House, has therefore the right to
,e q part of the Parish Jail, the Board I
I'd maintenance of its prisoners being,
course, paid for, by the City. I had
further objection to the payment of
is rent because if same was admitted
be just and prooer, it was more than
vered by the excess criminal tax that
e City has been contributing to the
arish, for it should be remembered that
e Parish imposes q criminal tax Of Y
rec mills On CITY property and !
hich amounts. annus''A ~ sh,u- b
xtv-nine hundred fs6oO0nol dora-s
hile. the cost Of criminal cases originat-
g in the City on an average has not I
,ounted to more than twenty-five hun
ed dollars annually. With reference ;
this criminal tax, desire to call
ur attention to the fact that at various
nes ATTEMPTED tn hrino shout an so-.e-
mt with the Parish of iberia. whereby r
; City would pay no more than the
tual expense Of criminal cases orioi- a