Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1915-09-14
INTRICATE ROAD TAX
LAW MAKES SPECIAL
LEV|ESVERYD|
Districts Likely to Error
Through Failure To Solve
Tangle Of Red Tape

langle OF he0 lape
The sincere purpose of numerous road
districts of Marion county to levy
special road taxes for next year has
brought a host of inquiries to the office
of the county clerk regarding the
methods of levying taxes. Two years
ago when the 1913 special tax law went
INTO effect a number of the road dis.
triets of this county failed to get the
special tax because their notices and
methods of procedure were not accord.
ing to the prescribed legal forms. The
tax payers of the district are not to be
blamed for misunderstanding the law
because few people who have not made
a special study of the law can explain
1t and even road tax law specialists VI
disagree.
The law as framed appears to be the
result Of deliberate attempt on the
part Of some of the legislators to COM
plleate the law and to twist it into
such a shape that road districts would
find the bother occasioned by raising
a special road tax would be greater
that to 60 ahead and improve their
roads by volunteer work.
As is usual in most cases the road
district is either practically unanimous
for or against a road tax for special
purposes and where the resident tax
payers all agree that road tax should
be voted they desire the simplest means
of gaining these ends, In the past they
simply posted three notices of road
meeting and then each man talked it
over with his neighbor before the meet.
ing and at the meeting notice was
drafted to be sent into the county court
to have the tax collector add that
specified amount to the taxes for the
property of the particular district where
the tax was levied
| The timber men complained that in
| sparsely settled districts the few home
steaders who inhabited the wilds of the
timber belt would vote a special road
tax in order that they may be provided
with employment for a large part of
the year and it is fact that in some
parts of the timber belt there are bet
ter roads than there are in the more
settled districts. The timber men were
the largest owners of property in the
district as they paid ON thousands of
acres where the homesteader paid only
on his quarter section. The timber
men could not object to better roads
or to the special tax but they claimed
the standards of efficiency of the
mountaineers were not up to that Of
the timber companies and that they
were not getting tho maximum amount
of work for the money voted and ex-
pended AS a result they set about to
complicate matters so that special road
taxes would not only be burden but
would be source of grief to anyone
who attempted to vote tax and wrap
ped o volume Of red tape about the
procedure that would deter even the
hardy mountaineer.
In order to accommodate the wishes
of the residents of the road districts
in the outlying parts Of the counties
Of the state, the county courts have
been forced to issue special instruc-
tions to the tax payers and to get out
special blanks to cover the different
steps which must be traversed by the
tax payers before they can secure their
special tax for the roads of their dis
trict.
There have been two changes in the
laws regarding the levying Of road
taxes. The one requires publication
of an estimate or budget Of the pro-
posed expenditures for about three
weeks prior to the road meeting; the
other is with reference to the increase
in the rates Of taxation. A special pro-
cedure is required in case the taxes are
increased more than six percent over
the highest levy of the preceding two
years. In this case thirty day no
tice is required and it requires two
special meetings, each called by a Pc
titi0n of more than 10 per cent Of the
resident tax payers, and the whole
procedure requires about two months
time. As the final report must be filed
in the office of the county clerk be-
fore the end Of November the pro-
ceedng must be commenced about the
first of October. In case any of the
districts Of this conunty contemplate
the levying Of special road tax for
this year which is more than six per
cent increase over the highest tax Of
the previous two years they may
secure blanks from the office Of the
county clerk which will give them full
instructions and will supply them with
the required blanks which comprise
some six pages Of closely typed matter
but relieves them Of the necessity Of
wading through the intricate mazes Of
the road law relative TO special taxes.