Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1915-01-07

pr % etions from the general fund,
the Z, d that must maintain and
suppoT Y re state government that 1t
will be q, possible for any. admins
tration o. eet the demands made
upon the - treasury, unless the
assessed val> lon of the property of
the state shall be very materially in
creased.
The State Board Of Equalization
hesitated to raise the assessed valua-
ton of the property of North Dakota
for the reason that had they have
done SO it would have increased the
salaries of the county officers in q
majority of the counties of the state.
the county officers salaries being
based upon the assessed valuation of
the property in the counties, and it
would also have raised the debt limit
of cities, towns and school districts
to a dangerous degree. So, after CIV
ing the matter serious consideration,
it was thought best to hold the valu-
alton about where it was and then
call the attention of the legislature
to the problem and ask the legisla-
ture to make such provision with ref
erence to the county officers salaries
as In their judgment they thought
wise, and also to give consideration
to the debt limits of the cities, towns
and school districts.
We must remember that In order
to raise the amount of money neces-
sary to pay all of the standing ap-
propriations and appropriations that
would come under the mill levies as
made by past legislatures, that the
valuation of the property of the state
would have to be increased probably
fifty per cent. Personally I do not
believe that this should be done. II
there ever was time when we
should retrench, economize and con-
duct the affairs of the state with wise
economy, it is now, for our people
are in no condition to stand such Q
heavy additional burden as this
would impose upon them. The mill
levies should be revised and should
either be wiped out entirely and ap-
preparations made in specific amounts
from the general fund, thus permit
ting the state to levy the whole four
mills for the general fund, or else
the mill levies should all come In un-
der a one-mill levy, leaving three
mills for the general fund OF the
state. There is natural increase IN
the assessed valuation of property
from year to year. There has been
between the years 1913 and 1914.
The states assessed valuation In
1913 was about 3O7 millions and IN
1914 about 313 millions, giving an
increase of about six millions OF dol
lars. This increase is accounted for
by the proving up of about 67O,Ooo
acres of government land, which was
proved up between the years 1913
and 1914 and which has been added
to the tax rolls by the assessors for
the first time in 1914; also some
school lands in Cass and Trail coun-
ties were sold in December, 1913,
and went on the tax rolls for the first
time in 1914; also by the addition OF
several hundred thousand dollars In
assessment of railroad property upon
new lines of railroad built and ironed
during the past year, and the balance
is accounted for by new buildings,
houses, business blocks and property
of that kind in the cities of our state.
AS l have already shown, at the
beginning of the present administra-
tion the state owed over and above
it's assets the sum of approximately
three hundred thousand dollars,
which has had to be taken care OF
during the past biennial period. Then
in the past six months the general
fund is short, as will be shown,
100000 by non-payment of the oil
inspection fees. Further in 1913 the
general fund levy was reduced IL "
100 of a mill, which was given to the
higher educational institutions and
this amount in dollars was about
$4,000. Add these three shortgage
items together and we find total of
$438,OOO. If we had this in the gen.
eral fund it would pay all the states
bills and there would be large cred
it balance remaining.
We have lost, or at least they have
not been paid from July first, 1914,
up to the present time, and the mat
ter is now pending in the courts, the
oil inspection fees. No fees have
been paid by the oil companies oper-
ating in North Dakota since the first
of last July. The oil has been in
spected and the expense to the state
has gone on, but no fees have come
in, pending q decision in our supreme
court. These fees amount at this
time to approximately 100000.
which the general fund should have
and would have, had the fees been
paid. Should the court hold that the
law providing for the inspection Of
oil is unconstitutional and that the
oil inspection law cannot be made a
revenue law for the state, then it will
deprive the state Of about 100000
net a year, which the state had been
receiving prior to July I, 1914, over
and above the expense or cost OF the
inspection, and it would require forty
millions of assessed valuation Of
property in North Dakota at three
mills on the dollar to raise that
amount Of money each year.
would suggest that a committee
be appointed from the senate and
house, whose duty it shall be to give
careful consideration to the financial
condition Of the state and that this