The Dickinson press., 1915-01-02
NEW ISSUES FOR
. BILLINGS COUNTY
Old Billings Must Re-district and
Appointing Board Fill Sever
al Vacancies Next Week.
Valuation Decreased and Sal
aries Will Go Down After
1915.

County division in Billings will
make many changes during the first
six months of the year. Slope, the
territory south segregated from Bill
lngs, will be ready to start out on
county affairs the coming week. 1t
is supposed at the time this article
is being written that Gov. L. B. Hanna
will name the board of commission
ers about the first or second and the
three men so appointed will at once
select the temporary county seat and
appoint a set of officers to serve until
the next general election. After this
is done, the records in the register of
deeds office at Medora will have to be
transcribed, and if the January 1
financial statement Of Billings is TAX
en- as a basis, the commissioners of
Slope and Billings meet six months
later and determine upon a settlement
of the property which will include
county buildings, permanent record
books, funds on hand and all indebt
edness. Bridges and road improve
ments are not taken into account in
settlement between counties.
The assessed valuation of old Bill
ings is $4,109,000. With division ef-
fected the valuation of Billings is re-
duced to $1,7OO,000. Thus it will be
seen that Slope has the greater valu
ation-$2, 100000.
The settlement between the two
counties will be figured on basis of
valuation. Hence if the county build
ings at Medora should be found to be
worth $4,000 and the floating in
debtedness of Billings $4,000, Slope
would have to pay money to the par
ent county. These figures are only
approximately correct, but from the
floating Indebtedness can be deducted
hand which will bring the floating
debt down to possibly $4,000. Bill
1ings county has no bonded indebted
ness other than the seed grain obi
cation and that Is supposed to be
paid back by the seed grain borrow
ers. It is known, however, that there
will be a deficit in this fund of per-
haps $4,000 to $1,000 and Slope will
have to stand its proportion of this
Indebtedness when it is finally de-
termined. Hence it would not be
surprising if the accounts of the old
and new counties about balanced!.
Slope might have to pay Billings a
few Thousand.
Division will hurt the salary ac-
counts Of officers in Billings unless
the new assessment in 1915 should
bring the valua tion up to the two mil
lion mark. With the valuation below
two million, the auditors salary will
drop $500, or from $1,7O0 to 81 400
per year, and register of deeds from
$1,000 to $1,000. It is also probable
that the number of deputies about the
court house will be reduced.
However, the salary change is not
effective for year, and the 1915 as
SCISSORS may discover a lot of new
property. Much land that has gone
to patent will be added to the assess
ment rolls this year.
The segregation Of the south ter
ritory makes it necessary to redistrict
Billings into new commissioner dis
tricts and also to fill commissioner
appointments for the second and
third districts, also assessors and
superintendent of schools. The ap-
pointing board will be the county
auditor, Ira J. Wilson, the incoming
Judge, V. E. Pehrsson, and the hold
over commissioner from the old first
district, Austin Mead.
The question Of redistricting is al
ready creating considerable discus
sion. Those living along the Little
Missouri river, in the Bad Lands ter
ritory, are largely Of the opinion that