The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-12-30
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 80, 1915
Kicking on the Taxes.


Pretty nearly every man who goes up
to the window Of the city treasurer to
pay his taxes has kick coming. There
is objection not only to the rate of taxa
tion but to the valuation of the prop
erty in question. The treasurer is
forced to take all sorts Of abuse for a
matter in which he had no part. For
months last July and August the board
Of review was in session and the people
paid no attention to these meetings.
They were advised that they were ex-
pected to file objections then. They
are insisting on filing them now when
the gates for the correction of errors
have been closed. Under the warrant
sent to the treasurer he is instructed
to "collect" and not to ''adjust - tax
es. His power is limited to taking the
money. Under the state law the rights
of the city council are also limited.
The members Of the council can not re-
bate taxes. Of course it can be urged
that the council has rebated taxes in
the past but it can also be said that
any interested property owner could
impeach every member of the council
for such an unlawful act. 1t is rather
remarkable but the largest number of
kicks given to the treasurer are over
the small assessments made for snow
shoveling and trimming trees. 1t cost
the city something like sixty dollars to
trim trees last year but there is going
to be more complaint over the payment
Of that sixty dollars on the part of
property owners than there is over the
collection of the general tax levy of
$517 900. In a lot of cases the amount
assessed is but fifteen cents but the
property owners resent the action of
the city in trimming the trees and they
resent the action of the city in shovel
ing walks. The tree trimming was
done at the minimum of expense. 1t
is pretty certain that not one of the
property owners could have had the
trees trimmed at double the cost charg-
ed by the city but still they kick.
WhCn it comes to collecting TO- shovel
ing the snow from walks the objection
is a little more justified. 1t is wonder
full how a street commissioner can see
snow and ice on some walks and fail
to see it on others. 1t has been limited
that there has been a strong element
Of personal interest in this sort OF
work. Men in the street department
are alleged to have ploughed their way
through certain walks with view OF
shoveling those beyond them In some
cases it has been easier for a street
worker to see a speck of ice on one
walk than snow drift on another.
The snow shoveling privilege of the
city seems to have been used in a lot
of cases at the personal order. of GER
tain members of the council.
The plan Of the city to clean the
walks from snow is an excellent one
and one which every right thinking
man supports regardless of the fact
whose walk is cleaned. What he wants
though is to have all of the property
owners treated alike. A man who has
struggled with snow drifts until his
back aches ism It in mood to dig his
way through the unshoveled walk of 9
neighbor and it reaches the human
limit when a street gang goes down
street and "polishes up" his work and
charges him for it but still overlookS
the neighboring walk. 1t is admitted
that long stretches of walk have beer
shoveled in the outlying districts while
in the very heart of the down town
districts people have struggles against
accident on snowy and icy walks. Il
is the lack of equality of all property
owners that brings the objections to
these little assessments.
The people kick on the payment OF
fifteen cents and kick rightfully If they
have evidence to show that the same
fifteen cents was not properly assessed
against the neighbor.
Possibly this year will bring new
system in shoveling walks. Certainly
there is no department of the minor
expenditures of this city that is de
handing new system more.