Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 19??-1918, 1918-12-04
ASSESSOR POLLOCK, JUDGE GIL.
LETTE AND wuFoRD ALLEN
SAVE COUNTY MONEY
FIRST PLACED AT 60 PER CENT
Real value Of County Property S11,-
2OS, ,5O5, an Increase Of 81 ,262, ,7s6
Over Last Year

AO 'ASa1 VI SOuAty JuuSc 0iittCL6
and Assessor Pollock to Salem last
week to appear before the state tax
commission relative to the tax ratio
given Josephine county, resulted in
the saving of several thousand dol
lars to the taxpayers of the county.
After a conference of two hours or
more with Mr.. Galloway Of the tax
commission he consented to raise the
rate to 68 per cent, which was with
in 3 per cent of the previous year.
Mr.. Pollock and the county Judge
went to Salem with a mass of infor-
nation which was placed before Mr..
Galloway, and an effort was made to
present the matter before the COVER
nor. secretary Of state and state
treasurer, who are also members of
the commission, but these officials
we're temporarily occupied with an
important conference and could not
be interviewed.
To Wilford Allen, former editor of
the Courier, now a resident of Salem.
is due the credit of having the ratio
raised another per cent, bringing
the final fixed rate to within one
point of the last years ration, which
was II. i
Mr.. Pollock, at the request of the
Courier, has supplied the following
statement which gives a correct idea
Of the tax situation:
For this year the total local as
sessment of the county, not includ-
ing public service corporations
which are assessed by the state tax
commission and which have not yet
been returned. or certified, to the
county is $6,725, ,103, which the as
SCISSOR and board of equilization
claims is the full cash value of the
property and has made returns to
the commission under oath that it is
the full cash value. but the commits
sion found, tentatively, that 1t was
but go per cent of its real value, and
notified us to that effect, and gave
us until November 30th to show
why it should not be so rated. If
the valuation OF the locally assessed
property as quoted above at $6,725,-
10S, is but go per cent of its real
value 100 per cent or real value,
would be s11,2Os, sos, or an increase
over last year of 1,262,7S6.69 on
which we would have to pay state
tax, while we believe the real value
of the property within the county Is
less. and surely is not greater than
last year.
ITO illustrate more fully, last year
the total valuation placed on the To-
cally assessed property, that is, all
property assessed by the county as
SCISSOR but not including public util-
tiles corporation such as railroads.
telegraph and telephone lines, in Jo-
sephine county was $7,062,460,
which the state tax commission de-
termined to be assessed at II per
cent Of its true value, and were
therefore required under the law in
the several counties to
estimate the assessment at 100 per
cent or $9,945,71S.31. On this our
state tax was 5,645.90. and with
rating of but 60 per cent of true
value and applied to our assessment
this year 1t would bring our state
tax (provided the state requires the
same amount Of revenue as last
year) to approximately $4,000. or
an increase In round numbers Of
$3.50. And this is not all the tale
Of woe that such a ratio brings. Last
year the tax commission found the
true cash value of the public utili-
ties corporations, railroads, tele-
phones and like property, to be $2,-
735,077.52, but as Josephine county