Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1919-04-24
WOOD COUNTY
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The annual meeting Of the assessors
! # Wood County was held at the court
house at Grand Rapids, April %, 1919.
| The meeting was called by Andrew
P. Fen, Assessor of Incomes, who con
Quoted the same and was assisted by
Dan NJ. Shea, Assessor of Incomes of
Winnebago and Waushara Counties,
who delivered an address to the as
SCISSORS.
We have received from Mr.. Zen the
following statement concerning the
meeting and assessment matters in
Wood county.
The discussions were devoted large
ly to the subject Of full value assess
ments and the Importance and neces-
sity of assessing all property at its
full value was strongly urged
The law requires that all taxable
property shall be assessed at its full
value and severe penalties are pre-
scribed by the law for the punish
me:t Of any assessors who fail to as
sass a7y property ut other than lis
full V. lue
For several years back the state
Tax Commigsion and the assessors
of incomes have been strongly urging
upon local assessors the need of com
plying with the law in this respect,
not only because it is the law but also
because full value assessments result
IN having better and more Just and |
equitable agsessn ents. AS a result |
of these efforts the assessed value of |
Wood county has been raised from
$18,692. .947 in 1912 to S32 ,808, ,262 in
1918, or about rs per cent. With the
raise in the assessment it would ap
pear that Wood county should be no |
to full value and this would have been
the case had the true or full value of
property remained stationary, but
during those six years the true value
of the taxable property of the county
has been steadily advancing and this
has been particularly true Of the farm
ing lands SO that while the true val41o /
of the property in the county in 1912
was S28. .078.629 it had reached $50
432,277 in 1918 or an increase of a
bout 40 per cent. in six years, and that
therefore, with all our increase in as
sessed value the county assessment is
still much below true value and there
is need of Improvement
Some assessment districts are how
ever, much better assessed than 9TH
ers. Some being at about true value,
others on the contrary being much be-
low true value
The average assessed value of the
entire state in 1918 was about IS per
cent. of full value. Nekoosa, Pitts
vile, and Grand Rapids city are all
assessed above the state average of
last year. The city of Grand Rapids
being just barely above 86 per cent.
The towns of Grand Rapids, Lincoln
Marshfeld and Cranmoor were also
all above this average The city of
and the remaining villages
and towns in the county were all be-
low this average.
The assessors were all urged, in the
interest of good assessments, to raise
the assessments Of their respective
districts up to full value, as the law
provides.
There has existed among some, a
belief that raising the assessment of
a town, city or village will cause a rise
in the taxes of such town, city or vii
lage. This is a mistaken opinion and
it cannot be too strongly emphasized
that assessing officers have no voice
in determining the amount of tax to
be raised Only the electors at town