Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1919-04-17
n. D. FINANCIAL
DEBAUCH SUBJECT
OF PACKARD TALK
Appropriations For Next Two
Years Show 21.4 Per Cent
Increase, Speaker Says.


North Dakota's Financial De-
bauch," was the subject Of an adj
dress delivered before the North Da-
kota Employers association In it's
first annual convention here today
by F. F. aPckard of the state tax COM
mission. 1
Mr.. Packard showed that appro-
priations and levies made for the en-
suing two years will aggregate an in
crease of 21.4 per cent over levies
and taxes for all purposes In 1918,
including state, city, county, school
district and township levies. With
the, increase over 1917, the. total
gain will be 33 1-3 per cent, said
the tax commissioner, and he predict
ed that if the increase in local levies
Is more than normal every tax bill
in the state will be boosted between
53 1-3 and so per cent.
This increase in the tax burden
is not due to appropriations or bond
issues necessary to carry our the
Nonpartisan League program, said
Mr.. Packard. Only II per cent of the
total appropriations and levies are
made to carry out the Industrial
program Of the hague, he said, while
70 per cent of the whole is for de-
partments old or newly created.
"Our finances are in desperate
plight" said the commissioner. Or
dinarily for the fiscal year ending
June 3Oth have a cash balance OF
$350,000> to 100000, with all bills
paid. The prospects are now that
June 30th We have cash balance OF
cal year our general fund will be de-
pleted, and we will have from $780,
900 to 100000 in unpaid bills
Showing how rapidly state expen-
ditures have risen, Mr.. Packard noted
the fact that in 1917 the total ap-
preparations for state purposes were
$4,229,054, while, according to sta
tistics prepared for the tax commits
sion by l.. A. Baker, the total for
1919 will be $12,954,285, an in
crease of $S,735,231. or 2O3 per cent?
Showing what he declared an unfair
increase on acre property tending to~
ward the single taxrsystcm.s he show
ed that the leagues own estimate OF
the average acre value in North Da-
kota in 1918. was $5.4S, or $876.8O
for a quarter section, and that under
the league tax plan this would be in
creased to $2,923 per quarter sec
ton. The league estimates that the
levy for state purposes will be 3.5
mills, as against 4.3 in 1918. From
letters written by levying boards, the
tax commissioner estimates that the
total levy for all purposes, state as
we'll as local, will be 20.5 mills this
year as against 40 mills last year.
Applying these to the changed val
ues he showed that the farmer would
Day an average of $59.92 per quar-
ter this year as compared with $35.O7
last year.
"The significant fact in this con-
nection Is the, increased burden on
acre properly said Mr.. Packard
This increase is much greater than
the average On all property, and city
property, both real and personal, en-
joys the advantage Of especial ex-
emptions which are not extended to
acre property. This transferring OF
the bulk of the burden to acre prop
erty show that we have progressed
thus far toward a single tax"
Bearing on the states present IL
nancial situation, the tax commits
sioner showed that June 80, 1913.
the state had all its bills paid and a
balance of $498,702 in its general
fund; in 1914, all bills paid and
balance :of> $34O,277; in. 1915, all
bills paid and balance ofi$395, 476;
in 1916, all bills paid and balance
of s4OS,S ,S41; in 1917, $40S,O00, and
in l91S, $316,S62, while April 4
1919, after the heaviest tax collec-
tions in the history of the state, there
is but $9,369 in the general fund.
while the state owes $150,00O in un-
paid and overdue bills.