Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-03-17
Commercial Club Say. Many.
Public Boards Will Be
Crippled. By Lack OF
Funds; Governor Frazier
Is Urged To Veto The
Measure.

Declaring hat the Grand Forks
city schools will be unable to. con
tinue on their present basis Of ,ef-,
~fciency',, if the bill becomes a law, a.
pared q formal protest against House
Bill 25. limiting the levy for cities.
Approval OF the hill will mean that
the board will be greatly crippled In
funds. The committee which pre-
pared the protest is composed Of O.
j. Barnes, s. Torgerson and r. F.
Bridgeman. The governor is urged to
veto the bill.
The protest. which already has
gone forward to Governor Frazier,
says jim part
Should the bill be signed by you
and become a law, many OF our pub
lie institutions in the state will be
crippled for want of funds and our
city schools will be unable to con-
tinue on their present basis of eff
ficiency.
"Under this law, our levy for school
would have to be the aver
age of the levies for the past three
years, namely, $15S,o0O. The tax
levy for the three years past being
as follows
"1r8-s1Oo 900. $3.50
"1919-$166, SOC.
."'1s2O-$21O.000.
:"Our payroll alone for this present
school year is $165 ,o00 and the items
of fuel, supplies, interest. ETC., exceed
$40. 900. Thus. taking n account
the full school apportionment. the
school board would be considerably
short of funds, if this bin should be
signed by you.
.Furthermore, we wish to call your
attention to the fact that the assess
ment rolls are not completed until
they have been passed on by the state
board of equalization some time In
August. while, the. school board must
make its levy for its funds in June
at a time when it will be impossible
to know what the a limit would be,
1t is true that this year the basis OF
taxation is ascertained by the aver
age Of the past three years, but mex,
year the school board will have tc
base it's levy upon the 1919 assess.
men rolls. plus any increase in the
assessed valuations of 1921 but fol
reasons explained above, it will be
impossible to compute the possible
levy under this law.
1--WE feel sure that it is quite evil
dent to you that in the city commits
sion somewhat similar circumstance
will present itself, that is-that by TN
time the state board, of equalization
Is through with the assessment rolls
D. LlI1lc Will hOL UC ~ H -
city to appeal to the, voters within thu
time specified by law if an additiona
levy is necessary to that allowed I'm
der this law. This will also apply tt
the park board.
1T is. also true that in many town
ships. at least in this county, h ta1
levy for road and school purposes ha
been low in the last few years, ant
it is imperative hat an increase.
levy be had in some townships to
road work, and in order to get tht
levy they would have to appeal to tn
voters. We feel that the voters hav
already expressed their confidence ii
the school board, city commission
park board and township boards b.
electing them to their Offices and tina
a referendum to the people OF an
particular subject would be simply a,
additional expense. and we are sur
that you will agree with us that it
impossible in a short length of tim
% acquaint the individual voters wit
The administrative details in n Q
.hese. subdivisions of the state to en-
able such voter to vote intelligent,
ut seems to US further that tn
law is ambiguous in. it's wording an
that it will undoubtedly require in
depreciation by our supreme our t
determine its meaning and intent"