Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1922-03-08
PUBLIC FORUM
4 Remndv for Cnrsa All High Faxes

! A Remedy for Curse OF High Taxes
There is a great and continued hue
and cry in the press of the country,
regarding the terrible saXes, with sug-
gestions as to a remedy for relief, but
the tax rate keeps going up.
j The people grow frantic, denounce
and curse the county and state for
the burdens imposed, never seeming
to think that the local tax is the
greater factor in this wholesale rob
berry which now prevails.
Locally it is fact, and a compar-
ison shows, that the tax in four years
has practically increased $50.
This does not represent a doubling
of work done or Improvements made
which are permanent, but in great
measure, to my way Of thinking, rep
resents the spending of money with
out any application o. ordinary good
business methods, and if the same
methods were used in the conduct Of
private business it would mean bank,
ruptcy to the individual.
1t actually appears that many per-
sons who are elected to do business
for our little city, assume that they
were elected for the sole purpose of
levying an enormous tax budget, and
then to meet in monthly council to
cOntrive some way to spend, because
the money came so easy-just had to
assess it to the property owners
and they gave up their hard earn
ingS gladly
! (Aside-GO sit in the chair OF the city
treasurer and hear tie almost uni
versal protest, and you will begin to
think that day of reckoning will
come ere lOng)
A COMPARISON-The city tax levy
made in October, 1911, when j. T.
Bennett was mayor, was $9,075.00.
There was included in yn1s a payment
on water bonds of $2,56000. Sub
tracing this from the budget and
then adding $3,5OO.0O saroon license,
there is total of $1O,015.00, the APP
proximate budget for A. D. 1912 ex-
penditure.
Now, our worthy city fathers in
October 1921, made the city tax levy
the insignificant sum of $35,000.0O.
They left out of the calculation the
estimated receipts from water rents,
which amount will no doubt be about
! $6,50000, which should have been de-
Quoted from the estimated budget to
get the real tax levy. Now add $4,000
| to $4,000, and the total is Sal 500 to
spend in 1922.
Are the people getting any appar-
ent benefit from this enormous in
crease in the tax burden.
There is book entitled The
Spenders." The characters pictured
therein are not our local folk, but the
foregoing comparison indicates that
some such characters may be found
representing the conduct of business
! for the City of Lancaster.
*###
Something ought to be done to put
a stop to this fragrant use of public
money, and the only way it can be
stopped is by the election of officials
who are pledged to see that taxes
shall be reduced locally.
| believe that a reduction of ten
thousand dollars could be made, and
if the lesser amount was spent in
business like way, no particular diff
ference would be noted in results.
| This appears to be ''far fetched"
statement, but l think [ can prove it
| by what has been done in the past,
and still be fair and give due allow
ance for present COSTS and conditions.
##*#
! Nothing will ever be accomplished
/ by complaint and there must be some
thing done that officials understand
! is not idle talk. The people are dis
satisfied, and there must be radical
change in the conduct of public bust
ness, not only locally, but in county
and state affairs, too.
JOHN M. STONE.