Great Falls tribune., 1922-04-14
REDUCE MONTANA TAX BILL
SIX MILLIONS THIS YEAR:
State ASSOCIATIONS AIM
Organization Launches Campaign to Restore AS
sessments to 1918 Basis; Issues Bulletin Call
ing Attention to Causes of Increase; State Debt
Amounts to Charge of $3.50 Against Each
Head of Family

A slash of 100000 in Montana
| tax bill, a saving of S11 for ever.
man, woman and child in the state. j!
| announced as the goal of the Montana
| Taxpayers association in q bulletin
recently issued The bulletin contain.
a resume of the growth of taxes dur
ing recent years. The reduction wouit
place state expenditures on the bash
of 1918.
The $6,OOO,OOO represents an in.
crease of 27 per cent above the ex
penditures of four years ago.
An analysis of the expenditures fol
schools show that the greatest pro.
portional increase is charged against
administration, the costs of this de
partment increasing $50 per cent since
1914, or from $S9,94O to S5Ss,57S
Books and stationary jumped from
S149, ,S61 to SCOOPS, an increase OF
321 per cent in the six years. The
amount charged to teaching mounted
1874 per cent in the period, or from
$2.431 ,523 to S5,6o1 ,42S.
Maintenance and operation were re-
sponsible for an increase of 155 per
cent or from S615,0S2 to S1,572 ,625
Auxiliary agencies, including transpor-
tation, libraries and health work, rose
from S246,932 to S721,1 ,15S. Superin-
tendents, with an increase of 81 per
cent, were the least of the items,
grounds and the like, is second from
the bottom with 76 per cent.
During the six years, the number
of school children increased Al per
cent, from S5,762 to 126,23s, a growth
less than the least of the increases in
expenditures.
Where School Dollar Goes
An analysis of the school dollar of
taxes shows that the teachers get "A
cents of it and capital outlay in new
buildings and equipment, 16 cents.
Maintenance and operation come third
for II cents and liquidation of debts
costs eight cents of each dollar. Auxili-
ary agents take six cents and admins
tration and textbooks each get five
cents. Superintendents cost three
cents of the dollar
A bonded and floating indebtedness
for the state and it's subdivisions that
almost trebles that of 1913 is shown in
the analysis made by the association:
the amount jumping from S16.633, 154
in 1913 to $50. .39s,61s in 1921, or an
increase of from $39.6S to $11004 in
the per capita deDI.
The bonded debt for country pur-
poses also shows steady trend up
ward, going from S671O,O6o in 1914
to s25,202.o95 in 1921. The biggest
increase for any single year was when
the county debt jumped from $16,661,-
$40 in 1919 to $22,912564 in 1920.
Of the "a counties in the state, only
four are shown to have money in sink
ing funds in excess of the require
ments. The four exceptions are Beav
erhead, Deer Lodge, Madison and
Treasure. In four new counties, where
no bonds have been issued, there is
no deficit in the sinking fund, but all
other counties show deficit.
Cascade County's Showing
Cascade county is shown to have
S20.354 in outstanding warrants and
81, ,701 900 in outstanding bonds. sink
ing fund requirement of $477,630 and
a deficit in the fund of $407,047 rank
ing next to Musselshell county for the
largest deficit in sinking fund require
ments. Choteau comes next to Cas-
,ade in the size of it's sinking fund de-
ficit, having $1,O97,OOO in outstanding
bonds and deficit of S66, ,229. Silver
Bow county has by far the greatest
number of outstanding warrants, with
4 total Of S624.17S and outstanding
ponds of $685.. 600 and sinking fund
1eficit of $151,575. In Fergus county
he outstanding warrants total $185,51S. |
he bonds $1,947OOO and the sinking
sund deficit is $1OO,936. The balance
n the Musselshell sinking fund is $3.50. |
The association makes this appeal:
I'VE are prone to place the entire
for high taxes on our
ocal public officials. While this associ-
'tion does not take the position of
attempting to defend all of the acts
# these officials we must remember
hat we have voted upon ourselves a
arge portion of our present tax burden,
With an apparent disregard for the
payday that must come.
Montana has a progressive spirit,
nut the funds to carry out progressive
deas are ultimately taken from the
rops of the farmers, the wages of the
and the products of the in
Iustries. In other words, the public
must foot their own bills.
Times Are Not Flush
Government, like an individual,
pends its money freely in flush times.
these are not flush times.
mo one can deny the fact that the
ime has come when we must sew up
he holes in the public pocketbook.
INCREASED taxes are largely the di-
ect result of demands made BY or
- e..a kIJsl- II