New Britain herald., 1923-01-02
ONE TOWN GETS FROM STATE ENOUGH
school MONEY TO PAY PART OF ALL
ITS EXPENSES, TAX REPORT ASSERTS

Az MfUkl ASoEhio
lower the grand list OF q town, the
greater Is the percentage Of State aid
10 which il is entitled, This broad
policy Of the state Was formulated
with the puTpase thai all ehildreA DO
furnished adequate educational adr
ivantages- whatever their environ
ment or whether they reside in towns
OF wealth or In the smaller towns Of
meagre ability, and 10 furnish high
ways for through travel, thus open
ing up the hack areas 20 agriculture
and development,
II was for the purpose Of making
unif0ra the elements considered IN
making up the several local grand
lists, that the state board of eauaiiE
zatinn was authorized by the lsegisE
lature 10 raise or lower the grand
list of a town for purposes OF determT
lining percentages Of state aid The
grand list as fixed by the hoard OF
equalization, is accepted as the official
list for all transactions between the
state and the towns,
Prior 20 the current year, the
hoard OF equalization has based It's
conclusions and In the main part
relied on official reports OF town
officers Three investigators were
engaged by the tax commissioner last
summer. however, by authority OF the
board OF equalization. 10 ascertain
and report on the work of assessors,
particularly 10 ascertain whether
boards of assessors were using the
rule OF valuation imposed by the
statutes as a basis of laying the pro-
perty tax. and. II 40. 10 determine
how closely valuations fixed by asses
sors approached the statutory flair
worked under the direction OF Com
missioner Blodgett. and each was
furnished with set OF missionaries
to be used In the towns respectively
investigated by him.
Investigators Report
Regarding the character OF the in
vestigation. Commissioner Blodgett
writes as follows In his report
1.-THE courts repeatedly have held
that the best evidence OF the value
of anything is gained by ascertaining
the price at which II has been sold.
No one contends that the selling price
is conclusive proof of actual value.
but 1t Is evidence and usually 1t is
the best evidence. The QUESTIONABLE
was so framed that real estate, which.
for any reason. may have been sold
for an excessive value, could be iden-
titled and eliminated from considera-
ton. On the other hand, conveyances
of real estate based on a lesser con-
sideration or selling price, whatever
may have been the cause, than in or
binary circumstances 1t would have
been sold for, were included and a
QUESTIONABLE as to each such transfer
was filled out and used as though the
had sold for its fair market
value.
The plan adopted was to parallel
actual selling valuations opposite to
a SCISSORS valuations of the same pro-
perty, and, by adding the total selling
values and separately the last valua-
tons of the assessors. an average per-
centage figure of assessors valuations
to actual selling valuations was OBJ
tanned. In towns wherein real estate
was active, transfers of residential
or small farms were used in
sufficient number to obtain general
knowledge OF the work of the assess
ors. In small towns, wherein real es-
tates was inactive, no preference as |
TO property could be given. The last |
transfers as recorded by town clerks |
were considered preferable to those
older in point of time. 1t was impos-
sible to use the same number of con-
veyance in all towns. In the smaller
towns not more than dozen to twen-
ty conveyances could be obtained,
but in the larger towns thirty to fif-
ty missionaries were considered |
sufficient to furnish basis on which
to obtain the averages desired. The
selling values were obtained by pro-
curing information from private
sources, from grantors, grantees. or
others having information respecting |
the transfers, but; more frequently,
the federal stamps placed on the
deeds were used and the consideration
FOR the transfer determined there
from. The stamps were correctly af-
fixed In a very high percentage of
transfers of residential property and |
small farms The reverse was found
20 be true in cases of transfers of
and more valuable proper
y IL sold through or connected with
speculative transactions.
A table is presented in the report
showing the results of an investiga-
ion of seventeen property transfers
n one of the smaller towns Of the
state. The highest percentage figure
Of any of the assessments shown was
80 per cent. and the lowest 9.2 per
cent. In the 80 per cent. case, the
selling value was found to be $1,000,
md the assessors valuation, $685.. In
he go per cent. case, it was found
hat the property was sold for 5000,
md it was assessed at a value Of 1925.
This is the same town referred to in
he opening paragraph of this article.
With the exception of Ellington,
Putnam, Naugatuck and
Norwich, all towns have complied
With the requirements of the 1917
General Assembly and have complet-
ID a general retaliation of property,
Commissioner Blodgett's report shows.
1T is very evident" says the report,
hat the assessors of the smaller
owns do not devote sufficient time
o their duties; consequently proper
" is not viewed as is required by the
statutes, and the assessments fire.
,uently are not based on the statutory
.ule of fair market value"