The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1924-07-17
urges CHANGES
). IN CONDUCT OF
HAIL BUREAU
Auditor Suggests New Meth
DDS With Reference to Tax
From the Counties
GETS COOPERATION
Receives Aid From the De-
partment in Making Audit,
Says o. B. Lund

Recommendations that uniform
rules be made regarding collections
and remittances to the state hail in
surance fund from counties, and that
a representative of the department go
over the tax accounts of various
counties are made by O. B. Lund,
accountant employed by the state
board of auditors, in report sub
mitted today on the state hail in
surance department. The audit COW
ers the period from the time the
present department was established
in 1919.
The original law did not make it
clear as to the collections and re-
mittances to the hail department Of
penalty and interest on the 1919 and
1920 hail tax, Mr.. Lund said. "From
some countless" he added, full penal
ty and interest, as is applied to other
taxes for these years, has apparently
been collected and RENTED to the
state hail insurance department,
while other counties have made par
tial remittances for penalty and in
terest, and other counties no re-
mittance whatever for the penalty
and interest on hail tax levied for
those years. A uniform rule should
be laid down., if possible, covering
the COLLECTION Of penalty and inter-
est for those years, instead of TAX
ing what is offered by some counties
and permitting other counties to pass
without renting any penalty and in
terest whatever"
Hail Tax Record
With reference to the hail tax
record the auditor says: "The hail
insurance department has a complete
detailed record of the hail insurance
tax levies and collections with the
various counties. This record shows
that there are few counties that
have RENTED hail insurance taxes in
excess of the levy shown by the alb
stract of tax list, and in some of
these cases the hail department has
added an arbitrary charge without
basic information for entering same.
1t has come to my observation in the
past that county officers have made
errors in apportioning and renting
state taxes, and in fairness to the
taxpayers these items should be gone
over at the counties to determine
where the discrepancy arises. There
are also some counties that are con-
siderably behind in their hail tax
payments. The state hail insurance
department makes an effort to
straighten some Of these matters by
correspondence, hut my experience
has been that it is difficult to in
duce a great many of the county
auditors to assist in Strengthening
such matters without going to the
coanty, and l believe with the
amount of money involved it would
be good business for the department
to have representative go over the
tax accounts, with some of the coun-
ties at least, to get the tax ac-
counts Strengthened out to agree with
their records"
The auditor says that since there
appeared to have been no audit made
VI ZIG PAL SubSut SIHCC ltS oISduiLu-
ton, it was necessary to go back
to March l, 1919. The hail insurance
department., like many new state de-
partments organized in the past,
started without systematic method
of keeping account of their business,
depending largely on the state audi
tor and state treasurer to keep a
record of their cash acounts," says
the auditor. "A general ledger has
never been kept by the department
and many Of the liabilities are not
shown on their books"
With regard to the hail losses Of
1923, paid on an 80 per cent basis,
Mr.. Lund suggests that the legis-
lature could appropriate. 100000
from the surplus fund to make up
the deficit, without impairing the
original surplus fund derived from
the flat tax levy.
Gets Cooperation
The departments acreage and loss
reports, he said, were very COM
plete, and he did not find it neces-
sary to go into an audit of them.
He added that the hail insurance de-
partment and assistants afforded him
every facility in his work.
The balance sheet shows for the
five years the total flat and indemni-
~ tax collections charged counties
amounted to $22, 1854, 558.17; the total
hail losses paid $lS,757,3O2.99, the
amount of tax charge exceeding hail
losses $4,007, 255.36.