The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1924-10-23
Officials Unable to Under
stand Great Increase
Made in Values Here.
ABOVE TRUE VALUE
Increase Will Mean Very Large
Increase in State Taxes to
Be Paid in the County.

The valuation of property in Keno
sha county for the levy of the state
taxes has been boosted this year
twenty million dollars by the Wiscon-
sin State Tax Commission according
to figures given out at Madison this
morning. The large increase in the
valuation will mean very large in
crease in the amount of state taxes
to be paid by Kenosha county and it
will wipe out many times any reduc-
tion made to the county by the recent
announcement that certain taxes had
been RENTED. Under the valuation
announced by the state today the tax
able property of Kenosha county is
valued at $116,516,978. The valuation
Of. the taxable property in Kenosha
county as returned by the state tax
commission in 1923 was $96,726,S85.
Local officials were astounded when in
formed of the vast increase for the
valuation Of Kenosha county and they
declared that they could not in any
way figure how the increase could
have been determined upon.
Far Above the True Value.
The figures set by the state will
probably be forty million dollars in
excess of the valuation Of the property
of the county as fixed by the local
assessors and twenty million dollars
in advance of the "true value" set by
the supervisor of assessments in 1928.
This true value was placed at $685.
/ 155,214. The assessed valuation of the
property of the entire county for the
year 1928 was placed at $7S,S28,433
and while the assessment figures for
this year are not all available at this
I time it is certain that in the year
only a few millions have been added
to the values.
| On this valuation all of the state
taxes against the people of Kenosha
county will be levied and the local
county board will have no power to
change these figures. Kenosha county,
while the second smallest city in the
4 state, ranks seventh in the amount
of the valuation returned by the
state tax commission.
Large increases in valuation have
been made in several Of the counties,
particularly in the lake shore and
southeastern sections of the state.
Talk of Appeal for Revision.
! When the figures were made known
to county officials today, there was
much talk of an appeal for revision
of the figures, but it is pretty well
known that such an appeal would NOS
get results. The state tax commission
has arbitrarily fixed these figures. The
local levies will not be based on the
figures furnished by the state, but by
the figures furnished by the local
assessors and reconciled in keeping
with the true values.
The vast increase shows the upward
trend of expenses in Wisconsin and
the desire to increase taxes. Until the
state levy is made it will be impossible
to tell just how much of an Increase
this will mean for Kenesha.
Milwaukee Leads State.
The total valuation of the property
of the state is placed at $4,95o 46S.117.
Milwaukee county leads with a valnA-
tion just a little over billion dol
lars. Dane county is second with an
assessment of $249, 34S ,1o2; and Racine
county is third with valuation just
slightly in excess of $165,000,000. Rock,
Dodge and Sheboygan counties are the
other counties having valuation
higher than that returned for Kenosha