Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1932-03-03
SHERIDAN COUNTY
RECONSTRUCTION
Third InstaIlrnenf)

Third lnstallment)
Our county's bonded indebtedness pre-
SCENTS a problem that must be solved. 1t Is an
immense load which our taxpayers are be
ing called upon at this time to carry. 1t has
become an unjust load, and one that could
have been foreseen and remedies provided
for in the past
1t will be remembered that the state
examiner last summer called our attention TO
this heavy indebtedness and the require
ments which by law should be complied
with. Our total net Indebtedness at that
time was $5o7,9 $40. There will be bonds
coming due in 1884 amounting to $33O.O0O
and in 1885. 500. 900. Our sinking fund
requirements last year with which these
bonds are to be paid was SlO4.O 600 but we
dared to levy only sos, 900 of it This year
there will be another $l04. 900 requirement
what will we dare to levy nova How
much and when can we possibly provide for
the rest Of this debit Then there is the
$40, 600 bond issue of this winter for which
no market has yet been found Besides this
are all the warrants which are not FcashabIe
now on account of taxes not being paid We
are also supposed to levy TO pay off that
closed bank account of Sill 900 On top
Of this we have the steadily working inter
est eating away at our vltals. Lev1es must
be made for all Of these according to law,
taxes will not be paid, and besides taxpay-
ers will have to pay a penalty of ) percent
and additional interest of 8 percent We will
sure get in rubbed in, and with a vengeance
What are we drifting into. anyway?
Last year We made a levy OF mills,
for sinking fund, 7 mills for interest, 2 mills
for closed banks, and 2 mills for warrants re-
demptIon-a total of y mills to pay debts
or part of them at least. Some other coun-
ties run their whole county for this size levy
and we have it as an extra burden. Where
are we going to end? Surely, there must
be some way out, some solution
1t has occurred to us that now with all
this government refinancing, the two billion
dollar corporation, etc, that there ought to
be some way whereby financially frozen
counties could also be thawed out. Earlier
efforts, we are Informed, were knocked in
the head, but it seems that something ought
to be done even yet. The Frazier farm re-
finance measure aPpeas to us, if it could be
made applicable to counties. We have writ
ten our Representative Scott Leavitt In this
respect suggesting the possibility of either
an amendment to this bill if not to some
other of like character, whereby counties
could be refinanced SIMILARLY We have
not heard as yet if there is any possibility of
such a thing but if sufficient demand were
made for it no doubt something would be
done. This refnancing for counties is just
as necessary as for industry and farming,
otherwise we are confronted with an I'M
bearable burden on the taxpayers. and a
danger of financial disaster to our local gov
m
Under the refinancing measure 1T is
planned that all Indebtedness will be amor
tized over a long period of years, one and a
half percent on principal and one and a half
/ percent on interest, total three percent each
year Even if we could get it at double this,
say 6 percent, we would then not have to
levy any more than for our interest as it is
now, 7 mills-less than one-third of this to-
tai levy. 1t would relieve the present acute
situation and avoid loading down the tax
payers and farmers with a huge delinquent
tax load on which to pay penalty and inter
est. 1t would head off this property confis-
cation that is now going ON. 1t would give
us a fair chance.