Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1940-01-04
Allen Contends
New Assessment
Protests Late
CONTINUED from page ~

curing Cne repression anu LIlc
years that Immediately followed
that period.
"The Board of County Com
missioners designated William P.
Richards, who for the past twenty
eight years had been the assessor
in charge of all of the real estate
assessments in the adjacent Dis
trict of Columbia, to head the
important work of the reassess-
ment in Montgomery County.
When Mr.. Richards was appointed
to head the Montgomery County
assessors the Washington Evening
Star, in an editorial on June /,
1889, highly praised his appoint
ment."
The Brookings Institute said of
his appointment: His reputation
is above reproach with respect to
technical ability in his field, adj
ministrative ability, and integrity.
"Mr. Richards after his appoint
ment declared publicly that he
wanted to conduct the reassess-
ment of the real estate in Mont
gomery county through resident
assessors who We're familiar with
the values and neighborhoods of
Montgomery county.
"The Board Of County Commits
sioners then appointed a group of
residents of the suburban county
who appeared entirely qualified to
make a fair, equitable and compe-
tent reassessment. The names of
these men and their qualifications
as announced by the county COM
missioners last June are printed at
the end of this article. It is
now under scrutiny because each
parcel of suburban Montgomery
county property was assessed by
two OR three Of these men and re-
viewed by Mr.. Richards and in fact
the card upon which each piece of
is described and assessed |
bears, as permanent public re-
cord the signatures of the men
the assessment and is
available for the inspection of the |
owner or any other citi-
zen of the county.
Finally, Walton T. Allen, & lead
ing Republican of Chevy Chase
who was appointed supervisor of !
assessments in Montgomery coun-
ty by the Republican State Tax
Commission, which recent Republi-
can Governor Harry W. Nice APP
pointed, is, by state law as we'll
as by the instruction of the super
visor of state assessors, further
primarily responsible for the con- !
duct of the reassessments in Mont
county. The fact that Mr..
Allen comes from the opposite po-
litical party from the county COM
who appointed the as
SCISSORS is an additional check and
safeguard on the character of the
1889 reassessment.
Actually the State Supervisor of
lin Montgomery coun-
ty Mr.. Allen) is required either to
agree or disagree with the county
assessors as to each valuation and
the following paragraphs 6 and z
quoted from the instructions of the
State Tax Commission to the Mont
gomery County Commissioners in
cident to the present reassessment.
/" g. If the Supervisor of assess
ors agree upon valuation, the
agreed upon shall be en-
tered on the back of the card and |
initiated by the Supervisor and as
SCISSORS.
" z. If the Supervisor and as
SCISSORS cannot agree upon valua-
ton, each shall make separate |
recommendation on the back of the
card to be initiated separately.
"The chief clerk of the assess
ment reports today that a hasty |
of the protests received |
from property owners of the valua-
lion determined in the reassess-
ment indicates that the owners of |
FIVE per cent of the parcels of
Montgomery county real estate
have protested their new assess
ments and that the owners of the
other 95 per cent have not made
any protest of their reassessment
/
at is further understood that !
many of the owners who protested !
the valuation of the new assess
ment have done so to be within the !
period required by law for the fill
ing Of such protests but (which is
on or before January 1, 1940), so
that their property might share in
anv discrimination or reimbursement !