The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1958-02-21
Reporis Made On
Continued From Page One)

Prior to the appearance of the state
board, fieldmen Otto Wagnild and
Frank Moze were questioned for a
couple of hours by commission mem
bers. They, like the board, expressed
the opinion the program which must
be completed by July 1, 1862, is
progressing satisfactorily. They also
gave the commission a progress re-
port on the various counties, and out
lined a number of the problems which
have arisen because of imponderables
not foreseen when the program was
inaugurated.
Moze and Wagnild stated that in
some counties only preliminary of
flee work has been gotten underway;
in others they are held up pending
arrival of aerial maps or the obtain
ing of competent people to handle
all phases of the program. While more
cooperation between adjacent coun-
ties is badly needed to ensure greater
uniformity of reclassifications, they
said that the block of IA eastern Mon
tana counties are working very closely
together, and they hoped that similar
cooperative action would be forth
coming in other districts of the state.
The probability that number of
counties would have Redistribution
work done we'll in advance of the July
1862 deadline and would proceed to
revise valuations raised the question
of statewide levies and that the
counties that did complete work
early would find themselves unfairly
against in collection of
university and various statewide
tombstone suggested that the way to
avoid such discrimination would be
the enactment of variable ratio"
This, he said, would mini
mize discrimination by providing a
means of regulating apportionment
of state-furnished school and welfare
funds to the counties, with those
whose values have been increased re-
ceiving proportionately more than
those who are slow in completing re-
and value revision.
COUNTY HELD UP
AS AN EXAMPLE
Overall progress of the reclassifi-
cation program in Chouteau county |
1nder the able guidance of Ed M.
Peterson, was pointed out by commits
ion members as an outstanding ex-
ample of the work being accomplished
n an efficient and equitable manner.
Because Chouteau is doing such an
job, Mr.. Peterson was
allied into Helena to enlighten the
commission on the procedures he and
lis force are using.
Peterson. one-time U. S. Depart
nent of Agriculture employee, and
more recently a machinery dealer and
rain grower in Chouteau county,
tated that in his county seven major
TENS are taken into consideration in
lassifying real property as a basis
or value establishing at later date.
'hese seven points are:
I. General Information: This in
ludes information available from
ormer surveys and studies, loaning ,
gencies and the value they place ,
n property as a basis for making ,
pans. elevator records and informa- :
ion elevator men know about land
roductive capacity, etc., in their :
reas, machinery sales, hail insurance
ecords, crop insurance, precipitation I
ecords, the 1910 classification pro- :
ram made in Chouteau county, etc.
2. Aerial Photographs: These show |
t glance the areas in crop and are S
tremendous help to the men in the S
ED in locating tracts of land. t
3. Yield Data: F'ieldmen attempt to c
ontact every farmer to find out what 4
is crop yield is from year to year. {
ONE keep very accurate records, 4
hers do not with the result that con-
derable argument develops in some Z
stances. When an owner is an cab d
,ntee' then, after going over his II
nd, the fieldmen attempt to develop
lis part of yield data information by e
with yields off nearby '
acts, opinions of adjacent farmers, r
C. All of this, whenever possible, is Il
conciled with elevator and other P
cords.