Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 75, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 February 1909 — RULING AGAINST “TAX FERRETS.” [ARTICLE]

RULING AGAINST “TAX FERRETS.”

Assessors Must Look For Sequestered Taxables. In deciding that the “tax ferrets” employed to add omitted property to the tax duplicate in Howard county could not recover compensation for work that the law requires the county assessor to perform, or when there was no appropriation by the County Council to pay for this work, the Supreme Court Tuesday decided that the county reform law and the act creating the office of county assessor are constitutional. Joseph B. Workman and Joseph Higgs made a contract to search for omitted taxable property for a commission of 35 per cent. The auditor refused to issue them a warrant for their share, and they sued out a w’rit of mandamus to compel him to do so. The provision of the county reform act which says a member of the County Council must be a resident freeholder and qualified voter of the county, not holding any other state, county or township office, were declared by plaintiffs to make the act invalid.

Judge Myers, speaking for the court, said that “the office of county councilman is not a constitutional office; being a creation of the statute, the Legislature may impose such conditions of eligibility as it sees proper. • • • “There is no constitutional or inherent right to hold office, or in citizens to vote; they are political privileges, and the conditions of officeholding and of voting must be complied with. If prescribed by the constitution they can not be abridged; if not the Legislature may prescribe them in reason.”

The court ajso held that the tax ferrets could not recover for services which were rendered In performing duties with which the law has specially charged the county assessor. Judge - Myers said: “It Is urged that the work requires peculiar knowledge and skill; we are not prepared to assent to that proposition, but even so, it only argues the selection of qualified officers, or the abolition of this duty on the part of county assessors and imposing It elsewhere. * • * "What we do hold is that the examination for and assessing of omitted property is committed to, and is the duty of the county assessor. * * • The answer alleges an employment for and the performance of the ‘identical’ duties required of the county assessor by statufe, and for services wholly performed in that county.”