Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 September 1919 — CO. COUNCIL FIXES TAX LEVY [ARTICLE]

CO. COUNCIL FIXES TAX LEVY

Total Levy Is 29 Cents, Against 74.9 Cents Last Year. / The county council met again Monday to fix the tax levy for this year and to pass upon the nearly $350,000 worth of county unit roads reported favorably upon by the county commissioners. The county levy was fixed at 18 cents on the SIOO ~ valuation for county expenditures proper; 3 cents for court house bonds and 8 cents for gravel road repair, a total of 29 cents, to which will he added a fraction of perhaps 9-10 of a cent to make the levy come Put even when the report of the state levy is received. Last year the levy was 74.9 —49.9; lO and 15, respectively. • ■ The reduction this year is about 45 cents over last year, but the /’Valuation, of the county last year t was $15,942,666, while under the new tax law and the recent Increase made by the state tax board over the assessors’ and county board of review’s figures the total this year is >43,543,755. . The following table shows the net assessment of the various townships and towns for last year and this, after the recent raise in assessments 'by the state tax board had been made:

AlB 1919 Barkley 1,385,029 $ 4,440,860 Carpenter . 2,070,836 6,003,190 Gillahi ... 815,785 2,328,220 (•'Jang. Grv. 804,678 2,165,315 Jordan ... 987,135 2,833,610 Kankakee . 595,965 1,436,330 Keener ... 799,986 1,964,865 Marlon ... 2,121,876 6,123,510 Milroy ... 347,085 991,330 Newton ... 960,960 2,965,135 Rem’gton . 503,010 1,154,000 Rensselaer . 1,502,986 3,579,775 Union 1,390,432 3,344,190 Walker ... 717,618 1,838,780 Wheatfild . 756,015 1,908,570 Whtfld Tn. 183,270 376,075 315,942,666 $43,453;755 There was nothing definite done regarding the county unit roads, the meeting of the council practically breaking up in a row because of the difference of opinion of the councilmen over the advisability of recommending the construction of the roads reported by the county commissioners.

As heretofore stated inVrhe Democrat, Commissioner Welch is rightfully opposing the construction at this time of the roads, or the greater amount of therm, while the other two commissioners are for them, and it is reported that at least one of the letter commissioners has been using his influence on the members of the county council to pull enough members over to put the roads through. After considerable . squabbling the councilmen left the court house by ones and ' twos, after having agreed at the beginning so the session that they would acknowledge service under the law and dispose of the matter at thjs session rather than be called back again later, until all had left. Later in the evening, after some of the workers for the roads had evidently rounded up a majority of the (members, a typewritten request was left at the auditor’s office requested the auditor to call the council together on Friday, Sept. 19, to view the proposed roads, so it is probable that definite action will be taken at this meeting Friday. The roads' reported on by the

commissioners by townships and the estimated cost of each are as follows: Newton Township— C. C. Parks road No. 1.3 6,445.88 C. C. Parks road No. 2. 10,993.20 C. C. Parks road No. 3. 10,939.16 C. C- Parks road No. 4. 36,485.04 3 64,863.28 Wheatfield and Kankakee Tps.— A. Duggleby road No. 1.3 20,026.30 A. Duggleby road No. 2. 35,448.58 A. Duggleby road No. 3. 7,182.70 3 62,657.58 J. F. Mftchell, Jordan.. 3 35.Q90.46 E. R. Cook, Hang. Grv. 38,643.94 Edward Tanner, Barkley 10,647.63 W. B. Fisher, Milroy. . 19,698.75 ■C.. W. Brand, Milrey. . 15,651.00 G. L. Parks, Alilroy. .. . 17,017.00 Ernest Comer, Union.. 13,908.83 Thos. F. Murphy, _Union and Newton 14,177.81 Harvey Davisson, 3 r’ds, Gillam and Walker, 1 16,483.96 Same, No. 2 2,840.50 Same, No. 3 5,541.79 Grand total 3346,351.71 It will be noted that neither Marion nor Carpenter townships, which have a combined valuation of 316,860,475, more than onethird of the valuation of the entire county, do not get a singly mile of any of these roads,, the great majority of which are in out townships and are seldom used, at least not by the county as a whole, but which the county is asked to build, tying itself up with a bond issue of practically 3350,000 and which would shut off other county unit roads which might be needed for years to come, Marion and Carpenter townships and Rensselaer and Remington paying practically 3150,000 of this amount. The general opinion of representative, taxpayers with whom The Democrat has talked, not only in Rensselaer and Remingtqn, but in townships where the roads proposed to be.constructed are located, is that the propositions should be turned down; that while it would be very nice, of course, to have every crossroad in the eounty improved, many of the roads asked for are not of general county utility—as intended by the county unit road law —and few, if any, of them should, be built now when prices, are so abnormally high. If you are opposed to granting these petitions at this time, talk to your county councilman and let him know your views at once, as thby meetfnext Friday morning to take Some action.