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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 1955)
0 SIX MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE Wednesday, October 19. 195S 1 Tax Commissioner (Editor's note: This issue of orchard tree taxation in Jack son county has been the sub ject of considerable coniro ersy here since last spring. The following statement by State Tax Commissioner Sam Stewart gives a detailed ex planation of the commission's stand on the matter. It is in the form of an answer to Wil liam L. Smith of Central Point, whose letter to the commission protesting the tax ation of trees and hearings which resulted appeared re cently in the Mail Tribune.) State of Oregon State Tax Commission Valuation Division Salem Dear Mr. Smith: You letter of Oct. 7 poses a great number of questions rela tive to this commission's actions inQTackson county. As a citizen ofethis state, you have every right to be apprised of what ac tion your state government is taking, and why. Believing firmly in that fundamental right, I shall attempt to the best of my ability to answer them. The state is, as you are fully aware, divided into 36 counties, and certain county officers are provided by state law, both con stitutional and statutory, to carry out state laws. Those of ficers concerned with carrying out the laws relating to the prop erty tax are the assessor and the county board of equalization. It is expected that these county officers will carry out those state laws within their respec tive jurisdictions to the end that the law is applied uniformly in each county of the state, so that AS LOW AS WEEK Osly RCA Victor jives yncr'4-PLUSM factors for TV's finest pktert ! -ci lib tar price! i ' High-priced picture quality! That's what you get with the nw RCA Victor 21-inch Head linor! You get all four yital factors for TVs finest picture! 1 100 automatic gain con trol, v 3 "Sync" stabilizer that kills interference jitters. 3 7 extra brightness. A 33 contrast! Come see the RCA Victor 21-inch Headliner today! for UHF-Naw High pi i UHF tuning covin 70 UHF ' channels in 2ft sacondsl Op tional, xtra, at now low cost I We Carry Our Own Contracts OPEN UNTIL 9 Wednesday Nights HAL KRUEGER and AL THOMPSON RCA Ranges TV Radios 237 EAST MAIN Phone 2-2456 We Have Our Own AUTHORIZED TV SERVICE SHOP $000 HI a taxpayer,, regardless of the county he lives in, will be ac corded uniform treatment. To insure that this state of affairs obtains, the state tax commis sion was created and given cer tain powers. One of those pow ers is as follows: , Law Cited 'The state tax- commission shall exercise general super vision of the system of taxa tion throughout the state, and general supervision and con trol over the administration of the assessment and tax laws and over county assessors and county boards of equalization in the performance of their duties relating to taxation to the end that all taxable prop erty is assessed uniformly ac cording to law and equality of taxation according to law is secured." It was recognized by the legis lature in 1951 that the adminis tration of the property tax was characterized by the grossest sort of inequities which could not be substantially eliminated by the commission issuing orders raising or lowering individual properties or classes of property but could only be done by in suring that the original ap praisals were correct in the first instance. The legislature, on the basis of the foregoing, in stituted the statewide reap praisal program, designed to re appraise all real property- in the state over a 10-year period. This program was to be accomplished by the counties and this commis sion working together to ac complish this end. Pursuant thereto, Jackson county and this commission entered into, an agreement to reappraise that county, commission appraisers to appraise,? among other prop erties, all farm lands. True Cash Value The statutory basis of deter mining value for property tax TheyH Do It Every Time . ItlKlmc' fOME BACK ufbf ' mUv didM't YOU PUT0CUCLE4M SHIRT? ran vnn rU4UfiE YOUR UNOERWE4R? YOUR SOX? WELL.SO RIGHT BACK. UPST4IRS AiV DO SO AUD GET A CLE4N UANK1E ' IP 1 DIDMT W4TCHV0UWDy0UR F4THER,Y0U'D GO OUT LOOKING LIKE TRAMPS.'.' Bock St airs: Ike May Rest in By MERRIMAN SMITH United Press White House Writer Denver (U.R) Backstairs at the temporary White House: The President apparently is under the assumption that he will spend ; the period of con valescence at his farm in Gettys burg, Pa. His medical advisers, however, are toying with the idea that he might be more comfortable somewhere in south Florida during late November and December. No decisions have been made, but when the President is in an acceptive mood, he undoubt edly will be asked how he feels about Florida. Rainbow trout show up oc casionally on the President's menu at Fitzsimons Army Hos pital. The - supplier? Sherman Truck and Promise Plague Fire Laddies Canton, 111. (U.R) The Canton city council is plagued with a fire truck that just won't wear out. The truck was purchased 15 years ago with funds donated by Canton area farmers. In return, the Canton city council agreed to give free Tural fire protection during the life of the truck. Now the rural fire protection is becoming too much of a fin ancial burden, but the truck won't wear out. Alderman Manley Staley pro posed that the truck be declared worn out even though it still has a- lot of life left in it. "It the city keeps on repairing that truck, it'll last forever," Staley said, "we've got to take some sort of action." Staley's proposal was shelved until the first of the year. Yellowstone National Park, the nation's oldest, was created in 1872. The newest is Ever glades National Park, created in 1947. - Explains purposes of any class of property is true cash value, defined as fol lows: - "True cash value of all property, real and personal, means the amount the prop erty would sell for at a volun tary sale made in the ordi nary course of business, under normal conditions, in accord ance with rules and regula tions promulgated by the state tax commission." This 'definition of true cash value is practically synony mous with that of market value. For that reason the tax commis sion uses market value as the basis for its appraisals. The rules and regulations of this commission provide that "market value as a basis for true cash value shall be taken to mean the amount of money or money's worth for which prop erty may be exchanged within a reasonable period of time under conditions in which both parties to the exchange are able, will ing and reasonably well in formed." ' Market value is achieved by the use of one or more of three accepted appraisal techniques: (1) Cost, i.e., repro duction or replacement cost less depreciation, (2) Capitalization of income, and (3) Sales. Factors Listed The use of these methods re quires consideration of a num ber of factors such as: (1) Kind of orchard. (This be cause different fruit and nuts have entirely different income and cost patterns.) (2) Variety of fruit. (This be cause varieties such as Red De licious, Golden Delicious, New town, and Winesap apples com mand prices in excess of less fa ored varieties, thus indicating the income-producing capabili ties of an orchard, as well as what a prospective purchaser would pay for the same.) (3) Condition of trees. M4 IS FOREVER TTjEK, WHEN THE SOILED CLOTHES PILE UP LKE POLICING POP AND JUNIOR TO SEE THAT THEY PUT OM CLEAN AtT. VESUVIUS, POOR M4 CANY UNDERSTAND ITAT4LL,4T LINEN 4T LEAST ONCE 4 DAY Adams, the assistant to the President. Adams, an ardent fly-caster, went fishing last Sunday up in the mountains near Nederland, Colo., northwest of Denver, and had pretty good luck. Some of the Washington re porters who have been covering the President out here for more than two months are being ro tated by their home offices. The experienced White House men are being sent home for a couple of weeks of rest before taking over what promise to be a long chore of covering the President's post-hospital recovery period. One of the increasingly pop ular outdoor sports in the vicin ity of Fitzsimons Army Hospital where the President is a patient is watching Mr. Eisenhower through binoculars while he is sunning himself on his eighth floor terrace. Furthermore, the President has his own set of binoculars and peers back at the people who are watching him. Most frustrated photographer in Denver this week was Charles F. Hanseni a local amateur who spent three straight days on the lawn beneath the President's sundeck,' hoping for a shot of the Chief Executive. Hansen connected . a 35-mm. camera to his 45-power tele scope and waited patiently for the President to come close to the terrace railing and wave to the people below. USE READY-MIX. CONCRETE Phone 2-5336 or 2-5897 M. C. UNINGER & SONS Stand on Tree Taxation (4) Topographic location. (5) Age of trees. (6) Market outlets. Committee of Orchardists Here Inasmuch as the persons best able to give this information were and are orchard owners, we organized in Jackson county, as in every other county where we worked, a committee of orchardists to assist us in valu ing orchards. It was at this junc ture that we found orchard trees were not being assessed by the assessor. The orchardists would not cooperate with us in de termining values, and the asses sor would not assess them un less ordered to do so by this commission. The commision discussed the problem with other counties in the state, and with other states, and with profesors of agricul tural economics at Oregon State college as well as with other state schools, notably Iowa State college. We learned that orchards were being assessed and were, further, in their opinion assess able. Dr. Blanch, of Oregon State college, is one with whom we discussed this matter, and I suggest you might find it of in terest to discuss it with him. Further, it was the considered opinion of our legal staff and of the attorney general that orchard trees were legally as sessable as an increment of value to the land. Thereafter, during the time that our farm appraisers were in Jackson County, the value of the trees was taken into consid eration on the basis of the fac tors heretofore mentioned. Orchards were classified with age and condition being given the most consideration. Average orchards were classed as A orchards; those below average but still producing, as B orchards those below average but still producing, as B orchards; young non-producing orchards were By Jimmy Hatlo LAND SAKES Ar n I 11 WHAT Am I PIlNMlklA HERE-A LAUNDRY FOR THE FOREifiU t Psinv p ALLIDOISWASH,W4SH, VfASH DIRTY CLOTHES.' MOUNTAINS OF DIRTY, rTHlSW4y) OUT" Florida While Hansen was rigged up for the pictures, the President stayed away from the railing. Finally Hansen packed up his equipment and went home. To wait any longer, he said, might put him in bad with his office. Biggest Back Yard Planted to Bulbs Lisse, Holland (U.R) The man with the biggest backyard in the world planted his spring bulbs this month. He is Willem vanderLee, a Dutch landscape architect charg ed with filling the 75 acres of Holland's Keukenhof Gardens with tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and other spring-flowering bulb.s VanderLee's job requires the combined talents of a botanist and an adroit diplomat. Not only must he see that more than 1,000,000 bulbs are properly planted, but he must placate 80 individual exhibitors, all of whom have their own ideas about placing the bulbs. The 75 acres are planted from a master plan. Every year, the entire crop of bulbs is removed, the shapes of the beds changed and the Keukenhof re-planted. VanderLee had this advice for American gardeners: "Plant your tulips six Inches deep and six apart, then sit back and relax until next spring and you will have flowers that will make you proud." classed as C, with no value as signed; and old, deteriorated orchards and orchards planted on land totally unsuited for or chards, in class D, also with no value being assigned thereto. Went on Premises It cannot be denied that bet ter appraisals would have been achieved had we received the cooperation of the orchardists, but failing to" receive same we did the best we could under the circumstances. We did, in ap praising .the orchard property, and here I wish to emphasize, actually 'go on the premises so as to determine such factors as age, condition, kind of fruit, and location. During this period, efforts were continually made to achieve the cooperation of the orchard committee as well as of the Assessor, to no avail. Realiz ing that definite action was nec essary, as time was running out within which to get the values on the roll and proceed with the orderly collection of taxes, we ordered the board of equaliz ation then in session to place upon the roll the value of orch ard trees. This action was taken pursuant to ORB 306.130, which provides as follows: "The state tax commission may do any act or give any order to any county board of equalization or county asses sor as to the valuation of any property or class of property which the commission deems necessary so that all taxable property is assessed according to law and equalized between taxpayers, between counties and between taxing units to the end that equality of taxa tion according to law shall be secured." Suggested Figures The board of equalization was at no time ordered to use' the values achieved by our apprais ers. In fact, the board came . to Salem and suggested to this com mission that they use values of $50 per acre on apples, $75 per acre on stone fruit, and $100 per acre on pears. The orchard ists, however, would not accept this modification of commission values although this commis sion had informed the board that those values were acceptable to it if the board believed that those values properly represent ed the values which should be applied. The board, upon the refusal of the orchardists to ac cept this modification, then ord 1. 5. citfre Stare vriSh yoor FORD DEALER S CRATER HACCE ftftOT RS Main at Fir Medford Phone 3-4549 ered the assessor to use the values achieved by this Commis sion's appraisers. The board, however, did not comply with ORS 309.090, which required that five days' notice of this action , be given and a hearing held for each taxpayer involved. Appeals were then prosecuted t this commission by counsel for a great number of orchardists, including your self, all of which alleged that the action of the board of equal ization was void because of fail ure to give this type of notice. The commission agreed with counsel for yourself and the orchardists in general conten tion, and ordered the board to reconvene, give the five day's notice, and hold hearings as re quired by law. The board, how ever, declined to do so, where upon the commission acted pur suant to ORC 309.400, which provides in relevant part as follows:- i "... If a county board of equalization fails to comply with any order or require ment of the commission, the commission may make the cor rection or change in the assess ment roll, and the corrections and changes shall be a part of the record of the proceedings of the board of equalization. If the commission raises the val uation of any property or adds property to the assessment roll it shall give notice for the same time and in the same manner as is required in like cases for county boards of equalization." Sent Notices This commission, in compli ance with the foregoing, sent out the five days' notice to each taxpayer involved and is holding the hearings required. At those hearings you will be able to pre sent your evidence as to why the values achieved by tax com mission appraisers on your prop erties are too high. If you prove your contentions, relief will be granted. As proof of that asser tion, this commission has already on the basis of hearings held to date, determined that errors in some instances have been made, and is even now preparing or ders to the assessor to adjust the assessment roll in those in stances. A final word as to my actions in this matter: As a state tax commissioner, it is my duty to enforce the law as it exists. It is not for me to apply that law aSed carp r7V in Jackson County in one area, in one way, and In another area in another, nor am I to enforce the law on the basis of whether I believe the law is 'Honesty Evalualor' Appraises Applicants Chicago (U.R) John Reid, a nationally known lie-detector expert, has announced a new type of employment application form called the "honesty evalu alor." The form is designed to appraise the trustworthiness of persons who apply for jobs which may offer an opportunity to steaL Reid says the form consists of 158 questions (many of them similar to standard form queries) which can, through interpreta tion, serve as a guide to the applicant's reliability. Reid said that "polygraph" lie detector tests which were used to assess the "honesty evaluator" proved the new form highly reliable. Athletics Course Presented on Video Vermillion, S. D. (U.R) The University of South Dakota has a unique course at athletics which it also presents on televi sion. Dr. "John Van Why, professor of health and physical education, said his course, entitled "Ap preciation of Athletics,", has grown nationally in interest. The professor believes the course is the first of its kind anywhere. "Appreciation of Athletics" strives to improve spectator con duct and at the same time de velop an interest in athletics. Novices also learn the tech nicalities of such sports as foot ball and basketball. kGRAGK erSwiceJfaficnis ! It ereu essiMn cleans uour dirtiest" equipment; . . . . dAM 5 0 W S& dfeWfSM m M JoriWsB deMOKstratiox...caU or write, ASHLAND, OREGON 2. Be Sure a Better selection. Ford cars than other dealers. So they have moae wonderfully eood turn-ins to be sold as used cars. Whatever make or model you want, you're most likely to find it at your Ford Dealers'. Lower prices. Ford Dealers are volume dealers. Their business prospers on quick turn-over. So used car prices are always cut to the bone to keep inventory moving fast. Mere dependability. Your Ford Dealer is an T established business man. His reputation de- pends on keeping you pleased with every car - he sells -used as well as new. USED CARS AND TRUCKS good or bad. I do not make the law. That prerogative lies rightly with the legislature. If the legis lature should subsequently change the law, I will enforce that change. If the courts should reject the interpretation of our legal department and the attor ney general, I shall follow the , court's interpretation. Until such time as the legislature does change the law, or the courts rule contrary to our position, I shall continue to enforce the law as it presently provides, without reference to person, class or lo cality, who wish it to read oth- v erwise. I trust that this letter has fully explained my position. If it fails in that regard in any way, please -do not hesitate to write me 'fur ther. Very truly yours, . Samuel B. Stewart, ' Commissioner. Swimming Pool Has Zoo Along Shore Louisville, Ky. (U.R) An ex convict, John C. Maas, who loves animals, runs one of the few swimming pools in the coun try with a built-in zoo on Its shore. X Maas' zoo boasts a lioness, bear cubs and. monkeys because of the study he made of animals while a prisoner at La Grange State Reformatory. He purchas ed most of the animals for $200 from a "small but hungry zoo" going out of business in Ft Wayne, Ind. . - . Patrons of his swimming pool stroll around the zoo anea be tween dips in the pooL Maas hopes to add to his animal col lection and someday to present it to the city, which lacks a zoo. At present, Maas Is looking for a bargain in an elephant or tiger cub. ASHLAND 2127! 4. Dealers eH
