The Park Governments of Chicago 63 



Taxes for Park Purposes. 



1. Taxes are levied by each of the ten park boards 

 within the city, except Lincoln Park Board, the levies for 

 which are made by the towns of North Chicago and Lake 

 View. 



2. The confusion incident to the multiplicity of taxing 

 districts is increased by the multiplicity of legislative 

 authorizations under which the taxes of each district are 



' levied. For example, the South Park Board levies under 

 twelve, the West Park Board eleven and the Lincoln Park 

 Board (by the towns) under six distinct legislative author- 

 izations. 



3. The amount of the tax levy which the South Park 

 Board certified to the County Clerk in 1909 was equivalent 

 to 42.8 cents on each $100 of assessed value of the tax- 

 able property of the South Park district. In extending 

 the levy, instead of applying the next highest round figure 

 rate which would have been 43 cents, the County Clerk 

 applied a rate of 44 cents, which gave the South Park 

 Board approximately $50,000 more than they would other- 

 wise have had. The Bureau has been unable to obtain a 

 satisfactory explanation of this increase. 



4. It was understood by the public that the change in 

 valuation from 1/5 to 1/3, made in 1909 for the purpose 

 of increasing the debt limit of municipalities, would not 

 increase taxes. Due to the fact, however, that the val- 

 uation was changed without changing the tax rate of the 

 Park Boards, they were enabled to increase the amount of 

 their tax levies by approximately one-third. The South 

 Park Board had power in 1910 to increase its levy $758,007 

 over the amount levied the previous year. The Board did 

 not venture to ask for so exorbitant an amount but it did 

 take advantage of the defect of the law by levying an 

 increase of $396,565, bringing the total levy for the South 

 Park district up to $2,600,000. 



5. Although the South Park Board thus benefited by 



