October, 1932 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Five 



Farm Bureau Tax Work Gets Results 



Substantial Cuts Follow Intelligent Progrann of Tax Reduction Initiated 



By I. A. A. Last Spring 



GEO. F. TTTLLOCK 



SUBSTANTIAL reductions of taxes 

 in nearly all Illinois counties have 

 been reported during the past few 

 weeks largely as a result of the cam- 

 paign of intelligent tax reduction 



initiated by the 

 Illinois Agricul- 

 tural Association 

 and the County 

 Farm Bureaus 

 last spring. 



Reductions i n 

 assessed valua- 

 tions of property 

 made by assessors 

 and boards of re- 

 V i e w this year 

 and last have 

 been followed 

 with voluntary 

 and involuntary cuts in salaries and 

 fees of county officers and em- 

 ployees, expenditures for supplies 

 and equipment, and in levies against 

 property. 



The Winnebago County Farm Bu- 

 reau submitted a detailed brief rel- 

 ative to the cost of government in 

 Winnebago county to the board of 

 supervisors at a public hearing early 

 in September. 



Letter Explains Study 



In a letter to the supervisors, 

 signed by President Geo. F. TuUock, 

 the Farm Bureau said: 



"The Winnebago County 

 Farm Bureau is joining with 

 the Farm Bureaus in nearly 

 100 other counties in Illinois 

 in a constructive, intelligent 

 study of the cost of local, 

 county and state govern- 

 ment. We have set up an 

 ■ organization, with represen- 

 , tation in each tax levying 

 ^ district from the school dis- 

 .._ trict up, with the hope of . 

 '' -' getting at the facts of tax ■, 



levying and tax spending. 

 • Our line of procedure is 

 along lines outlined by John 

 , C. Watson, of the Depart- 

 .■■ ment of Taxation and Sta- 

 :. tistics of the Illinois Agri- 

 . cultural Association. The in- 

 formation being collected in 

 this state-wide study should 

 .. be of use to every tax levying 

 body which desires to keep 

 the costs of government 

 - down to the limit of efficient 

 operation. 

 "The group of members of 

 ; the Winnebago County Farm 

 ;• Bureau to whom you are 

 • i kindly giving audience this 

 morning is composed of the 



officers, board of directors 

 and members of our county 

 tax committee. We are here 

 in an effort to extend to you 

 an offer of co-operation in 

 your work of planning the 

 budget for next year. 



"It is our belief that the 

 cost of government has risen 

 to a peak far above the plane 

 of income of the taxpayer. 

 We believe that the mem- 

 bers of this honorable body 

 desire to be familiar with the 

 wishes of the electorate 

 which has placed them in of- 

 fice. Therefore, we are here 

 to convey to you a message 

 from our membership in 

 which we ask you to adjust 

 the costs of government 

 radically downward, elimi- 

 nating every nonessential 

 activity, curtailing all lines 

 as completely as can be done 

 without destroying effi- 

 ciency." 



« 



Ask 30% Reduction 



The recommendations submitted 

 by the Farm Bureau provide for a 

 drastic reduction approximating 30 

 per cent in salaries of many county 

 officials and employees, and in the 

 running expenses of the county home 

 and hospital, and the Rockford 

 tuberculosis sanitarium. County offi- 

 cials whose compensation is fixed by 

 law were asked to take a voluntary 

 reduction. The survey of the Farm 

 Bureau indicated extravagance and 

 waste in the charitable institutions. 



In its report to the supervisors the 

 Farm Bureau committee estimated 

 that the following savings should be 

 made: 



1. On salaries and fees at 

 least $40,000 



2. On dependent children.. 8,000 

 - 3. Rockford Farm Home and 



Hospital 44,000 



4. Rockford Tuberculosis 



Sanitarium 80,000 



Total $172,000 



"The present condition of things 

 absolutely cannot continue," said the 

 report. "The public cannot carry this 

 load. Everyone will be bankrupt ex- 

 cept the officeholders and the big 

 financiers." 



The survey submitted in tabular 

 form revealed the increases in the 

 salaries and wages of all county of- 

 ficials and clerical help between 1914 

 and 1931, Comparisons were made 

 of the cost of operating charitable 

 institutions in Winnebago county 



-■-€'■ 



and other counties. The survey re- 

 vealed that the Winnebago county 

 institutions apparently are squan- 

 dering money and paying out far 

 greater sums for equipment and 

 service than is true in other Illinois 

 counties such as Peoria and Sanga- 

 mon. 



Other Counties Busy 



The board of supervisors gave the 

 report its careful consideration and 

 while not concurring in all its 

 recommendations, ordered a drastic 

 reduction in salaries and expendi- 

 tures demanding that .county offi- 

 cials whose compensation is fixed 

 by statute voluntarily bear their 

 full share of the reduction. If such 

 officials fail to comply with the de- 

 mands of the supervisors the fight 

 will be carried to the people in the 

 next election of local officers. 



The work of the Farm Bureau in 

 Winnebago county is typical of the 

 organization's tax reduction efforts 

 in scores of other counties through- 

 out Illinois. 



In Effingham county the board of 

 review reduced assessments for 1932 

 a total of $184,790. 



The McLean county board of re- 

 view approved the petition of the 

 Farm Bureau and the Taxpayers' 

 League and ordered a horizontal cut 

 of 10 per cent on real estate values 

 in that county for next year. This 

 follows a substantial reduction in 

 valuations made the previous year. 



The Bloomington Pantagraph re- 

 ports that "every taxing body in the 

 county has the responsibility of cut- 

 ting expenses to the bone ... for 

 there is no dodging the fact that 

 collections of taxes are harder to 

 make and smaller in quantity than 

 for any year of the last 30, and gov- 

 ernment expenses in every unit must 

 come down to avoid disastrous and 

 disgraceful public bankruptcy." 



The Kane county board of review 

 announced that real estate assess- 

 ments in that county would be re- 

 duced 20 per cent. Will county an- 

 nounced a 10 per cent slash in 

 assessments. 



Ford county, following a cut of 

 15 per cent in assessed valuations 

 last year, took another five per cent 

 from the valuations this year. The 

 decrease was not made uniform in 

 all townships. 



Macon county also reduced valua- 

 tions 10 per cent. This was a hori- 

 zontal reduction. 



Sangamon county, following effec- 

 tive work by the Farm Bureau, aided 

 (Continued on Page 6) 



