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Apri112, 1929 . sibly amounting to as mu'ch as a 100%. While it does no·t follow that doubling the total valuations in New Trier township will double the amount of tax hills it. is. est}mated that the averagt' ta~ b11l m New Trier Township would be from 50% to 100% higher this year than last year, if the . valuations are doubled. This is a matter which ·should receive the immediate serious consideration of all governmental bodies in the township and it is suggested that a conference be called as soon as passible, t? be attended by official representa tives of the several taxing bodies and the township assessor, for the purpose of determining, first , whether ·such an increase in taxes is requir'ed, and second, whether any effort should be made to secure a lower ratio of assessed value to fult value in New Trier town~~ ~ ship than the figure of 40o/c, · proposed to be adopted for the entire county. We feet that the matter of the ratio of as·sessed to full value is a question of public policy which is outside of the scope of this report · and on which we are not called upon to make a recommendation, and that this report should relate only to the establishment of a plan for preparing and maintaining accurate property valuations, regardless of the percentage of values which may be subsequently adopted by the township · assessor a~d the county authorities. Whatever percentage of conservative market value of buildings i~ finally determined upon that same percentage of the conservative market value of land should also be used. 6i ' When these'·fair valuations have bee determined . oh a scientific basis. and scaled down to the proper level, there should be some continuous method of maintaining them throughout the quadrennium. It i·s common knowledge that (Continued on next page) corrected in the office of the Board of Assessors, aggrieved taxpayers have the right to . petition the Board of Review for a hearing. In the past, the Board of Review has held hearings and granted reductions without giving notice to the township as·3essor to give him an opportunity to question the truth of . the statements of the appellant or to justify his Jgures or admit his error. In the past, at the ti e of each .quadrennial revaluation, the 1 hortcomings of the present system have been recognized by the various taxing bodies and sporadic attempts have been maqe by the four villages in the township to give the local assessor some as·sistance in making his revaluation by employing experts from the North Shore Real E state board at the expense of the respective villages. or by having committees of the village boards render whatever a'3sistance possible. While this assistance was of some value to the local assessor, the work was not done on any definite scientific plan throughout the township, and therefore the local as·.;essor was obliged to do the be st he could with the data at hand. Would Provide Aaaiatant Since the assessment of property is a township matter, we feel that no financial help should be expected from the Village boards, School boards, or Park board·.;. Moreover, experience has shown that it is difficult to get unified action from them. We feel that as long as the present laws are in force, the assessment of property in New Trier township should be handled in a more scientific and busine'3s-like manner than at present by some arrangement with the township assessor with the approval of the Town Meeting and the township Board of Auditors, and at the expense of the township, to utilize the service'.; of a full time assistant to the Township Assessor, who is trained in land surveying and familiar with property descriptions, real estate records, and building construction. This would make pO'ssible the maintenance of a perpetual card index record of property values based on field f'1easurements, type of construction, age, condition of repair, etc. with allowances for depreciation, obsolescence, or detracting influences. For uniformity it would probably be advisable to continue the same method of determining values as i·s being followed by the firm of expert appraisers now employed by the County B.o ard in making the revaluation ordered by the State Tax Commission. An office should be established in the township where the assessor's a'.;sistant should keep definite (though short) office hours each day throughout the year so that it will be possible to fur ,nish taxpayer·3 with full information as to the basis of their valuations in comparison with that of their neighbors. \;vhen not keeping office hours the assessor's as·sistant -would be out in the field taking data or in the township office working up his data, or in the County Building checking up the official records. Taxes May Double fn recommending that equitable v<tluations be determined on a scientific basis, we do not mean that the general level of valuations ·should neccssarilv be increased. It is our understanding that the present general level of valuations in New Trier Township is approximately 20% of the conservative ma!'ket value. It is aho · our understandir1g that statements have been attributed to the experts in charge of the present revaluation of property in Cook county, ordered by the State Tax .Commission, that the general level of valuations in the county may be set at 40% of the conservative market value. If this proves to be true, we do not feel that this report would be complete if we did not ~oint out that a very material increa'3e in assessed values in New Trier Township will result, pos- IRED ALE FIREPROOF WAREHOUSES If you are breaking up hC)usekeeping this Spring, the cheap· est, safest and most satisfactory thing to do is to atore your furniture and other valuables. They will be ufe from all hazards and you will be relieved of all worry. 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