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 7^0L^vif>JuuJ' Ts&>C^^ 
 
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 • -'■■■■'-" s ^ ■..■ 
 
 CITY OF HALIFAX, : ,>, 
 
 21st February, 1882. ' 
 
 
 ;j r«i. 
 
 of the ^e^i^luUm BountM 
 and the Moui^ of JlSSemh^ . 
 
 '^ii^j 
 
 
 on 
 
 Gentlemen, — • = • • 
 
 I desire to place certain facts and figures before you 
 the present financial position of the City of Halifax, and the urgent 
 need of a radical change in the system of levying, securing and 
 collecting the assessment of the city. h ; nt 
 
 The law now in operation provides " The assessment shall be 
 rated on the occupants of real estate being yearly tenants, and in 
 all other cases on the owners of property by an equal pound rate 
 upon the value of the real and personal estate within the, city," 
 &Q., &c. ■ ] 
 
 The schedule states: " Real estate in possessiim of subscriber 
 not rented to yearly tenants estimated at ten times the yearly rent 
 or value," &c. 
 
 Banks, Insurance Companies, &c., are specially rated. A 
 clause iuvserted last year gives the assessors power to fix a rentcil 
 value where, in their opinion, the rental is too low. 
 
 Last year's legislation demoralised the whole Assessment Act, 
 left the city without a Coiu"t of Appeal, weakened the power; Of 
 the City Treasurer to collect the taxes, changed the time of making 
 the assessiment without <iiving corresponding legislation, — the effect 
 of which has been to cau'ie a direct heavy pecuniary loss to the 
 city of probably not less than $50,000. , 
 
 As the Assessment Act now stands on the statutes, it is abso- 
 lutely unworkable, the whole machinery of collection of rates and 
 taxes under it has completely broken down, and the various services 
 of the city are paralysed financially, while further funding of float- 
 ing obli«rati(ms is the only relief. 
 
 The City Coi^ncil makes an estimate each year of its require- 
 ments, to which is ad<lcd a per centage for estimated los^e^ of 
 collection, and the whole amount is levied on the citizens, as pro- 
 vided by law. 
 
 The following is the valuation of the city for the past four 
 yearu : — , 
 
 .:^. 
 
 P 
 
 
r-n- 
 
 1/ 
 
 1879-80. Real estate $n,2S!2,494 
 
 Rate $1.53. Personal property ..... . 4,381,084 
 
 1880-81. Real estate $10,884,250 
 
 Rate $1.37. Personal property 3,584,270 
 
 1881-82. Real estate. >.'..* $11,037,150 
 
 Rate $151. Personal property 3,476,952 
 
 1882-83. Real estate $10,863,034 
 
 Rate $1 .62. Pert>onal property 4,692,654 
 
 $15,603,578 
 
 $14,468,520 
 
 $14,513,742 
 
 - $15,555,688 
 
 Roujihly stated, personal property forms about one-fourth of 
 the aissessable property, and this one-fourth is the security to the 
 city for the assessment of all the real and personal property within 
 the city. Real estate is not responsible for any taxes, but the whole 
 burden is on the personal property of the city. It thus becomes a 
 burden on trade arid commerce, hampers the manufacturer and 
 artisan, and thus hinders the progress of the city. 
 
 Assessments from 1876 to 1882-3. 
 1876-7. Gross assessment, $229,351 Nett assessment, $223,351 
 
 1877- 8. " 
 
 t ( 
 
 233,181 
 
 
 
 227.181 
 
 1878- 9. " 
 
 *>{ 
 
 233,079 
 
 
 
 227,579 
 
 1879-80. " 
 
 «t 
 
 236,526 
 
 
 
 225,213 
 
 1880-81. ** 
 
 .»( 
 
 210,340 
 
 
 
 197,840 
 
 1881-82. '* 
 
 t( 
 
 232,962 
 
 
 
 206,166 
 
 1882-83. •' 
 
 (( 
 
 244,552 
 
 
 
 204,485 
 
 It will thus be seen, that while the citv taxes have increased 
 from $229,351 in 1876, to $244,552 in 1882-3, the amount avail- 
 able for ordinary city expenditure has decreased from $227,579 in 
 1878, to $204,485. Rigid economy, amounting to parsimony, is 
 now exercised, and important services are actually impaired in 
 efficiency, while unpaid warrants are outstanding, bank debit bal- 
 ances accumulating, and the city's creditors are put to great loss 
 and inconvenience, — all owing to a depleted Treasury, caused by 
 ui^paid and uncollectable rates and taxes. 
 
 Increase of Funded Debt. 
 
 Ordinary City Debentures in 1877 $491 ,253 
 
 Added in 1877. Sewerage, 1877 30,000 
 
 do. 
 do. 
 do. 
 
 Exhibition, 1877 20,000 
 
 Funded lost taxes, 1877 44,000 
 
 do. do. 1882 100,000 
 
 Total in 1882 $685,253 
 
 To be funded. School $10,000. 
 
 " " Lost taxes 35,000. 45,000 
 
 / 
 
 \ 
 
 $730,253 
 
 ^ 
 
Thae adtiing $^i9 000, since 1877, to tW Funded debt or nearly 
 50 per cent incrn'jie. The Water Department will als(» ask 
 authority to fund on. debentures ^32,000, reprecenting lost water 
 rates, to pinee that department in a solvent conditicm. With this 
 addition to Water Debentures they will amount to $772,973, and 
 with School Debentures $lt?5j718, the total consolidated debt will 
 amount to $1,H(J8,944. Here we have a total additiim of $271,000 
 t6 the Funded debt in pix years, of which $215,500 is lost taxes. 
 This means that the Debenture holders of 1877 have their security 
 weakened by the hsue of a huge amount of new debentures without 
 any further security. It also means that a lien of $271,000 has 
 been placed on all the real estate within the city, nearly all caused 
 by lost taxes. 
 
 Taxes lost in six years : — 
 
 1876 Tallowed #4500. Additional lost «1 0,892. Water, *8088. I8!23,48n. 
 
 1877 8 
 
 1878 9 
 1871-80 
 1880-81 
 1881-82 
 
 4500. 
 
 5000. 
 10113. 
 11000. 
 18156. 
 
 
 
 " 20,423. 
 
 " 25,<t87. 
 
 " 24,823. 
 
 " 24,270. 
 
 «« 39,»86. 
 
 0016. 
 10-^6 V 
 111803. 
 
 8441. 
 15345. 
 
 Estimated value of above unpaid ta.xes and rates, 
 Loss by unpaid taxes and rates in six years, 
 
 {i3,'.<S8. 
 40,347. 
 45,239. 
 43,711. 
 73,437. 
 
 S260 162. 
 66,152. 
 
 206,000. 
 
 Or a loss in six years of an amount equal to one yearns nett 
 taxation. 
 
 From 80 to 90 per cent of those losses are on the real estate, as 
 hundreds of citizens are not assessed on personal property at all. 
 
 It seems only reasonable to suppose that a lien on real estate 
 world secure to the city the taxes levied thereon. It so works in 
 every other city, town and village in Canada and the United States. 
 
 The civic elections of the past three years have resulted in send- 
 ing a large majority of Aldermen to the Council pledged to civic 
 reform. 
 
 Fourteen Aldermen out of eighteen are pledged to the bill as it 
 stands. The other four, forming the minority, have stated in public 
 that they are favorable to a lien for part of the taxes, so the whole 
 City Council is in favor of a Lien Law to a greater or lesser 
 extent. The responsibility for the operation of the Act can safely 
 be left with the City Council who legislate for the citizens. 
 
 The assumed effect of a small lien is a bugbear, jt being very 
 small and ceases to exist when the citizen performs his first duty 
 of citizenship, viz : pays his taxes. But its, operation makes the 
 taxes a pressing debt, which every citizen will hasten to discharge. 
 
 Three-fourths of the citizens are favorable to the new law, as the 
 titions against it are signed by a very few persons out of the 
 
 thousand tax payers. 1 have no hesitation in saying, from con- 
 Hion with seveial signers of the petition, that many have been 
 tl to sign throUj;h mibrepresentation of facts. 
 
 ^ 
 
——— 'I'm'mmK'r '' 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 .i*t!as'«««SwS?*^ 
 
 i 
 
 The (ftntement eo industriously circulated that the proposed Act 
 will disfranchise citizenn is a myth, as the Dominion Legialature is 
 about making its own franchise law, while the result of the Assess- 
 ment, if correctly made, will be to leave the number of persons 
 entitled to privileges of voting about as it stood before. And the 
 City of Haiifax virtually disfranchises hundreds of its citizens every 
 year when their taxes are not paid by a certain date. There are 
 few householders in Halifa.x not possessed of sufficient property to 
 entitle them to vote, irrespective of the right to vote on another 
 person's property qualifications. 
 
 It is a fact well known to the City Officials that some of the 
 persons who charge the collectors with laxity in the collection of rates 
 employ every means known to law, and use every artifice, quibble 
 and delay, and that successfully, to defeat ^he City Treasurer when 
 he endeavours to use the courts to enforce the payment of taxes. 
 Every defect in the present law, every act of the City Council 
 which bears upon the Assessment is used in legal pleas to prevent 
 the Treasurer making his collections. This the new Act will also 
 remedy. '" 
 
 The City Officials and Aldermen look with dread and appre- 
 hension on the outcome of the coming year's assessment, as they 
 anticipate a greater proportionate loss on unpaid rates than on any 
 previous year. There are some remedial measures in the new Act 
 which will, we trust, mitigate if it cannot totally prevent this loss. 
 Believing that the passage of the Law now before the liegisla- 
 lure will bP'iJ^gl cat p<ibK»; l:»f»utiflt,Miid bclioviirg that without such 
 an Act to enable the City *o collect its taxes the result will be 
 financial ruin and bankruptcy to the Treasury, besides bringing 
 upon real estate a depression such as it has never yet seen, also 
 destroying the security of the City's Debenture holders, I am 
 induced thus to place these facts before you, and trust your Honor- 
 able Houses will afford the City of Halifax such relief as your own 
 constituencies now enjoy under the General Assessment Act of tho 
 Province. 
 
 I am, gentlemen, 
 
 '• '■ ' Your ob'dt. servant, 
 
 J. C. MACKINTOSH. 
 
 1 1 * 
 
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