Duties of county auditor.

In relation to banking companies.

Ohio Life and

DUTIES OF COUNTY AUDITORS.

SEC. 40. The county auditors of each county, shall, as soon as practicable, after the first day of March, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, and every sixth year thereafter, make out and deliver to the assessor of each district in his county, an abstract from the books in his office, containing a description of each tract and lot of real property situate within such district, with the name of the owner thereof, if known, and the number of acres or quantity of land contained therein, as the same shall appear on his books; and also, a map of each township and town within such district, with such plat books as may be necessary to enable the district assessor to make a correct plat of each section, survey and tract, in his district. SEC. 41. Each auditor of any county, within the limits of which any bank or banking company may be located, shall, in case any president or cashier of such bank or banking company, refuse or neglect to make out and deliver to the auditor the statement required in the nineteenth section of this act, enter upon the duplicate of the proper county, for taxation as aforesaid, as the amount of capital, fifty per cent. in addition to the amount of the capital stock of such bank, or banking company; and in order to ascertain the average amount of notes and bills discounted or purchased, and all other moneys, effects or dues of every description, belonging to such bank or banking company, loaned, invested, or otherwise used or employed with a view to profit, or upon which such bank or banking company, receives, or is entitled to receive, interest, such auditor is authorized to take or procure to be taken, the testimony of such of the officers, directors or stockholders of such banking company, or of other persons known or supposed by him to be conversant with the affairs of such bank or banking company, as may enable him to ascertain the amount upon which such bank or banking company should be taxed, agreeably to the provisions of the nineteenth and twentieth sections of this act; to which amount, when so ascertained, he shall add fifty per cent., which amount he shall then enter upon the duplicate for taxation, as prescribed by this act; Provided, that in cases where city taxes are assessed and collected by city authorities, the taxes upon banks for city purposes shall be assessed and collected the same as city

taxes.

SEC. 42. Each auditor of any county within the limits of Trust company. which the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company shall have moneys loaned, at interest, shall, in case the president or cashier of said company shall fail to return to the auditor of such county the amount of its moneys loaned, or other dues, as provided in the twentieth section of this act, proceed to ascertain, from the record of mortgages, or other evidence, the amount of the loans made by said company in his county, and he shall place the

amount so returned or ascertained, upon the duplicate, and levy thereon the average rate or per cent. of the taxes levied for all purposes upon the real and personal property of the county; which tax shall be collected by the county treasurer, and distributed by giving to the State its proportion, according to the rate levied for State purposes, and to the county, townships, towns and corporations, their share of the balance, respectively, in proportion to the several amounts on which the average rate shall have been determined; and in case default shall be made in the payment of said tax, within the time limited by law, it shall be the duty of the county treasurer to proceed to collect the same; and for that purpose he may file a bill in chancery in the court of common pleas of the proper county, setting forth the amount of taxes assessed against said company, and the names of the debtors of said company, as shown by the record of such county; and it shall be the duty of such court to take jurisdiction thereof, and to grant an injunction, appoint a receiver, and make such other and further order, as may be necessary to subject the interest, accruing on the loans of said company, to the satisfaction of the tax aforesaid, with the penalties, interest and cost thereon, as provided by law.

to be added, in

SEC. 43. Each county auditor shall add to the value, as Fifty per cent. returned by the assessor, of all personal property, and of all case of refusal moneys, credits, investments, in bonds, stocks, joint stock com- to list. panies, or otherwise, which the owner, or other person in behalf of the owner, whose duty it is made by this act to list the same, has refused to list, or to the value of which such person shall have refused to swear or affirm, when required so to do, in obedience to the provisions of this act, fifty per centum on the value so returned by the assessor.

ness or absence.

SEC. 44. If any person required to list property for taxa- In case of sicktion, shall have been prevented by sickness, or absence, from giving to the assessor such statement, such person, or his agent, having charge of such property, may, at any time before the assessment of taxes thereon by the county auditor, make out and deliver to the county auditor, a statement of the same as required by this act; and the county auditor shall, in such case, make an entry thereof in the return for the proper township, and correct the corresponding item or items in the return made by the assessor, as the case may require; but no such statement shall be received by the county auditor from any person who shall have refused to make oath to his statement, when required by the assessor, agreeably to the provisions of the twenty-fifth section of this act, nor from any person unless he shall make and file with the county auditor, an affidavit that the person required by this act to list the same, was absent from his township, without design to avoid the listing of his property, or was prevented by sickness from giv

When lands or lots have been

proceed.

ing to the assessor the required statement, when called on for that purpose.

SEC. 45. If, from a careful examination of the returns omitted, how to made by the district assessors, the county auditor shall discover that any tract of land, or town lot, or part of either, in his county, shall have been omitted in the returns of such assessors, he shall add the same to his list of real property, with the name of the owner, and shall forthwith notify the assessor in whose returns such omission occurred, thereof, who shall forthwith proceed to ascertain, and return to the county auditor, the value of the tract, or lot, or part thereof; or in case of the inability or neglect of the assessor, the auditor may ascertain the value of such tract, or lot, or part thereof, and add the same to the list of real property.

In case of false statement, duty of auditor.

Errors to be corrected.

But no deduction to be made except.

SEC. 46. The county auditor, if he shall have reason to believe or be informed that any person has given to the assessor a false statement of the personal property, moneys or credits, investments in bonds, stocks, joint stock companies or otherwise, or that the assessor has not returned the full amount required to be listed in his township, or has omitted, or made an erroneous return of any property, moneys or credits, investments in bonds, stocks, joint stock companies, or otherwise, which are by law subject to taxation, shall proceed, at any time before the final settlement with the county treasurer, to correct the return of the assessor, and to charge such persons on the duplicate, with the proper amount of taxes; to enable him to do which, he shall be invested with all the powers conferred on township assessors by this act; and it shall be the duty of the auditor in all such cases, to notify every such person, before making the entry upon the duplicate, that he may have an opportunity of showing that his statement or return of the assessor was correct; and the county auditor shall, in all such cases, file in his office a statement of the facts or evidence upon which he made such correction; but he shall in no case reduce the amount returned by the assessor without the written assent of the auditor of state, given on a statement of facts submitted by the county auditor.

SEC. 47. Each county auditor shall, from time to time, correct any errors which he may discover in the name of the owner, in the valuation, description or quantity of any tract or lot contained in the list of real property in his county; but in no case shall he make any deduction from the valuation of any tract or lot of real property, except such as shall have been ordered, either by the state board or by the county board of equalization, in conformity with the provisions of this act, or upon the written order of the auditor of state; which written order shall only be made upon a statement of facts submitted to the auditor of state in writing.

tion of new, or

SEC. 48. Each county auditor shall correct the valuation In case of erecof any parcel of real property, on which any new structure of destruction of over one hundred dollars in value may have been erected, or old structures. on which any structure of the like value shall have been destroyed, agreeably to the return thereof made in accordance with the provisions of this act by the assessor, and assess the taxes upon such corrected valuation.

quent lands shall not be

SEC. 49. County auditors shall not publish in the list of When delindelinquent or forfeited lands, any tract or lot which the upon taxes due shall not be more than double the cost of publishing advertised. such tract or lot, but such tract or lot shall be retained upon the duplicate until the taxes due thereon shall be more than double the cost of publishing the same in the list of delinquent or forfeited lands.

or's return to

SEC. 50. Each county auditor shall make out and transmit County audit. to the auditor of state, before the first day of September, an- auditor of state. nually, a statement of the aggregate value of the taxable property in his county, and of the total amount of taxes for all purposes assessed thereon for that year; and he shall make out and transmit by mail, to the auditor of state, on or before the first day of October in every year, a complete abstract of the duplicate of his county; he shall also, at the same time, make out and transmit to the auditor of state, an abstract of the number and value of each of the enumerated articles, the value of merchants' and manufacturers' stock, and the value of all other personal property, moneys, credits, investments in bonds, stocks, joint stock companies, or otherwise, and the value of all other articles of personal property as returned by the township assessors, or as fixed by the county board of equalization; said abstracts shall be made out in such form as the auditor of state shall prescribe; and shall also make out and transmit to the auditor of State, before the fourth Monday of October, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, and every sixth year thereafter, a complete copy of the grand list of real property of each county, as it shall stand upon the duplicate of that year.

proceed, when

lect taxes.

SEC. 51. If the county treasurer shall be unable to collect, How county by distress, or otherwise, the taxes which have been, or here- treasurer shall after shall be assessed upon any person or corporation, or on unable to colany executor, administrator, guardian, receiver, accounting officer, agent or factor, such treasurer shall apply to the clerk of the court of common pleas in his county, at any time after his annual settlement with the county auditor, and said clerk shall cause a notice to be served upon such person, corporation, executor, administrator, guardian, receiver, accounting officer, agent or factor, requiring him forthwith to show cause why he should not pay such taxes; and if he shall fail to show a sufficient cause, said court, at the term to which said notice is returnable, shall enter a rule against him for the payment of such

County treasu

taxes, and the cost of such proceeding, which rule shall have the same force and effect as a judgment at law, and be enforced by attachment or execution, or such process as may be directed by the court.

SEC. 52. That previous to the first day of November in rers to attend each year, the treasurers of the several counties shall attend one day, at the place of holding the election, in each township of their respective counties, for the purpose of receiving

one day in each township.

County boards of equalization.

Time of meet ing and duties.

Special board

taxes.

COUNTY BOARDS FOR THE EQUALIZATION OF
REAL PROPERTY.

SEC. 53. The county auditor, the county surveyor, the county commissioners, and the district assessors, or a majority of them, shall form a county board for the equalization of the real property of their county, with the exception of the real property in the city of Cincinnati, which shall be equalized by a special board, as hereinafter provided. They shall meet on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of September, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, and every sixth year thereafter, at the auditor's office, in their several counties, when the county auditor shall lay before them the returns of the real property, made by the several district assessors of such county, with the additions he shall have made thereto, and having each taken an oath fairly and impartially to equalize the value of the real estate of such county, agreeably to the provisions of this act, they shall immediately proceed to equalize such valuation, so that each tract or lot shall be entered on the tax list at its true value; and for this purpose they shall observe the following rules:

1st. They shall raise the valuation of such tracts and lots of real property, as, in their opinion, have been returned below their true value, to such price or sum as they may believe to be the true value thereof, agreeably to the rules prescribed by this act, for the valuation thereof.

2d. They shall reduce the valuation of such tracts and lots, as, in their opinion, have been returned above their true value, as compared with the average valuation of the real property of such county, having due regard to the relative situation, quality of soil, improvements, natural and artificial advantages, possessed by each tract and lot.

3d. They shall not reduce the aggregate value of the real property of the county, as returned by the assessors, with the additions made thereto by the auditor, as herein before required; the county auditor shall keep an accurate journal or record of the proceedings and orders of said board.

SEC. 54. There shall be a special board for the equalizafor Cincinnati tion of the real property in the city of Cincinnati, to be com