USA > Ohio > Ohio legislative history, 1913-1917 > Part 30
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56
OHIO TAX COMMISSION
MR. A. B. PECKINPAUGH, Wooster.
MR. R. D. ALEXANDER, Chairman, Chillicothe. MR. GEO. L. GABLEMAN, Secretary, Portsmouth.
MR. F. E. MUNN, Bowling Green.
TAX COMMISSION OF OHIO
As a result of careful investigation on the part of students of economics and those in charge of the practical administration of tax laws in the various states of the United States, there has been- a grow- ing tendency to adopt more centralized systems of taxation. In the past few years state after state has been providing for tax commissions with varying degrees of authority over the assessment of property for taxation. It is the almost universal opinion that centralized authority is absolutely necessary to secure even a semblance of uniformity and it is believed that the work of the Ohio commission justifies this opinion.
The law creating the Tax Commission of Ohio was passed May 10, 1910, and, while there has been a number of changes since that time affecting the duties of the Commission, the main features of the original law have been retained. The methods adopted by the original Commission have, to a great extent, been followed throughout its existence.
The work of the Commission may be divided into three classes : First, the assessment of public utilities; second, the administration of the excise and franchise tax laws; third, the supervision of the local assessment of real and personal property for taxation and the levy and collection of taxes.
ASSESSMENTS OF PUBLIC UTILITIES.
The Commission has annually fixed the value of the property of public utilities for taxation and apportioned the same to the various counties and taxing districts. The progress made in this branch of the work will be best indicated by a comparison of values. The tax value of all public utilities in 1911, the first year the same was fixed by the Commission, was $909,657,830. In 1917 it was $1,245,045,170, an increase in six years of $335,387,340, or an average of approximately $56,000,000 per year. This increase was brought about by reason of increases to property and improved methods of assessment. Public utilities for the year prior to the creation of the Tax Commission were assessed at $263,191,488.
ADMINISTRATION OF EXCISE AND FRANCHISE TAX LAWS.
Practically no change has been made in these laws since the original act, but the care with which the Commission has administered them has
357
3,58
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
resulted in a material increase in the state revenue, which, to a consider- able extent is drawn from this source. Many companies, both foreign and domestic, have been brought into the tax-paying class which have been escaping the payment of these taxes. A strong effort was made to compel so-called "underlying companies" to pay the franchise tax upon their subscribed or issued and outstanding stock, the success of which would have placed several millions of dollars additional revenue in the state treasury. It was contended by the Commission that a com- pany owning a railroad and leasing same to another company for opera- tion was liable for the franchise tax as a domestic corporation, notwith- standing the lessee company paid the excise tax on its gross earnings, but the courts held adversely to the Commission's contention and the revenue was lost to the state.
The amount of excise and franchise tax assessed against corpora- tions and public utilities in 1911 was $5,302,126. In 1917 it was in excess of $7,000,000.
THE SUPERVISION OF THE LOCAL ASSESSMENT OF PROPERTY FOR TAXATION AND THE LEVY AND COLLECTION OF TAXES.
Under this head it is the duty of the Commission to see that all of the laws relating to the local assessment of property and the levy and collection of taxes are complied with. The so-called "Smith One Per Cent Law" was passed in 19II and, with a few modifications, is still in force. In performing its duty as to the administration of this law it is necessary for the Commission to review the tax rates levied for each purpose and the aggregate rates in the more than five thousand different taxing districts of the state.
Since the creation of the Commission the machinery for the local assessment of property has been changed three times by the legislature : First-The General Assembly in 1913 passed the so-called "Warnes Law" which was a very radical departure from the existing law. It provided for district assessors of real and personal property to be appointed by the governor, with power to select such number of deputies as might be fixed by the Tax Commission. The law entirely dispensed with the old elective assessors both as to personal property and real estate. The assessment of property was made under this law for the years 1914 and 1915, resulting in an increase in value in 1915 over 1913 of $647,434,586.
In May, 1915, the General Assembly passed the so-called Parrett- Whittemore law, to take effect January 1, 1916, which repealed the Warnes law, restored the elective assessors and made the county auditor, under the direction of the Tax Commissioner, the supervisor of assess- ments in his county. The property of the state was valued for taxation
359
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
under this law for the year 1916 and under the supervision of the Com- mission the tax duplicate of the state was increased $331,126,677. In January, 1917, the supreme court of the state held vital parts of this act to be unconstitutional and it became necessary for the General Assembly to enact a new law for the assessment of the property for the year 1917. This was accomplished by the appointment of a bipartisan committee to prepare the bill and, although it was necessarily hurriedly done, the act was passed in time to begin the assessment of property on the second Monday of April. The act provided for the voluntary listing of personal property by the owner, and although the elective assessors of the Parrett- Whittemore law were retained, their duties were much curtailed and now consist only in gathering up such returns as are not made properly under the voluntary plan. The county auditor is made the assessor of real property in his county, has full control over the assessors and is under the supervision of the Tax Commission. The assessment of property for the year 1917 under this plan was a somewhat surprising success, the tax duplicate value being $8,542,734,160, an increase over 1916 of $845,103,928, and the assessment for 1918 promises a still further in- crease.
The Commission holds itself to be a purely administrative body and gives its best efforts to carrying out and enforcing the will and mandates of the legislature. The many changes in the past five years has made the Commission's task a difficult one which, measured by the results achieved, has been well performed.
The personnel of this Commission since its inception has been as follows :
In June, 1910, Governor Harmon appointed Robert M. Dittey, of Columbus, for three years, Frances E. Munn, of Bowling Green, for two years, and William B. Poland, of Cincinnati, for one year. January I, 19II, Mr. Poland resigned and was succeeded by Christ. Pabst, of Ham- ilton, who was afterward appointed by Governor Harmon for a full term of three years. Mr. Munn was reappointed in 1912 for a term of three years. At the expiration of the term of Judge Dittey in 1913, Governor Cox appointed Alfred B. Peckinpaugh, of Wooster, for a term of six years, the legislature having changed the term from three to six years. In 1915 Governor Willis appointed James Boyle, of Columbus, for a term of six years to succeed Mr. Munn and James H. McGiffert, of Ashtabula, for two years to succeed Mr. Pabst. In October, 1916, Mr. Boyle resigned and was succeeded by Edward M. Fullington, of Marysville. In 1917 Governor Cox appointed Robert D. Alexander, of Chillicothe, and Francis E. Munn, of Bowling Green, to succeed Mr. McGiffert and Mr. Fullington respectively and they, together with Mr. Peckinpaugh, constitute the present Commission.
360
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
HON. ROBERT D. ALEXANDER
(Deceased.)
A most untimely death has taken away from the service of the state the popular Chairman of the State Tax Commission, he having succumbed to septic poisoning September 21st, 1918. Mr. Alexander was a native of Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio, in his fortieth year, and he had been honored by election to the office of City Auditor of Chillicothe three terms and County Auditor two terms and through his experience in said offices became an expert in taxation problems. He was a most popular citizen and Democrat and he was appointed a mesti- ber of the State Tax Commission by Governor Cox in 1917, and chosen by the commission as its chairman.
FRANCIS E. MUNN
In June, 1910, Governor Harmon appointed Francis E. Munn a member of the Ohio Tax Commission, and he retired therefrom in 1915. In 1917 Governor Cox appointed Mr. Munn a member of the Commis- sion to succeed E. M. Fullington. A more extended sketch of the life of Mr. Munn may be found in volume I of this work.
ALFRED B. PECKINPAUGH
Alfred B. Peckinpaugh was born at Wooster, Ohio, January 21, 1864. He was educated in the public schools of Kent, Ohio, and East- man's National Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York. He served thirteen years as deputy auditor of Wayne County, Ohio, was elected auditor of that county in November, 1896, and re-elected without op- position in 1899, serving six years in that capacity. Before the expira- tion of his last term he was appointed by the aduitor of state as a mem- ber of the Ohio Bureau of Uniform Accounting and served for eight years, having charge of the county department of that bureau, and in that capacity prescribed the systems of accounting which are now in use in all the county offices of the state. In 1911 he was appointed special accountant for the Tax Commission of Ohio and had charge of the equalization of real estate following the quadrennial appraisement of 1910 and the preparation of all tax forms. In January, 1913, he was appointed deputy auditor of state by A. V. Donahey at the begin- ning of his first term. He had only served in this capacity a few months
361
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
when Governor Cox asked hm to accept an appointment on the Tax Commission, which position he now occupies. In 1885 he enlisted as a private in the Eighth Regiment, Ohio National Guard and served until 1903, when he was retired as regimental adjutant with the rank of captain. He was also secretary of the County Auditors' Association of Ohio for thirteen consecutive years.
GEORGE L. GABLEMAN, Secretary to Tax Commission
George L. Gableman, the Secretary of the Commission, was born at Waverly, Ohio, March 4, 1879, the third of the seven sons of Ex-Mayor and Mrs. Philip Gableman of that place. Six of these sons are still living, the oldest dying in infancy. An only daughter, youngest of this interesting family, is now grown to womanhood and all have at- tained to positions of trust in the localities where they reside.
Secretary Gableman graduated from Waverly High School in 1896. He read law for two years in the office of Judge W. H. Middleton, now of the appellate bench, but the lure of newspaper work attracted him to Portsmouth. He was city editor of the Morning Tribune in 1904, and from there went on the staff of the Portsmouth Daily Times as its court house and city hall reporter. His accuracy and newsy style commended him highly to both the reading public and the interests which he served. He entered the city auditor's office as deputy in 1910 and was elected auditor in 1913 by a majority of 796, overcoming an adverse majority of fully this number in Republican Portsmouth. The annual inspections of the State Bureau for the years 1910-1915 gave this office unstinted praise for economical and capable administration.
Upon leaving the city auditor's office Mr. Gableman was for 15 months auditor in the office of the Portsmouth Street Railroad & Light Company and the Ohio Valley Traction Company, until June 1, 1917, when he was selected as Secretary of the Tax Commission. It will be seen that his previous career as law student, newspaper man, and as au- ditor for both a municipal and a private corporation, has splendidly equipped him for his present post. It is a position which peculiarly calls for proper publicity, along with the fundamentals of law and public and private accounting.
Mr. Gableman succeeded Mr. Charles E. Jones of Delaware, Ohio, as Secretary of the Tax Commission.
OHIO CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION
MR. R. W. WALTON, Columbus.
MR. GEORGE EWING, Lancaster.
MR. K. McKINLEY, Sec'y, Columbus.
HISTORY AND PROGRESS OF CIVIL SERVICE IN OHIO.
The Constitutional Convention of Ohio in 1912 submitted to the people a state-wide civil service amendment to the Constitution, which was voted on at the special election held September 3rd of that year, with the following results :
For civil service 306,767
Against civil service. 204,580
Majority for civil service 102,187
These figures are significant of the attitude of the public toward the merit system in the beginning.
At the legislative session under Governor Cox in 1913, the first Civil Service Law was passed, to take effect January Ist, 1914. This law was regarded by civil service advocates throughout the country as being very progressive. In providing for classification of positions and studies for the standardization of salaries, and surveys to determine the relative efficiency of employes and departments, it was decidedly in advance of any state civil service law.
A new Civil Service Law was passed at the legislative session under Governor Willis in 1915, and became effective August 30th of that year. The provisions of the second Civil Service Law are essentially the same as those of the first, with the exception that the new law provided for two commissioners instead of three; gave veterans of the Civil War the right to qualify for appointment by filing certificates of service and hon- orable discharge, without competitive examination ; provided for hearings on appeal by employes from orders of discharge by appointing officers ; and provided for competitive examinations to create eligible lists from which to certify with the names of all non-competitive appointees under the provisions of the first Civil Service Law.
On August 30th, 1913, Governor Cox appointed as Civil Service Commissioners :
Hon. Samuel A. Hoskins, of Wapakoneta ;
Hon. Charles I. Brown, of Findlay, and
Hon. Charles H. Bryson, of Athens,
all of whom resigned on July 15th, 1915, on which date Governor Willis appointed as Civil Service Commissioners :
263
364
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
Hon. Z. B. Campbell, of Ada;
Hon. S. D. Webb, of Albany, and
Hon. Charles C. German, of Fostoria.
Upon the taking effect of the new Civil Service Law on August 30th, 1915, Hon. Z. B. Campbell was appointed for a term of four years, and Hon. S. D. Webb for a term of two years from that date.
On April IIth, 1917, Governor Cox appointed Hon. George Ewing, of Lancaster, to succeed S. D. Webb, and on June 15th, he appointed Hon. Randolph W. Walton, of Columbus, to succeed Z. B. Campbell.
While the various Civil Service Commissions have labored under a heavy burden incident to the building up of an organization to handle a new work, which included the holding of examinations for all positions falling within the classified service of the state and counties, progressive strides have been made from the very beginning.
The first Civil Service Commission appointed by Governor Cox shortly foresaw the necessity for standardizing salaries and classification of positions as a basis for proper selection and employment control. It seems to have been understood from the very beginning that the estab- lishment of standard rates of compensation and proper classification of the various employments of the public service is fundamental to effective civil service control and regulation. Section 486-18 of the Civil Service Law which became effective January Ist, 1914, provided for the estab- lishment of grades in the classified service based upon similarity of duties and salaries. The Civil Service Law which became effective Au- gust 30th, 1915, contains identically the same provision.
During the closing months of the year 1914, the Civil Service Com- mission began a systematic study and analysis of public employments and the organization and work of the various departments, as provided under this section of the law. This work undertaken primarily for the purpose of securing accurate and complete data concerning the duties of all per- sons in the classified service and the qualifications is to be required of applicants for such positions as a basis upon which to build a system of employment, revealed many defects in existing conditions which relate not only to civil service administration but to the budget-making func- tions of the state government. Among many others, these stand out as most important from a civil service standpoint :
1. Inequitable standards of compensation. There was a wide variation be- tween the salaries paid for the same grade of service, not only within departments, but as between departments. Persons rendering high grade service received low compensation and persons performing low grade service received excessive compensation.
365
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
2. Misleading titles. Similar titles were attached to positions entirely dif- ferent in character, and different titles were attached to similar posi- tions.
3. Haphazard and inequitable system of advancement. There were no definite lines of promotion and increases were based largely upon the personal equation and influence, and not on merit, service and seniority.
4. Unnecessary positions. A charting and analysis of many of the state departments revealed surprising inconsistencies in organization and as- signment of workers to the various functions. The tendency seemed to have been, in building up the larger departments, to create many sepa- arate and distinct divisions, each with an organization of its own, which necessitated a wide distribution of supervision and the creation of many high salaried supervisory positions. The result was waste of time, lack of system, confusion, duplication of work, and laxity of discipline.
These conditions were serious obstacles to proper civil service ad- ministration. Inequalities in salaries paid for the same grade of work made it impossible for the Commission to establish an equitable system of promoton, or to do justice to those who secure positions on its eligible lists for entrance to the service. Misleading titles applied to various posi- tions made necessary the conduct of special examinations for positions which might have been filled from eligible lists already in existence, or by promotions. Such titles were also freely used in order to secure pro- visional appointments, and not infrequently persons appointed under special titles were assigned to work having no relation to the title given. In addition, the general uncertainty resulting from such chaotic conditions necessarily discouraged public employes and spread broadcast the feeling that public employment did not hold out a proper reward for meritorious service.
In order that the merit system might be applied in a business-like way, the Commission undertook :
1. To prepare an accurate statement of duties and responsibilities of every position in the classified service together with a description of the per- sonal qualifications required to entitle persons to hold the various posi- tions.
2. To present a scheme of classification of positions in the service under which improved and increasingly satisfactory original entrance examina- tions might be held to create eligible lists, and a just promotional system applied.
3. To suggest appropriate titles to be applied to all classified positions.
4. To recommend the establishment of standard rates of pay with adequate provision for advancement as to salaries while performing the same kind of work.
Similar work had been undertaken elsewhere, and in one or two of the larger municipalities, had been applied in a general way. Ohio, how- ever, was the first state to seriously undertake such work.
366
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
The essential features of the investigation and analyses of the service necessary for the construction of this plan were, in substance, as follows :
1. The collection and analysis of reports and descriptive material on the employments under investigation, and of other employments in public and private institutions, such as plans of classification, reports on or- ganization, methods and systems in use, and rules and procedure of em- ployment regulation.
2. The collection and analysis of duties and work requirements of each position in the service as reported by individual employes and approved by officials in charge.
3. The making of personal investigation of duties and work requirements, and employment conditions of each individual position and organization unit.
4. The establishment of cooperative relations with departmental officials.
5. The collection and compilation of data as to rates of wages and market value of the various classes of service under consideration, such as would provide an equitable and logical basis for fixing compensation.
6. The preparation of a definite statement of duties and work requirements of each position, together with the requirements as to training, experi- ence, and the qualifications which employes must meet to enter or ad- vance in the service.
7. The formulation of adequate and descriptive titles for the various posi- tions, and the indication of logical lines of promotion.
8. The preparation of outline charts of organization, showing the distribu- tion of functions and employes and the relationship between organiza- tion units.
9. The holding of conferences with administrative officials, and considera- tion of suggestions for improving the classification, work specifications and organization.
10. The submission for correction and criticism of all plans and specifica- tions to a competent advisory staff of disinterested persons of experience and training in each particular employment.
This work was carried on under succeeding commissions, and in January, 1917, following a report by the Commission on a complete plan for standardization and classification, Governor Cox appeared before a joint session of the House and Senate, at which he recommended the adoption of this plan of classification and the establishment of standard salary rates. Following his recommendation, the legislature passed the Hunter Bill providing for uniform salary schedules to be established by the legislature, to be paid in accordance with the rules of the Civil Service Commission. The Finance Committee also incorporated in the Appropria- tion Bill which was adopted, standard salary schedules for the Engineer- ing Group of the Professional and Scientific Service, and for the entire Clerical Service. These schedules were adopted without opposition for
367
OHIO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY.
the reason that the plan under which they were to be applied contemplated that they should not affect the salaries of persons already in the service receiving in excess of the schedule, while those in the service receiving ยท less than the schedule were to be increased.
This particular phase of the Commission's work has attracted atten- tion from civic organizations, chambers of commerce, business corpora- tions, and public spirited citizens throughout the country. By calling to its assistance representative business and professional men, both in private and public life, the Commission was enabled to accomplish the work of classification and standardization with very little expense.
Great progress has also been made by the Commission in examination methods. The first Commission naturally followed precedents established by older commissions of the country, and adopted many traditional ex- amination methods which, in practice, proved unsatisfactory and inef- fective, and while the necessity for improvement in examinations was fully understood by the first Commission, no decided progress could be made in this direction until the completion of the standardization work which was undertaken. Since this work has been practically completed, the present Commission is beginning an active campaign to improve ex- amination methods and to train examiners in such a way as to insure the selection of competent eligibles for all positions with uniform certainty.
A few months will witness the completion of a well-rounded organ- ization planned by the Commission, such as will enable it as an employ- ment department to carry out its functions in as satisfactory and effective manner as would be required of an employment department in any large corporation. In fact, judging from results already secured from the plans under way, it is safe to say that the Commission will, in a few years, stand as one of the most effective employment departments in the country.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.