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JOURNAL OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE

Sept 15, '82

his approval and with his objections in writing to such approval
which objections read as follows, Towit:

Office of the Mayor of the City of Seattle

Sept. 15th, 1882

"To the Hon. Common Council of the City of Seattle
"Gentlemen- I return without my approval Ordinance
No 306 which provides for the levy of a special tax of four mills
per dollar upon all the property assessed in the Special assessment
district created by Ordinance No 289 providing for the grading
and improvement of Union Street. The total cost of this work
has been estimated to aggregate twenty one hundred & fifty
eight dollars. The street has been graded between the center
line of Eighth Street and a point mid way between Third &
Fourth Street covering a lineal distance of 1449 feet. The Univer-
sity gounds embrace 474 feet of this distance and by this improve-
ment are benefited equally with other lots embraced by this
assessment district. The Ordinance here with returned is based
upon an assessment roll duly returned by the City Assessor and
after wards amended and approved by the Council. The City Assessor
returned the University Grounds on the original roll as property sub-
ject to this tax appraising it's value at $25800. but the Council
amended the roll by excluding them from this item and thus casting
the entire burden of this tax upon the remaining property holders in
this assessment District. The entire valuation of property on
the original roll was $79750.00 leaving, after deduction $25800
being the valuation of the University Grounds, the appraised value
at the sum of Fifty-three thousand nine hundred and fifty dollars.

If the valuation of the University grounds had not been ex-
punged from the assessment roll, a tax of less than three mills
instead of four mills would have sufficed to raise the requisite
amount. I believe that the burden thus cast upon the remaining
private property owners of the district under this Ordinance operates
as an act of injustice upon them. if it is true that public pro-
perty is exempt from local assessments for public improvements,
the City authorizing and ordering the improvement and not
a few property holders should carry the burden, which under