The Price of Progress: Seattle's Tax Troubles

Today the sale of property for delinquent city taxes will probably begin in earnest, the charter requiring that the sale shall be completed within three weeks of the first day. The delay has cost the city nothing and has benefited property owners, because there has been paid in fully 40 percent of the amount outstanding. There may be many lots sold, particularly those in outlying districts, the purchasers of which are scattered all over the United States, but the total sum delinquent will not form a very considerable portion of the whole. One reason for deferring the sale has been the intervention of owners of property assessed for delinquent grade taxes, who have sought a stay of proceedings pending an appeal to the courts. All assessments made under the old charter must be enforced by an action, but those under the new charter are enforced by sale. There is little difficulty with those streets wholly graded and assessed under the new charter, because property owners are protected by it against improvements being made against their will; the difficulty has been with those streets the grading of which was arbitrarily ordered by the old councils and the assessments made under the new charter.