Research

Administrative History

Initially, land in the Forest Preserve (created in 1885) was tax exempt. This was a hardship on towns in the sparsely populated region that relied on property taxes. Chapter 280 of the Laws of 1896 authorized taxation of Forest Preserve land. A copy of the assessment roll was sent to the comptroller for filing, examination and evaluation; valuations were corrected if land was assessed in unfair proportion to similar lands of individuals on the same roll. County treasurers sent accounts of taxes due on state lands to the comptroller. The comptroller could sell land for unpaid taxes.

A bill authorizing return of annual taxes of towns voting for highway repairs (L.1898, Ch. 351) also impacted the towns. It was customary to advance money to county treasurers on these annual taxes returned by them to the comptroller. This practice was apparently under review at the time this series was created.