132 Mich. 198 | Mich. | 1903
Contestant appeals to this court from a decree made by the circuit court for the county of St. Clair, in chancery, overruling his objections to a special assessment on his land for macadamizing Gratiot avenue in the city of Port Huron. Several objections to the tax are made in this court which were not contained in contestant’s answer to the petition of the auditor general. These, under the authority of Auditor General v. Maier, 95 Mich. 127 (54 N. W. 640), we cannot consider.
The objections urged against the tax which are open to consideration by this court are four:
(1) That the common council of Port Huron was not asked by petition to order the macadamizing in question.
(2) That the resolution which approved the assessment roll and determined the tax to be paid by the different owners in the assessment district was not adopted by a two-thirds vote of the common council.
(3) That the assessment roll was not confirmed, as required by the charter of the city of Port Huron.
*200 (4) That the charter of Port Huron does not provide a reasonable notice or adequate hearing to persons affected by assessments of this character.
Each of these questions will be considered separately.
“When a petition shall be presented to the common council asking for the grading, curbing, paving, graveling, claying, planking, or macadamizing of any street, lane, alley, highway, or avenue in said city, or for improving the same by a combination of any such methods, or for repairing to such an extent that a special assessment may be made therefor, or for the construction of any drain or sewer, * * * the common council shall determine by resolution as to the necessity of doing such work. ”
There is no provision in the charter that the petition referred to in the last section shall be signed by any specified number or class of the city’s inhabitants, nor does the charter expressly deny authority to the council to levy and collect special assessments except when they are made in pursuance of a petition. The macadamizing in question was done in 1898. Contestant testified that he knew that the pavement was being laid, but raised no protest to the same, and he made his first objection on the 19th day of March, 1902, when he filed the objections under considera
“No resolution or proceeding of the common council imposing taxes or assessments, and no resolution or proceeding incurring any debt or liability in excebs of the sum of fifty dollars, and no ordinance, shall be passed at the same meeting at which it was introduced, if there be any objection made thereto by any of the aldermen present; and no ordinance shall be passed except by a two-thirds vote of the aldermen elect, and such vote shall be taken by yeas and nays, to be entered upon the record; and the yeas and nays shall be taken upon any question entered upon the record upon the demand of any one of the members present.” Act No. 381, Local Acts 1895.
Contestant contends that the language, ‘ ‘ except by a two-thirds vote of the aldermen elect, and such vote shall be taken by yeas and nays, to be entered upon the record,” applies to resolutions or proceedings imposing taxes or assessments. We do not agree with him. In our judgment, it applies only to ordinances.
“The common council shall review said roll, and consider the objections, and may refer the said roll back to the engineer for further revision or correction, and, when satisfied with the same, it shall by resolution confirm the same.” Act No. 445, Local Acts 1897.
What was done was this: The city engineer reported that he had made out a special assessment roll for consfa’ucting the Gratiot-avenue macadamizing; -that, “on completion of the same, it was duly advertised in the official paper of the city of Port Huron for two weeks, and,
It is also urged that there was no provision for the hearing of objections which might be made during these two weeks. The charter provides, as already indicated, that “the common council shall review said roll, and consider the objections.” It is true that no provision is made as to when and where these objections shall be heard. We think that it was entirely competent for the legislature to leave this matter to be determined by the council. It is to be presumed that, in considering the objections, as required by the charter, the council will give a hearing suited in time and place to the exigencies of the situation. Contestant, having made no objection, is in no position to complain of improper treatment in this particular.