111 Ky. 893 | Ky. Ct. App. | 1901
Opinion of the court by
Reversing.
As the determination of the legal questions presented! in these cases involves the consideration of the same facts and the same constitutional and statutory provisions, they are by agreement heard together. In the petition of Margaret Richardson and others against John Boske, sheriff, and others, .the plaintiffs say that they are citizens of Kenton county, residing outside of the corporate limits of the city of Covington; that certain magistrates of Kenton county, residing outside of the city of Covington, assuming to be the fiscal court of Kenton county, have levied on the property located in the county, outside of the limits of-the city of Covington, for the year 1899, a tax of fifteen cents on each $100 of the assessed value of s'uch property, for the purpose of paying the salaries of the county officers and other county expenses common to the entire county of Kenton, including the
It is agreed by the parties hereto that there are seven magistrates in the county of Kenton, five of whom reside outside of the city of Covington, who, with the county judge, constitute the fiscal court tihat made the levy complained of; that Independence is the county seat of Kenton county, and that in this town there are located the court house, jail and clerk’s' office, which are maintained by taxation on the property in the county outside of Covington; that three terms of the Kenton circuit court are held at Independence; and that the .salaries of the county treasurer, county superintendent of schools-, the county poor house, county judge, and county attorney, all election expenses for elections held in the county outside of Covington, and the fees of the jailer for keeping prisoners committed for infractions of the State law where the offense was committed in the county outside -of the city of Covington, are paid out of tbe special fund for which the tax was levied. It is .also agreed that the city of Gov
It seems to us clear from these agreed facts that' the property of the citizens of Kenton county outside of the city of Covington is burdened with taxes greatly in excess of what would be their fair proportion if all the property of the county was required to pay its fair proportion of the mount necessary for the purposes for which these taxes are levied, and, it therefore becomes important to examine the grounds upon which the city of Covington claims exemption from liability for the payment of any part of the taxes sought to be enjoined, in these proceed ings. This contention seems to rest exclusively upon a series of special acts passed for the benefit of the city of Covington, which began on the 29th day of February, 1836, before the separation of Kenton and Campbell counties. At that date an amendment to the original charter of the city of Covington was passed, and in the eighth section it was provided that after the first day of November, 1836, the citizens of Covington should be exempt from the assessment of the county levy and all charges for roads or other purposes. Acts 1835-36, p. 415. This was followed by an act of February, 1842, to amend the road law in Kenton, by which the county court was directed to divide the county into suitable road districts, and to maintain them the citizens were subjected to a
Counsel for appellants have most forcibly argued in their brief that the various special acts of the Legislature relied on by the city as showing a separation of the city of Covington from the residue of the county of Kenton for governmental .purposes could not be construed as affecting such separation; that this could only be done by a clear, distinct, and unequivocal expression of the Legislature, — such as would be required to create a new county. In our opinion it is not necessary to the determination of the question raised upon the appeals in these two eases to decide whether the various acts relied on hiad the effect claimed for them by appellee or not, as, whether this be true or not, we think that there can be no doubt that in so far as they are inconsistent with or repugnant to the act of October, 1892, which is now embraced in sections 1833 to 1851, inclusive, of thie Kentucky Statutes, which defines and prescribes the powers and duties of fiscal courts, they were repealed by the concluding section of the act, which expressly provides that “where for county governmental purposes a city is by law separated from the residue1 of the county, that part of the county outside of the limits of the city shall be deemed the county within the meaning of this act; provided, however, that both the city and county shall each pay its proportionate part of all expenses common to both said city and county, to be based upon the value of the taxable property in each as shown by the last preceding assessment for State purposes.” Under this statute, even if we admit that the separation contended
For the reasons indicated, we are of the opinion, that the injunctions asked in these actions, restraining John Boske, as sheriff, from the collection of the taxes, should have been granted; and the judgments are reversed, and the causes remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.