84 Iowa 262 | Iowa | 1892
I. The petition shows that on May 20, 1889, the council, on a call of the yeas and nays, by unanimous vote adopted the following ordinance: •
“An ordinance to provide a system of water-works for the town of Bloomfield, and to provide for an election submitting such question to the qualified voters of said town. Section 1. Be it ordained by the town council <of the town of Bloomfield that a system of waterworks be established and provided for the supply of water to .-said town and the inhabitants thereof, under such plan ¡as may be hereafter provided for. Sec. 2. There shall be appointed a standing committee, appointed by the mayor, -on waterworks and water supply, consisting of 'three members of the council, which committee shall provide plans and make estimates for the instruction*266 of waterworks, and have the general management of the same under the direction of the council. Sec. 3. In order to furnish a supply of water for said town, there is hereby appropriated the sum of seven thousand and five hundred dollars for the purpose of sinking an artesian well, under the direction of the committee on waterworks and the approval of the council. Sec. 4. Said sum herein appropriated shall be raised by an annual levy of five mills each year on the taxable property of said town, to be levied and collected as other taxes. Sec. ' 5. The appropriation and levy herein provided- for shall be submitted to the legal voters of said town, at a' special election to be held on Tuesday, the second day of July, A. D. 1889, under a proclamation to be issued by the mayor, to be published for five weeks in the ‘Bloomfield Democrat,’ ‘Davis County Republican,’ and ‘Legal Tender Greenback,’ which proclamation shall submit to the legal voters the following proposition: ‘Shall waterworks be established in the town of Bloomfield, and seven thousand and five hundred dollars be appropriated therefor?’ And the form of the vote shall be by a written or printed ballot, with said question thereon, followed by the words ‘Yes’ or ‘No;’ and if a majority of the ballots cast shall show the answer to be ‘Yes’ to such question, then this ordinance shall be in full force; otherwise to be of no effect. And said election shall be held at the place designated by the proclamation, and such election shall be conducted as other elections are required by law to be conducted.
“C. E. COLONEYj
“Attest: Mayor.
“J. Boyeb,
“Recorder.”
Under authority of this ordinance the mayor, on May 27, 1889, issued his proclamation for an election to be held at his' office July 2, 1889, “at which election all legal voters who desire to vote for or against the
“Resolved, that a tax of six mills on the dollar for ordinary expense be levied on the assessed valuation of the property of the town, as assessed for the year A. D. 1889, and á tax of five mills on the dollar on such valuation, for artesian well and waterworks, on all property liable for such taxation, and a tax of four mills on the dollar for road purposes be levied on all farm property, and six mills on the dollar on all other property within the corporate limits. The recorder is ordered to certify the foregoing to the county auditor.”
It is alleged that this resolution was offered at a council meeting, September 23, 1889, but “was not voted upon or adopted by the said council, as shown by its records;” that after the same was so certified the auditor placed the same on the tax books of the county, as taxes due from taxpayers, and that the defendant is proceeding to collect the same. It is also alleged that, at the time of said election, there were in said town more than four hundred legal voters and electors.
II. The appellant’s first contention is that the ordinance authorizing this tax is void, because its
III. It is argued that the ordinance fails to establish any system of waterworks; that there is, therefore,
IY. It is contended that the proposition to authorize waterworks did not receive the required number of
V. The tax in question was not certified to the county auditor until September 24, 1889. The appel-
VI. It is alleged that the resolution certified to the auditor "was not voted upon nor adopted by said
VII. The appellant’s further contention is that municipal corporations have no authority to levy taxes,
These considerations lead us to the conclusion'that the judgment of the district court should be afeibmed.
Note.-By the statute cited, the council or trustees "of each municipal corporation is required to cause to be certified to the county auditor, on or before the first Monday of September of each year, the percentage or number of mills ~n the dollar of tax levied for all city purposes by them on the taxable property eithin said corporation for the year next ensuing, as shown by the assessment roll of the city for said year."