Beauchamp v. Somerset County Sanitary Commission, No. 94

• Court: Court of Appeals of Maryland
• Writing for the Court: Before HAMMOND; BARNES
• Citation: 261 A.2d 461,256 Md. 541
• Parties: Oliver T. BEAUCHAMP, Jr., Postmerican Legion Dept. of Maryland, Inc. v. SOMERSET COUNTY SANITARY COMMISSION, Acting For And On Behalf Of Somerset County Sanitary District, Inc.
• Decision Date: 03 February 1970
• Docket Number: No. 94,A,No. 162

Page 541

256 Md. 541 261 A.2d 461 Oliver T. BEAUCHAMP, Jr., Post No. 94, American Legion Dept.
of Maryland, Inc.
v.
SOMERSET COUNTY SANITARY COMMISSION, Acting For And On
Behalf Of Somerset County Sanitary District, Inc. No. 162. Court of Appeals of Maryland. Feb. 3, 1970.

Page 542

Patrick L. Rogan, Jr., and Richardson, Rogan & Anderson, Salisbury, on brief, for appellant.

Alexander C. Jones, Prince Anne (Jones & Jones, Princess Anne, on the brief) for appellee.

Before HAMMOND, C. J., and BARNES, McWILLIAMS, SMITH and DIGGES, JJ.

BARNES, Judge.

In our decision in Oliver T. Beauchamp, Jr., Post No. 94, American Legion Department of Maryland, Inc. v. Somerset County Sanitary Commission, 243 Md. 98, 220 A.2d

Page 543

135 (1966), we observed in Footnote 1 that 'Chapter 674 of the Laws of 1966, effective June 1, 1966, added a new section (657A) to Article 43 (of the Maryland Code), providing for an exemption in Somerset County of the property of any incorporated American Legion Post from the levy of any taxes, charges or assessments of whatever kind against the property by the Somerset County Sanitary District.' We did not pass upon the validity of that statute in that case inasmuch as the question of its validity was not before us, having been neither briefed nor argued by the respective parties. After our affirmance of the assessment by the Somerset County Sanitary Commission (Sanitary Commission) for water main and sewer of the land of the O. T. Beauchamp, Jr., Post No. 94, American Legion Department of [261 A.2d 462] Maryland, Inc. (American Legion Post No. 94) in Princess Anne as a small acreage instead of an agricultural classification the Sanitary Commission filed a declaratory proceeding in the Circuit Court for Somerset County against American Legion Post No. 94 under the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act, Code (1957), Art. 31A, alleging that Chapter 674 of the Laws of 1966 (the Act) was unconstitutional and invalid and praying that the Circuit Court declare the respective rights, duties and obligations of the parties. The Circuit Court (Travers and Mace, JJ.) filed a written opinion and passed an order on April 23, 1969, declaring the Act to be unconstitutional and void and that the lands of American Legion Post No. 94 mentioned in the declaration were subject to the liens of the assessments levied by the Sanitary Commission for the years 1966, 1967 and 1968. We shall affirm this order.

There is no dispute in regard to the facts, the parties having submitted the case to us upon an agreed statement of facts.

The American Legion Post No. 94 owns two parcels of land in the Sanitary District. These are (1) Parcel No. 426 containing 130 acres of land on the north side of West Post Office Road, and (2) Parcel No. 427, a triangular

Page 544

tract of about eight or nine acres on the south side of West Post Office Road and the north side of Antioch Avenue. Parcel 427 was purchased for about $3,300 or $3,400. The Sanitary Commission assessed the property of American Legion Post No. 94 in the same means as all other property in the Sanitary District. The property was classified as 'small acreage.' The assessments for 1966, 1967 and 1968 have not been paid. The front foot assessments made by the Sanitary District are to amortize the bond issue payments of the Sanitary District and there are no other monies to retire these bonds except that an ad valorum tax in the district could be established if the Sanitary District failed to meet its payments. The front foot assessments can only be used to retire the Sanitary District bonds and were established by taking the total front feet of properties within the district and dividing that total into the amount of money necessary to amortize the bonds. A uniform rate was set within each classification of property and this rate has remained unchanged. Through 1965 the collections were about 100%. The amount of assessment to American Legion Post No. 94 is approximately 3.5% of the total assessment for the entire sanitary district. If a delinquency of 3.5% continues in collections, the Sanitary District will have to increase the levy or an ad valorum tax would have to be passed to raise the necessary money. When the Act passed the General Assembly, members of American Legion Post No. 94 and representatives of the Sanitary District were given an opportunity to be heard by the Governor before he signed the proposed bill. There are three American Legion Posts in Somerset County. The Sanitary Commission, however, has created only one sub-district known as the Princess Anne District and American Legion Post No. 94 is the only American Legion Post within that subdistrict.

By the Act of 1957, Chap. 782 a new subtitle 'Sanitary Districts' was added to Code (1957), Art. 43, title 'Health.' This new subtitle now consists of §§ 645 to 673 (1965 Replacement Volume). We have heretofore

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sustained the validity of the title of this statute. See Fitzgerald v. Somerset County Sanitary Commission, 231 Md. 242, 189 A.2d 601 (1963). Without discussing in detail the provisions of this comprehensive public general law, it is clear that its purpose was to provide the governmental machinery and procedures by which the counties covered by the statute could meet the growing demand for water and sewer facilities. Section 654 authorizes...