Board of Ed. of Lawrence County v. Workman

• Decision Date: 18 February 1955
• Citation: 281 S.W.2d 3
• Parties: BOARD OF EDUCATION OF LAWRENCE COUNTY, Kentucky, Appellant, v. Vessie L. WORKMAN, Appellee.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky

Page 3

281 S.W.2d 3

BOARD OF EDUCATION OF LAWRENCE COUNTY, Kentucky, Appellant, v. Vessie L. WORKMAN, Appellee.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

Feb. 18, 1955.

Petition for Rehearing Dismissed July 29, 1955.

Clyde L. Miller, Louisa, for appellant.

C. A. Lycan, Ashland, for appellee.

CAMMACK, Justice.

On the first trial of this case the sheriff, Vessie L. Workman, was allowed the full statutory fee of four per cent for collecting school taxes. We set aside that judgment and remanded the case to the circuit court for taking of further proof to ascertain what portion of the time of the sheriff and his deputies was devoted to tax collection work. The formula used by the lower court to compute the sheriff's fee was held to be erroneous and we pointed out also that unless there was more satisfactory proof of automobile expenses actually paid, that item should be disallowed. Board of Education of Lawrence County v. Workman, Ky., 256 S.W.2d 528.

Upon the second trial of the case the special judge held the Board was entitled to recover of Workman $915.69, which is the difference between the sum withheld by Workman as compensation for collecting school taxes for 1950, and the amount to which the special judge held he was entitled.

The Board contends on this appeal that the court erred in allowing $1,555.20 for automobile expense and in adjudging that the ten precinct deputies were paid $1,486.97 for collecting school taxes. The Board argues also that it should have interest on the sum recovered from Workman from June 6, 1951, which is the date on which Workman made the last payment of school taxes to the Board.

The lower court set out that Workman attempted to show that 70,799 miles were traveled by him and his deputies in collecting school taxes alone, and that he claimed ten cents per mile as travel expenses. The court held that was excessive and found that 24,000 miles was a reasonable figure for the mileage traveled in collecting all taxes and computed the expense at ten cents per mile. As school taxes amounted to 64.8 per cent of all taxes collected, the court took 64.8 per cent of $2,400 and awarded $1,555.20 to Workman as automobile expenses incurred on collecting school taxes. However, Workman's itemized statement of expenses discloses that he claimed 10,000 miles were traveled in collecting all taxes, and when calculated at ten cents per mile the amount would be $1,000. Thus Workman claimed only $648 as automobile expenses in collecting school taxes. Obviously, the court erred in awarding Workman $1,555.20 for automobile expenses. The Board argues, however, that he is entitled to nothing for automobile expenses. Workman stated that the 10,000 mileage figure was only an estimate. Furthermore, there is no direct evidence as to who did the traveling, or that a single tax bill was collected...