Bohannon v. City of Louisville

• Decision Date: 16 December 1921
• Citation: 235 S.W. 750,193 Ky. 276
• Parties: BOHANNON v. CITY OF LOUISVILLE ET AL.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

235 S.W. 750

193 Ky. 276

BOHANNON v. CITY OF LOUISVILLE ET AL.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

December 16, 1921

Appeal from Circuit Court, Jefferson County, Chancery Branch, Second Division.

Suit by Thomas Bohannon against the City of Louisville and others. Decree of dismissal, and plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.

Davies Page & Downing, of Louisville, for appellant.

Arthur M. Rutledge and Davis W. Edwards, both of Louisville, for appellees.

HURT C.J.

The single question for decision is whether, under the act of the General Assembly of March 15, 1912, which is chapter 90 Session Acts 1912, the city of Louisville is authorized to incur a bonded indebtedness of one million dollars, to be expended in the purchase of sites for schoolhouses, and the erection of schoolhouses for the high schools and other schools, and to purchase land for the enlargement of the existing school yards, in addition to a similar bonded indebtedness of one million dollars, which was contracted by virtue of that statute in the year of 1913.

The facts from which the controversy arises are that in the year 1913 the board of education made the certification to the general council of the city necessary under the statute to authorize the general council to adopt an ordinance submitting to the voters, at the regular municipal election the question whether the city should incur an indebtedness of one million dollars, by the issue of bonds therefor, for the purposes set out in the statute, and the ordinance adopted by the general council complied in all respects with the requirements of the statute, and at the election the proposed issue of the bonds was approved by the requisite number of voters voting at the election and in pursuance to such direction, the city issued the bonds and is now annually paying a tax sufficient to pay the interest on the bonds, and to liquidate them at their maturity.

In 1921 the board of education again deemed it necessary for the proper accommodation of the schools to purchase other sites for schoolhouses, and to erect houses for the high schools and other schools, and to purchase lands for the enlargement of the present school yards, and, the annual funds from other sources being insufficient for such purpose, were of the opinion that a bond issue was necessary to obtain the necessary funds therefor, and it made an estimate of the amount of money required therefor and certified to the general council that an election, upon the question of whether bonds should be issued in the sum of one million dollars, should be held, and likewise the purposes to which the money obtained from such bonds should be applied, together with the estimate of the probable amount of money required, and the fact that the annual funds raised from other sources were insufficient, and that it deemed an issue of bonds necessary therefor. In pursuance of this certification, the general council adopted the necessary ordinance submitting the question of the proposed bond issue to the voters, at the regular municipal election held in November, 1921. The ordinance provided for all of the requirements designated by the statute. The requisite proportion of the voters voting at the election approved the issue of the bonds and the incurrence of the additional indebtedness by the city for the purposes designated and as specified by the ordinance. Pursuant to this direction of the voters, the authorities of the city were proposing to proceed to issue bonds, when the appellant sought by this action to restrain them from so doing, upon the ground that the city, by the bond issue of 1913, had exhausted its power to become indebted by a bond issue as provided in the statute and for the purpose there mentioned, and hence was unauthorized to further obligate itself on that account. The circuit court sustained a general demurrer to the petition and dismissed the action, and hence this appeal.

To determine the soundness of the judgment, a construction of the statute with reference to the subject is necessary to be made. The statute, so far as is necessary to be quoted, is as follows:

"An act to amend the school laws of cities of the first class.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:

Section 1. That in cities of the first class whenever the board of education shall deem it necessary for the proper accommodation of the schools of such city to purchase a site or sites or to erect schoolhouses for the high schools or for the other schools, or to purchase land for the enlargement of existing school yards, or for any or all these purposes, and the annual funds raised from other sources are not sufficient to accomplish said purpose or purposes, and it shall deem a bond issue to be necessary...