City of Apalachicola v. State

• Decision Date: 15 April 1927
• Citation: 112 So. 618,93 Fla. 921
• Parties: CITY OF APALACHICOLA v. STATE et al.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

112 So. 618

93 Fla. 921

CITY OF APALACHICOLA v. STATE et al.

Florida Supreme Court, Division B.

April 15, 1927

Proceeding by the city of Apalachicola to validate a bond issue, in which J. S. Murrow and others intervened. From a decree refusing to validate the bond issue, the city appeals.

Affirmed.

Syllabus by the Court

SYLLABUS

Valid local or special laws concerning powers of particular municipalities prevail as against general statutory law. Where there are valid local or special laws relating to the powers and government of particular municipalities that are in conflict with the general statutory law, such local or special laws prevail.

General law regulating local improvements applies, except where local law is inconsistent therewith, in which case local law must be followed (Sp. Acts 1915, c. 7128, as amended by Acts Ex Sess. 1925, c. 11396; Acts 1923, c. 9298; Const. art. 3, § 24). Where a general law provides supplemental, additional and alternative methods to be pursued to procure local improvements in municipalities, such general law is applicable except where, as in this case, a local law is inconsistent with the general law, in which case the local law must be followed; and this results not from a rule of construction, but from the express provision of our Constitution.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Franklin County; E. C Love, judge.

COUNSEL

R. Don McLeod, Jr., of Apalachicola, for appellant.

W. J. Oven, of Tallahassee, for appellees.

OPINION

BUFORD J.

The appellant instituted a statutory proceeding to validate a bond issue of that municipality in which it was shown that the proceedings had to authorize the issuance of the bonds sought to be validated were in pursuance to and in accordance with the provisions of chapter 9298, Laws of Florida (Acts of 1923). It is shown that the city of Apalachicola was incorporated under the provisions of chapter 7128, Laws of Florida (Acts of 1915); that article 7 of the charter act authorized the city commission to pave, grade, curb, lay out, open, repair, or otherwise improve any street, alley, or highway or part thereof, etc., and authorized the city commission to assess one-fourth of the cost of such improvement against the property abutting on either side of the street, alley, or highway so improved. Article 8 authorized the issue of bonds by the city commission with the approval of the majority of the registered voters of the city residing therein who own real estate therein and who have paid their taxes for the year last due thereon and actually voting; bonds to bear such rate of interest as may be deemed best by the commissioners, not exceeding the legal rate of interest in the state, for the purpose, among other things, of opening, widening, constructing, and paving the streets and sidewalks of the city, and this act provided:

'Before any such bonds are issued the question of issuing them, as well as the amount to be issued, shall be submitted to the electors of the city having qualifications hereinabove specified in such manner as may be provided by ordinance, and after no less than thirty days notice by advertisement in a newspaper published in said city. Should a majority of the votes actually cast by said electors be in favor of the bonds and the amount proposed to be issued, in that event it shall be lawful for them to be issued, otherwise not. The amount of bonds to be so issued by the city shall be limited as follows:

'The amount of bonds so issued for any purpose for other than revenue-producing public utilities shall not exceed ten per cent. of the assessed value of the real and personal property within the corporate limits of said city, but in addition thereto the city may issue bonds to the amount of not exceeding two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the purpose of purchasing, constructing and owning revenue-producing and self-sustaining public utilities, such as water works, power plants and public docks and terminals, and others of a like kind not depending upon taxation for the payment of principal and interest thereon.' Section 62.

Chapter 11396, Acts of Extraordinary Session of the Legislature of 1925, amended articles 7 and 8 of the charter act in part as follows:

'Sec. 58. The city commissioners shall have the power to lay out, open, grade, curb, pave, repair, or otherwise improve any side-walks, streets, alleys or highways or any part thereof in said city. When the cost of such work shall exceed five hundred dollars the contract therefor shall be let by bid after advertisement of notice of the time and place of receiving such bids of not less than ten days. The city commissioners shall have the power to assess any part or all of the cost of the construction of the pavement of the streets of said city against the property abutting on the street so constructed or improved in the following manner: When any street shall be paved or improved under the provisions hereof, the total cost of such pavement or improvement in front of each block, measured from the center of the intersecting streets at each end thereof, shall be apportioned equally to the blocks abutting said street on either side and one-half of the cost or such proportion thereof as may be determined by the city commissioners shall be assessed against the property on each side of the said street in proportion to the frontage of such property on such street so that the entire costs of such pavement or improvement, or such part thereof as may be determined by the city commissioners in front of any such block shall be assessed against the property abutting on such street so paved or improved.

'Sec. 59. The assessment so made against the real estate for such pavement or improvement shall be a lien upon the said real estate prior in dignity to all other liens except taxes and shall be certified to the city cashier by the city commissioners and shall be collected by the city cashier at the same time and in the same manner as the taxes upon the said real estate; provided that unless the sum so assessed against any part of the said property shall be paid in full at or before the first day of April next after the said lien shall accrue the sum so assessed against any part of the said real estate shall be divided into installments payable annually, bearing interest at such rate not exceeding six per cent. per annum and no such annual installment shall exceed five per cent. of the assessed valuation of property against which the same is assessed. The payment of such assessment or any installment thereof or the interest thereon may be enforced by levy and sale in the same manner as is provided for the collection of taxes or by a bill in chancery in any court of competent jurisdiction of the state of Florida.

'Sec 59 1/2. The city commissioners shall have the power to issue bonds of the city of Apalachicola for the purpose of paying for the pavement or improvement of the streets of said city after...