City of East St Louis v. United States Amy

• Decision Date: 14 March 1887
• Citation: 30 L.Ed. 798,120 U.S. 600,7 S.Ct. 739
• Parties: CITY OF EAST ST. LOUIS v. UNITED STATES ex rel . AMY and others
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

120 U.S. 600

7 S.Ct. 739

30 L.Ed. 798

CITY OF EAST ST. LOUIS v. UNITED STATES ex rel. AMY and others.

March 14, 1887.

Chas. W. Thomas, for plaintiff in error.

Geo. A. Sanders, for defendant in error.

WAITE, C. J.

This is a proceeding by mandamus to require the mayor and council of the city of East St. Louis to levy a tax to pay a judgment against the city for $36,495.28 rendered by the circuit court of the United States for the Southern district of Illinois, in favor of H. Amy & Co. on the twenty-second of August, 1885. The facts are as follows: By the charter of the city, which went into effect March 26, 1869, the city council was given authority to borrow money on the credit of the city to an amount not exceeding $100,000, and to issue bonds therefor, but the power of special taxation to pay interest and provide a sinking fund was limited to 'three mills on the dollar upon each annual assessment made for general purposes.'

The constitution of Illinois, which took effect August 8, 1870, contains this provision: 'Art. 9, § 12. No county, city, township, school-district, or other municipal corporation shall be allowed to become indebtd in any manner, or for any purpose, to an amount, including existing indebtedness, in the aggregate exceeding five per centum on the value of the taxable property therein, to be ascertained by the last assessment for state and county taxes previous to the incurring of such indebtedness. Any county, city, school-district, or other municipal corporation incurring any indebtedness as aforesaid, shall, before, or at the time of doing so, provide for the collection of a direct annual tax sufficient to pay the interest on such a debt as it falls due, and also to pay and discharge the principal thereof within twenty years from the time of contracting the same. * * *' With this in force, the city council of East St. Louis passed three ordinances to borrow money, and issued bonds therefor. In each ordinance provision was made for the levy and collection of a special annual tax sufficient to meet the interest and the principal as they respectively fell due. The judgment in favor of Amy & Co. was for interest on these issues of bonds, and the principal of one bond which had become due. The controversy in this proceeding is as to the amount of tax the council is authorized to levy for the payment of this judgment. The three-mills tax provided for in the charter has been regularly levied and collected, and the city claims this to be the extent of its corporate power in that behalf. The court, however, was of opinion that, for all bonded indebtedness incurred after the constitution of 1870 went into effect, it was the duty of the city to levy and collect a direct annual tax sufficient to pay both the interest and the principal as it fell due; and, as this had not been done, an order was made requiring the levy and collection of 'a special tax upon all the taxable property of said city for the year 1886 sufficient in amount to pay' the judgment in full. To reverse that order this writ of error was brought.

The points presented for decision are (1) whether the constitution of 1870 abrogated that part of the charter which limited the power of the city to tax for the payment of its bonded debt incurred after that constitution went into effect; and, (2) if it did, whether the court could 'compel a levy en masse to pay the whole debt and interest, when the constitution only required the council to provide for the collection of an annual tax to pay the interest as it falls due, and the principal within twenty years.'

In our opinion, the constitution removed from the charter the limitation upon the power of the council to tax for the payment of any bonded indebtedness which might thereafter be incurred, and gave authority to levy and collect enough to meet the interest as it fell due, and the principal within 20 years. It gave no new power to incur a debt. That had been given by the charter itself, to the extent of $100,000. There is here no question as to a limitation of this power by the provision that the bonded debt shall...