City of Newton v. Board of Sup'rs of Jasper County

• Decision Date: 07 June 1907
• Citation: 112 N.W. 167,135 Iowa 27
• Parties: THE CITY OF NEWTON, IOWA, Appellee, v. THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF JASPER COUNTY, IOWA, ET AL., Appellants
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

112 N.W. 167

135 Iowa 27

THE CITY OF NEWTON, IOWA, Appellee, v. THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF JASPER COUNTY, IOWA, ET AL., Appellants

Supreme Court of Iowa, Des Moines

June 7, 1907

Appeal from Jasper District Court.-- HON. B. W. PRESTON, Judge.

ACTION of mandamus to compel defendants to expend the balance of the county road fund arising from taxes upon property within the city of Newton upon the roads and streets within said city or the roads adjacent thereto under the direction of the city council. The trial court granted the relief prayed, and defendants appeal.-- Affirmed.

Affirmed.

Henry Silwold, for appellants.

H. C Korf and J. E. Cross, for appellee.

OPINION

DEEMER, J.

Defendants are the Board of Supervisors and the individual members thereof in and for Jasper county, and plaintiff is a city of the second class within said county. In September of the year 1904 the board levied a tax of one mill on the dollar upon all property in Jasper county, including that within the city of Newton, for the creation of a county road fund. There had been paid to the county treasurer when this action was commenced in taxes upon property within the city of Newton the sum of $ 972.71. Of this amount there had been expended under the direction of the City Council of Newton upon roads and streets therein and upon the highways adjacent thereto the sum of $ 550, leaving a balance in the hands of the County Treasurer of $ 422.71. The city council demanded that this balance be expended upon the roads and streets of the city and upon the roads adjacent thereto as directed by the city council, which demand was refused by the defendant board upon the ground that it had the absolute authority to expend all of said fund upon the roads of Jasper county as it saw fit. This action is to compel the board to comply with the demand of the city council.

Defendant contends that the road fund was and is entirely within its authority and jurisdiction, and that the statute upon which plaintiff relies is unconstitutional and void. As the case is primarily one for statutory construction, we here quote the law upon which plaintiff relies. It is known as section 1530 of the Code with amendments, and reads as follows:

County road fund -- how levied and paid out. The board of supervisors of each county shall, at the time of levying taxes for other purposes, levy a tax of not more than one mill on the dollar of the assessed value of the taxable property in its county, including all taxable property in cities and incorporated towns, which shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as other taxes, and be known as the county road fund, and paid out only on the order of the board for work done on the roads of the county in such places as it shall determine; but so much of the county road fund as arises from property within any city or incorporated town, shall be expended on the roads or streets within such city or town, or on roads adjacent thereto, under the direction of the city or town council; and the county treasurer shall receive the same compensation for collecting this tax as he does for collecting corporation taxes. Moneys so collected shall not be transferable to any other fund nor used for any other purpose. The board of supervisors shall levy such additional sum for the benefit of such townships as shall have certified a desire for such additional levy, as provided for in section fifteen hundred and twenty-eight of this chapter; but the amount for the general township fund and county road fund shall not exceed in any year five mills on the dollar.

This has been amended by chapter 56, Acts 31st General Assembly but the amendment is not material, save as it indicates an intent on the part of the Legislature to direct how the road fund shall be expended. The act as amended, and as it appears in the Code Supplement of 1902, as section 1530, was the outgrowth of chapter 200, Acts 20th General Assembly, except that it expressly includes all taxable property in cities and embraces the following clause: "But so much of the county road fund as arises...