City of Yale v. Excise Bd. of Payne County

• Decision Date: 12 April 1932
• Docket Number: 23270.
• Citation: 10 P.2d 403,156 Okla. 192,1932 OK 268
• Parties: CITY OF YALE v. EXCISE BOARD OF PAYNE COUNTY et al.
• Court: Oklahoma Supreme Court

10 P.2d 403

156 Okla. 192, 1932 OK 268

CITY OF YALE v. EXCISE BOARD OF PAYNE COUNTY et al.

No. 23270.

Supreme Court of Oklahoma

April 12, 1932

Syllabus by the Court.

1. "Neither statute nor Constitution specifically prescribes purposes to which profits derived from municipally owned utility must be appropriated." Excise Board of Woodward County v. Reid, 143 Okl. 204, 288 P. 458.

2. "The governing body of a municipality may transfer from the general fund balance on hand to the sinking fund any amount thereof that the governing body may determine to be for the best interest of the municipality." Excise Board of Woodward County v. Reid, 143 Okl. 204, 288 P 458.

3. "The governing body of a municipality may appropriate profits derived from a municipally owned utility either to the general fund or to the sinking fund, as that body may determine to be for the best interest of the municipality." Excise Board of Woodward County v Reid, 143 Okl. 204, 288 P. 458.

4. "If the estimated needs of a municipality for the general fund expense of the municipality can be supplied within the statutory limitations, it is the duty of the excise board to make the appropriations therefor in the amounts estimated to be needed for that purpose, and the excise board is not authorized to make the appropriations in a lesser amount than that estimated to be needed if the amount estimated to be needed can be appropriated within the statutory limitations." Excise Board of Woodward County v. Reid, 143 Okl. 204, 288 P. 458.

5. The excise board is without authority to transfer estimated profit from the operation of a municipally owned utility to the sinking fund of a municipality, and the excise board has no authority to reduce any item of an estimate unless a tax levy is involved.

Appeal from District Court, Payne County; Freeman E. Miller, Judge.

Mandamus proceedings by the City of Yale, in Payne County, against the Excise Board of Payne County, C. A. Melton and others members thereof. Judgment in favor of the defendants, and the plaintiff appeals.

Reversed and cause remanded, with directions.

LESTER, C.J., and KORNEGAY, J., dissenting.

L. G. Lewis, of Stillwater, for plaintiff in error.

Ernest F. Jenkins, Co. Atty., of Stillwater, for defendants in error.

McNEILL J.

The parties will be referred to as they appeared in the trial court. The plaintiff filed its petition for writ of mandamus against the excise board of Payne county in the district court of said county asking that the excise board be required to approve the estimate as made and submitted by the governing body of said plaintiff, the city of Yale, operating under a charter form of government, setting forth the amount to be raised by taxation for the sinking fund and making an estimate for the general government and a library fund for which no ad valorem tax was asked; the general government and library fund being cared for out of the earnings of the water and light plant and income from other sources. The estimate which was submitted asked for a levy for the sinking fund only, the departments of government being cared for from the revenue of the city without an ad valorem tax levy.

It appears that the excise board met and approved the estimate in full on August 5, 1931, as to general fund and library fund. Thereafter said excise board met and rescinded its action formerly taken thereon.

The estimated income of said city shows $54,237.60, which the board of commissioners of said city estimated as the cost of operating the city. The excise board approved the sum of $41,449.59, and thereby reduced the estimate in the sum of $12,788.01. This estimated income was based upon the earnings of the water and light and other sources, and it appears that the excise board subtracted the amount approved by them from the estimate made by the city leaving the aforesaid balance. This surplus as calculated by the excise board was then transferred to the sinking fund, which balance or pretended surplus is upon the earnings and...