Commissioners of Cumberland County v. Commissioners of Harnett County

• Decision Date: 20 December 1911
• Citation: 73 S.E. 195,157 N.C. 514
• Parties: COMMISSIONERS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY v. COMMISSIONERS OF HARNETT COUNTY.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

73 S.E. 195

157 N.C. 514

COMMISSIONERS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY v. COMMISSIONERS OF HARNETT COUNTY.

Supreme Court of North Carolina

December 20, 1911

Appeal from Superior Court, Cumberland County; Whedbee, Judge.

Action by the Commissioners of Cumberland County against the Commissioners of Harnett County to enjoin the latter from collecting taxes or exercising governmental authority over certain territory. From a decree in favor of defendants plaintiffs appeal. Affirmed.

On the hearing it was properly made to appear:

"(1) That the General Assembly of North Carolina, at its regular session of 1911, passed and ratified an act, the same being chapter 591 of the Public Local Laws of 1911, which act, as well as the same it purports to amend, to wit, chapter 8 of the Public Laws of 1854-55, is hereby referred to and made a part of these facts agreed.

"(2) That the territory purporting to be added to the county of Harnett by said act is approximately 12 miles in length and 4 miles in width at its widest point, embracing about 6 square miles of territory, containing about $280 taxable property and 103 taxable polls and 120 voters.

(3) That said act of 1911 was not read on three separate days in either branch of the General Assembly, nor was there any roll call upon the passage of the same at any reading, nor were the ayes and noes recorded on the journals of either the House or the Senate; that the bill was originally introduced in the Senate; said bill being identical with said act, except that it did not contain the latter part of section 6 of said act, beginning with the word "provided," and including the remainder of said section. This proviso in said section was incorporated as a House amendment on its third reading in the House, and the bill was sent back to the Senate, and this amendment was concurred in by the Senate on March 4th, and was ratified on March 6th; neither the bill nor the amendment being passed as a roll bill.

"(4) That in the passage of the bill which forms the act establishing the county of Harnett, viz., chapter 8 of the Public Laws of 1854-55, said bill was not read on three separate days in either branch of the General Assembly, nor were the ayes and noes called or recorded in the journals."

That the commissioners of Cumberland had levied taxes on the detached portion of territory for general and specific purposes for the year 1911, and had placed the tax lists in the hands of the sheriff of Cumberland, who was proceeding to collect same or threatening to do so, and the commissioners of Harnett county had done the like. "That there had been no agreement between the boards of commissioners of the respective counties, either made or attempted, looking to the assumption on the part of Harnett county or said disputed territory of its proportional part of the bonded or floating indebtedness of Cumberland county, as provided in section 6 of said act; such agreement having been deferred, pending a judicial determination of this controversy. *** That each of the respective boards of commissioners, through the officers of their respective counties, assert and are attempting to maintain general jurisdiction of the territory in question for all governmental purposes."

Upon these the controlling facts, relevant to the inquiry, it was contended for the commissioners of Cumberland that the act of 1911 is invalid and unconstitutional, and that the territory in question has always been and is now a part of Cumberland county; that the municipal authorities of Harnett county should be restrained and enjoined from collecting taxes or exercising any governmental authority over said territory. Defendants contend that the act is valid, and the commissioners of Cumberland be restrained. The court entered judgment, (1) declaring the act constitutional and valid, (2) restraining commissioners of Cumberland from collecting taxes in said territory, and (3) directing commissioners of the two counties to ascertain the proportionate part of the bonded indebtedness, etc., of Cumberland county properly chargeable to Harnett, etc. To this judgment commissioners of Cumberland excepted and appealed.

Q. K Nimocks, Newton, Herring & Oates, and V. C. Bullard, for appellants.

J C. Clifford, for appellees.

HOKE, J. (after stating the facts as above).

Numerous and repeated decisions of the court are in affirmance and illustration of the principle that: "Counties and townships are, as a rule, simply agencies of the state constituted for the convenience of local administration in certain portions of the state's territory, and in the exercise of ordinary governmental functions they are subject to almost unlimited legislative control, except when...