English v. City of Danville

• Decision Date: 02 April 1894
• Citation: 36 N.E. 994,150 Ill. 92
• Parties: ENGLISH v. CITY OF DANVILLE.
• Court: Illinois Supreme Court

150 Ill. 92

36 N.E. 994

ENGLISH

v.CITY OF DANVILLE.¹

Supreme Court of Illinois.

April 2, 1894.

Appeal from Vermilion county court; John G. Thompson, Judge.

Proceedings by the city of Danville to confirm a special tax. Charles L. English filed objections, which were overruled, and he appeals. Affirmed.

Kimbrough & Meeks, for appellant.

G. F. Rearick, Corp. Counsel, for appellee.

CRAIG, J.

This is an appeal from the county court of Vermilion county confirming an assessment of special taxes levied for the paving of Vermilion street in said city, from English to Voorhees street. The ordinance provides that the paving of street and alley intersections shall be paid for by general taxation, and that the right of way of a street railway having its track therein shall be paid by the company, and that the remainder of the cost shall be paid by a special tax levied upon property abutting on the line of said improvement, on both sides, in proportion to frontage. Section 14 of the ordinance provided: ‘Sec. 14. All owners and occupants of real estate touching or abutting upon said street, along the line of said improvement, are hereby required to make all contemplated private connections with public sewers, water mains or gas mains in said street, before the work of laying any pavement thereon is commenced. The city clerk shall without delay prepare suitable notices and cause the same to be served by the street superintendent or some member of the police force, upon all property owners along the line of said improvement.’ Section 6 of the ordinance as originally adopted provided for the collection of the taxes in five installments, but after the act of June 17, 1893, went into force, section 6 was amended to read as follows: ‘Sec. 6. That the special taxes herein ordered to be levied and assessed shall be collected in seven installments. The first of which installments shall include all fractional amounts, leaving each of the remaining installments equal in amount and multiples of one hundred dollars. Said first installment shall be due and payable on and after confirmation thereof, and the second installment one year thereafter and so on until all are paid. Which said assessment and installments shall bear interest at the rate of six (6) per cent. per annum from and after thirty (30) days succeeding the day of confirmation of the assessment roll herein. And for the purpose of anticipating the collection of the second and succeeding installments aforesaid bonds shall be issued, payable out of said installments, bearing interest at the rate of six (6) per centum per annum, payable annually and signed by the mayor and city clerk and attested by the corporate seal of said city of Danville. Said bonds shall be each in the sum of one hundred dollars, and shall not be dated and issued until ninety days after the said installments begin to draw interest. Said bonds shall have interest coupons attached and shall in all respects conform to the provisions of the statute in such case made and provided.’ The appellant interposed two objections in the county court to the confirmation of the tax, which are relied upon here: (1) That the law does not warrant the division of the assessment into seven installments, nor does it warrant the issue of improvement bonds to anticipate their collection. (2) That the ordinance is arbitrary in that the paving will be laid in advance of necessary water mains, to lay which the street pavement will afterwards have to be torn up.

Article 9 of the act to provide for the incorporation of cities and villages, as originally enacted in 1872, contained no provision for the collection of special assessments or special taxes in installments. But on the 29th day of April, 1887, the legislature passed an act to amend article 9 by adding thereto 13 sections,-numbers from 55 to 67 inclusive. Laws 1887, p. 104. These sections made provision for division of a special assessment, and for the collection thereof in installments. On the 15th day of June, 1891, sections 55 and 63 of the act of 1887 were amended (Laws 1891, p. 81), and, as amended, the law provided for the collection of special assessments in five different installments. By the terms of the act of 1887 the sections of that act then adopted became a part of article 9, and, as we understand the argument, it is not questioned that the special tax in question might have been collected in five installments, had the proceedings followed and conformed to the act of 1887, as amended in 1891. But this proceeding was not under that act, but under the act of 1893. Laws 1893, p. 78. The first section of the act provides ‘that...