Evangelical Alliance Mission v. Village of Williams Bay, 241

• Decision Date: 29 February 1972
• Docket Number: No. 241,241
• Citation: 194 N.W.2d 646,54 Wis.2d 187
• Parties: EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE MISSION, a foreign corp., Respondent, v. The VILLAGE OF WILLIAMS BAY, a municipal corp., Appellant.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

Page 646

194 N.W.2d 646

54 Wis.2d 187

EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE MISSION, a foreign corp., Respondent, v. The VILLAGE OF WILLIAMS BAY, a municipal corp., Appellant.

No. 241.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

Feb. 29, 1972.

This action was brought by the Evangelical Alliance Mission to recover general property taxes for the year 1968, paid under protest to the Village of Williams Bay. The Mission claims an exemption as an educational and religious institution under sec. 70.11(4), Stats.

The facts are not in dispute. The Mission is an Illinois corporation which performs religious and educational work throughout the world. The property in the Village of Williams Bay is used by the missionaries who are on furlough. Staff members of the Mission also use the property and, on occasion, so do people from a nearby camp. Consisting of a duplex house and two lots, the property is used for residential purposes. During the years 1967--1969, the duplex was occupied by missionaries for thirty-two of the thirty-six months. The 1968 Village property taxes levied against this property, amounting to $691.68, were paid under protest.

In June, 1969, the Mission brought this action in the circuit court for Walworth county to recover the taxes paid under protest. After taking evidence the circuit court, Hon. Ernst John Watts presiding, concluded that the property owned by the Mission was exempt from property taxes by virtue of sec. 70.11(4), Stats. The court entered judgment in favor of the Mission for the amount of the tax plus costs and interest. The court subsequently denied the Village's motion to review the judgment. The Village appeals from the judgment and from the order denying its motion.

William H. Freytag, Elkhorn, for appellant.

Sweet & Eberhardt, Elkhorn, for respondent.

WILKIE, Justice.

Two issues are dispositive of this appeal:

1. Is sec. 70.11(4), Stats., ambiguous?

2. Is the property which is used by transient missionaries exempted by the statute as being property used for 'housing' purposes?

The Mission claims an exemption under sec. 70.11(4), Stats. That statute, in relevant part, reads:

'70.11 Property exempted from taxation. The property described in this section is exempted from general property taxes:

'. . .

'(4) Educational, religious and benevolent institutions; . . . Property owned and used exclusively by . . . churches or religious, educational or benevolent associations, . . . and also including property owned and used for housing for pastors and their ordained assistants, members of religious orders and communities, and ordained teachers, whether or not contiguous to and a part of other property owned and used by such associations or churches; . . . but not exceeding 10 acres of land necessary for location and convenience of buildings while such property is not used for profit. . . . Leasing such property to similar organizations for educational or benevolent purposes, where all the income derived therefrom is used for maintenance, shall not render the property taxable.' (Emphasis added.)

The Mission argues that its property falls squarely under this statute, while the Village contends that this statute is ambiguous and requires reference to the legislative history so as to disclose the meaning of the word 'housing' in the statute.

This court will not consider legislative history of a statute unless the statute is ambiguous. ¹ 'Ambiguity' exists when a statute is capable of being understood by reasonably well-informed persons in two or more different senses. ² In the present case, appellants argue that the word 'housing' as used in sec. 70.11(4), Stats., is ambiguous thereby requiring a reference to the legislative history.

The word 'housing' as used in the statute here has a definite meaning--shelter or lodging. The definition of housing as pertinently set forth in Webster's Third International Dictionary, is as follows:

'housing n., 1: SHELTER, LODGING 2 a: the act of placing under shelter b: the act of living in a house 3: dwellings provided for numbers of people or for a community (---for the aged) 4 a: something that covers or protects . . ..' ³

The word 'ho...