Ex parte City of Covington

• Decision Date: 07 October 1914
• Parties: EX PARTE CITY OF COVINGTON.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

169 S.W. 718

160 Ky. 146

EX PARTE CITY OF COVINGTON.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

October 7, 1914

Appeal from Circuit Court, Kenton County, Common Law and Equity Division.

In the matter of a bond issue of the City of Covington. From a judgment holding valid an election approving the bond issue the City of Covington appeals. Judgment reversed with directions to declare the election invalid.

Frederick W. Schmitz and Jno. A. Richmond, both of Covington, for appellant.

TURNER J.

The only question involved on this appeal is whether the city council of Covington, in ordering an election and submitting to its voters the question of whether they would incur an indebtedness of $200,000 for the extension of its waterworks system, has sufficiently complied with the provisions of section 3069, Kentucky Statutes, as amended by the act of 1910 (Acts 1910, p. 296), the same being a part of the charter of cities of the second class.

The act, in so far as it is pertinent, is as follows:

"If in any year, the general council shall deem it necessary to incur any indebtedness, the payment of which cannot be met without exceeding the income and revenue provided for the city for that particular year, it shall, by ordinance order an election by the qualified electors of the city to be held, to determine whether such indebtedness shall be incurred. Such ordinance shall specify the amount of indebtedness proposed to be incurred, the purpose or purposes of the same, and the amount of money necessary to be raised annually by taxation for an interest and sinking fund, as herein provided."

The ordinance in full is as follows:

"Section I. That there shall be submitted for the qualified voters of the city of Covington, at the regular November election, to be held on November 5th, 1912, the following question: 'Shall the city of Covington issue and sell a sufficient number of waterworks extension and improvements bonds bearing interest at the rate of four per cent. per annum, as evidenced by interest coupons attached thereto, and the principal thereof, payable forty (40) years after their issuance, to produce a fund of two hundred thousand ($200,000) dollars to be applied to the construction of an emergency main and to the extension of the city's water system to that part of the city which was formerly Central Covington and Latonia?'

Sec. II. Said bonds shall be payable at the city depository of the city of Covington.

Sec. III. It shall be the duty of the city clerk, upon the passage and approval of this ordinance, to certify the same to the clerk of the county court, Kenton county.

Sec. IV. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and approval by the mayor."

It is conceded that the ordinance sufficiently complies with the statute in specifying the amount of indebtedness proposed to be incurred, and in indicating the purpose or purposes of the same; but it is urged that there is no sufficient compliance with the provision requiring that the ordinance shall specify, "the amount of money necessary to be raised annually by taxation for an interest and sinking fund, as herein provided." The lower court was of opinion that as the ordinance specified the total amount of the indebtedness to be incurred, and the rate of interest to be paid upon the proposed bonds and the date of their maturity, there was a substantial compliance with the requirements of the act, and entered a judgment upholding the validity of the ordinance and inferentially adjudging the proposed bond issue to be valid, the vote thereon having been taken and the proposition having received the required number of votes. It...