Fayette County v. Wells

• Citation: 243 S.W. 4,195 Ky. 608
• Parties: FAYETTE COUNTY ET AL. v. WELLS ET AL.
• Decision Date: 28 June 1922
• Court: Court of Appeals of Kentucky

243 S.W. 4

195 Ky. 608

FAYETTE COUNTY ET AL. v. WELLS ET AL.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

June 28, 1922

Appeal from Circuit Court, Fayette County.

Action by Fayette County and others against R. T. Wells and others submitted as an agreed action. Judgment for defendants, and plaintiffs appeal. Affirmed in part and reversed in part.

George C. Webb, George R. Hunt, S. S. Carrick, and R. W. Keenon, all of Lexington, for appellants.

Charles I. Dawson, Atty. Gen., for appellees.

SAMPSON J.

The judgment from which this appeal is prosecuted was rendered in the Fayette circuit court on June 14, 1922, in an agreed action under Civ. Code Prac. § 637, etc., wherein Fayette county et al. were plaintiffs, and the State Tax Commission and its members were defendants, instituted for the purpose of obtaining a construction of the revenue and taxation laws of this commonwealth enacted at the special session of 1917 and the regular sessions of 1918 and 1920, especially with respect to the mode of procedure which the State Tax Commission, the county board of supervisors, and tax commissioner of Fayette county should adopt under the agreed state of facts set forth in the pleadings, to which pleadings is attached a prayer that the court consider the facts as set out in the statement and questions of law involved, and to determine whether or not those provisions of the revenue and taxation act under which the State Tax Commission is proceeding as herein set out are valid and enforceable, and if valid, in what way the State Tax Commission is authorized to exercise its authority thereunder, and, in case the court should be of opinion that the State Tax Commission has the right to make such reassessment, how same should be made, and what duties the taxpayers will be under with reference to the making of said reassessment; that the court determine what will be the duties of the new board of supervisors appointed to act on said reassessment, if same should be held to be authorized under the law, and to adjudge whether or not the action of such board of supervisors will be final and conclusive, and that the court make such orders in this case as will make effective, as far as it has the power to do so, whatever judgment it may render herein. A trial was had and judgment rendered sustaining the right of the State Tax Commission to increase the assessment of property in Fayette county and to make reassessment thereof, provided the increase should not exceed the fair cash value of the property to be fixed at a sum in excess of what similar property is assessed in other parts of the state; that the State Tax Commission, through its agents and employés, could go into Fayette county and there collect information and data relative to the value of property owned by the taxpayers for the purpose of making said reassessments, or could make a house to house canvass of the taxpayers of that county for the same purpose, but adjudging that the reassessment of property in that county by the State Tax Commission should be at the state's expense, and no part of said cost should be charged to the county of Fayette; that the assessment may be made by the state board in either of three ways: (1) From the schedules of the original assessment; (2) from the tax books made out by the county tax commissioner; (3) by a house to house canvass. In cases of raise by the State Tax Commission each property holder whose property is affected thereby must have notice and an opportunity to be heard; that the said board might compel the attendance of witnesses and receive evidence concerning the nature and value of property. From this judgment the county of Fayette et al. appeal.

The powers and duties of the State Tax Commission are fully set out and defined in sections 4114i11 and 4114i12, Kentucky Statutes, and are very definite, broad, and comprehensive.

The pleadings confess that the regularly elected, qualified, and acting tax commissioner of Fayette county, at the time and in the manner provided by law, as of July 1, 1921, made an assessment of the property of Fayette county for the purpose of taxation for the year 1922, but it is the contention of the State Tax Commission that in making said assessment the said county commissioner failed to assess said property at its fair cash value, estimated at the price it would bring at a fair voluntary sale, or at a value equivalent to that at which other property of like character is assessed in other counties of the state. It is also admitted that the County Tax Commissioner furnished recapitulations and schedules of all property of said county to the State Tax Commission, and otherwise performed such ministerial duties as devolved upon him as such officer; that said State Tax Commission received said recapitulations, and at the time and in the manner provided by law met at the State Capitol as a board of equalization for the purpose of equalizing the assessment with the assessments of other counties; that while sitting as such board of equalization, and after having examined the recapitulation of the tax commissioner's books of Fayette county, and after having compared the same with the data which the State Tax Commission had obtained from other sources, found that the lands, town lots, and tangible personal property other than live stock, assessed for taxation in Fayette county, were not assessed at their fair cash value, estimated at the price the said property would have brought at a fair voluntary sale on July 1, 1921, and the said property was not assessed at as great a percentage of the said fair cash value as other property of the same character in the state located outside of Fayette county was assessed as of said date, and said State Tax Commission entered a tentative order on its records, directing that the assessed value of lands in Fayette county, on July 1, 1921, should be increased $600,000; that the assessed value of town lots as of said date should be increased $3,000,000, and that the assessed value of the tangible personal property other than live stock should be increased $7,500; that the State Tax Commission gave to the county court of Fayette county notice, by letter addressed to the county judge of Fayette county, fixing a date and place for hearing, if it should be desired by the county to have a hearing; that witnesses appointed by the county judge of Fayette came before the Tax Commission at the time and place fixed for said hearing, for the purpose of showing cause why said proposed raise should not be made; that after said hearing the State Tax Commission entered a final order, directing that the assessed value of lands in Fayette county as of July 1, 1921, should be increased $600,000; that the assessed value of town lots as of said date should be increased $3,000,000, and that the assessed value of tangible personal property other than live stock should be increased $6,400,000. It is further agreed between the parties that at said hearing the State Tax Commission had before it evidence to the effect that the increase directed to be made by the State Tax Commission, if made, would not result in assessing the property of Fayette county as of July 1, 1921, at any greater percentage of its fair cash value than any other similar property of the state outside of Fayette county is assessed, and that the said State Tax Commission did act upon the said evidence in entering said final order, and all this was duly certified to the clerk of the Fayette county court; that no appeal was prosecuted by the fiscal court of Fayette county from the final decision of the State Tax Commission, but the county board of supervisors, appointed by the County Judge of Fayette, at the January term, 1922, met at the time and in the manner provided by law for the purpose of discharging their duties; the county court clerk at the time and in the manner provided by law laid before the said county board the final action and direction of the State Tax Commission as the same had been certified to him; that the said board of supervisors, after considering the order and direction of the State Tax Commission, and after considering other evidence it had before it, made some increases in the different classes of property, but not in conformity to the order of the State Tax Commission, and, after returning the tax books to the clerk the board of supervisors adjourned; the results of the said supervision by the county board of Fayette having been transmitted in proper form to the state board, said board on May 18, 1922, entered an order, directing a reassessment and equalization to be made by the State Tax Commission and its duly authorized agents of all property of every character and kind in Fayette county, as of July 1, 1921.

It is the contention of Fayette county that the State Tax Commission has no authority or right to order or to make a reassessment of the property of that...