Floyd v. Parker Water & Sewer Sub-District

• Decision Date: 04 November 1941
• Docket Number: 15322.
• Citation: 17 S.E.2d 223,203 S.C. 276
• Parties: FLOYD v. PARKER WATER & SEWER SUB-DISTRICT et al.
• Court: South Carolina Supreme Court

17 S.E.2d 223

203 S.C. 276

FLOYD v. PARKER WATER & SEWER SUB-DISTRICT et al.

No. 15322.

Supreme Court of South Carolina

November 4, 1941

J Venable Jester, of Greenville, for petitioner.

J Wilbur Hicks, of Greenville, for respondents.

FISHBURNE Justice.

This is an application by a citizen, resident and taxpayer of Parker Water and Sewer Sub-District of Greenville County to the Supreme Court in its original jurisdiction, to restrain the respondents from selling bonds for the purpose of providing fire protection and for garbage disposal for the sub-district, and from levying a tax to pay the bonds and pay for the garbage service and the upkeep of the fire equipment.

For an intelligent understanding of the issues raised by the petition, return and reply, we deem it necessary to state as briefly as we may the factual background from which arise the questions which will have to be decided.

By an Act approved March 30, 1925, 34 Stat. 744, Greater Greenville Sewer District was established, consisting of Greenville School District and Parker School District, and was made a "body politic," the purpose of the corporation being to provide "better sanitary conditions for its people." The Act authorized necessary surveys, and the Commission appointed to govern the district was required to make a report with recommendation to the County Legislative Delegation.

On March 23, 1926, an Act was approved, 34 Stat. 1537, amending the former Act and giving the Greater Greenville Sewer District Commission "power to establish, extend, enlarge and maintain, conduct and operate sewer systems, Sewer Lines and Sewer Mains in said District; to construct, establish and maintain such water lines and pipe lines as may be necessary *** and generally to do all things necessary for the purpose of creating and maintaining a sewerage system in said District adequate for the protection of health in said District and for the establishment of proper sanitary conditions therein: Provided, however, That said Commission shall not spend any money for the establishment and construction of any lateral lines or construction of said system other than the trunk lines and disposal plant or plants, until such time or times as said Greater Greenville Sewer Commission has required the property owners in communities not now having laterals to make arrangements whereby cost and construction of said lateral lines shall have been assumed by such property owners."

The governing Acts were again amended, 36 Stat. 864, approved March 16, 1929, directing the Greater Greenville Sewer District Commission to have its area surveyed for the purpose of subdividing it into, (A) Sub-districts which already have lateral lines installed; and, (B) Sub-districts which have no lateral lines installed.

In Class (A), no further action was necessary. In Class (B) provision was made for calling an election for the purpose of, "(a) incorporating said sub-district; (b) allowing the sub-district to issue bonds or certificates of indebtedness for an amount necessary to install and maintain water and sewer lateral lines therein and connect the same with the main trunk line or lines, and (c) to provide for *** a tax *** to pay the *** bonds." It was further provided that Greater Greenville Sewer District might purchase the bonds of the sub-districts.

In 1930, Act March 25, 1930, 36 Stat. 1804, further provision was made for holding elections to issue bonds in sub-districts classed as "B".

Pursuant to the above statutory provision, Greater Greenville Sewer District Commission thereafter had the area of the District subdivided into proper proposed sub-districts, one of which was Parker Water and Sewer Sub-district, classed as "B", a sub-district having no water and sewer lines. Such further proceedings were taken as resulted in an election being held in this sub-district on March 3, 1931, and the vote being favorable to organizing the district and issuing bonds to install water and sewer lines, on that date a resolution was adopted declaring Parker Water and Sewer Sub-District duly organized, and that it was a body "politic and corporate"; and on April 17, 1931, the Governor of the State duly commissioned the Committee to govern this sub-district.

Pursuant to authority the original committee or its present successors, the named personal respondents, have issued bonds and installed sewer lines in most of the district, and some water lines for domestic purposes, but a large part of the district is served by water lines owned by private individuals or companies, which charge any fee they can get for tapping on to their lines, and the entire district has no adequate water lines, hydrants, etc., to enable it to provide fire protection to the citizens and residents of the district, and the district does not own and cannot provide any fire-fighting equipment.

On April 3, 1933, an Act was approved, 38 Stat. 898, which further enlarged the powers of the Sub-District Committee; but this Act need not be stated here because it was further amended by Act 408 of the Acts of 1941, which provided that a Committee governing a sub-district, "Shall have and exercise any and all of the following powers: To construct *** and operate sewer lines ***; to construct *** and operate water lines ***; to furnish an adequate supply of water for all purposes ***; to furnish adequate fire protection for the district ***; to collect garbage in the district and to dispose of it as they find reasonable, including the acquisition of such equipment as is needed for this purpose, *** and generally to do all things necessary for the purpose of creating, maintaining, and operating a water and sewer system and fire protection in said District, adequate for the protection of health, property and the comfort of the inhabitants thereof, and for the establishment of proper sanitary conditions so far as they pertain to the operation of water and sewer system. ***"

Also, in 1941, the Legislature passed Act No. 406, approved May 30, 1941, which authorized an election in Parker Water and Sewer Sub-District for the purpose of voting on $150,000 in bonds. Section 1 reads in part: "*** proceeds of which shall be used by the said Committee to construct, establish, enlarge and maintain, conduct and operate sewer lines and sewer mains, water lines and pipe lines in said district, and to furnish an adequate supply of water for all purposes in the district and to furnish adequate fire protection for the district."

Other pertinent sections of the Act are as follows:

Section 5. "Greater Greenville Sewer District Commission shall have power and authority to purchase the bonds issued under the provisions of this Act, and to pay for the same out of the proceeds of the sale of bonds authorized to be issued by said Commission, the authority to make such purchase being hereby expressly given, and said Commission shall upon payment of the bonds by said sub-district pay off or cancel the bonds issued by it for the benefit of such sub-district."

Section 6. "Until the principal and interest of all bonds issued under this Act shall be fully paid, there shall be levied annually upon all taxable property in the sub-district a tax sufficient to pay such interest as it becomes due, and to provide a sinking fund sufficient to pay such principal at the date or dates of maturity thereof. Said annual tax shall be levied and collected by the same officers and in the same manner as is now provided for the levy and collection of taxes for county purposes in Greenville County. The money so collected shall be applied by or under the direction of the county treasurer to the payment...