Godwin Heights Public Schools, Kent County v. Board of Sup'rs of Kent County, 23

• Decision Date: 28 June 1961
• Docket Number: No. 23,J,23
• Citation: 363 Mich. 337,109 N.W.2d 771
• Parties: GODWIN HELGHTS PUBLIC SCHOOLS, KENT COUNTY, Michigan, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF KENT COUNTY, Michigan, Defendant and Appellee. une Term.
• Court: Michigan Supreme Court

Page 771

109 N.W.2d 771

363 Mich. 337

GODWIN HELGHTS PUBLIC SCHOOLS, KENT COUNTY, Michigan, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF KENT COUNTY, Michigan, Defendant and Appellee.

No. 23, June Term.

Supreme Court of Michigan.

June 28, 1961.

Strawhecker & McCargar, Grand Rapids, for plaintiff and appellant.

Vander Veen, Freihofer, Cook & Bryant, Grand Rapids, for defendant and appellee

Before the Entire Bench.

DETHMERS, Chief Justice.

Plaintiff, a third class school district, filed its bill of complaint on January 31, 1961, seeking to enjoin defendant county board of supervisors from submitting to the electors the question of annexing two portions of Paris Township in Kent County, also included within the boundaries of plaintiff school district, to the City of Grand Rapids and to compel submission of the question of annexing to the City of Wyoming certain territory including part of said two portions of Paris Township. From an order dismissing the bill of complaint plaintiff appeals here.

Necessary to consideration of the legal problems presented is the following sequence of events:

(1) At an election on December 8, 1959, following approval by the defendant of petitions therefor, the electors voted down a proposal to detach certain territory from Paris Township and annex it to the City of Grand Rapids.

(2) On November 29, 1960, a petition to annex a part of that same territory to the City of Wyoming was filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors. It bore the signatures of qualified electors who were freeholders residing in the City of Wyoming and the Township of Paris totalling not less than 1% of the population of the two units, with not less than 10 from each unit and a total from the two of not less than s00. It was not signed by taxpayers assessed for real property taxes within the area proposed to be annexed equal in number to 35% of the total number of names which appeared on the assessment rolls for that purpose in that area.

(3) On December 5, 1960, petitions were similarly filed to annex to the City of Grand Rapids a part of the territory involved in each of the above 1959 and November, 1960, petitions. The December 5, 1960, petitions did bear the signatures of 35% of those assessed for real property taxes on the assessment rolls in the area to be annexed.

(4) Since the trial court's hearing and decision in this cause on February 7, 1961, the matter of annexation to the City of Grand Rapids, in accord with the December 5, 1960, petitions, was submitted on April 3, 1961, and carried by the clectors.

Section 8 of P.A.1909, No. 279 (C.L.S.1956, § 117.8 [Stat.Ann.1959 Cum.Supp. § 5.2087]), provides:

'Said petition shall be addressed to the board of supervisors of the county in which the territory to be affected by such proposed incorporation, consolidation or change of boundaries is located, * * * and if, before final action thereon, it shall appear to said board or a majority thereof that said petition or the signing thereof does not conform to this act, or contains incorrect statements, no further proceedings pursuant to said petition shall be had, but, if it shall appear that said petition conforms in all respects to the provisions of this act, and that the statements contained therein are true, said board of supervisors shall, by resolution, provide that the question of making the proposed incorporation, consolidation or change of boundaries shall be submitted to the qualified electors * * *: Provided further, That a petition covering the same territory, or part thereof, shall not be considered by the board of supervisors oftener than once in every 2 years, unless such petition shall have been signed by a number of taxpayers assessed for real property taxes within the area proposed to be annexed whose names appear on the latest assessment rolls therein under the requirements of the general property tax, equal to 35% of the total number of names which appear on the assessment rolls * * *'

Section 8a (C.L.S.1956, § 117.8a [Stat.Ann.1959 Cum.Supp. § 5.2087(1)]), provides

'In case a petition has been filed with the clerk pursuant to Section 8, and subsequently another petition is filed by other petitioners proposing to affect the same territory in whole or part, then the subsequently filed petition shall not be submitted to the electors while in conflict with the prior petition: Provided, however, that if such prior petition on file is one on which the board of supervisors has not finally set the date for an election, and such subsequent petition has been filed as a substitute therefor encompassing all of the same territory and having among its signers at least 4/5 of the qualified petitioners shown on such prior petition, then the board shall act on such subsequent petition in the place and stead of said prior one. If the board finds that said substitute petition complies with the provisions of this act, an election shall be called thereon; otherwise the election shall be held on such prior petition if it complies with this act.'

Plaintiff school district is interested because the City of Grand Rapids comprises a second class school district and, under the applicable statute ¹, territory annexed to that city is also thereby annexed to its school district and, hence, would be detached from plaintiff here. On the other hand, the City of Wyoming does not comprise a second class school district and, accordingly, annexation of a part of plaintiff's territory to it would leave plaintiff without loss of territory.

Plaintiff urges that the inhibitior of Section 8 against the supervisors' consideration of a petition covering the same territory, or part thereof, oftener than once in two years, unless there is compliance with the...