Hatfield v. Meers, 24326

• Decision Date: 04 April 1966
• Docket Number: No. 24326,24326
• Parties: Howard HATFIELD, Jr., and Joseph L. Flynn, Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. Arthur J. MEERS, Mayor of the City of St. Joseph, Mo., Cleo Crouch, Individually and as Chairman of the Housing Authority of St. Joseph, Mrs. Marie Morehead, Mrs. Kelsey Beshears, David Turner and Warren Welsh, Individually and as Members of the Housing Authority of St. Joseph, Housing Authority of St. Joseph, City of St. Joseph, a Municipal Corporation, Its Officers, Agents and Employees, Defendants-Appellants.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

Page 35

402 S.W.2d 35

Howard HATFIELD, Jr., and Joseph L. Flynn, Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. Arthur J. MEERS, Mayor of the City of St. Joseph, Mo., Cleo Crouch, Individually and as Chairman of the Housing Authority of St. Joseph, Mrs. Marie Morehead, Mrs. Kelsey Beshears, David Turner and Warren Welsh, Individually and as Members of the Housing Authority of St. Joseph, Housing Authority of St. Joseph, City of St. Joseph, a Municipal Corporation, Its Officers, Agents and Employees Defendants-Appellants.

No. 24326.

Kansas City Court of Appeals, Missouri.

April 4, 1966.

Richard W. Mason, Jr., City Atty., St. Joseph, for appellants.

Whitney W. Potter, Dale, Potter & Flynn, St. Joseph, for respondents.

SPERRY, Commissioner.

This action in equity was instituted by plaintiffs, who are taxpayers, registered voters, and property owners of the City of St. Joseph, Missouri. They seek to temporarily and permanently enjoin defendants, the City of St. Joseph, a municipal corporation, its Mayor and its officers, agents and employees, and the chairman and members of the Housing Authority of St. Joseph, from taking any action under the provisions of St. Joseph city ordinance No. 17788 which, they alleged, is void. From a judgment holding the ordinance to be null and void, and permanently enjoining defendants from taking any official action pursuant thereto, defendants prosecute this appeal.

The record in this case is quite voluminous, two hundred ninety three pages in transcript, and dozens of documentary exhibits, many of them consisting of several pages. We will endeavor to state the facts in evidence and upon which we will rest our opinion as succinctly as possible under the circumstances.

The ordinance was filed February 17th, 1965. It was first introduced and considered at a meeting of the council, February 23rd. As filed and introduced it did not carry an emergency clause, but after its introduction, it was orally moved that it be passed as an emergency measure, which was done on that date. The wording of the emergency clause was not actually typed into the ordinance until after the meeting adjourned. The ordinance as it appears in the record, is as follows:

'SPECIAL ORDINANCE NO. 17788'

'AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF A COOPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF ST. JOSEPH, MO., ACTING BY AND THROUGH ITS CHAIRMAN, AND THE CITY OF ST. JOSEPH, MO., A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, ACTING BY AND THROUGH ITS MAYOR, FOR THE PURPOSE OF COOPERATING IN THOSE MATTERS FOR THE PURPOSE AND ACCORDING TO THE TERMS AND PROVISIONS ALL AS ARE SET FORTH IN SAID AGREEMENT WHICH IS ATTACHED HERETO AND MADE A PART HEREOF AS IF FULLY SET OUT HEREIN, AND DECLARING THIS ORDINANCE AN EMERGENCY MEASURE. (The above emphasized words were attached after the ordinance left the council chamber).

'WHEREAS, THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI, AUTHORIZED THE CREATION OF A HOUSING AUTHORITY IN THE CITY OF ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI, BY THE ADOPTION ON THE 4th DAY OF AUGUST, 1941, OF A RESOLUTION DECLARING THE NEED FOR A HOUSING AUTHORITY TO FUNCTION IN THE CITY OF ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI:

AND

'WHEREAS, THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF ST. JOSEPH HAS BY VIRTUE OF HIS OFFICE CAUSED TO BE NAMED AND APPOINTED FIVE DULY QUALIFIED COMMISSIONERS OF THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF ST. JOSEPH

IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE 'HOUSING AUTHORITIES LAW',

AND:

'WHEREAS, THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF ST. JOSEPH IS A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION AND HAS THE POWER TO ENTER INTO A COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI, BY VIRTUE OF THE POWERS GRANTED IT IN SECTION 99.090, MISSOURI REVISED STATUTES OF 1959, AS AMENDED LAWS OF 1963, AND;

'WHEREAS, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI, HAS THE POWER TO ENTER INTO A COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH THE HOUSING AUTHORITY BY VIRTUE OF THE POWERS OF THE COUNCIL AS SET OUT IN SECTION 2.13 OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF ST. JOSEPH; THEREFORE;

'BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ST. JOSEPH, AS FOLLOWS:

'SECTION 1. That the Mayor of the City of St. Joseph, Missouri, be and is hereby authorized to execute and enter into a cooperation agreement between the City of St. Joseph, Missouri, a municipal corporation, and the Housing Authority of the City of St. Joseph, Missouri, for the purpose of cooperating in those matters and for those purposes and according to the terms and provisions all as are set forth in said agreement which is attached hereto and made a part hereof as if fully set out herein.

'SECTION 2. (1) That there exist in the city insanitary or unsafe dwelling accommodations and that persons of low income are forced to reside in such insanitary or unsafe accommodations; that within the city there is a shortage of safe or sanitary dwelling accommodations available at rents which persons of low income can afford and that such persons are forced to occupy overcrowded and congested dwelling accommodations; that the aforesaid conditions cause an increase in and spread of disease and crime and constitute a menace to the health, safety, morals and welfare of the residents of the city and impair economic values; that these conditions necessitate excessive and disproportionate expenditures of public funds for crime prevention and punishment, public health and safety, fire and accident protection, and other public services and facilities; (2) that these areas in the city cannot be cleared, nor can the shortage of safe and sanitary dwellings for persons of low become be relieved, through the operation of private enterprise, and that the construction of housing projects for persons of low income (as here defined) would therefore not be competitive with private enterprise; (3) that the clearance, replanning and reconstruction of the areas in which insanitary or unsafe housing conditions exist and the providing of safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations for persons of low income are public uses and purposes for which public money may be spent and private property acquired and are governmental functions of city concern; (4) that it is in the public interest that work on projects for such purposes be commenced as soon as possible in order to relieve unemployment which now constitutes an emergency; and the necessity in the public interest for the provisions herein enacted, is hereby declared as a matter of legislative determination and therefore, this ordinance is hereby declared an emergency measure, pursuant to Section 2.10, paragraph (1) of the Charter of the City of St. Joseph and shall be in full force and effect immediately upon passage by the Council and approval of the Mayor. * * *'.

(Section 2 was typed and added to the ordinance after the council adjourned).

Article II, Section 2.10, Charter of the City of St. Joseph provides, in part, as follows:

'LEGISLATIVE PROCEEDINGS'

'* * * All bills shall be read by title two times before final passage, not more than one of which shall be at the same legislative session; and at least one week shall elapse between introduction and final passage, except in the case of an emergency bill'.

'An ordinance may be passed as an emergency measure on the day of the introduction of the bill if it contains the statement that an emergency exists and specifies distinctly the facts and reasons constituting the emergency. No ordinance granting, enlarging, or affecting any franchise shall be passed as an emergency measure. The emergency procedure shall be restricted to the following:

(1) Bills concerning the immediate preservation of public peace, property, health, safety or morals. * * *'. (Emphasis ours.)

Article XV of the Charter provides, in part, to the effect that electors of St. Joseph shall have power to approve or reject at the polls all ordinances passed by the council under the provisions of Article II, Section 2.10 of the charter, excepting emergency ordinances enacted under that authority.

Pursuant to the terms of the ordinance the Mayor of St. Joseph, on February 23rd, 1965, entered into a 'Cooperation Agreement' with the Housing Authority of St. Joseph. That agreement appears in the transcript. It provides, in part, as follows:

'* * *

'3 (a) Under the constitution and statutes of the State of Missouri, all projects are exempt from all real and personal property taxes and special assessments levied or imposed by any Taxing Body. With respect to any project, so long as either (i) such project is owned by a public body or governmental agency and is used for low-rent housing purposes, or (ii) any contract between the Local Authority and PHA for loans or annual contributions, or both, in connection with such project remains in force and effect, or (iii) any bonds issued in connection with such project or any monies due to the PHA in connection with such project remain unpaid, whichever period is the longest, the Municipality agrees that it will not levy or impose any real or personal property taxes or special assessments upon such project or upon the Local Authority with respect thereto. During such period, the Local Authority shall make annual payments (herein called 'Payments in Lieu of Taxes') in lieu of such taxes and special assessments and in payment for the public services and facilities furnished from time to time without other cost or charge for or with respect to such project.

'(b) Each such annual Payment in Lieu of Taxes shall be made after the end of the fiscal year established for such Project, and shall be in an amount equal to either (i) ten percent (10)% of the aggregate Shelter Rent charged by the Local Authority in respect to such Project during such fiscal year, or (ii) the amount permitted to be paid by applicable State law in effect on the date such payment is made, whichever amount is the lower. For the purpose of computing the Federal Annual Contribution and Payment in Lieu of Taxes, all projects which are covered by the same contract with the PHA for annual contributions and which have corporation agreements...