Hickey v. City of Nampa

• Decision Date: 23 May 1912
• Citation: 124 P. 280,22 Idaho 41
• Parties: JOHN S. HICKEY et al., Appellants, v. CITY OF NAMPA, Respondent
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court

124 P. 280

22 Idaho 41

JOHN S. HICKEY et al., Appellants, v. CITY OF NAMPA, Respondent

Supreme Court of Idaho

May 23, 1912

VALIDITY OF BOND ISSUE-ORDINARY AND NECESSARY EXPENSE-RESTORATION AND REPAIR OF MUNICIPAL WATERWORKS-BOND ISSUE BY ORDER OF CITY COUNCIL.

(Syllabus by the court.)

1. Under the provisions of sec. 2270 of the Rev. Codes, a city council is authorized by a two-thirds vote to incur an indebtedness which will exceed the annual appropriation made for current and necessary expenses, where such expenditure is rendered necessary by casualty or accident in order to repair any municipal improvement or property.

2. Where a city owns a waterworks system or fire extinguishing appliances and apparatus and a fire occurs, and in attempting to control and extinguish the same the waterworks system and other property of the city is so damaged, impaired or destroyed as to render it of no further practical value for fire protection, the city council has authority under the provisions of sec. 2270, Rev. Codes, to issue warrants for the repair and improvement thereof, where the same is done in good faith for an actual necessity which confronts the municipality.

3. The proviso to sec. 3 of art. 8 of the constitution "That this section shall not be construed to apply to the ordinary and necessary expenses authorized by the general laws of the state" may properly be construed by the legislature to authorize the law-making body to include within the term "ordinary and necessary expenses" any expenditure rendered necessary by casualty or accident which has impaired or injured municipal property that is necessary for the protection of the city against fires, or for the health and welfare of the city.

4. Under the provisions of subdivisions 4 and 8 of sec. 2315 Rev. Codes, a city council has the right and authority to authorize and issue municipal coupon bonds for the funding or refunding of outstanding warrants and indebtedness without submitting the question to a vote of the people, where the funding or refunding of such outstanding indebtedness will be to the profit and benefit of the city.

APPEAL from the District Court of the Seventh Judicial District for Canyon County. Hon. Ed. L. Bryan, Judge.

Action by plaintiffs to enjoin the issuance and sale of certain municipal coupon bonds. Judgment for the defendant and plaintiffs appeal. Affirmed.

Judgment affirmed, with costs awarded to respondent.

F. A Hagelin, for Appellants, cites no authorities.

George W. Lamson, for Respondent.

The contention of respondents is that this was a repair and restoration of an improvement destroyed by casualty in the first instance, the larger part of which has been paid, but which has left as a consequence other outstanding warrants sought to be paid by the proposed bond issue.

The indebtedness incurred and paid by the outstanding warrants was a necessary and ordinary expense. (Butter v. City of Lewiston, 11 Idaho 393, 83 P. 234.)

AILSHIE J. Stewart, C. J., and Sullivan, J., concur.

OPINION

AILSHIE, J.

This action was instituted in the district court for the purpose of procuring a writ of injunction restraining the issuance and sale by the mayor and council of the city of Nampa of certain municipal coupon bonds in the sum of $ 37,000. Judgment was entered in favor of the city and an appeal has been prosecuted.

It appears that prior to the spring of 1909, the city of Nampa owned a water system consisting of wooden pipes and a pumping station, by means of which the water was pumped from a well of a capacity of 300 gals. per minute. The city also had certain fire equipments and apparatus for the fighting and extinguishing of fires. On the 3d of July, 1909, fire broke out in the business section of the city and the water supply was exhausted and water was pumped directly through the mains and resulted in bursting a large amount of the wooden pipes. Property was destroyed to the amount of something like 200,000 dollars' worth, and the city was left without fire protection. The mayor and city council considered this a casualty within the purview and meaning of sec. 2270 of the Rev. Codes, and that the repair and improvement of the water system and fire extinguishing apparatus and appliances was a public necessity calling for and requiring the restoration and improvement thereof. They accordingly determined by a unanimous vote to improve and restore the water system, and in so doing to purchase iron pipes and remove the wooden pipes that had burst and to equip and improve a pumping station, and accordingly ordered city warrants issued for this purpose. The work was thereafter done and the improvements were made and warrants were issued in payment for the various items. As the revenue came into the city treasury, these warrants were redeemed in their numerical order and in the meanwhile warrants were issued and numbered consecutively for the current expense, such as salary of officers and necessary expenditures in the maintenance of the municipal government. All outstanding warrants were bearing interest at the rate of seven per cent. The warrant indebtedness was not allowed to increase over and above the indebtedness caused by reason of the issuance of warrants for these improvements. On the 11th day of August, 1911, the mayor and council of the city of Nampa duly and regularly passed and...