Oswald v. City of Blue Springs, 63697
Citation | 635 S.W.2d 332 |
Decision Date | 06 July 1982 |
Docket Number | No. 63697,63697 |
Parties | Julius M. OSWALD, Appellant, v. CITY OF BLUE SPRINGS, Respondent. |
Court | United States State Supreme Court of Missouri |
Robert K. McDonald, Blue Springs, Michael T. White, G. Edwin Proctor, Jr., Kansas City, William Ely, Blue Springs, for appellant.
Wm. Patrick Cronan, Fayette, Lewis C. Green, St. Louis, for amicus curiae.
On June 21, 1981, the voters of the City of Blue Springs, Missouri, authorized the issuance of $19,100,000 principal aggregate amount combined waterworks and sewerage system revenue bonds to be issued for the purpose of extending and improving the City's waterworks and sewerage system by construction of a water treatment plant and water transmission lines. In support thereof, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the City had indicated that the aforementioned bonds would include a covenant in accordance with § 250.120.1, RSMo 1978 1 requiring the City to fix and maintain rates and make and collect charges for the use and services of said combined systems sufficient to pay the cost of maintenance, operation, principal and interest thereon, and to revise those rates from time to time so as to meet fully the requirements therein.
Appellant Julius Oswald, a citizen, resident, taxpayer and qualified voter of the City of Blue Springs, filed suit seeking a declaratory judgment that § 22 of Article X of the Missouri Constitution ( ) precluded the City from raising the rates charged to users pursuant to § 250.120.1. Further, appellant asked the trial court to enjoin the city from issuing bonds with the covenants mentioned. Otherwise, appellant did not question the validity of the bond election itself.
The facts were not in dispute, and the parties have carried forward the Stipulation of Facts submitted before the trial court. Each party filed a Motion for Summary Judgment and the trial court sustained that of the respondent City of Blue Springs. This Court has jurisdiction of the appeal by reason of Article V, § 3, of the Missouri Constitution (as amended 1976).
The crux of this appeal addresses the language of § 250.120.1, which provides that: This language forms the substance of the contested covenant to be included in the revenue bonds upon issuance.
Appellant argues that § 250.120.1 and the aforementioned covenant based thereon run afoul of § 22(a) of Article X, which states in pertinent part that: "Counties or other political subdivisions are hereby prohibited from levying any tax, license or fee not authorized ... or from increasing the current levy of an existing tax, license or fee ... without the approval of the required majority of the qualified voters..."; or, in the alternative, § 22(b), which specifically exempts "taxes imposed for the payment of principal and interest on bonds or other evidences of indebtedness or for the payment of assessments on contractual obligations in anticipation of which bonds are issued which were authorized prior to the effective date of this section." Appellant contends that the charges for water and sewerage use are encompassed within the limiting grasp of § 22(a) as a "tax, license or fee," or, if not, are beyond the exceptions provided for in § 22(b). However, paragraph 9 of appellant's petition, admitted to by respondent City, acknowledges that, "approval by the voters of Defendant (City of Blue Springs) of the above proposition (revenue bond proposal) authorized the Defendant (City) to raise water and sewer rates to pay the principal and interest on the said bonds." This severely limits the thrust of appellant's claim, as the Hancock Amendment arguably could be seen as restricting an increase for any purpose. As such, the issue before the Court is whether the City may raise water and sewerage rates to meet the cost of maintenance and operation of the physical plant itself, in addition to its conceded authority to increase such charges to pay the principal and interest on said bonds.
Viewed in this context, it becomes unnecessary to determine, for purposes of the case at bar, whether the rates charged for water and sewerage services constitute a tax, license or fee as contemplated within § 22(a) of the Hancock amendment, or whether revenue bonds are within the scope of § 22(b).
There are compelling reasons which dictate that an increase in rates for maintenance and operation of facilities is proper, assuming an increase...
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