People ex rel. Town of Pelham v. Village of Pelham

• Decision Date: 18 June 1915
• Citation: 215 N.Y. 374,109 N.E. 513
• Parties: PEOPLE, ex rel., Town of Pelham et al., v. VILLAGE of Pelham, et al.
• Court: New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

215 N.Y. 374

109 N.E. 513

PEOPLE, ex rel., Town of Pelham et al.,

v.VILLAGE of Pelham, et al.

Court of Appeals of New York.

June 18, 1915.

Appeal from Supreme Court, Appellate Divisions, Second Department.

Mandamus by the People of the State of New York, on the relation of the Town of Pelham and another, against the Village of Pelham and another. From an order of the Appellate Division affirming an order granting a peremptory writ of mandamus, and from the mandamus issued pursuant thereto requiring defendants to certify to the receiver of taxes of the town of Pelham all village taxes and assessments as required by Laws 1914, c. 510, defendants appeal. Reversed.

For opinion below, see 166 App.Div. 779, 152 N.Y.Supp. 428.

Benjamin L. Fairchild and Robert L. Luck, both of New York City, for appellants.

Edgar C. Beecroft, of New York City, for respondents.

SEABURY, J.

The Westchester County Tax Act (chapter 510 of the Laws of 19??) contains a complete scheme for the assessment and collection of taxes within each town in Westchester county. The act provides that there shall be but one board of assessors in each town of Westchester county, who shall be elected or appointed in the manner prescribed by law from time to time, for the election or appointment of town assessors. It requires such board of assessors to make and prepare all assessment rolls for the purpose of taxation within their respective towns, whether for state, county, town, village, or any tax district purpose of purposes. It requires also that the assessors shall be residents of the town, but not necessarily of any other tax district for which they may be required to make an assessment. Article 2, § 1. The board of assessors, in addition to discharging the requirements contained in the General Tax Law, are required to make the assessment for each separate tax district in any town and, whenever necessary, make an apportionment of the assessment of the property between or among the tax districts in which such property is located. Article 2, § 3. After the lawful authorities in each tax district shall have fixed the amount of taxes to be raised for such district, the proper authorities of such district, “including the board of trustees of each village in each township,” are required to certify to the supervisor of each township the amount of such tax, including all special assessments, and it is made the duty of the supervisor to extend or cause to be extended the amount of tax against each particular person and property in each tax district, extending the state, county, town, and town district tax, unless previously extended, in one of the two copies of the assessment rolls delivered to him by the board of assessors, and the village and school tax in the other copy of such assessment roll. Provision is made for the publication of notice of the extension of such tax, and that after a specified time it shall be absolute and incontestable. Article 3, § 1. Provision is made that such taxes, including taxes for village purposes, shall become a lien upon the property affected. Article 3, § 2. It is further provided that:

“The amount of the annual tax of each village shall be fixed and determined, as the law provides, by the board of trustees of each village, together with the special assessments, and shall be certified to the supervisor of each town before June first in each year.” Article 3, § 3.

The act provides that a receiver of taxes shall be elected or appointed in each town in place of a collector of taxes, whose duty it shall be “to collect all state, county, town, village, school, and district taxes and assessments levied or assessed upon any taxable property within said town for the state, county, town, incorporated villages or any tax district or part thereof therein.” Such a receiver of taxes is required to be a resident of the town but not necessarily a resident of any other tax district for which he may be required to collect taxes or assessments. Article 4, § 1. Under the provisions of this act, the supervisor is directed to deliver to the receiver of taxes three separate warrants for the collection of taxes, as follows: One warrant for the collection of state, county, town, and town district taxes; one warrant for the collection of village taxes; and one warrant for the collection of school taxes. Detailed provisions as to the receipt of taxes and collection of assessments, the collection of taxes and assessments in arrears, and the sale of lands for nonpayment of taxes and proceedings thereunder are prescribed. Under this act, the only duty left to the board of trustees of the villages in relation to the assessment and collection of taxes for village purposes is that such board of trustees may fix and determine “the amount of the annual tax of each village.” Article 3, § 3. All other duties in reference to the assessment and collection of village taxes for village purposes are transferred to the town officials poses are transferred to the town officials designated in the act. From those of its provisions which have already been mentioned, it is evidence that the purpose of the act, so far as villages are concerned, is to withdraw from local village officials the power to assess and collect taxes for village purposes and to transfer these duties to two officials.

[1] The constitutionality of the Westchester County Tax Act is challenged upon several grounds. It will only be necessary to consider one of the grounds urged. It is claimed that the act, in so far as its provisions affect the assessment and collection of taxes within the incorporated villages of Westchester county for village purposes, is in violation of section 2 of article 10 of the Constitution of the state. In this section it is provided that:

“All city, town and village officers, whose election or appointment is not provided for by this Constitution, shall be elected by the electors of such cities, towns and villages, or of some division thereof, or appointed by such authorities thereof, as the Legislature shall designate for that purpose. All other officers, whose election or appointment is not provided for by this Constitution, and all officers, whose offices may hereafter, be created by law, shall be elected by the people, or appointed, as the Legislature may direct.”

Embodied in this section is the home rule principle under which the right of self-government is secured to the localities of the state. It includes those rights of self-government which relate to the assessment and collection of taxes for village purposes which the villages enjoyed prior to the adoption of the present Constitution. Taxation for such a local purpose is the concern of the village rather than the town, county, and state of which the village is an authorized subdivision. Within this limited local sphere the right to control the assessment and taxation of property for village purposes is a right which the village enjoys by virtue of the home rule provision of the Constitution. It is not merely a privilege which the village is permitted to exercise by the courtesy of the Legislature.

[2] The Legislature has the power to “provide for the organization of cities and incorporated villages, and to restrict their power of taxation, assessment, borrowing money, contracting debts, and loaning their credit, so as to prevent abuses in assessments and in contracting debt by such municipal corporations” (article 12, § 1, of the Constitution), but it cannot take away those local rights of self-government which the municipal corporation enjoyed when the present Constitution was adopted. The history of the home rule principle from early times down to the present, and under the different Constitutions which have existed in this state, was carefully traced by Judge Vann in the opinion of this court in People ex rel. Met. St. Ry. Co. v. Tax Com'rs, 174 N.Y. 417, 67 N.E. 69. It has frequently been the subject of discussion by this court. Its meaning and scope cannot be better shown than by setting forth the comments which have been made upon it in the decision of cases arising under it.

In People v. Raymond (1868) 37 N.Y. 428, 431, Grover, J., said:

“The plain intention of the section of the Constitution in question was to preserve to localities the control of the official functions of which they were then possessed, and this control was carefully preserved, consistent with the power of the Legislature to make needful changes by restricting the power of appointment of other officers to perform the same functions to the people, or some authority of the locality. “

In People ex rel. Williamson v. McKinney (1873) 52 N.Y. 374, 378, Judge Andrews said:

“The obvious purpose of the provision of the Constitution which has been quoted was to secure to the people of the cities, towns, or villages of the state the right to have their local offices administered by officers selected by themselves, and in no case was it to be done by officers appointed by the direct action of the Legislature. The power of the Legislature over the subject was not wholly withdrawn. It was left to the Legislature to decide as to which of the two modes of selection should be adopted. It could change the mode of selection from an election to an appointment by local authorities, or from an appointment to an election. It could declare the duration of the term of office in cases where the Constitution was silent. It could shorten the term of an incumbent of the office, and could abolish the office itself, unless it existed by force of the Constitution. But it could not appoint a city, town, or village officer in any case where the office existed at the adoption of the Constitution.”

In People ex rel. Bolton v. Albertson (1873) 55 N.Y. 50, 56, Judge Allen said:

“The purpose and object of section 2 of article 10 of the Constitution, as is very obvious, was to secure to the several recognized civil and political divisions of the state...