Wayne Tp. v. Brown

• Decision Date: 09 September 1933
• Docket Number: No. 26356.,26356.
• Citation: 186 N.E. 841,205 Ind. 437
• Parties: WAYNE TP. v. BROWN.
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

205 Ind. 437

186 N.E. 841

WAYNE TP.

v.BROWN.

No. 26356.

Supreme Court of Indiana.

Sept. 9, 1933.

Appeal from Wayne Circuit Court; Gustave H. Hoelscher, Judge.

Action by Clarence M. Brown against Wayne Township of Wayne County. From a judgment for plaintiff on defendant's refusal to plead further after the overruling of its demurrer to plaintiff's complaint, the defendant appeals.

Affirmed.

Will W. Reller, of Richmond, for appellant.

Gardner, Jessup, Tripp & Harrington and Rupe & Brown, all of Richmond, for appellee.

HUGHES, Judge.

This was an action by the appellee, as the assignee of a large number of accounts held by certain creditors of the appellant which accounts were incurred by the appellant in administering the poor relief of the township.

The complaint was in five paragraphs. The appellant filed a demurrer to each paragraph of the complaint; the demurrer was overruled; the appellant refused to plead further; and judgment was rendered in favor of appellee for the amount sued for.

The complaint sets out five different situations pertaining to the poor relief in so many paragraphs as follows:

First. Claims on warrants and/or vouchers issued by the township trustee, same evidencing indebtedness of the township, which have been allowed by the county commissioners and an attempt made to sell bonds to secure money to pay the claims, and which bonds failed to sell.

Second. Claims on warrants and/or vouchers issued by the township trustee, same evidencing indebtedness of township, which have been approved by the county commissioners but no attempt made to sell bonds for the reason that the procedure was deemed useless and the expense of same avoided.

Third. Claims on warrants and/or vouchers issued by the township trustee, same evidencing indebtedness of the township which have not been approved by the county commissioners, and for which no bond issues were authorized to meet payment of same.

Fourth. Claims against the township not evidenced by warrants and/or vouchers, the merchandise and products being sold to the Wayne township commissariat, same being operated for the relief of the poor under provisions of chapter 50 of the Acts of 1932 (Sp. Sess.).

Fifth. Claims against the township not evidenced by warrants and/or vouchers, the merchandise and products being sold to Wayne township commissariat for the operation of said commissariat, which is being operated as above stated.

There are four main issues raised by the appellant as follows:

First. That the statutes provide for a method of administering poor relief, and as such the county and township are jointly responsible, and that the indebtedness for poor relief is a joint obligation of the two units.

Second. That the method provided by statute for administering poor relief is exclusive, and must be followed and is a condition precedent to establishing liability upon either the township or county.

Third. That, if there not be sufficient funds in the general fund of the county for advancement to the township for payment of poor relief claims, the proper officers should levy taxes to pay said claims, and, if not done, they should be mandated; and that the obstacle to levy taxes should be corrected by the Legislature, rather than the remedy sought by the appellee.

Fourth. That the Commissariat Act is unconstitutional.

In this state the poor relief is both a county and township system, as stated by the appellee, each working in separate and different lines, depending upon the nature and kind of relief that must and is required to be extended.

Prior to May 15, 1901, poor relief was a county system and duty exclusively. Rev. St. 1881, § 6069.

Since May 15, 1901, it has been administered by the county as to certain activities and by the township as to others.

The county has the duty to maintain a county asylum and other charitable institutions permitted by law. It is the duty of the county to maintain in the county asylum persons lawfully settled in the county as may have been placed there by the overseers of the poor, and may contract with charitable institutions in the state for the relief and support of the poor placed there as a public charge. Section 12258, Burns' Ann. St. 1926.

The statute provides that: “The overseer of the poor in each township shall have the oversight and care of all poor persons in his township so long as they remain a charge, and shall see that they are properly relieved and taken care of in the manner required by law.” Section 12260, Burns' 1926.

The overseer of the poor in each township is the township trustee. Section 12258, Burns' 1926.

Section 12258 provides: “*** The county council shall appropriate and the board of commissioners in each county shall advance to the township trustees the money necessary for the relief and burial of the poor in each township, which shall be accounted for and repaid to the county treasury as hereinafter provided.”

Section 12291, Burns' 1926, provides that: “When the township levies are made, the proper authorities of each township for the poor of which any such advancements have been made shall levy a tax upon the property of such township, to reimburse the county treasury for payments made on such advancements, which taxes shall be collected as are other township taxes, and shall be paid into the county treasury.”

Section 12266, Burns' 1926, provides: “Whenever an overseer of the poor shall have given aid, other than burial, medical relief or assistance to children under the compulsory education law, to any poor person or family to the amount of the value of fifteen dollars, it shall be unlawful for him to furnish any further aid to such poor person or family until he shall have presented a statement of the case to the board of county commissioners, with a schedule stating the following facts. ***”

An Act of 1931, c. 30, p. 66, provides: “That any civil or school township in the state being indebted, or hereafter becoming indebted, and whose indebtedness is or shall be, evidenced by bonds, notes, judgments or other obligations heretofore, or hereafter, issued, or negotiated by such township, or rendered against such township, may for the purpose of funding or refunding such indebtedness, or any part thereof, reducing the rate of interest thereon, extending the time of payment and cancelling so much thereof as may be due or shall hereafter become due, by the vote of two-thirds of the members of the township advisory board, and with the approval of the township trustee, issue its bonds, with interest coupons attached, for an amount not exceeding in the aggregate the whole amount of the indebtedness of such township. *** The township advisory board and the township trustee of such township shall add, or cause to be added, in addition to any tax otherwise provided by law, to the tax duplicate of such township a levy sufficient to pay the yearly interest on such bonds and also not less than five cents on the hundred dollars tax valuation to provide a sinking fund for the liquidation of the principal when it shall become due; which sinking fund, together with the interest increase or profit thereon, shall be applied solely to the payment of such bonds.”

An Act of 1931, c. 73, pp. 188, 189, provides: “That the boards of commissioners of any county of the state are hereby authorized to borrow money to pay claims incurred and filed with such respective boards of commissioners by trustees for relief of the poor of their respective townships, in excess of the amounts which can be reasonably advanced out of the general fund of the county for such purpose under the provisions of existing laws. *** The township trustee and the advisory board of the *** townships *** shall at the next annual meeting *** after the making of said loan, levy a tax sufficient to reimburse the county for the loan, principal and interest.”

An Act of 1933, being c. 203, p. 981, provides: “That the boards of commissioners of any county of this state are hereby authorized to estimate the amount of money which will be required for any period not exceeding six months in advance for the relief of the poor of the various townships of such county in excess of the amounts which can be reasonably advanced out of the general fund of the county for such purpose, under the provisions of existing laws. After estimating the amount of money which will be required for such period, the board of commissioners of any county of the state is hereby authorized to borrow money not in excess of the reasonable amount necessary for such purposes covering such period, and shall be authorized by ordinance of the county council, duly called into session, in the manner now provided by law, to issue the bonds of the county extending over a period of not to exceed ten years, as other county bonds are issued, which bonds shall bear interest at the rate of not to exceed six per cent per annum, payable semi-annually. *** Such bonds shall be executed by the board of commissioners of the county issuing the same *** and such bonds shall constitute a county obligation. The boards of commissioners of the various counties of the state are hereby authorized to borrow such amount of money on temporary loans us may be necessary to meet poor relief payments for the respective townships for a period of not to exceed two months in advance *** which loans shall be evidenced by the notes of such counties executed by the board of county commissioners, and attested by the auditor of such county, and shall constitute a county obligation.”

An Act of August 16, 1932 (Sp. Sess.) c. 46, p. 186, amended the Act of 1931, c. 73, p. 188, in some particulars as to the selling of the bonds.

An act was passed by the special sessions of 1932, p. 17, being chapter 10, known as the dollar and half tax law. Section 1 of said act provided: “That the total of all tax levies whether fixed by the state board of tax commissioners, or by statute from which any revenue shall accrue or...