Weldon v. Bonner County Tax Coalition
| Decision Date | 02 July 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 20523,20523 |
| Citation | 855 P.2d 868,124 Idaho 31 |
| Parties | Karen WELDON, in her capacity as Treasurer of Bonner County; Marie Scott, in her capacity as Auditor and Budget Officer of Bonner County; Tim Cochran, in his capacity as Assessor of Bonner County, and Evan "Chip" Roos, in his capacity as Sheriff of Bonner County, Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. BONNER COUNTY TAX COALITION, Bill Denman, Spokesman; and Signators on the petition requesting an initiative election to establish procedures for adopting a revised county budget and on the petition requesting a referendum regarding Bonner County's ad valorem tax increase for the 1993 fiscal year, respectively, Defendants-Appellants. Boise, June 1993 Term |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Jerry D. Mason, Coeur d'Alene, for plaintiffs-respondents.
In September of 1992, Bonner County, acting through its Board of County Commissioners, upon completion of its fiscal year budget-setting process, passed resolutions determining to set the aggregate Bonner County ad valorem property tax revenue to be levied for Bonner County fiscal year 1993 to fund the county budget at a level in excess of that levied in fiscal year 1992. In response to this increase, the Bonner County Tax Coalition ("Coalition") spearheaded an effort to reject Bonner County's budget decision and implement a new county budget process. The Coalition's effort resulted in a referendum and an initiative being set for election in Bonner County. This suit was commenced by the plaintiffs to determine whether the referendum and initiative are proper means to reject an ad valorem tax levy and establish a budget process for a county.
On January 5, 1993, Bonner County and four Bonner County elected officials, Karen Weldon, Treasurer; Marie Scott, Auditor; Tim Cochran, Assessor; and Evan "Chip" Roos, Sheriff ("Elected Officials"), filed a complaint for declaratory judgment and a request for expedited review and conditional stay of election against the Coalition. In the complaint, Bonner County and the Elected Officials prayed for the following relief:
1. That the court declare that the budgetary approval process and tax levy is an administrative or executive action of the Board of County Commissioners, and, thus, not subject to the referendum process set forth in Idaho Const. art. 3, § 1 and I.C. § 31-717;
2. That the court declare that the resolutions passed and the motions approved in the budget process do not constitute ordinances or an act or measure passed by the legislative body subject to the referendum process;
3. That the court declare that the budgetary process set forth in title 31, chapter 16, Idaho Code, is the exclusive manner by which county budgets can be set;
4. That the court declare that tax levies or budgetary appropriations cannot be set or rejected by initiative or referendum;
5. That the court declare that if the county budget or ad valorem tax can be rejected by referendum, the result would be the absence of a county budget or ad valorem tax levy for the county; and
6. That the court declare that the initiative proposed to set an ordinance procedure to modify county budgets and tax billing would be contrary to state statute and the Idaho Constitution.
On February 12, 1993, plaintiff Bonner County "requested that the case be dismissed with prejudice, with respect to the party of BONNER COUNTY, acting through its Board of Commissioners." The court granted the motion on the same day.
On February 19, 1993, the Coalition filed a motion to dismiss the Elected Officials' claims, pursuant to I.R.C.P. 12(b)(1) and (6), on the following grounds: (1) standing; (2) justiciability; and, (3) ripeness.
Also on February 19, 1993, the Coalition filed an answer to the complaint. In its answer, the Coalition set forth several defenses, including: (1) standing; (2) no actual controversy under the Declaratory Judgment Act, I.C. §§ 10-1201 to 10-1217; (3) no justiciable controversy; (4) Elected Officials are not real parties in interest; (5) no case or controversy; and, (6) ripeness. The Coalition prayed that the Elected Officials' complaint be dismissed with prejudice and that it be awarded attorney fees and costs.
A hearing on the Coalition's motion to dismiss was held on February 26, 1993. The minutes of the hearing reflect that the court ruled that the Elected Officials could bring this action.
On March 2, 1993, the Elected Officials filed a motion for summary judgment. On March 4, 1993, the Coalition filed a cross-motion for summary judgment. A hearing on the motions was held on March 15, 1993, the court noting that the Coalition had filed an alternative motion to stay enforcement of judgment and granting the Elected Officials' motion for summary judgment.
On March 16, 1993, the court entered three orders:
1. Order Denying Stay: The court entered an order denying the Coalition's alternative motion to stay the enforcement of the judgment. The court recognized that the action is declaratory in nature, the Elected Officials only seeking a declaration of the law applicable to the circumstances set forth in the complaint.
2. Order Denying Motion to Dismiss: The court entered an order denying the Coalition's motion to dismiss. It ruled that "[a]s elected officials, the duties of each Plaintiff are sufficiently broad that they have the right to seek declaratory judgment regarding the propriety of referendum and initiative actions regarding the county budgeting and taxing process," citing Miles v. Idaho Power Co., 116 Idaho 635, 778 P.2d 757 (1989), for Idaho's standing rule. The court also rejected the Coalition's argument regarding lack of justiciability, citing Gumprecht v. City of Coeur d'Alene, 104 Idaho 615, 661 P.2d 1214 (1983).
3. Opinion and Order on Summary Judgment: The court entered an opinion and order granting the Elected Officials' motion for summary judgment. The court framed the sole issue as It ruled that "[t]he voters may only demand a referendum vote on acts or measures of a legislative character ..., [that] [t]he budget decisions of the county commissioners in approving the fiscal 1993 budget and fixing the property tax levies are administrative/executive decisions, not legislative acts or measures ..., [and] [t]herefore, the Idaho Constitution [art. 3, § 1] and Idaho Code § 31-717 preclude the voters of Bonner County from demanding a referendum vote on budget decisions of the county commissioners." It also ruled that since local regulations cannot conflict with general state laws, "any referendum procedure for reviewing county budget decisions [pursuant to Bonner County Ordinance No. 141] would be improper and county officials would be acting in excess of their jurisdiction in holding such referendum vote." A judgment to this effect was filed on the same day.
Also on March 16, 1993, the Coalition filed a notice of appeal pursuant to I.A.R. 11(a)(1), appealing from the judgment entered by the district court.
On appeal, the Coalition raises the following issues:
I. Do the Elected Officials have standing to bring this action?
II. Have the Elected Officials asserted justiciable claims?
III. Have the Elected Officials alleged a "case" or "controversy" under the Declaratory Judgment Act?
IV. Do the initiative and referendum address matters within the scope of Idaho Const. art. 3, § 1?
V. Is the Board of County Commissioners' determination as to the aggregate amount of ad valorem revenue to be levied a legislative or executive function?
The Coalition phrases the issue as "standing," but its brief and the argument of counsel also deal with res judicata, or claim preclusion. We will address standing and res judicata separately.
In Miles v. Idaho Power Co., 116 Idaho 635, 778 P.2d 757 (1989), which was a declaratory judgment action, this Court thoroughly set forth the fundamentals of the doctrine of standing:
The doctrine of standing focuses on the party seeking relief and not on the issues the party wishes to have adjudicated. Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church & State, 454 U.S. 464, 102 S.Ct. 752, 70 L.Ed.2d 700 (1982). While the doctrine is easily stated, it is imprecise and difficult in its application. O'Hair v. White, 675 F.2d 680 (Former 5th Cir.1982). However, the major aspect of standing has been explained:
The essence of the standing inquiry is whether the party seeking to invoke the court's jurisdiction has "alleged such a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy as to assure the concrete adversariness which sharpens the presentation upon which the court so depends for illumination of difficult constitutional questions." As refined by subsequent reformation, this requirement of "personal stake" has come to be understood to require not only a "distinct palpable injury" to the plaintiff, but also a "fairly traceable" causal connection between the claimed injury and the challenged conduct. (Citations omitted.)
Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Env. Study Group, 438 U.S. 59, 98 S.Ct. 2620, 57 L.Ed.2d 595 (1978).
Thus, to satisfy the case or controversy requirement of standing, litigants generally must allege or demonstrate an injury in fact and a substantial likelihood that the judicial relief requested will prevent or redress the claimed injury. Id. at 79, 98 S.Ct. at 2633.
Miles, 116 Idaho at 641, 778 P.2d at 763.
The parties seeking relief are elected officials of Bonner County; the treasurer, the auditor, the assessor, and the sheriff. They allege that the Coalition's referendum and initiative are unlawful, in that they embrace matters (the county budget process) that exceed the lawful scope of referenda and initiatives. They further assert that...
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