Allen v. City of Atlanta

142 S.E. 262, 166 Ga. 28, 1928 Ga. LEXIS 206
Supreme Court of Georgia·Decided February 15, 1928·No. No. 6280·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

Hines, J.

(After stating the foregoing facts.) When any municipality shall desire to incur any bonded indebtedness under the present constitution of this State, the officers charged with levying taxes and contracting debts for the municipality shall publish notice for the space of thirty days next preceding the date of the election, in the newspaper in which 'the sheriff's advertisements for the county are published, notifying the qualified voters that on the day named an election will be held to determine the question whether bonds shall be issued by the municipality; and in such notice they shall specify what amount of bonds are to be [33] issued, for what purpose, what interest they are to bear, how much principal and interest to be paid annually, and when to be fully paid off. Civil Code, § 440. This statute has properly received from this court a strict construction. If such notice be given under an ordinance, the latter must contain the above terms and ■particulars, and if the ordinance and notice fail to prescribe any of said terms, both the ordinance and notice are void and of no effect. Bowen v. Greensboro, 79 Ga. 709 (3) (4 S. E. 159); Mayor &c. of Athens v. Hemerick, 89 Ga. 674 (16 S. E. 72); Ponder v. Forsyth, 96 Ga. 572 (23 S. E. 498); Wilkins v. Waynesboro, 116 Ga. 359 (42 S. E. 767); Berrien County v. Paulk, 150 Ga. 829, 832 (105 S. E. 491). So under the above statute the ordi-' nance calling an election to determine whether municipal bonds shall be issued, and the published notice under such ordinance calling such election, shall specify the purpose or purposes for which the bonds are to be issued.

When in pursuance of such ordinance and notice the qualified voters of the municipality vote for an issue of bonds for a specific purpose or purposes, we are clear that the mayor and council of such municipality can not divert the proceeds of such bonds to any other purpose or purposes. They hold such funds in trust for the purpose or purposes for which the bonds were voted. Any diversion of such funds from the purpose or purposes for which they were voted would be a misapplication of such funds, and a breach of the trust imposed in them by the voters. Dubberly v. Morris, 163 Ga. 144, 146 (135 S. E. 718) ; Marks v. Richmond County, 165 Ga. 316 (140 S. E. 880). If the question of the issuing of these bonds for the erection of the new city hall on the lot east of the county court-house had been submitted to the voters, and the selection of the court-house lot had been approved by the voters as the site of the new city hall, then the city could not divert the proceeds of the bonds to the erection of a new city hall on a different site. The erection of the city hall upon the court-house lot and the issuing of the bonds might have been submitted to the voters together; but the better practice is to submit these matters separately. Cain v. Smith, 117 Ga. 902 (3) (44 S. E. 5). So if the selection of the county lot as the site of the new city hall had been left to the voters, and they had selected the county lot as the site therefor, their vote in favor of that site [34] would probably bind the city. In any event, if the voters had authorized the city to issue these bonds, provided their proceeds were used in erecting a new city hall on the county court-house lot, then the bonds could not be issued or their proceeds used for the erection of a new city hall upon any other site. While one city council can not bind another city council in matters of municipal' legislation, the voters, who are the masters, can, in a matter of this kind, bind the mayor and general council, who are the mere servants of the voters.

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Allen v. City of Atlanta, 142 S.E. 262, 166 Ga. 28, 1928 Ga. LEXIS 206 (Ga. 1928).

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