Connelly v. Board of Commissioners

20 Pa. D. & C.3d 267, 1981 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 322
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Montgomery County
DecidedJuly 22, 1981
Docketno. 81-6721
StatusPublished

This text of 20 Pa. D. & C.3d 267 (Connelly v. Board of Commissioners) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Montgomery County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Connelly v. Board of Commissioners, 20 Pa. D. & C.3d 267, 1981 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 322 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1981).

Opinion

BROWN, J.,

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Petitioners are businessmen in Lower More-land Township.

2. Defendant Lower Moreland is a township of the first class in Montgomery County.

3. On December 30, 1980, the Township’s Board of Commissioners enacted Ordinance No. 309, imposing a tax on the privilege of engaging in a business, trade, occupation, profession, or vocation within the township and a mercantile license tax on wholesale, retail or wholesale and retail businesses within the township for the calendar year 1980. The business privilege tax rate was 1.5 mills, the retail sales rate was 1.0 mills, and the wholesale rate was .5 mills.

4. On January 29,1981, petitioners appealed the passage of that ordinance to this court. A hearing was held on February 17, 1981, with argument on February 20. On April 23, 1981, the appeal was dismissed as moot upon advice of counsel that Ordinance 309 had been repealed.

5. At a “workshop” meeting of the Board of Commissioners on February 10, 1981, a consensus was reached to repeal Ordinance 309 and enact a new tax ordinance but at higher rates: business privilege, 2.0 mills, retail sales, 1.5 mills, and wholesale sales, 1.0 mill. Also, the tax contemplated was to be for an indefinite term rather than for the year 1981 alone.

[269]*2696. The higher rates were imposed because the taxing period would be for an eight month period, from May 1 to December 31,1981, rather than a full year. This decision was made partly on the advice of Berkheimer Associates, Inc., township tax collector and consultant, which estimated the higher rates would produce revenue of $120,000 for the eight month period.

7. The purpose underlying the decision to enact the new tax ordinance for an indefinite period was the desire to avoid the necessarily lengthy time which would be taken by reenacting the ordinance each year. This decision was made on the advice of the township manager and township solicitor.

8. Advertisement of notice of intent to adopt the new ordinance was published in TODAY’S SPIRIT for three successive weeks, on February 26, March 5, and March 12, 1981, pursuant to the requirements of The Local Tax Enabling Act of December 31, 1965, P.L. 1257, 53 P.S. §6904.

9. The revenue estimate by Berkheimer Associates, Inc. was made through (1) a comparison with Whitemarsh Township, which is similar to Lower Moreland demographically; and (2) a survey of the number of businesses in Lower Moreland Township.

10. Ordinance 309 was repealed by Ordinance 312 and the new ordinance, 313, was enacted by the Board of Commissioners on March 18, 1981.

DISCUSSION

Petitioners argue the enactment of Ordinance No. 313 was defective andin violation of The Local Tax Enabling Act of December 31, 1965, P.L. 1257, 53 P.S. §6901 et seq. They complain the notice of intent to pass failed to set forth either a reasonable or good faith estimate of the amount of revenue to [270]*270be derived from the tax. Section 6904 requires the notice to set forth “the amount of revenue estimated to be derived from the tax.” The notice provided: “TOTAL ANTICIPATED REVENUES FROM SUCH TAXES DURING THE YEAR 1981 FROM MAY 1, 1981, THE DATE ON WHICH THE TAX COMMENCES, THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 1981 ARE $120,000, AND THEREAFTER A SIMILAR AMOUNT INCREASED PRO RATA FOR THE FULL YEAR’S PERIOD THEREAFTER APPLICABLE.”

The evidence shows the revenue estimate was reasonable and obtained in good faith. It was made by Berkheimer Associates, Inc., employed by the township for consulting and collecting.

This court is bound by the standard of review set forth in section 6 of the Enabling Act:

“It shall be the duty of the court to declare the ordinance and the tax imposed thereby to be valid unless it concludes that the ordinance is unlawful or finds that the tax imposed is excessive or unreasonable; but the court shall not interfere with the reasonable discretion of the legislative body in selecting the subj ects or fixing the rates of the tax. ”

Nothing in the record suggests arbitrary or capricious action or bad faith in obtaining the estimate. While it is understandable that petitioners desire as accurate an estimate as possible, they failed to show that the Board of Commissioners acted unreasonably as was their burden. They failed to rebut the presumption that the municipal officers acted properly in furtherance of the public good: Donnelly v. Borough of Media, 23 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 115, 119, 351 A. 2d 299, 302 (1976).

Petitioners also contend the notice of intent to adopt Ordinance 313 was defective. They argue that the phrase “consider adoption” in the body of [271]*271the advertisements of February 26, March 5, and March 12, 1981, contradicts the phrase “intention to adopt” which opened each notice, and thereby rendered the notices vague, confusing and misleading. This argument is frivolous. Each notice began as follows: “The Board of Commissioners of Lower Moreland Township hereby gives notice of its intention to adopt the following ordinance. ...” The phrase “consider adoption” in the body of the notice does not contradict the initial statement of intent to adopt. Indeed, one would hope the board would consider adoption of that which they intend to adopt. In short, the notices comply with the requirement of section 4 of the act.

Next, petitioners assert the mercantile license tax violates section 8(2) of the Enabling Act. They contend the tax is levied on trade-ins in violation of section 8(2), which provides in pertinent part:

“No such tax shall be levied on the dollar volume of business transacted by wholesale and retail dealers derived from the resale of goods, wares and merchandise, taken by any dealer as a trade-in or as part payment for other goods, wares and merchandise, except to the extent that the resale price exceeds the trade-in allowance.”

Ordinance 313 does not violate section 8(2). Section 80(h) of the ordinance defines gross receipts as follows: “Gross Receipts shall include both cash and credit transactions as provided by law.” Section 85(b) of the Ordinance provides:

Adjustments allowed to customers may be deducted from “gross receipts” if they are deducted on the face of the invoice as a medium of adjusting the price or fee for the service and if they are not reimbursed to the person by his supplier or some other person.

[272]*272These provisions bring the ordinance into compliance with section 8(2) of The Local Tax Enabling Act. That allowance for trade-in pursuant to section 8(2) is within the meaning of the ordinance is made clear by section 39 of the Regulations adopted by the Commissioners.

Section 39 provides:

Property Traded In.

a.

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Related

Donnelly v. Borough of Media
351 A.2d 299 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1976)
Borough of Brookhaven v. Century 21
425 A.2d 466 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1981)

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Bluebook (online)
20 Pa. D. & C.3d 267, 1981 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 322, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/connelly-v-board-of-commissioners-pactcomplmontgo-1981.