District Board of Health of Public Health District No. 5 v. Chancey

500 P.2d 845, 94 Idaho 944, 1972 Ida. LEXIS 365
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 22, 1972
Docket11066
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 500 P.2d 845 (District Board of Health of Public Health District No. 5 v. Chancey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
District Board of Health of Public Health District No. 5 v. Chancey, 500 P.2d 845, 94 Idaho 944, 1972 Ida. LEXIS 365 (Idaho 1972).

Opinions

SHEPARD, Justice.

This is an original proceeding in which plaintiff seeks a Writ of Mandate to compel the defendants, who are certain officers of Twin Falls County, to appropriate for and pay to the plaintiff certain amounts of money. This court issued an Alternative Writ of Mandate required defendants to make return thereto and hearing was held thereon. We order the Alternative Writ made permanent.

The 1970 Legislature (Chap. 90, 1970 Idaho Session Laws, now codified as Chapter 4, Title 39, Idaho Code) created seven public health districts within the [946]*946State of Idaho. The area of Public Health District No. 5 includes the eight counties in the Magic Valley area, one of which is Twin Falls County. The defendants are the Board of County Commissioners and the Auditor-Budget Officer of Twin Falls .County.

The pertinent legislation provides for the organization of public health districts and prescribes their powers, authorities and duties. I.C. § 39-4231 provides that the chairmen of the Boards of County Commissioners within the districts are constituted as the Budget Committee of the Public Health District. The Public Health District is required to submit a preliminary budget for its operation and the budget committee, following a public hearing, is required to agree upon and set a budget for the operation of the Public Health District. I.C. § 39-4242 requires that the cost of maintenance of the Public Health District shall be borne by the counties within the district based on the proportion of each county’s population to the total population within the District.

Pursuant to the legislation, the budget committee of Public Health District No. 5 (comprised of the eight chairmen of the county commissioners of the counties within the public health district) met and held the required public hearing. Thereafter the budget committee voted to approve a Public Health District budget based on a per capita assessment of $1.66 per each person in the public health district. The total amount of that budget was $170,958.-00. The sole dissenting vote was registered by the chairman of the county commissioners of Twin Falls. The Twin Falls County share of the total budget was $69,400.00. Thereafter the county commissioners of Twin Falls County refused to budget for said amount of $69,400.00 but rather in its tentative appropriation has budgeted for $51,000.00. Plaintiff brings this proceeding to compel the county commissioners of Twin Falls to appropriate for and pay into Public Health District No. 5 the sum of $69,400.00.

Defendants initially contend that the issuance of a Writ of Mandamus is not authorized or appropriate in the circumstances. I.C. § 7-302 authorizes the issuance of writs of mandate by

“ * * * any court except a justice’s or probate court, to any inferior tribunal, corporation, board or person, to compel the performance of an act which the law especially enjoins as a duty resulting from an office, trust or station; or to compel the admission of a party to the use and the enjoyment of a right or office to which he is entitled, * *

I.C. § 7-303 provides:

“The writ must be issued in all cases where there is not a plain, speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law. It must be issued upon affidavit, on the application of the party beneficially interested.”

[947]*947Although mandamus will not issue when an applicant has a plain, speedy or adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law, Silver Bowl, Inc. v. Equity Metals, Inc., 93 Idaho 487, 464 P.2d 926 (1970); Nancy Lee Mines, Inc. v. Harrison, 93 Idaho 652, 471 P.2d 39 (1970), it is nevertheless clear that plaintiff in this case has no speedy or adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law. Plaintiff has enjoined upon it the performance of certain duties under the statute. Those duties cannot be performed retroactively but must be performed at the time needed. Plaintiff must have funds in its budget to perform the necessary services. The failure of the defendants to provide Twin Falls County’s full share of the budget will diminish the ability of the plaintiff to furnish those services. Under the provisions of I.C. § 39-425, the State Board of Health will provide to plaintiff certain matching funds but if the original budget funds are not provided by the respective counties a portion of those state matching funds will be lost. All these considerations eliminate the possibility of plaintiff resolving the problem through the ordinary course of law.

I.C. § 31-604, 31-811 authorizes county commissioners to levy and collect taxes, Article 18, Section 6 of the Constitution of Idaho provides:

“All taxes shall be collected by the officer or officers designated by law.”

I.C. § 39-424 requires the various counties to participate in the financing of the Public Health District. The duty to participate in the financing is imposed upon the county. The county commissioners clearly have the power to levy and collect taxes. Therefore, no discretion exists in the Board of County Commissioners to in any manner avoid this clear legal duty. The duty is ministerial and therefore subject to the Writ of Mandate. As stated in State ex rel. Williams v. Adams, 90 Idaho 195, 409 P.2d 415 (1965):

“Mandamus will lie if the party seeking it has a clear legal right to have the act done for which he seeks the writ, and it is the clear duty of the officer to act. * * * Such act or duty must be ministerial and not require the exercise of discretion. * * * ”

See also: Silver Bowl, Inc. v. Equity Metals, Inc., supra; Allen v. Smylie, 92 Idaho 846, 452 P.2d 343 (1969).

Plaintiff has presented a prima facie case for the issuance of the Alternative Writ of Mandate. Defendants, however, further object to various of the authorizing statutes and procedures set forth in the Public Health District legislation, Chapter 4, Title 39, Idaho Code.

Defendants assert that the course chosen by the legislature in enactment of the public health district law is in violation of the Constitution, Article 2, Section 1,. setting forth the doctrine of the separation of powers and Article 18, Sections 1 through 11, establishing county government in Idaho. The argument of defendants goes primarily to the collection of taxes; and the assertion that the legislation intrudes upon the taxation function of county government. We see no conflict between any of the above constitutional provisions and the legislation creating the public health districts. The levying and collecting of taxes in the instant case are all performed at and by the county level of government properly acting in its executive capacity. The fact that the county was and is willing to levy and collect taxes and turn the amounts so collected over to the Public Health District, albeit in a smaller amount than demanded, militates against: the argument of defendants.

Defendants next contend that no. proper voice is given the taxpayers of the counties within the Public Health District to vote approval or disapproval on the budget. As set forth in I.C.

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Bluebook (online)
500 P.2d 845, 94 Idaho 944, 1972 Ida. LEXIS 365, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/district-board-of-health-of-public-health-district-no-5-v-chancey-idaho-1972.