Greener v. City of Great Falls

485 P.2d 932, 157 Mont. 376, 1971 Mont. LEXIS 432
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedJune 9, 1971
DocketNo. 11993
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 485 P.2d 932 (Greener v. City of Great Falls) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Greener v. City of Great Falls, 485 P.2d 932, 157 Mont. 376, 1971 Mont. LEXIS 432 (Mo. 1971).

Opinion

MR. JUSTICE HASWELL

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

This is an action by certain taxpayers and electors of the city of Great Falls against the city, its mayor, and its city treasurer seeking an injunction to restrain construction of a city shop complex, nntil such time as the electors approve the issuance and sale of municipal bonds to finance construction. The District Court of Cascade County entered a partial summary judgment and subsequently a final judgment denying the injunction and dismissing the complaint. Plaintiff taxpayers and electors appeal from the partial summary judgment and subsequent final judgment.

Plaintiffs and appellants are sixteen taxpayers and electors of the city of Great Falls. Defendants and respondents are the city of Great Falls, its mayor, and its city treasurer.

The facts, with one exception, are contained in a written stipulation and are not in dispute. These facts were adopted by the district court in its findings of fact, on which its partial summary judgment was based.

These undisputed facts as set forth in the district court’s findings and in the record herein disclose that the city proposes to construct a consolidated city shop complex west of the U.S. Highway #87 and north of 25th Avenue N.S. in the Riverview Addition to Great Falls at a cost of over $500,000. This facility is intended to' provide maintenance and repair for all city vehicles used by1 the various departments and agencies of the city of Great Falls. Thé city shop complex will consist of the [380]*380following buildings to be used either jointly or exclusively as indicated, by the following city departments and agencies:

(1) Animal Control Shelter for the exclusive use of the’ Animal Control department.

(2) Water and Sewer shop and storage facility for the exclusive use of the Water and Sewer department.

(3) Garbage vehicle garage for the exclusive use of the Garbage department.

(4) Combined maintenance shop and central office and lunch facility for service and maintenance of all city vehicles.

(5) Several open, unheated vehicle storage facilities for all city vehicles.

On April 16, 1970 the following petition, signed by over 20% of the qualified and registered electors of the city of Great Falls, was filed with the city clerk:

“TO THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GREAT FALLS, MONTANA:
“GENTLEMEN:
“WE, the undersigned, qualified electors of the City of Great Falls, Cascade County, Montana, who are taxpayers upon the property within the City of Great Falls, Montana and whose names appear on the last completed assessment roll of the State and County taxes as taxpayers within said City, having been informed that the present administration of the City of Great Falls plans to construct a city shop complex with funds to be taken from various city departments such as the airport, library, park, street, water, sewer and garbage, over a period of years, and being of the belief that this plan is not in the best interests of these city departments or the City of Great Falls, and believing that the taxpayers should be entitled to vote for or against substantial capital expenditures as proposed, hereby respectfully petition and ask your Honorable Body that an election be held in said city at the next regular general City election April 5, 1971, for the purpose of submitting to the qualified electors of the City of Great Falls, Montana [381]*381and whose names appear on the last completed assessment roll of the State and County taxes as taxpayers within said City, the following question, to-wit:
“SHALL THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GREAT FALLS), MONTANA BE AUTHORIZED AND EMPOWERED TO ISSUE AND SELL BONDS OF SAID CITY IN THE AMOUNT OF $600,000.00 FOR THE PURPOSE OF PAYING FOR THE COST OF ACQUIRING SUCH ADDITIONAL LAND AS MAY BE REQUIRED AND TO CONSTRUCT A CITY SHOP COMPLEX TO BE LOCATED ON AND ADJACENT TO THE LAND PRESENTLY OWNED BY THE CITY AT 15TH STREET NORTH AND 12TH AVENUE NORTH IN GREAT FALLS, MONTANA?
“Each of the undersigned for himself or herself states that he or she has personally signed this petition and knows the contents thereof, and that his or her residence address and voting precinct are written correctly after his or her name.”

At its regular meeting on May 18, 1970, the city council adopted a report holding this petition to be invalid. At that time and on other occasions, the city council declared its intention not to call a bond issue election to finance the construction of the city shop complex.

Instead, the city council adopted a different financing plan to cover the construction costs of the consolidated city shop complex. Under this proposed financing plan the city contemplates payment of construction costs partially from general fund moneys and partially through allocation of moneys in special funds of the various city departments and agencies that will use the facility.

The city council ordered publication of an invitation for bids on construction of the city shop complex. It calls for “one single contract, including general, mechanical, and electrical work.” Payment by the city of construction costs is to be made on the basis of a down payment which will be paid as job progress payments to the contractor with the balance of payments to be [382]*382made in monthly installments for a period not to exceed five years under a contract of sales secured either by land severance provisions or a lease of the building site.

The city budget for the fiscal year 1969-1970 contains an appropriation of $119,500 from the general fund for financing construction of the city shop complex. This sum was transferred into the general fund from proceeds derived from the sale of general obligation bonds of the city for modernization and construction of fire stations and Fire department facilities. The issuance and sale of these bonds had been previously authorized by the taxpaying electors of the city at an election held on April 7, 1969 pursuant to a Fire department modernization and expansion program. The proceeds from the bond sale were placed in a special fund known as the Fire Department Modernization and Expansion Fund. Thereafter $119,500 of this fund was transferred to the general fund of the city as a form of payment for the commitment by the city of four city-owned lots in the vicinity of 9th Street and 1st Avenue South as a site for a new Headquarters Fire Station. The city also purchased an adjoining fifth lot from private owners for $31,000 from the proceeds of the bond sale which, together with the other four lots, is to be used as a site for the new Headquarters Fire Station.-The prospectus for the proposed fire station program which was designed to provide information to city officials and citizens concerning the Fire Department Modernization and Expansion Program bond issue earmarked the sum of $150,000 for the site acquisition for the new Headquarters Fire Station.

The city budget for the fiscal year 1969-1970 also contains an additional appropriation of $13,587.89 from the general fund to defray the construction costs of the city shop complex.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In Re the Matter of Hart
583 P.2d 411 (Montana Supreme Court, 1978)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
485 P.2d 932, 157 Mont. 376, 1971 Mont. LEXIS 432, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/greener-v-city-of-great-falls-mont-1971.