Hardwick v. City of Independence

114 N.W. 14, 136 Iowa 481
Supreme Court of Iowa·Decided December 10, 1907·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

Bishop, J.—

The defendant city is organized under the statute as a city of the second class. Plaintiff owns two lots in said city, and the same are occupied by her as a homestead. During the year 1904 there was constructed by the city a sanitary sewer in the streets thereof, and during the month of December of that year the city proceeded to levy an assessment upon the property abutting on and [483] adjacent to such sewer, including, the property of plaintiif, to pay the cost thereof. It is to set aside this assessment that plaintiif sues. The proceedings had leading up to the assessment are not in dispute. The contention arises over the legal sufficiency thereof. The substance of such proceeding as shown by the records of the council may be stated as follows: In May, 1904, a petition of property owners was presented to the council at a regular meeting asking for the construction of the sewer in question, and such petition was referred to the sewer committee of the council. That committee reported at the same meeting, to the effect that the petition was signed by a majority of the property owners along the line of the proposed sewer, and that such signers owned “ a majority of the lineal front feet of property,” which would be subject to assessment to pay the cost of construction. That following this report there was brought forward a proposed resolution of necessity ordering the construction of a sewer as prayed, and -containing a provision that the cost should be paid by assessment according to benefits, providing, also, for the publication of notice asking for bids, and fixing a time for opening and acting upon bids made. Attached to the proposed resolution was a notice that the same would be considered for passage on June 1'5, 1904. That the proposed resolution and notice were approved as to form, and ordered published. The record of the meeting of June 15, 1904, shows that there was present the mayor and seven of the nine councilmen. That the resolution of necessity came on for consideration, and, proof of publication having been filed, it was moved that the resolution be adopted. The yeas and nays were called, and each of the seven members of the council present voted aye, whereupon the motion was declared in the affirmative. It was admitted on the trial that in making up his minutes of the meeting of June 15th, and in connection with making up his record of the adoption of the resolution, the city clerk did not at the time include mention of the fact that the [484] sewer was petitioned for by the abutting owners. Nor was such fact entered in the minutes of that meeting until December 26, 1905, when the- clerk on his -own motion added to his record the following: “ The said improvement being petitioned for by the abutting property owners.” It was also admitted that at a regular meeting of the council on July 11, 1904, the minutes of the meeting of June 15th were read and approved. It was also admitted that the resolution was not signed by the mayor of the' city, that he did not refuse to sign the same, and that the city council did not pass the .same over veto or refusal of the mayor to sign. It was also admitted that the city clerk “ did not record said resolution in the ordinance book of the city with a minute of the facts making the resolution operative, until December 4, 1905.” It appears that the work of construction of the sewer was completed on December 1, 1904, and the assessment complained of was made on December 12, 1904. Respecting the sewer ordinance of the defendant city, it- was admitted that the same provided in general terms for the construction of sewers in the city, and for the regulation -thereof, and that on the passage and adoption thereof the yeas and nays were not called and recorded in the minutes of the city council.

The facts of the case are comprehended in what is said foregoing, and based thereon appellant contends for a reversal upon several grounds, of which we shall treat in the order presented.

1 municipal constructions of sewers: assessments: validity. First. It is said that as the yeas and nays were not called and recorded on the adoption of the general sewer ordinance, the same was' of no validity, and hence the city council was without jurisdiction to proceed to the establishment and construction of the sewer in question. Conceding invalidity to the ordinance in virtue of the provision of Code, section 683, we cannot agree that the city council was without authority to proceed. At no point in [485] the proceedings taken was reference made in - terms to the ordinance, and it may well be. assumed that the council were acting in reliance upon and pursuant to the authority granted by the statutes on the subject. On reference, it will be seen that the chapter of the Code devoted to the subject of street improvements and sewers in cities (chapter 7, title 5) provides in detail a method of procedure to be followed in such cases, and, this being true, an ordinance was not necessary. Martin v. Oskaloosa, 126 Iowa, 680.

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Hardwick v. City of Independence, 114 N.W. 14, 136 Iowa 481 (iowa 1907).

114 N.W. 14 (Hardwick v. City of Independence) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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