Jarrett v. City of Marvell

9 S.W.3d 574, 69 Ark. App. 98, 2000 Ark. App. LEXIS 32
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedFebruary 2, 2000
DocketCA CR 99-349
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 9 S.W.3d 574 (Jarrett v. City of Marvell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jarrett v. City of Marvell, 9 S.W.3d 574, 69 Ark. App. 98, 2000 Ark. App. LEXIS 32 (Ark. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

Sam BIRD, Judge.

Appellant Calvin Jarrett, a resident of Marvell, Arkansas, was charged with violating City of Marvell Ordinance No. 134, commonly known as the garbage ordinance. Among other things, this ordinance provided for a monthly charge to be levied by the appellee, City of Marvell, against residents of the city for the collection of garbage. Jarrett refused to pay the assessment, was found guilty in Marvell Municipal Court of violating the ordinance, and he appealed the conviction to the Phillips County Circuit Court, arguing that the ordinance was unconstitutional.

During a bench trial, Clark Hall, mayor of Marvell, testified that Ordinance No. 134 requires citizens of Marvell to pay a monthly garbage fee and that Jarrett had refused to pay it. He stated that the ordinance was adopted for the health and well-being of Marvell’s citizens. Mayor Hall testified that the City Council of Marvell sets the amount of the monthly fee that each resident is charged for garbage collection under the ordinance, and that the city has a contract with Waste Management of Arkansas to collect and dispose of the city’s garbage.

Jarrett testified that he does not pay the garbage fee because he disposes of his garbage in a public dumpster. He stated that he was arrested and taken to the police department where he posted a bond in the amount of $164, which is the amount that Jarrett owed the city in monthly garbage fees. The Phillips County Circuit Court found Jarrett guilty of violating the ordinance, and he was fined $50, ordered to also pay $164 to the City of Marvell, and assessed court costs. The court held that the ordinance was constitutional.

Jarrett brings this appeal contending that the court erred in holding that Ordinance No. 134 is constitutional for three reasons. First, he argues that the ordinance is unconstitutional on its face due to “the lack of empowerment of the appellee to enact and enforce same ...” He seems to be arguing that the city of Marvell does not have the authority to implement a garbage collection and disposal system because the Legislature has not given cities and municipalities the authority to do so. Jarrett argues that because the ordinance does not “within the four-corners of its creation identify any particular constitutional or statutory authority from which it evolves,” it is constitutionally defective.

Jarrett refers us to several cases standing for the proposition that cities have no inherent powers, but are limited in their authority and may act only within the powers delegated to them by the Arkansas Constitution and the Legislature. See Potocki v. City of Fort Smith, 279 Ark. 19, 648 S.W.2d 462 (1983), and Taggart & Taggart Seed Co., Inc. v. City of Augusta, 278 Ark. 570, 647 S.W.2d 458 (1983). The validity of any ordinance or regulation enacted by cities and municipalities is dependant upon authority granted either by the Constitution or General Assembly. See Brooks v. City of Benton, 308 Ark. 571, 826 S.W.2d 259 (1992).

Regarding the collection and disposal of garbage, not only has the Legislature given cities and municipalities the authority to enact such ordinances, the Legislature has mandated that they do so. Section (a) of Ark. Code Ann. § 8-6-211 (Repl. 1993) states in part:

All municipalities shall provide a solid waste management system which will adequately provide for the collection and disposal of all solid wastes generated or existing within the incorporated limits of the municipality or in the area to be served and in accordance with the rules, regulations, and orders of the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission.

The authority cited by Jarrett simply states that in order for the municipality to enact an ordinance, it must have been granted the authority from the Legislature. Clearly, Ark. Code Ann. § 8-6-211 does so. See also Geurin v. City of Little Rock, 203 Ark. 103, 155 S.W.2d 719 (1941).1

Jarrett next argues that the selective nature of his prosecution under the ordinance renders it unconstitutional. He asserts, “The testimony of the appellee’s Mayor, Clark Hall, that appellant is the only person who has ever been charged and/or arrested for violation of this ordinance even though others may have been in violation demonstrates the unconstitutional selective application of this police power.”

An ordinance is presumed to be constitutional, and the burden of proving otherwise is on the challenging party. Craft v. City of Fort Smith, 335 Ark. 417, 984 S.W.2d 22 (1998).

Although Mayor Hall testified that Jarrett was the only person that had been charged with violating Ordinance No. 134, we do not find in the abstract of the record where he testified that others had been guilty of violating the ordinance but not charged. It is Jarrett’s burden to produce a record sufficient to demonstrate error. Martin v. State, 337 Ark. 451, 989 S.W.2d 908 (1999). The record on appeal is confined to that which is abstracted. Id.

The ordinance sets a rate of $6 per month for each single residence. Section 14 of the ordinance states:

Any person, firm or corporation violating any provisions of this Ordinance of failing to pay any fees herein provided, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction in the City Court of the City of Marvell, Arkansas, shall be fined in any sum not to exceed fifty ($50) dollars.

Jarrett neither offers any evidence that the Ordinance has been discriminatorily applied nor do we read the Ordinance as being discriminatory in its application. Because he has offered no evidence to support his second point on appeal, Jarrett did not meet his burden of proving that the ordinance was unconstitutional as a result of its selective application to him.

Jarrett next argues that the court’s interpretation of Ark. Code Ann. §§ 14-55-601 and 602 (Repl. 1998) in conjunction with the provisions of Ordinance No. 134 was in error because these sections cannot authorize a penalty greater than that provided by the ordinance. The ordinance allows a fine of not more than $50, and the abstract reflects that the court, in ruling from the bench, imposed a fine of $150. However, this error was obviously corrected by the trial court because the order contained in the abstract shows that appellant was fined only $50. The court also imposed a judgment of $164, which is what Jarrett owed in garbage-coflection fees, and it imposed costs.

Arkansas Code Annotated section 14-55-601 reads:

(a) Bylaws and ordinances of municipal corporations may be enforced by the imposition of fines, forfeitures, and penalties on any person offending against or violating them.

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Bluebook (online)
9 S.W.3d 574, 69 Ark. App. 98, 2000 Ark. App. LEXIS 32, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jarrett-v-city-of-marvell-arkctapp-2000.