John E. Shaffer Enterprises v. City of Yuma

904 P.2d 1252, 183 Ariz. 428, 190 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 3, 1995 Ariz. App. LEXIS 110
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedMay 9, 1995
DocketNo. 1 CA-TX 93-0003
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 904 P.2d 1252 (John E. Shaffer Enterprises v. City of Yuma) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
John E. Shaffer Enterprises v. City of Yuma, 904 P.2d 1252, 183 Ariz. 428, 190 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 3, 1995 Ariz. App. LEXIS 110 (Ark. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

OPINION

LANKFORD, Presiding Judge.

John E. Shaffer Enterprises, Inc. (Taxpayer) brought an action seeking to require the City of Yuma to stop imposing intergovernmental service charges against two city budget units funded by certain limited-purpose sources. Taxpayer appeals from an adverse judgment based on a tax court determination that it failed to sustain its burden of proof at trial. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Ariz. Rev.Stat.Ann. (A.R.S.) section 12-210KB).1

The pertinent facts are as follows. In April 1970, the voters of the City of Yuma amended Article III, Section 72 of the Yuma City Charter by special election to grant the City the right to assess, levy and collect excise taxes on the privilege of engaging in business. As approved by the voters, Section 72 provided in pertinent part:

Such taxes may be computed upon, but shall in no event exceed an amount equal to one percent (1%) of gross proceeds of sales, gross income or gross proceeds, except that, for the sole purpose of the acquisition, construction, maintenance and promotion of public facilities to consist of a baseball complex, an 18-hole golf course, and a multi-purpose community center building, and necessary and appropriate [430]*430service and administrative facilities appurtenant thereto, such taxes amounting to an additional two percent (2%) of the gross proceeds of sales or gross income from the businesses of restaurants, bars, hotels and motels (as such businesses shall be defined) may be likewise imposed, such additional taxes to terminate upon complete payment of the costs of acquisition and construction of such facilities.

Later, in budget year 1978-79, the City of Yuma instituted an intergovernmental service charge (IGSC)2 and applied it against funds of the convention center and golf course constructed pursuant to Yuma City Charter Article III, Section 72. In 1985-86 the City extended the IGSC to encompass the associated baseball complex.

Also in the 1978-79 budget year and thereafter, the City of Yuma received allocations of highway user revenue funds from the State of Arizona pursuant to AR.S. section 28-1595. The Arizona Constitution provides that monies allocated from the Arizona Highway User Revenue Fund to incorporated cities are

to be used by them solely for highway and street purposes including costs of right-of-way, acquisitions and expenses relating thereto, construction, reconstruction, maintenance, repair, roadside development, of county, city and town roads, streets, and bridges and payment of principal and interest on highway and street bonds____

Ariz. Const, art. IX, § 14. In budget year 1978-79, the City of Yuma began to impose an IGSC against highway user funds received by its street maintenance department.

Taxpayer is an Arizona corporation which has conducted business as a bar within the limits of the City of Yuma. Taxpayer has paid the two percent sales tax authorized by the 1970 charter amendment, together with license fees, taxes and other fees constituting highway user revenues. In January 1991 it filed a special action complaint challenging the legality of the City’s IGSC’s against the Yuma recreation complex and against the Yuma street maintenance division.

Taxpayer’s challenge was tried to the tax court over six days. Taxpayer argued that the IGSC was an unauthorized expenditure of sales tax revenue and of highway user revenue funds. According to Taxpayer, sales tax revenue cannot be used for overhead and can be used only to pay interest and principal on the bonds and to pay for maintenance and promotion of the facility. Taxpayer similarly contended that highway user revenue cannot be used for overhead and can only be used for the construction or maintenance of physical assets utilized in public transportation. Furthermore, Taxpayer claimed that the means by which these allocations were made were arbitrary and illegal because they did not conform to generally accepted accounting principles.

The tax court denied the special action relief. It held that the burden was on Taxpayer to prove its position and that Taxpayer had not met its burden. The court reasoned that for Taxpayer to prevail, it had to prove that the IGSC excessively allocated expenses: “While the method of allocation used by the City of Yuma may have been something less than what appears in accounting textbooks, there was no proof made that the allocation resulted in an excessive charge to the subject departments.” The tax court also held that both the applicable charter and ordinance of the City of Yuma and the Arizona Constitution authorize expenditures to cover any costs—including overhead—necessary to the purposes of the funds.

Taxpayer raises two issues on appeal:

(1) Did the tax court err in assigning to Taxpayer the burden of proving that the City had misallocated limited-purpose funds to overhead expenses?

(2) Did the tax court err in determining that the City could allocate revenue generated by the transaction privilege tax and funds from the Arizona Highway User Revenue Fund to overhead expenses?

I.

We first consider the burden of proof issue. Taxpayer contends that once it had [431]*431shown that the City lacked a “rationally based methodology that accurately and reliably identified such costs,” the City had the burden of producing evidence that it had not charged excessive overhead expenses against the sales tax and highway funds.3 Taxpayer’s theory is that the City was a trustee for municipal taxpayers and that under general principles of trust law the City had the duty to account in detail for the restricted funds it took in and paid out, including the payee and purpose of each disbursement. Taxpayer argues that because the City did not do so, Taxpayer was entitled to prevail as a matter of law.

Taxpayer, not the City, had the burden of proof. Generally, the party who asserts the affirmative of an issue has the burden of proving it. Black, Robertshaw, Frederick, Copple & Wright, P.C. v. United States, 130 Ariz. 110, 634 P.2d 398 (App.1981). Here, Taxpayer asserts the misuse of funds and Taxpayer bears the burden of proof on the issue.

Moreover, the authorities on which Taxpayer relies do not support its trust theory. 74 Am.Jur.2d Taxpayers Action section 16 (1974), quoted in part by Taxpayer, merely uses a trustee analogy as an alternative explanation for the general principle that taxpayers have standing to seek to enjoin misapplications of municipal funds. While a municipality may be a trustee for standing purposes, it does not function as a trustee for all purposes.

Taxpayer also cites Arizona authority in asserting that a trust relationship exists between the taxpayer and the municipality. See Ethington v. Wright, 66 Ariz. 382, 189 P.2d 209 (1948) (equitable ownership principles that permit taxpayers to seek to enjoin waste or illegal expenditure of municipal funds permit same type of proceedings for state taxpayers concerning state funds); Smith v. Graham County Community College District, 123 Ariz. 431, 600 P.2d 44

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Bluebook (online)
904 P.2d 1252, 183 Ariz. 428, 190 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 3, 1995 Ariz. App. LEXIS 110, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/john-e-shaffer-enterprises-v-city-of-yuma-arizctapp-1995.