Kerr v. City of Erie

21 Pa. D. & C.3d 257, 1981 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 245
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Erie County
DecidedSeptember 29, 1981
Docketno. 1458-A-1981
StatusPublished

This text of 21 Pa. D. & C.3d 257 (Kerr v. City of Erie) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Erie County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kerr v. City of Erie, 21 Pa. D. & C.3d 257, 1981 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 245 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1981).

Opinion

NYGAARD, J.,

At issue is the validity of the City of Erie’s (hereafter, City) newly-enacted tax ordinance no. 7-1980. The case is before the court on plaintiffs’1 petition of declaratory judgment2 and defendant’s motion for summary judgment.

The court finds that the only issues that exist are legal issues to be determined by the court. We grant judgment in favor of plaintiffs.

The facts are as follows:

On October 13, 1948, the City of Erie enacted Income Tax Ordinance no. 8394 which imposed a [259]*259one percent tax on the earned income and net profits of both residents and non-residents who conducted business in the City of Erie.

Concurrently, the Erie City School District enacted a similar one percent earned income and net profits tax. However, pursuant to The Local Tax Enabling Act of December 31, 1965, P.L. 1257, 53 P.S. §6908, the city and school district under these circumstances would equally share the proceeds of the one percent tax rather than burdening the taxpayer with a combined rate of two percent.

In January of 1980, the City of Erie proposed Official Ordinance no. 7-1980 which was designed to increase the earned income and net profits tax to one and one-half percent.

The city advertised its intention to increase the tax only once in the Erie Morning News on January 15, 1980. The first reading of the proposed ordinance occurred January 16, 1980 with the ordinance finally passing after the third reading on January 23, 1980. See 53 P.S. §36012.

In April 1981, plaintiffs initiated this class action to challenge the validity of the tax increase.

Plaintiffs’ first challenge is to the propriety of advertising the proposed ordinance only once. Plaintiffs assert that the Tax Enabling Statute required the city to advertise the proposed increase three times, 53 P.S. §6904, and that failure to comply with section 6904 renders the tax null and void.

The city counters with the argument that section 6904 applies only where a new tax is being imposed and not where an existing tax is merely being increased. Thus, the city states, it was not necessary to advertise the ordinance three times.

For reasons herein explained, I reject the city’s argument. Section 6904 states in its entirety:

“Prior to the passage of any ordinance or the [260]*260adoption of any resolution imposing a tax or license fee under the authority hereunder granted, such political subdivision shall give notice of the intention to pass such ordinance or adopt such resolution. Such notice shall be given in addition to all other notices required by law to be given and shall set forth the substantial nature of the tax or license fee to be imposed by the proposed ordinance or resolution, the reason which, in the judgment of the officials of the subdivision, necessitates the imposition of the tax, and the amount of revenue estimated to be derived from the tax. Publication of such notice shall be made by advertisement once a week for three weeks in a newspaper of general circulation within such political subdivision if there is such newspaper and, if there is not, then such publication shall be made in a newspaper of general circulation within the county in which the advertising political subdivision is located.
Every such tax shall continue in force on a calendar or fiscal year basis, as the case may be, without annual reenactment unless the rate of the tax is subsequently changed.”

Admittedly, Official Ordinance no. 7 did not impose a new type of tax. However, the city’s argument that section 6904 applies only to new types of taxes ignores the last sentence of that section. And, under section 1921(a) of the Statutory Construction Act of 1972, 1 Pa.C.S.A. §1921, a statute shall be construed to give effect to all its provisions.

The last sentence of section 6904 implies that when the rate of a tax is changed, it no longer continues in force without annual reenactment. It follows, then, that the ordinance by which the rate is changed must be reenacted and the prodecure outlined in section 6904 must be followed. This in[261]*261terpretation of section 6904 is the only logical one in view of the section’s obvious purpose, i.e. to alert the public to changes in their tax burdens.

Assuming, arguendo, that this interpretation of the final sentence of section 6904 is incorrect, I nonetheless hold that Official Ordinance no. 7 must be advertised in accordance with section 6904. The reason is simply stated: The original earned income and net profits tax of 1948 imposed a tax of one percent. The original ordinance had to, and did, meet the requirements of section 6904. Official Ordinance no. 7 imposes a tax of one and one-half percent on earned income and net profits of residents and non-residents. I believe it illogical to dispute the fact that Official Ordinance no. 7 is an “ordinance . . . imposing a tax” as that phrase is used in section 6904.

The case of Taylor v. Coatesville Area School District, 2 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 510, 279 A. 2d 90 (1971) supports this alternative argument. In Taylor, supra, the school district proposed a 40 mill increase in the occupation tax. The school district advertised their intention once a week for three consecutive weeks. Plaintiffs subsequently challenged the validity of the increase on the ground that the school district failed to properly advertise a change in the date of the meeting at which the tax resolution was to be passed. The Commonwealth Court upheld the increase even though only one notice of the change in date had appeared in the newspaper.

The city argues that Taylor, supra, is inapposite to the instant case since the school district published three notices of the increase so that the Commonwealth Court’s decision did not turn on that issue. I note that the decision did not turn on the “three notice” issue, but quote one sentence which [262]*262catches my eye from the Taylor decision, and, which expresses that appellate court’s opinion that three notices are required at 2 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 512: “On June 15, 1970, a news item appeared on the front page of the same newspaper in which the required three notices had appeared, stating that the Board meeting scheduled for June 18, 1970 would be held not on that date but rather on June 25, 1970.” (Emphasis supplied.)

In conslusion, the court finds that the city was required to advertise Official Ordinance no. 7 three times pursuant to 53 P.S. §6904.

The next issue to resolve is the effect of the city’s failure to comply with section 6904 and the propriety of this suit to assert the city’s non-compliance.

As stated, this question relates to the effect on the ordinance of the city’s failure to comply with section 6904. The answer seems to be so well-established that the city has not even addressed this issue in its brief.

First, it must be noted that taxing resolutions are subject to a strict construction and depend, for their validity, upon strict compliance with the Tax Enabling Satute. See, Glendale Heights Ownership Assoc. v. Glenolden Borough School District, 393 Pa. 485, 143 A. 2d 386 (1958).

Plaintiffs cite as authority the Superior Court decision in Newville Borough v. DeWalt, 173 Pa. Superior Ct. 254, 98 A. 2d 402 (1973).

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Glendale Heights Ownership Ass'n v. Glenolden Borough School District
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Kurren Appeal
208 A.2d 853 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1965)
Newville Borough v. Dewalt
98 A.2d 402 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1953)
Lynch v. Owen J. Roberts School District
244 A.2d 1 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1968)
Taylor v. Coatesville Area School District
279 A.2d 90 (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, 1971)

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Bluebook (online)
21 Pa. D. & C.3d 257, 1981 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 245, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kerr-v-city-of-erie-pactcomplerie-1981.