Levinthal v. City of Covington

49 S.W.2d 574, 243 Ky. 614, 1932 Ky. LEXIS 177
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976)
DecidedApril 29, 1932
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 49 S.W.2d 574 (Levinthal v. City of Covington) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976) primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Levinthal v. City of Covington, 49 S.W.2d 574, 243 Ky. 614, 1932 Ky. LEXIS 177 (Ky. 1932).

Opinion

Opinion op the Court by

Judge Perry

Affirming.

This appeal is prosecuted, seeking to reverse a judgment of the Kenton circuit court in holding that the pro *615 ceeds of a bond issue, approved by the people under an election had under an ordinance providing for the construction and reconstruction of Bobbins street from Madison avenue to Pike street, Covington, Kv., did not include the right to purchase property found necessary for the extension and construction of Bobbins street from Lee to Pike street, as by the ordinance directed.

The one and only issue in this case is whether or not a certain piece of property described as located in the city of Covington at the corner formed by the intersection of Lee and Pike streets can be purchased with money received from a previous bond sale had under an ordinance designating the construction and reconstruction of certain streets in that city and wherein was designated for such improvement Bobbins street from Madison avenue to Pike street.

In September, 1928, the board of commissioners of the city of Covington, a city of the second class, did, pursuant to the provision of its charter, or under section 3069 of the Kentucky Statutes, enact Ordinance No. 2156, authorizing the issuance and sale of $300,000 of the city’s bonds to pay for the city’s part of constructing and reconstructing certain streets and thoroughfares in the city of Covington. Said bond ordinance designated certain streets to be improved by their construction and reconstruction as therein proposed and the construction of certain viaducts on certain designated streets and declared the payment of the city’s part of such public improvement work from said bond fund was the specific purpose for which said money was to be used, as required to be stated by said section 3069.

A larg’e part of said designated streets have been constructed and reconstructed as provided under said ordinance, though several of the streets designated for such improvement have not been.

Bobbins street has been constructed from Madison avenue to Lee street, but has not been constructed from Lee street to Pike street, for the reason that Bobbins street, designated for such construction or reconstruction work, extends from Madison avenue only over it to its point of intersection with Lee street and does not extend from Lee street further over to Pike street. To make such construction and extension of Bobbins street over to Pike street, it is admitted it will be necessary to purchase the intervening property lying between said streets, the *616 same being described in plaintiffs’ petition as being the southwest corner of Pike and Lee streets.

The estimated cost of the city’s part of the expense of constructing such of the said designated streets, which have not been improved, was admitted upon the trial in the case below to be $53,500. Also, it appears by the record that of the said ordinance bond fund of $300,000, there remains some $60,000 thereof with which to construct and reconstruct these remaining unimproved streets.

The city commissioners were petitioned to extend Robbins street from Lee street to Pike street by purchasing the property involved in this action for the sum of $23,900, found necessary if Robbins street was to be so extended from Lee to Pike street. Other citizens and taxpayers wanted this balance of some $60,000 of said bond fund expended in improvement of the streets mentioned in the bond ordinance which have not been improved.

In response to the call for the extension of Robbins street as stated, the city commissioners on Decmber 24, 1931, passed Ordinance No. 2645 proposing to purchase the plaintiffs’ said property at the agreed price of $23,-900 and provided that said money therefor should be paid out of said bond fund.

■ It is, however, in appellee’s brief stated that it was understood the money required for such purchase was not to be appropriated out of the bond issue until the courts determined the right of the city to appropriate it for such purpose.

The city refused to appropriate the money, and this suit was filed in the Kenton circuit court under the Declaratory Judgment Act for the purpose of having the rights of the parties determined. Upon final submission, it was adjudged by the court that the city did not have the right to make the appropriation by reason of the fact that the ordinance proposing- to purchase the property provides that said money is to be paid out of the bond fund mentioned in said ordinance. The plaintiffs’ petition, seeking the construction of these ordinances therein set out, in which it was alleged they can only be held to mean and include the right of the city to purchase the property owned by these plaintiffs, was adjudged dismissed.

*617 To reverse this judgment, holding that the city did not give and include the right under these ordinances to purchase the property of the plaintiffs, this appeal is prosecuted.

Section 3069 of the city’s charter provides, in part:

“If, in any year, the general council shall deem it necessary to incur any indebtedness, the payment of which cannot be met without exceeding the income and revenue provided for the city for that particular year, it shall, by ordinance, order an election by the qualified electors of the city to be held, to determine whether such indebtedness shall be incurred. Such ordinance shall specify the amount of indebtedness proposed to be incurred, the purpose or purposes of the same, and the amount of money necessary to be raised annually by taxation for an interest and sinking fund, as herein provided. ’ ’

The board of commissioners, pursuant to the provisions of this law, enacted Commissioners’ Ordinance No. 2156, providing, as stated in its caption, “for submitting to the qualified voters of the city of Covington, the question of incurring an indebtedness of Three Hundred Thousand ($300,000.00) Dollars and issuing bonds of the 'City of Covington therefor, to provide a fund with which to pay for the city’s part or portion of the cost and expense of constructing and reconstructing certain streets, parts of streets, public ways, viaducts, underpasses, retaining walls and thoroughfares of the city of Covington,” and in its preamble further recited that “the condition of the streets hereinafter designated is such that the same should be constructed or reconstructed in manner now provided by the statutes and ordinances of the city of Covington,” and further provided “the city’s part or portion of the cost and expense of said construction or re-construction of said streets will approximate the sum of Three Hundred Thousand ($300,000.00) Dollars, which can not be met or paid out of the annual income or revenue of the city for the years 1928 or 1929,” and therefore it was necessary, in order to provide a fund to meet payment of the city’s part of the cost and expense for the immediate improvement of the streets and parts of streets as designated, that the city of Covington “incur an indebtedness of *618

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

Related

Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Texas Attorney General Reports, 1965
Bell v. Board of Education
343 S.W.2d 804 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1961)
Haines v. Board of County Commissioners
180 N.E.2d 23 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1960)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
49 S.W.2d 574, 243 Ky. 614, 1932 Ky. LEXIS 177, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/levinthal-v-city-of-covington-kyctapphigh-1932.