Maas v. City of Mountain Home

992 S.W.2d 105, 338 Ark. 202, 1999 Ark. LEXIS 330
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJune 17, 1999
Docket98-1337
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 992 S.W.2d 105 (Maas v. City of Mountain Home) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Maas v. City of Mountain Home, 992 S.W.2d 105, 338 Ark. 202, 1999 Ark. LEXIS 330 (Ark. 1999).

Opinion

Lavenski R. Smith, Justice.

This is an illegal-exaction case. Appellants, Citizens of Mountain Home, Arkansas, contend Mountain Home (“The City”), appellees herein, violated Article 16, Section 11, of the Arkansas Constitution by using sales-tax proceeds contrary to exclusive uses contained in City Ordinance No. 646. We agree and reverse.

On April 9, 1981, the City passed Ordinance No. 646, which levied a one-cent sales tax. The following month, the City conducted a special election wherein the voters could approve or reject the proposed tax. Prior to the election, on April 23, 1981, the City published the full text of Ordinance 646 in the Baxter Bulletin, the newspaper of record for Baxter County. The ordinance contained the following title:

Ordinance 646
An ordinance levying a local sales (gross receipts) tax; calling of a special election on the question of levying such tax; designating a ballot title for use at such election; specifying the use of proceeds of such tax, providing for rebate; and for other purposes.

In addition to its prefatory clauses, the ordinance contained twelve numbered sections detailing its provisions. Sections two, five, and seven are the focus of this appeal. They provided as follows:

Section 2. Tax Imposed — Rate
There is hereby levied a local sales (gross receipts) and use tax at the rate of one (1%) percent of the receipt from the sale at retail within the City of all items which are subject to taxation under the Arkansas Gross Receipts Tax Act of 1941, Act 386 of the 1941 Acts of Arkansas, as said Act has been heretofore or may be hereinafter amended, and under the Arkansas Compensating Tax Act of 1949, Act 487 of the 1949 Acts of Arkansas, as said Act has been heretofore amended, and by Act 990 of 1975 as amended by Act 133 of 1981.
Section 5. Ballot Presentation and Ballot Form
The ballot presentation and title shall be in the following form:
“Shall there be levied a local sales (gross receipts) and use tax at the rate of one percent (1%) on the receipt from the sale at retail within the corporate limits of the City of Mountain Home of all items which are subject to taxation under the Arkansas Sales Tax Act; (Arkansas Gross Receipts Tax Act of 1941, Act 386 of the 1941 Acts of Arkansas), as said Act has been heretofore or may be hereinafter amended, and under the Arkansas Use Tax Act (Arkansas Compensating Tax Act of 1949, Act 487 of the 1949 Acts of Arkansas), and pursuant to Act 990 of 1975 as amended by Act 133 of 1981, as said Acts have been heretofore or may be hereinafter amended?”
“For adoption of a one percent (1%) local sales and use tax within the City. . . ( )”
“Against adoption of a one percent (1%) local sales and use tax within the City . . . . ( )”
Section 7. Designation of Receipts
Revenues received from the collection of such tax in the 1981 calendar year shall be used exclusively for streets.
Revenues received from the collection of such tax after January 1, 1982, shall be distributed as follows:
(I) 47.00% not to exceed THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS per annum shah be deposited in a special fund to be used exclusively for water and sewer improvements; and
(II) 8.00% not to exceed SIXTY THOUSAND DOLLARS per annum shall be deposited in a special fund to be used exclusively for payment upon bonds to be issued for a new swimming pool; and
(III) 45.00% or the balance shall be deposited in a special fund to be used exclusively for streets and drainage.

The voters approved the tax on May 5, 1981. Following the election, the city council spent the tax proceeds in accordance with Section 7 in succeeding years until 1987. Beginning that year and each subsequent year, the council voted to amend section 7 of the ordinance and use the proceeds for purposes other than originally designated.

Appellants filed suit on January 10, 1996, contending the City had misapplied public funds in violation of Art. 16, § 13, of the Arkansas Constitution. The City answered on January 26, 1996, denying that any illegal exaction occurred. Following discovery, class certification, and various amended pleadings, the parties filed stipulations of fact on July 8, 1998. They mutually submitted the matter to the court for summary judgment on the issue of liability. The trial court granted appellee’s summary-judgment motion on August 3, 1998. In its order, the court found that the ballot title in the 1981 election contained no specified uses for funds collected by the tax. Thus, upon voter approval, the measure created a general sales and use tax which could be used for general purposes. The City’s subsequent use of revenue for purposes other than as specified in Section 7 were deemed permissible resulting in no illegal exaction.

Standard of Review

The trial court used summary judgment to resolve this case in that the parties filed with the court stipulated facts thereby leaving no issues of fact for trial. Motions for summary judgment are governed by Ark. R. Civ. P. 56, which provides that a party may move with or without supporting affidavits for a summary judgment upon all or any part of a claim. A summary judgment should be granted only when it is clear that there is no issue of fact to be litigated. Ragar v. Brown, 332 Ark. 214, 964 S.W.2d 372 (1998); Dillard v. Resolution Trust Corp., 308 Ark. 357, 824 S.W.2d 387 (1992). There are no facts in dispute.

Illegal Exaction

The gravaman of appellant’s appeal is his contention that the City’s shifting of tax revenue to uses other than those specified in Section 7 of its levying ordinance constitutes an illegal exaction in violation of Article 16, § 11, of the Arkansas Constitution. Article 16, § 11, provides:

No tax shall be levied except in pursuance of law, and every law imposing a tax shall state distinctly the object of the same; and no monies arising from a tax levied for one purpose shall be used for any other purpose.

In support of this contention, Maas relies upon Ark. Code Ann. §§ 26-75-307 — 26-75-309 (1975), which requires voter approval for the implementation of a local sales and use tax. Appellant also relies upon our recent holding in Daniel v. Jones, 332 Ark. 489, 966 S.W.2d 226 (1998).

In Daniel, we dealt with a very similar argument with'respect to a county’s obligation to apply sales-tax proceeds consistent with the purposes stated on the election ballot voters used to approve the tax.

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Bluebook (online)
992 S.W.2d 105, 338 Ark. 202, 1999 Ark. LEXIS 330, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maas-v-city-of-mountain-home-ark-1999.