People ex rel. Korzen v. Franklin

305 N.E.2d 384, 15 Ill. App. 3d 888, 1973 Ill. App. LEXIS 1757
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedNovember 9, 1973
DocketNo. 57855
StatusPublished

This text of 305 N.E.2d 384 (People ex rel. Korzen v. Franklin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People ex rel. Korzen v. Franklin, 305 N.E.2d 384, 15 Ill. App. 3d 888, 1973 Ill. App. LEXIS 1757 (Ill. Ct. App. 1973).

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE SULLIVAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

Objections were filed in the trial court to the application of relator for judgment and order of sale again real estate for nonpayment of 1969 taxes. This appeal is from the judgment overruling one of those objections which objection, as amended, reads as follows:

“OBJECTION TO EDUCATIONAL FUND TAXES PRODUCED BY APPROPRIATION FOR INTEREST ON 1968 TAX ANTICIPATION WARRANTS
The Board of Education appropriated $3,447,296 in 1968 from the educational fund for interest on tax anticipation warrants to be issued in 1968. (Annual Budget, 1968, page 1184; Supplemental Budget, Budget Index 1 — 630—92). This appropriation entered into the 1968 tax levy and produced 1968 educational fund taxes in an equivalent amount. Since the 1968 tax anticipation warrants did not become due and payable until 1969, no amount was spent for interest on these warrants during 1968.
The board set up the unpaid interest on the 1968 tax anticipation warrants as a liability existing at the beginning of 1969 and appropriated $3,300,000 in 1969 to pay this liability. (See 1969 Annual Budget, pages 1073 and 1094). This appropriation entered into the 1969 levy and produced 1969 educational fund taxes in an equivalent amount which are illegal and void and are hereby objected to as being contrary to the applicable statutes, decisions of the Illinois Supreme Court, and Section 9 of Article IX of tire 1870 Illinois constitution because the Soar'd of Education has caused to be levied twice — in 1968 and 1969 — the amount necessary to pay the interest on the 1968 tax anticipation warrants.”

In overruling this objection, the trial court held that the appropriation for interest on 1968 educational fund tax anticipation warrants was properly set forth as a 1969 appropriation, but was not included, or reflected, in the 1969 levy for educational purposes of the Board of Education (Board).

OPINION

The sole question presented on appeal concerns whether the 1968 tax warrant interest included in the 1968 levy also entered into the 1969 levy and was therefore an improper duplicate levy.

In order to finance budgeted appropriations for 1968, the Board sold $75,000,000 of warrants in anticipation of the collection of its 1968 educational fund levy. The Board’s annual and supplemental budgets for 1968 included appropriations totalling $3,447,296 for interest that it estimated would accrue on the 1968 tax anticipation warrants, which were payable, as to principal and interest, solely from the proceeds of the 1968 educational levy. The 1968 warrants were unpaid as of January 1, 1969, and on that date the educational fund balance sheet showed an estimated current liability of $3,300,000 for interest accrued and to accrue on the 1968 warrants. The 1968 levy went into collection of June 1, 1969, and by June 25, 1969, $78,704,258.51 of the 1968 educational fund taxes had been collected and distributed to the Board of Education. Of that amount, $75,000,000 was used to pay the principal of the 1968 warrants and $3,704,258.51 was used to pay the interest thereon.

Objector alleges that the 1969 appropriation for 1968 tax warrant interest (already included in the 1968 levy) entered into the 1969 levy which resulted in double taxation. Initially, in support of this contention, objector set forth a condensed version of the Board’s January 1, 1969 balance sheet showing estimated assets, liabilities and surplus of the educational fund, as follows:

" "A"
Current Assets
Cash $ 1,526,471
Taxes Receivable [principally 1968 tax levy] 209,985,703
Other Assets 32,514,533
$244,026,707
Current Liabilities and Accounts Payable
Tax Anticipation Warrants Outstanding $ 75,000,000
Interest Accrued and to Accrue on Tax Anticipation Warrants Outstanding 3,300,000
Other Liabilities and Accounts Payable 165,639,706
Surplus 87,001
$244,026,707”
Tire warrants and interest accrued and to accrue, referred to in the balance sheet, were included in the 1968 levy and the taxes receivable are those to be collected in 1969 from the 1968 levy. (Subsequently collected, distributed to the Board and paid out in June, 1969.)
Objector also reproduced a summary statement of resources, liabilities, expenditures, and charges in the Board’s 1969 budget, as follows:
“ “B”
ESTIMATED RESOURCES:
Estimated Current Assets Available for Appropriation $244,026,707
Estimated Current Revenue [Includes both non-tax revenue and 1969 tax levy] 355,893,911
$599,920,618
LIABILITIES, EXPENDITURES AND CHARGES:
For unpaid Liabilities of Prior Years $243,939,706
For all other Expenditures and Charges to be made or incurred dining 1969 355,980,912
$599,920,618”
Included in the $244,026,707 (estimated current assets available for appropriation) is the $78,300,000 appropriation for the principal and the estimated interest on the 1968 tax warrants of which $3,300,000 was for interest.
Objector points out that the 1969 educational fund levy was computed by subtracting current assets and nontax revenues from the total amount appropriated, as follows:
“C”
Liabilities January 1, 1969 Interest on 1968 tax warrants $ 3,300,000
Other liabilities (including $75,000,000 principal of 1968 tax warrants) 240,639,706
$243,939,706
Current expenses to be incurred in 1969 355,980,912
Total appropriations for 1969 $599,920,618
Current assets January 1, 1969 (“A” above) $244,026,707
Non-tax revenue to be received during the year 146,556,720
Total resources exclusive of 1969 tax levy 390,583,427
Total amount necessary to be raised by the 1969 tax levy $209,337,191”

Objector contends it is obvious from the foregoing computation that the $3,300,000 for 1968 tax warrant interest was included in the 1969 appropriation and thus entered and increased the 1969 tax levy by that amount.

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305 N.E.2d 384, 15 Ill. App. 3d 888, 1973 Ill. App. LEXIS 1757, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-ex-rel-korzen-v-franklin-illappct-1973.