Seaboard Air-Line Railway Co. v. Wright

128 S.E. 234, 34 Ga. App. 88, 1925 Ga. App. LEXIS 48
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedMay 19, 1925
Docket15922
StatusPublished

This text of 128 S.E. 234 (Seaboard Air-Line Railway Co. v. Wright) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Seaboard Air-Line Railway Co. v. Wright, 128 S.E. 234, 34 Ga. App. 88, 1925 Ga. App. LEXIS 48 (Ga. Ct. App. 1925).

Opinion

Jenkins, P. J.

1. “County authorities may legally levy a tax not exceeding 100 per cent, of the State tax, to pay accumulated debts and current expenses of the county, without reference to a recommendation of the grand jury. Civil Code (1910), § 507.” Wright v. So. Ry. Co., 146 Ga. 581 (5) (91 S. E. 681); Sheffield v. Chancy, 138 Ga. 677 (75 S. E. 1112); Blalock v. Adams, 154 Ga. 326 (114 S. E. 345); So. Ry. Co. v. Wright, 154 Ga. 334 (114 S. E. 359). The proper county authorities “can levy 100 per cent, of the State tax to pay current expenses” alone, but a levy for both such “current expenses” and “accumulated debts,” by virtue of section 507, must not exceed 100 per cent, of the State tax, fixed at a maximum of 5 mills. Civil Code, § 6552. The tax authorized by section • 507, however, is an extra or special tax, and is in addition to the tax which the county can levy, under the recommendation of the grand jury, for “county purposes,” under section 508 of the Civil Code, limited to 50 per cent, of the State tax. Cen. of Ga. Ry Co. v. Wright, 156 Ga. 13 (1, 2), 15 (118 S. E. 709); Wright v. So. Ry. Co., supra (6); [90]*90Southwestern R. Co. v. Wright, 156 Ga. 1 (2, 3) (118 S. E. 552); So. Ry. Co. v. Wright, 154 Ga. 334 (114 S. E. 359).

Thus, the county can levy up to 100 per cent, of the State tax for “current expenses” and accumulated debts, or for. current expenses alone, and, with the recommendation of the grand jury, can add thereto up to 50 per cent, of the State tax for “county purposes.” But the total levy for such combined-purposes must not exceed 150 per cent, of the State tax.

2. “The expression 'current expenses/ as used in section 507 of the Civil Code, and the expression 'county purposes’ in section 508, are not the same in meaning and effect. Current expenses all fall under the head of county purposes,, within the meaning of the latter expression as used in section 508; but there .-are certain county purposes for which a tax may be levied ..by the county authorities that are not current expenses. . . It may be said generally that 'current expenses’ include the ordinary exr penses of the county arising during the year for which the tax is levied, and 'county purposes’ include all purposes for which county taxation may be levied; that is, the ordinary expenses - of' the county and the unusual and extraordinary expenses as well.” “All of the items included in section 513 of the CNil Code are included within the term 'county purposes.’ ” “Items 3, 4, 5, .6, and 7 of section 513 of the Civil Code fall under the head of 'current expenses.’ . . Items 8 and 9 of section 513 may or may not fall under the head of 'current expenses.’” Seaboard Air-Line Ry. Co. v. Wright, 157 Ga. 722 (1, 2, 3), 725 (122 S. E. 36).

(а) ‘The court expenses and officers’ fees, referred to in items 3 and 4 of section 513, if lawfully incurred, come under the head of “county purposes,” and are also “current expenses” when “a part of the usual, ordinary annual expense of the county.” Seaboard Air-Line Ry. Co. v. Wright, supra.

(б) “Charges for educational purposes,” referred to in item 8 of section 513, “become a current expense where the county adopts or has adopted a system of schools, provided'for in the laws .of this State upon that subject, and where the necessary funds for maintaining the system are to be annually • and -regularly raised by county-wide taxation.” Seaboard Air-Line Ry. Co. v. Wright, supra.

(c) “Item 9 of section 513, that is, to pay 'any other lawful [91]*91charge against the county/ may or may not fall under the head of 'current expenses/ accordingly as the county purpose for which the tax there specified and levied is a regular, ordinary expense or not.” Seaboard v. Wright, supra.

(d) “The levy of a tax for tick eradication is one for a county purpose, and the sum of this tax and other items of county taxation must not exceed 50 per cent, of the State taxation, except as otherwise provided by law.” Carter v. Shingler Realty Co., 157 Ga. 118 (2) (120 S. E. 784); McMillan v. Tucker, 154 Ga. 154 (9) (113 S. E. 391).

(e) “The ordinaries of the several counties have the power to levy an extra- tax sufficient to carry into effect sections 399 and, 400 [of the Civil Code], without a recommendation by the grand jury, whenever the necessities arise.” Civil Code (1910), § 504. The sections thus referred to provide for the erection, keeping in order, and repair of the “county buildings,”- court-houses, and jails, and the furnishing of. each with -necessary furniture and a safe or. safes. Thus, although.it is the, general rule that “the items im eluded in section 513 of the Civil Code are included within the term 'county purposes (Seaboard Air-Line Ry. Co. v. Wright, supra), and although .section 513, .enumerating certain “county purposes” for which county taxes shall be assessed, includes in-its. second item, as one -of such purposes, “to build or repair courthouses .or jails, bridges or ferries,- or other public improvements, according to the contract,” taxes for such special purposes have been -held not to come within the purview of section .508, allowing a levy of 50 per cent.-of the.State tax- for “county purposes” when two thirds of the grand jury so recommend, do not require the recommendation of a grand jury, and are.not to be estimated “in determining whether the tax levy exceeded 50 per cent, of the State tax.” Gaines v. Dyer, 128 Ga. 586 (6 (c)), 593, 594 (58 S. E. 175); Sullivan v. Yow, 125 Ga. 326, 327, 328 (54 S. E. 173).

(†). Code section 696 as.amended (Ga. L. 1911, p. 56) provides that the commissioners of roads, or the ordinary, shall levy a tax additional to any now authorized by law, of not more than four-tenths of one per cent, on all the taxable property of the county, 4 mills, as a fund for the working, improving, and repairing of its public .roads. This levy has been held to be not “dependent upon the action of the grand jury, and therefore the amount [92]*92levied for this purpose is not to be considered in determining whether the tax levied for ordinary county purposes has exceeded 50 per cent, of the State tax.” Sullivan v. Yow, supra.

3. Under the foregoing rules, the items included in the levy made by the county commissioners, which were “current expenses” within the meaning of section 507, authorizing a levy of 100 per cent, of the State tax of 5 mills, are as follows:

Item 3. Sheriff’s, jailor’s, or other officers’ fees due for care of the jail (Item 3, § 513) ................. J4 mill

Item 4. Expenses for bailiffs at court, nonresident witness fees in criminal cases,’ fuel, servant hire, stationery, salary of officers due by the county (Item 5, § 513), which the agreed statement of facts recites were “.regular annual expenses,”............................l~y2 mills

Item 7. For educational purposes, which it was agreed were part of a regular annual practice of raising funds for the school system provided under State laws .............................................3 mills

Total, 4-24 mills

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Related

Sullivan v. Yow
54 S.E. 173 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1906)
Gaines v. Dyer
58 S.E. 175 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1907)
Sheffield v. Chancy
75 S.E. 1112 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1912)
Wright v. Southern Railway Co.
91 S.E. 681 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1917)
McMillan v. Tucker
113 S.E. 391 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1922)
Blalock v. Adams
114 S.E. 345 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1922)
Southern Railway Co. v. Wright
114 S.E. 359 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1922)
Southwestern Railroad v. Wright
118 S.E. 552 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1923)
Central of Georgia Railway Co. v. Wright
118 S.E. 709 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1923)
Carter v. Shingler Realty Co.
120 S.E. 784 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1923)
Seaboard Air-Line Ry. Co. v. Wright
122 S.E. 35 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 1924)
Seaboard Air-Line Railway Co. v. Wright
122 S.E. 900 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1924)

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Bluebook (online)
128 S.E. 234, 34 Ga. App. 88, 1925 Ga. App. LEXIS 48, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/seaboard-air-line-railway-co-v-wright-gactapp-1925.