Stolorow v. City of Pontiac

63 N.W.2d 611, 339 Mich. 199, 1954 Mich. LEXIS 428
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedApril 5, 1954
DocketDocket 54, Calendar 46,044
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 63 N.W.2d 611 (Stolorow v. City of Pontiac) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stolorow v. City of Pontiac, 63 N.W.2d 611, 339 Mich. 199, 1954 Mich. LEXIS 428 (Mich. 1954).

Opinion

Kelly, J.

Appellants sought an injunction preventing the city of Pontiac from appropriating and expending $157,890 for the acquisition and development of city owned and operated parking lots.

Defendant city of Pontiac in its cross bill-requested that the court decree:

1. That said appropriation ordinance was not subject to referendum; and

2. That the Pontiac city commission was not required to enact ah ordinance prohibiting all city officials from expending any public funds for the acquisition or development of city owned parking lots, or, in lieu of such action, submitting said proposal to a vote of the electorate for approval or rejection.

Defendants’ request was granted. Plaintiffs have appealed.

*202 Chapter 7, § 4 of the Pontiac city charter provides:

“No ordinance, except an emergency ordinance, shall take effect before 10 days after its final passage. If, within said 10 days, 100 electors of the city shall file a notice in writing with the clerk, of their intention to circulate a petition for submitting said ordinance to the electors for their adoption or rejection as herein provided, then said ordinance shall not become effective until 30 days after its final passage by the commission; provided that if petitions containing the requisite number of signatures required herein are not filed in accordance with such written notice within the said 30 days, then said ordinance shall become effective after the expiration of said 30-day period. If within said 30 days, a petition signed by qualified electors of the city equal in number to at least 10 per centum of all the electors voting at the last preceding general municipal election, be presented to the commission, protesting against such ordinance taking effect, the same shall thereupon and thereby be suspended from taking effect; the commission shall immediately reconsider such ordinance, and if the same be not entirely repealed, the commission shall submit it, by the method provided in this charter, to a vote of the qualified electors of the city, either at the next general municipal election or at a special election, which may in their discretion be called by them for that purpose, and such ordinance shall not take effect unless a majority of the qualified electors voting on the same at such election, shall vote in favor thereof; provided however,, that the foregoing provisions shall not apply:

“(a) To ordinances required by the general laws of the State or by the provisions of this charter.

“(b) To emergency ordinances; provided no grant of any franchise shall be construed to be an emergency ordinance.”

Question 1: Was appropriation ordinance 1202,. enacted January 27, 1953, and amended 'by ordinance 1215 on June 2, 1953, an ordinance required *203 by the general laws of the State or by provision of the city charter?

The home rule act, PA 1909, No 279, as amended (CL 1948, § 117.1 et seq. [Stat Ann § 5.2071 et seq.~\) requires each city charter shall provide for an annual appropriation of money for municipal purposes. Chapter 9, § 8, of the city charter provides:

“Not later than 1 month after the beginning of the fiscal year, the commission shall pass an annual appropriation ordinance. * * * At any meeting after the passage of the appropriation ordinance and after at least 1 week’s notice in a newspaper printed and circulating in. the city, the commission, by a vote of 5 members, may amend such ordinance, so as to authorize the transfer of unused balances appropriated for one purpose to another purpose, or to appropriate available revenues not included in the annual budget.”

Appellants admit that if the Pontiac city commission had made the appropriation for parking lot purposes in the appropriation ordinance passed in January, 1953, that said appropriation would not be “subject to referendum because it is an ordinance required by law.” They contend, however, that this exemption from referendum which applies to appropriation ordinances does not apply to a subsequent amendment to such ordinance, and base their conclusion on the fact that section 8 of the charter uses the word “shall” in regard to the passage of an appropriation ordinance, but only uses the word “may” in conferring the power to amend the original appropriation ordinance.

Appellants contend that “to be an ordinance required by law, within the meaning of the charter, the city must be under an unequivocal obligation to ■enact the ordinance.” Appellants cite People v. Illinois Central R. R. Co., 396 Ill 200 (71 NE2d 39), and Hall v. City of Kenawee, 379 Ill 176 (39 NE2d *204 1009). In the latter case, the court, in dealing with the question as to whether an ordinance was exempt from referendum because “required by law” stated (p 180): “There is no mandatory language requiring the city to pass any such acts except at its own discretion.” Appellants, therefore, conclude that the commission of the city of Pontiac exercised a discretionary power in amending the original appropriation ordinance and their action was subject to referendum.

We cannot follow this distinction of appellants between referendum rights applicable to the appropriation ordinance as originally passed and the same ordinance after being ainended.

The charter requirement of' “at least one week’s notice in a newspaper” before a meeting to consider an amendment, and the provision that such amendment be approved by at least 5 members of the commission, were complied with.

The charter clearly expressed the mandate of the people that an appropriation ordinance be passed in the month of January, the first month of the fiscal year. Just as clearly the people in said charter placed the right, yes duty, to amend the ordinance passed in January if subsequent events or change of judgment caused at least 5 of the commissioners to conclude that their judgment as expressed in the original appropriation should be changed.

Said right to amend was granted as fully by the word “may” as the duty to appropriate was established by the word “shall.” We agree with the trial court’s statement that: “The amended ordinance is> an ordinance required by law and the charter in the same sense as the original ordinance and, as such, is not subject to the provisions of the charter covering ■the subject of initiative and referendum.”

Question 2: Did the court err in determining that the petition for the adoption of the proposed ordi *205 nance ' prohibiting defendant city and its' officials from using public funds for the acquisition and development of parking facilities was void and of no legal effect?

The proposed ordinance provided in section 2 thereof as follows:

“No city official, employee, officer or agent shall expend, disburse or 'commit any public funds, revenues or income of the city of Pontiac, regardless of the source from which received, for the acquisition, development, maintenance or operation of facilities or areas for the off-street parking of automobiles or vehicles, other than those owned by the city.”

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Bluebook (online)
63 N.W.2d 611, 339 Mich. 199, 1954 Mich. LEXIS 428, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stolorow-v-city-of-pontiac-mich-1954.