Worth v. City of Rogers

14 S.W.3d 471, 341 Ark. 12, 2000 Ark. LEXIS 178
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedApril 13, 2000
Docket99-89
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 14 S.W.3d 471 (Worth v. City of Rogers) 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
Worth v. City of Rogers, 14 S.W.3d 471, 341 Ark. 12, 2000 Ark. LEXIS 178 (Ark. 2000).

Opinions

DONALD L. Corbin, Justice.

This is an illegal-exaction suit. stJ. ice. E. Worth, and other Appellants, are residents and owners of real property in Benton County, Arkansas. They filed suit on behalf of themselves and other Benton County property owners against the City of Rogers; Dr. Randall A. Spear, Superintendent of the Siloam Springs School District; Mary L. Slinkard, Benton County Clerk; David Green, Benton County Collector; and members of the Bentonville, Rogers, and Siloam Springs school boards, alleging that ad valorem property taxes were collected in violation of Amendment 59 of the Arkansas Constitution. This appeal involves issues of statutory and constitutional interpretation; hence, our jurisdiction is pursuant to Ark. Sup. Ct. R. l-2(a)(l) and (b)(6). We reverse the trial court’s grant of summary judgment and remand this matter for trial.

History and Background

There are various constitutional and statutory provisions implicated in this appeal. In order to fully understand the arguments presented by the parties, it is helpful to first review a brief history of these provisions. In 1979, this court ordered that a statewide reassessment plan was to take effect by January 1, 1981, in order to ensure that property was taxed according to its value and that this value was uniform throughout the state. See Arkansas Pub. Serv. Comm’n v. Pulaski County Bd. of Equalization, 266 Ark. 64, 582 S.W.2d 942 (1979). In order to prevent a sudden and dramatic increase in tax bills as a result of this decision, Amendment 59 was added to the Arkansas Constitution. Amendment 59 provides that whenever a countywide reassessment results in an increase of the aggregate value of taxable real and personal property of ten percent or more over the previous year, each taxing unit must adjust or roll back taxes. The amendment goes on to state that the General Assembly shall establish the procedures to be followed by a county in making a countywide reappraisal. The General Assembly did establish such procedures in Ark. Code Ann. § 26-26-401 (Repl. 1997). That section provides:

The provisions of this subchapter relative to the adjustment or rollback of millage levied for ad valorem tax purposes shall be applicable only where there is a countywide or statewide reappraisal of property:
(1) Pursuant to court order; or
(2) Pursuant to directive of law enacted by the General Assembly; or
(3) When the reappraisal is initiated by the assessor, the county equalization board, by directive of the quorum court or upon request of one (1) or more taxing units of a county, and is determined and certified by the Assessment Coordination Division of the Arkansas Public Service Commission as constituting a comprehensive countywide reappraisal; or
(4) When ordered by or implemented by a county pursuant to a directive of the division or its successor agency.

Act 758 of 1995 was enacted and codified at Ark. Code Ann. § 26-26-305 (Repl. 1997) and required assessors to reappraise all property at least once every five years, while purporting to exempt such mandated countywide reappraisals from Amendment 59. Act 836 of 1997, codified at Ark. Code Ann. § 26-26-306 (Repl. 1997), repealed Act 758 and found, in its emergency clause, that Act 758 had placed an unfair burden on the taxpayers of Arkansas by directing county wide reappraisals of property in a manner which circumvented the rollback provisions of Amendment 59. Act 836 instituted provisions to remedy the unfair tax burden placed on tax payers as a result of Act 758. The present appeal stems from the interpretation and application of these laws.

The record reflects that in early 1990, Shirley Sandlin, the Benton County Assessor, began a reappraisal of the real estate in Benton County. This reappraisal included all of the taxing units within the county. Ms. Sandlin testified that she began the reappraisal in order to comply with the statutory duty that county assessors keep appraisal and assessment data and records current by maintaining the proper ratio of real property values to the market value. See Ark. Code Ann. § 26-26-302 (Repl. 1997). Ms. Sandlin wanted to ensure that the assessed value of the real and personal property in the county remained within eighteen to twenty percent of the true market value. At the time of this reappraisal, however, there was no procedure in place to separate newly discovered property for purposes of determining proper millage rates. The reappraisal was a cyclical review that took five years to complete. Upon completion, however, the entire county had been reappraised. This assessment was never certified by the Assessment Coordination Department (ACD), thus the provisions of Amendment 59 were never triggered and no rollbacks took place. Ms. Sandlin testified, however, that the reappraisal was not certified because she never sought such certification from the ACD. Furthermore, Appellants submitted affidavits stating that there was no formal certification process established through the ACD; rather, it was the duty of county officials to request such certification. Ms. Sandlin also testified that prior to undertaking the reappraisal in 1990 she discussed with Larry Crane, then director of the ACD, that a cyclical review would not trigger the provisions of Amendment 59.

Act 758 was passed by the General Assembly after completion of this reappraisal and triggered another reappraisal beginning in 1996. This reappraisal ended on October 23, 1997, and was ultimately certified by the ACD as a countywide reassessment, subject to the provisions of Amendment 59. The record indicates that pursuant to section 26-26-306, Benton County began, and completed the rollback resulting from the 1996-97 reappraisal. A rollback of property values was subsequently implemented for the reappraisal that occurred in 1997. The increases resulting from the 1996 portion of the reappraisal, however, were never included in the calculations used to determine the proper rollback, even though Ms. Sandlin acknowledged that she did not complete any one taxing unit in 1996.

Appellants filed suit in the circuit court of Benton County on April 25, 1997, challenging the property-tax collections made by the school districts and the City of Rogers as premature and occurring prior to the completion of the cyclical reappraisal. Appellants further alleged a failure to rollback the millage rates for the tax years 1995 and 1996. Appellants also filed suit in Benton County Court on May 2, 1997, challenging the county’s failure to calculate the rollback following the countywide reappraisals. The two actions were subsequently consolidated into the present matter.

Appellees filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Ark. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), alleging that Appellants faded to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Specifically, Appellees argued that Appellants failed to allege in any of their pleadings that the 1990-95 reappraisal was conducted pursuant to one of the four factors set out in section 26-26-401 and thus, were not entitled to any relief. Appellees further argued that Appellants were not entitled to any refund of taxes paid because they failed to allege that any taxes were paid under protest.

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Bluebook (online)
14 S.W.3d 471, 341 Ark. 12, 2000 Ark. LEXIS 178, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/worth-v-city-of-rogers-ark-2000.