| Show THE STREET sprinkling TAX we have been requested to reply 4 to the following SALT LAKE CITY may 22 1890 it I 1 am in receipt of a notice from from E Z B R clute collector stating my special tax for street sprinkling which amounts to over 28 and I 1 am further informed that unless I 1 pay it ou on or before june 19 it will be collected with costs as provided by law has the city council a right to collect such a tax as lais from property owners without their consent 0 C there has been considerable doubt as to the validity of the city ordinance which authorizes the assess ment of a special tax of eight cents per foot frontage for sprinkling the streets the rule of law is that a municipal government may not levy a special tax for any purpose without specific authority to do bo embraced in its charter or granted by the superior legislative power statutes purporting to give or which are claimed to condei authie author ity to levy a special tax will be strictly construed and the presumption will be against the claim of power unless the intention to give it to is reasonably clear the mention of the purposes poses for which special taxes may be assessed has the effect under another rule of law to ext elude clude all purposes not mentioned subdivision Bub division 12 section 1 article IV of the general municipal I 1 liw jw reads as follows twelfth to provide for the lighting sprinkling and cleaning of the same the streets the city council Is ia here given power to provide for the sprinkling of the streets but for several reasons it would be absurd to hold bold that this clause confers authority to levy a special tax for the purpose this is the only clause in any territorial law which specifically mentions sprinkling of the streets as a work which a city council in may ay provide for having done there are other clauses however which in language more or less general renter confer power to keep the streets in order free from obstructions etc but it will not be claimed that a special tax for street sprinkling could be levied under any of them there is not then in any territorial law now in force and applicable to this city any provision which directly or explicitly confers upon our city council the power to levy a special tax to defray the expense of sprinkling the streets hence under the rule of law chatin the absence of specific grant of it the power cannot lawfully be exercised we are of opinion that the street sprinkling ordinance is invalid in so far as it provides for a special tax A number of purposes for which special taxes may be levied are expressly p set seaforth forth in the city charter and amendments thereto among them being sewers pavements grading extensions etc but in this category street ling is not mentioned hence under the rule that specific mention excludes the thing not mentioned there is additional reason for holding the sprinkling tax unlawful |
