Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1883-03-29

'iia-tS VI eduiZct unucI Gil ~
Il. ?. 1873, are separate and distinct
municipal corporations, as much so as
the town from whose territory the viii
lage is formed. Sec, 92S X. S. 1873
provides that '.any city, village or town
may be annexed to another city, vii
lage or town contiguous, by ordinance
passed by a two-third vote of all the
aldermen, trustees or supervisors elect
OF each corporation desiring annexa-
ton, ratified by an election as herein
provided. Chapter rs Laws 1881.
which amends section 1856 of oh. 40.
provides among other things. that when
the police justice of the village is sick
or absent or ineapaeitated, any justice
OF the peace of the village or adjoining
torn in the county in which such vii
lage is situated, shall have jurisdiction
and may act instead of the village
police Justice. No distinction is made
in favor of the justice of the town out
OF whose territory the village was form
ed. That town is as clearly treated as
an adjoining town in the county which
may adjoin the village. Many other
provisions might be cited tending to
show That the organized village is an
independent municipal corporation,
and as such it has not. nor have it's
electors the right, to intermeddle with
the municipal affairs or elections of
the town from whose territory it was
taken. The only reason for claiming
the right to vote at the town meeting is
the fact that the town assessor is au-
thorized and required to assess the pro-
perty Of the village for taxation for
county and state purposes, and the
village taxes are to be appottioned TO
such assessment, and collected by the
town treasurer for the use of the village.
But the statute is careful to provide
that the property of the village shall be
assessed on one continuous part of the
roll. See see. 1885 Il. S. 1878, and as
the village is represented on the
county board by its supervisor, if any
injustice is done by the town assessor
in making such assessment, it may be
corrected there. This provision of law
requiring the town assessor to place
the village property assessed by him
together upon the assessment roll, was
first enacted as sec. 81 of ch. 1SS l.. 1872
an act entitled ''An act for the incor-
poration of villages" That act con-
tains nearly all all the provisions of oh.
40. and Oh. Al Il. S. 1878. SO far as the
last named chapter relates to villages,
and was undoubtedly enacted to ac-
comp,ish the same change in the vii
lage organization which was continued
by CHI. 40 II. s.
The change of language in defining
the qualifications of a village elector,
found IN sec. 81, of said CHI. 1873, from
the language used in sec. II, oh. 20 r
5. 1858, above quoted is a very strong
indication that the act of 1872 was intend
ed to separate the village from the town
for the purpose of elections. Sec. u,
CHI 1873, provides: That all persons
entitled to vote for county and state
officers, and who shall have an actual
residence in such village for ten days
next preceding the time of holding any
election therein. shall be entitled to vote
for any officer under this act. =
This provision as to the assessment OF
village property by the town assessor
and the collection of the taxes by the
town treasurer was undoubtedly in
tended to simplify the collection of the
village taxes and in some manner re-
lieve the village of the machinery of
collecting taxes. If the legislature
have made mistake in this matter,
and it is deemed an injustice to the
villages organized under the general
law, the remedy is to apply to the leg
islature for the proper relief. The tax
PAYERS of village have no inherent
RIGHT TO have the assessment of their
property made by an officer elected by
them nor to have their taxes collected
by such officer The fact that the law
provides that the property of the village
Shall be assessed by town assessor
and the taxes be collected by town
treasurer, does not render the act void.
1t is not in conflict with any provision
of the constitution. The Constitution,
Art. XII, sec. 3, makes it the duty OF
the legislature it provide for the organ
ization of cities and incorporated vii
lagos, but it does not prescribe what
powers shall be granted by the legis-
lature to such cities and villages. The
power of the legislature over villages
and cities is in no way limited by the
constitution, except tharthat the legis-
lature is required to resuict their power
of taxation, contracting debts and loan-
ing their credit What officers the city
or village shall have is for the legisla.
turc to prescribe. See. 8 of Art. XIII.
provides that all village officers whose
election or appointment Is not provided
for BY the constitution, shall be elected
nv the electors of such village or OF
some division thereof, or appointed by
some authorities thereof, rs the legis-
lature shall designate for that purpose,
The only village officer whose election
or appointment is provided for in tho
constitution is II justice of the Peace,
Sec. 10, Art. VII. The town assessor
and town treasurer, whose duty Is &c
assess the property OF the1ncorporated
village, and to collect the taxes of the
village which are levied by the village
authorities, are not officers of the vii.
lape, and so do not come within the
provisions of sec. 3, Art. XIII, above
cited. Ii the Inhabitants who desire tc
reside in an Incorporated village do not
like the conditions which the Legislature
impose upon the residents of such mum.
icipal corporations, there is no compul.
sion upon them to assume the burdens
and disabilities, and if they voluntarily
do so, it may be Presumed that they do ST
because they are more than counter
balanced by the benefits to be deprived
from such organization.
1t is undoubtly true that CHI. 40 il
not perfect in all the details which
should fix the relations of the village
and town to each other and it would bt
more satisfactory if the rights anc
powers of the town and village respect
lively as to the support Of the poor. The
power of the town to levy and collect
taxes upon the village property for the
building of bridges within the city, and
other matters relating to taxation were
more definitely fixed and determined
by the legislature. But we do no
think the act is so imperfect rs to rem
der it , old for uncertainty or obnoxious
to any constitutional inhibition.
Having determined that an elector o.
village incorporated under ch. 40, II
S. 1873, is not entitled to vote ut tn,
town meeting in the town from which
III WAS ltktu, IL ID ubHCStoshiN " us
cuss at length the eonstitutioDality o.
the law .under which the village wa.
organized.
We think, however. that by holding
as we do, that the village is separate
and independent municipality, and that
the village elector is not an elector o.
the town, nearly all the objection;
made against the constitionality of th,
law by the learned counsel for the re
spondent are obviated. We are unabl,