Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-03
AFTER GRIER'S SCALP.
Allegheny Reformers Decide That the
City Has No Right to
A DELINQUENT TAX COLLECTOR
How Councils Tried to Legislate . State
Law Into Effect.
TAXPAYERS TO MAKE A TEST CASE

Delinquent Tax Collector Samuel c.
Grier is to be the next victim of the Allie
| gheny reformers' sliding board, and the re-
formers, they say, have not only decided to
remove MI. Grier from the lucrative Office
he now holds on the Northside, but they
| have decided to abolish the Office also.
The tax books of the delinquent tax ac-
counts in Allegheny were yesterday turned
over to the Delinquent Tax Collector by the
City Treasurer of Allegheny, but with the
turning over of these books and accounts
came an Official notice from the Re-
form Association inviting the taxpayers to
to save their money by paying their taxes
in legal way. The legal way suggested
by the Reform Association is to pay such
taxes to the City Treasurer on or before
July next, and to require that the City
Treasurer make reduction of 5 per cent on
each assessment, as it is claimed is definitely
provided by the law of the State.
Have No Law for the Office.
"Under the laws of Pennsylvania there
is no delinquent tax collector for Allegheny
City," an official Of the Reform Associa-
tion said yesterday. "The Office as it now
exists was established by city ordinance
instead of by State law, and Mr.. Grier
has absolutely no authority to collect
delinquent taxes. The fact is Allegheny
in this matter is operating under a general
act which applied only to Pittspurg, as
Pittsburg at the time of the passage of said
act was the only second class city in the
State. Instead of Allegheny securing
enabling legislation to give to the city the
benefit and authority of that act the City
Councils legislated a State law into effect,
which, of course, will not stand and is posi-
lively void.
The famous bill No 102, passed in 1877,
with supplement thereto passed in 1873,
provides for the collection of taxes in
March and September of each year. The
act also provides for reduction of per
cent upon all taxes paid within the time
specified, and then it provides for the de-
linquent tax collector and fixes May 1 as
the time for the city treasurer to turn over
to the delinquent tax collector all unpaid
tax accounts Bill 102 was a general law
and, as 1 say, it only applied to Pittsburg
because at that time Pittsburg was the only
second class city in the State until Allie
gheny CAME into that class year ago.
Rebates on Early Tax Payments.
'In 1860 Allegheny had a special law
passed relative to taxes, rates and levies and
when payable to the city, which provided
that all taxes, rates and levies, except street
assessments, shall be payable at the office of
the City Treasurer, and the Treasurer shall
make allowance to all PAYERS of taxes,
rates and levies who shall pay
the same in the year in which
they are assessed. The allowance provided
for in the act of 1860 follows: 5 per cent if
paid on or before July l; per cent if paid
on or before August l; per cent if paid
on or before September 1. If paid after the
first day OF September and before October
l, no deduction shall be made, but if paid
on or after November 1 an additional
5 per cent shall be paid. This law has
never been repealed. 1t stands to-day just
as it stood the day it became law. It is
in full force. The Supreme Court has de-
cided time and again until it has become a
maxim in law that special law is not re-
pealed by general law unless the special
law be specified in the general act. The
special act of 1860 was not specified in the
general act of 1878, and is therefore, ac-
cording to repeated decisions of the Su-
preme Court, void and inactive.
AlIesheny's Present Peculiar dilemma.
"This leaves Allegheny without the Office
of Delinquent Tax Collector, and it leaves
Delinquent Tax Collector Grer without an
Office The Councils of Allegheny cannot
pass enabling legislation for the State and
the State did not pass any enabling legis-
lation for Allegheny in this particular
case.
SIT is the intention of a large number of
the Allegheny City taxpayers to tender
their taxes with the per cent discount pro-
vided for in the special act of 1860 to the
City Treasurer on or before July 1 of this
year. If the Treasurer refuses to accept
such taxes with the legal discount then we
will 60 into court to secure a mandamus to
compel him to accept the same.
"We have not acted hastily in this mat
ter. This question has been referred to the
best lawyers in Pittsburg and our position
has been sustained by every one of them
Delinquent Tax Collector Grier is paid
an annual salary of 81, 500. His commits
sions last year on delinquent taxes collected
amounted to over So 0O0