The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-08-02
CLEARLY ILLEGAL.

garding the validity or the elecCrlc
light bonds, as of small Importance.
Possibly they are AMI possibly they
are not. 1t has set people to thinking
however, and caused some to look the
matter up rather thoroughly, and the
result is that far more serious OBJ
stacle has been found than any which
was published in the communication
Thursday evening.
This matter was first called to our
attention this morning by well
known lawyer and citizen, who first
had his attention attracted to the sub
ject by the communication in Thurs
day evenings FREE PRESS. His state
ment was that as the city has already
exceeded the five per cent limit of in
.debtedness, the proposed bonds were
void because they did not receive
twO-thirdS vote of the voters present
and voting.
Under the provisions of Sec. 3, of
Chap. s, of the city charter, the city
is allowed to issue bonds to not exceed
$4,000 for the purpose of putting in
city lighting plant, but the city could
not take advantage of it because the
bonded Indebtedness of the city eX-
ceeded the five per cent limit. 1t will
be remembered that it was said law
had been found Chap, 2O4, of the laws
of 1899 whereby additional bonds
could be voted, and it was stated that
the same could be done by majority
vote of the people. The council i'm
mediately took steps to bring the city
under the provisions of this law, and
an ordinance to that effect was passed
on May 18th and published on May
22d, and copy of the same has been
duly filed in the office of the secretary
of state.
This law authorizes among other
things the issue of bonds for the pur-
pose Of putting in lighting plant, etc.
Section 2 of the law says, the italics
wherever used are ours:
Sec. 2. No city in this state shall
at any time be authorized to issue
bonds or to incur any debt or liability
of any kind for any purpose in excess
of five per cent. of the assessed valu-
alton of the taxable property of such
city, according to the last preceding
assessment, except as hereinafter pro-
vided, and should any bonds be so
issued in excess of said five per cent,
except as herein provided, the same
shall be inratid; provided, that when
bonds are issued for the purchase, re-
funding, or payment of other bonds
of such city the bonds to be so pur-
chased or paid shall not be considered
part of the bonds on which any city
may be liable, for the purpose of de-
termining whether the bonds so issued
will increase the bonded Indebtedness
of any city above the limit prescribed
in this act.
The rest of the section provides that
the common council may authorize
the issuance of such bonds by three
fourths vote if the Indebtedness is not
above the five per cent limit, or that
it may be submitted to the voters. AS
the electric light bonds are new bonds
not to be issued for the purpose of re-
funding any debt, the latter portion
of the paragraph of section two above
quoted will not apply to them, there
fore their issuance comes clearly I'M
der section three of the act, the first
two paragraphs which read as follows:
SEC. 3. In addition to the bonds
hereinbefore authorized to be issued
by the common council of any city,
further and additional amount of
bonds, not exceeding an additional
five per cent on the aforesaid assessed
valuation may be issued by any city
in this state for any and all of the
aforesaid purposes, and the proceeds
thereof to be used and disposed of as
hereinbefore provided, and any iSSu-
ance, or attempted issuance, of bonds
by any city in excess of ten per cent
of the aforesaid assessed valuation
shall be void.
Provided, That no bonds authorized by
this section shall be issued by any city u1l-
til the Issuance thereof shall haze first been
authorized by q tovo-thirdS cote of all the
legal UOters of such city present and UOting,
and the question of the issuance of
said bonds shall be submitted to the
electors of the city proposing to issue
the same, at general or special
municipal election, called and con-
Quoted in the manner prescribed for
municipal elections in such city, and
the notices Of such election shall con-
tain a statement of the amounts and
purposes for which such bonds are
proposed to be issued with the date of
their maturity and rate of interest
they shall bear.
The rest of the section is devoted
to the form of the ballot, canvassing
of vote, etc.
The language of the statute is plain
and cannot be misunderstood. 1t says
that the bonds must have two
thirds vote Of those present and vot-
ing, and it prohibits the council from
ordering their issuance by a three
fourths vote or any other vote, where
the Indebtedness of the city exceeds 5
per cent of the assessed valuation, so
that the issue can only be authorized
by the voters as the Indebtedness of
Mankato already reaches between 6
and per cent of the assessed valua-