Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1911-02-20
Judge McFie Decides J. M. C.
Chaves Is Entitled to 5000
Not $500
GRANTS AN INJUNCTION
Ownership of County Property
Sold For Taxes VIII Be
Determined.

of Rio Arriba County VS. the Probate
Clerk and the Board of County Com
missioners of Rio Arriba County. This
suit was to compel the latter to pay
Mr.. Chayes a salary of $500 a year
but the county commissioners de-
clined to do so. and Mr.. Chaves
therefore brought suit in mandamus
10 compel payment The cause was
heard in chambers and Judge McFie
declined to grant the mandamus
prayed for, to compel payment of a
salary of $500, but he found that the
salary due the plaintiff is 5000 per
year. The court holds that while the
law provides that the salary Of the su-
perintendent shall be fixed on the
number Of school rooms in operation
in the several counties, there is a spe-
cific limitation in the section making
that provision to this effect that sal
aries as fixed by this section shall
not exceed one-third of the total
amount collected from the tax levy
for the general school purposes in any
year.
Substantially the opinion holds that
Mr. Chaves is entitled not only to
one-third of the proceeds of a three
mill levy for general school purposes,
but also TO one-third Of any such
taxes as may be collected from delin-
Quents Of that fund. Therefore his
compensation is limited to the amount
Of the threemill levy plus delinquent
+. taxes collected. But the court is of
the opinion that Mr.. Chaves is not
entitled to one-third Of any of the
/ taxes levied by local boards of school
directors in his county which are col
lected and applied to local districts
alone and do not 60 into the general
school fund to be apportioned
throughout the county. The real con-
tention was whether the superintend-
ent should be entitled to compensa-
! tiOh On tAe basis Of mumIEr OF school
rooms in his county and regardless
of whether that amount would ex-
ceed the amount of collections from
! the three-mill levy in which event it
would be necessary to provide the
balance to be paid for special leyies
/ in the several local districts.
/ The court holds that in no event
can a superintendent receive any por-
ton of his salary from local levies in
different school districts but he can
only receive one-third of the product
OF the three-mill levy which is distri-
buted throughout the entire county
and is therefore for general school
purposes. These local leyies, Judge
! McFie holds, are not for such pur-
poses in any event.
| Delinquent Tax Case.
! Judge McFie today granted a pre-.
| liminary injunction sued out by At
torney J. H. Crist on behalf of J. W.
Norment of this city returnabIe
| March u against the county of
Santa Fe.
! The county of Santa Fe sold a
! number of pieces of land in the city
] of Santa Fe for delinquent taxes of
1904. There were no bidders at the
sale of the lands and the county bid
! in the lands itself. AS the law pro-
! v:des they advertised and sold the GER
tifcates Of purchase to Mr.. Norment
and after the expiration, of the three
years in which the owners of the land
| had the right to redeem, the collector
! executed a deed to Mr.. Norment for
! the lands purchased. The taxes for
! the years 1902, 1903 and 1905, also
having become delinquent, the county
has sold the same lands for the taxes
Of those years. Mr. Norment having
deed for these lands, denies the
right of the county to sell them again
nies the right of the owners of the
tracts to redeem the lands from the
sale, as he now is the owner of the
same
The question of whether the coun-
ty can sell the lands for the taxes of
those years, Notwithstanding the fact
that Norment has deed to them from
the county, is the question to be final
ly determined in this case A hear
ing on the temporary injunction will
occur on March 13 before Judge Nc
Fie.
The decision in the case will affect
quite a large number of properties
lately sold for taxes in this county and
will do much toward clearing the de-
linquent tax situation in Santa Fe
county, as many others had contem.
plated buying property but held off
on account of doubt on this very ques-
ton.
Estancia Case Up.
Judge McFie heard arguments this
morning in the case of B. B. Freilinger
VS.. the Village of Estancia. A mo-
ton was made by the village for the
dismissal of the temporary injunction
enjoining the village from interfering
with Mr.. Freilinger's saloon business,
the latter having refused to pay the
license levied by the municipality
Attorney Fred H Ayers represented
the village and Frank F. Jennings the
plaintiff.
Goes to Ration.
Judge McFie will leave this after