Court Opinion

ID: 3468702
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2016-07-05 20:35:56.139036+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:46:59.983494
License: Public Domain

I cannot agree with the conclusion reached in the majority opinion that no obligation is expressed in the contract on the part of the city to make an annual appropriation of $500,000 from year to year to be used for the same purpose for which the proceeds of the bonds are dedicated. Only an excerpt from the provisions relating to this matter in the contract is quoted in the majority opinion. If the excerpt were all that was contained in the contract, the statement in the majority opinion, that the provisions in the contract are merely declarations of the city's intention of the course of action which it will pursue in the future, might be well founded. However, when the entire provisions relating to this subject matter are considered, it is apparent that they express an obligation on the part of the city to make the annual appropriations and provide for the enforcement of such obligation. A mere reading of the entire provisions, relevant thereto, demonstrates these facts. The pertinent provisions reads as follows:
"The City hereby further agrees that, in addition to the segregation, deposit and dedication of the proceeds of the aforesaid bonds, and commencing with the annual budget of the City for the year 1948, and *Page 865 
continuing for as many years as may be necessary to complete the obligations of the City hereunder, it shall be the policy of the City to budget and appropriate annually out of its general revenues derived from various sources for general municipal purposes, other than the taxes for the payment of the principal and interest of the bonds of the City now outstanding or hereafter to be issued pursuant to Act 4 of 1916, or which are otherwise dedicated by law to special purposes, the sum of Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) per year, which said annual sum so budgeted and appropriated shall likewise be segregated and deposited not later than the next succeeding July first of each year in the aforesaid special depository account or accounts, and which said annual sums so budgeted, appropriated and deposited as aforesaid are to be dedicated and solely and exclusively used, to the extent necessary, for the same purpose for which the proceeds of the bonds referred to in this paragraph are to be segregated, deposited and dedicated, as aforesaid, as well as for the payment of the cost of the other obligations and undertakings assumed by the City in this agreement."
"The City hereby further agrees that it shall be the mandatory duty of the official or officials of the City charged with the duty of collecting the proceeds of the aforesaid bonds when sold, as well as collecting the revenues of said City from which the aforesaid annual appropriations so budgeted *Page 866 
are to be derived, promptly to segregate and deposit the proceeds of said bonds and of said annual appropriations in the manner and by the time stated as hereinabove set forth."
"The City hereby further agrees that it shall likewise be the mandatory duty of the aforesaid official or officials of the City to provide for the furnishing of adequate security for the funds so deposited as aforesaid."
"The City hereby further agrees that the performance by the aforesaid official or officials of the City of the duties imposed upon him or them, in the manner and by the time stated as aforesaid, is hereby declared to be an essential part of the obligations agreed to by the City in this agreement and said performance may be enforced by any party to this agreement, or by the Trustee referred to in this agreement, by appropriate proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction."
"The City hereby further agrees that all funds deposited in the aforesaid depository account or accounts are to be held inviolate by it, and are to be expended only upon vouchers or checks drawn against the said funds by the Commissioner of Public Finance, or his successor in office, upon the approval of the Commission Council, or its successor as the governing body of the City of New Orleans. Any unused funds in such depository account or accounts from the aforesaid annual appropriations *Page 867 
shall, upon the completion of the City's obligations and undertakings under this agreement, be thereupon released and returned to the General Fund of said City."
It is stated in the majority opinion that the appellees apparently concede that the provisions would be illegal if they express an obligation on the part of the city to make the annual appropriations. I am of the opinion that these provisions of the contract violate Section 24 of Article XIV of our Constitution, which forbids the city from anticipating the collection of any of its taxes or incurring any debt or obligation unless sufficient funds, not otherwise appropriated, to pay the debt or obligation are actually in the treasury at the time the debt is incurred. This illegal portion of the contract would vitiate it because we have no authority to rewrite the contract.
For the reasons assigned, I respectfully dissent.