Richard v. Cypremort Drainage District

Citations

• 107 La. 657

Syllabus

<p>Syllabus.</p> <p>1. Drainage districts established under laws existing at the time of the passage of Act 12 of 1900 cannot take advantage of the act without first reorganizing under its provisions.</p> <p>2. Drainage districts established under laws in existence at the time of the adoption of Article 281 of the Constitution may take advantage of the provisions of this article without reorganizing under Act 12 of 1900.</p> <p>3. Drainage districts organized under Act 37 of 1894 may levy the tax and issue the bonds authorized by Article 281 of the Constitution without having recourse to the provision of Act 12 of 1900, passed for the purpose oT carrying said Article 281 into operation; that is to say, such districts may levy said tax and issue said bonds under the combined provisions of said Act 37 and said Article 281, and irrespective of the said enabling act.</p> <p>4. The limits of a taxing district must be fixed with certainty; especially where 'such district is authorized to impose a property tax, and still more especially where such tax must be voted for. Uncertainty in respect to the limits of such a district invalidates its organization, and as a consequence all taxes 5t may propose to levy and all bonds it may propose to issue. Any taxpayer of the district may urge such invalidity in resistance of the tax or in prevention of the issuance of the bonds.</p> <p>O. Drainage districts organized under Act 37 of 190'0 cannot cut or open new drains without consulting the taxpayers of the district.</p> <p>On Rehdaiuns.</p> <p>The police jury has the power to divide the parish into drainage districts.</p> <p>Boundaries g'ven by this body in its ordinance are set out with certainty enough to enable a surveyor properly to trace the lines.</p> <p>The southern boundary was not specially contested; it is sustained as sufficient as set out in the ordinance of the police jury and afterward by a map deposited at the courthouse, of which it is conceded the voters of the dis