Walker v. Edmonds

Citations

• 197 Pa. 645
• 47 A. 867
• 1901 Pa. LEXIS 700

Syllabus

<p>Taxation—School law—Directory provision in statute as to time—Acts of May 8, 1854, P. L. 618, seos. 28, 30 and 33, and April 22,1863, P. L. 523.</p> <p>The common school act of May 8, 1854, secs. 28, 30 and 33, as amended by the act of April 22, 1863, providing that the school tax shall be levied before the first day of July, is merely directory as to the time within which the tax shall be levied, and not mandatory.</p> <p>Where action is required to be taken within a certain time, the mere failure of a public officer or of a public body to act within the set time is not fatal, and the requirement as to time may be held to be directory.</p> <p>Taxation—School tax—Special tax—Act of May 8, 1854, see. 33.</p> <p>In a bill in equity to restrain the collection of a building tax of eight mills, purporting to have been levied upon July 22, 1897, by a board of school directors, it appeared that the minutes of the board under the date of June 19, 1897, showed these words: “ That we levy two mills in addition to our present millage which shall be designated as ‘ the high school building and ground tax. ’ ” There was nothing else in the minutes to show' a levy of assessment for ordinary purposes, and the two mill assessment for the high school tax was afterwards abandoned. On July 22,1897, an attempt was made to amend the minutes of June 19, so as to make the resolution read as follows: “ That we levy two mills in addition to our present millage, eight mills for ordinary school purposes, which shall be designated as the high school building and ground tax,” etc. The same minutes showed these words: “ In addition to the eight mills levied for ordinary school purposes we levy a building tax of eight mills for the current year.” The minutes showed no other reference to a regular annual tax, and no extraneous evidence was offered that such a tax was actually levied. Held, (1) that the above extracts from the minutes did not show any levy of the regular annual tax; (2) that as