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Court distinguishes fees from taxes
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.1993.tb06073.x
Subject(s) - constitutionality , appeal , amenity , business , population , state (computer science) , law , finance , political science , supreme court , sociology , mathematics , demography , algorithm
The City of Marion experienced considerable population growth and exceeded the design capacity of both its water and sewer systems. Between July 1988 and August 1990, the city enacted ordinances that required “tapping fees” from builders or lot owners connecting to the city's existing water and sewer systems and “access fees” from any person or entity connecting to the city's transmission lines. These fees only applied to new development. The ordinances were amended to provide that the funds would be placed in separate accounts‐‐the “water expansion account” and “sewer expansion account”‐‐and used solely to expand the city's water and sewer systems. Land developers challenged the constitutionality of the ordinances and their validity under state law. The trial court found that the ordinances amounted to taxes that were invalid because they had not been approved by voters. The decision was reversed on appeal.