Council Proceedings: July 1 and July 15, 1904: Part 1 of 2

To the Honorable Mayor and City Council,

Gentlemen:

In response to your resolution directing me to render an opinion in substance as to whether or not the City of Fort Worth under its present charter can proceed with public improvements as has been done by the City of Dallas in the manner upheld by the Kettle case, I beg leave respectfully to state that in my opinion our charter does not give us the power to proceed in the manner permitted by the charter of Dallas, and that we could not construct ordinances under our present charter which would give validity to any proceedings for improvement under the plan upheld in the Kettle Case.

In accordance, however, with my former opinion rendered to the City Council with reference to street improvements in the City o Fort Worth under our present charter, I will state that I regard the decision in the Kettle case as disposing of any objection that might be raised by charter, always excepting of course errors in the proceeding and matters of detail. The main principles for which we shall contend under our charter are at least inferentially upheld in the decision of the said Kettle case in my opinion.

On account of the cumbersome method pointed out in our charter for the fixing of liens upon property on improvement assessments I am of opinion that a charter amendment should be procured at the earliest possible date enabling us to form taxing districts for improvements and enabling us to proceed along the lines laid down and approved in the said Kettle case. I am of opinion that the charter of the City of Dallas goes considerably too much into detail and that an amendment to our charter could be so constructed that there would be much less liability of falling into a fatal error in a matter of detail than there now is under the Dallas charter. It must be remembered that both the provisions of our charter and in the charter of the City of Dallas were prepared when the law in this state was in a very uncertain condition and in the light of the present decisions which are have before us we ought to be able to construct an

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amendment which would enable us to proceed with almost any character of public improvement that is desired by the City Council without any serious trouble in making the assessments collectible. Until such as amendment is obtained I would regard it as a waste of time to undertake to make the Dallas method fit our charter, the two methods being so absolutely diverse in every particular.

Very respectfully,

E.C. Orrick City Atty

opinion on improvement Clause of Charter

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FILED JUL 13 1904 Jno T. Montgomery City Sec'y

E.C. Orrick City Attorney

J. J. Nunnally City Auditor, Fort Worth.

Fort Worth, Texas, July 1st 1904

To the Hon Mayor and City Council

Gentlemen:-

We, your Committee on Claims recommend That the following claims duly approved by the City Auditor be allowed and warrants drawn on the funds to which they properly belong, to wit:-

Claims Committee

MM Lydon Jake F. Zurn

Report of Claims Committee

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