Jaxtheimer v. Sharpsville Borough
Jaxtheimer v. Sharpsville Borough
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
This was a bill in equity filed by L. M. Jaxtheimer, a citizen and taxpayer of the Borough of Sharpsville,
The first objection is that the contract was made too soon, that is, before the ordinance had been posted and advertised for a period of ten days after its final passage, as required by the Act of April 3,1851, Sec. 3, P. L. 320. The validity of this objection depends upon whether the contract with William McIntyre & Sons is to be regarded as having been entered into by the passage by the council of a resolution of acceptance upon September 5, 1911, or whether, the real contract for paving was made upon September 26,1911, which was the date upon which the written contract was executed. It appears from the ■seventeenth finding of fact by the trial judge that on September 5, 1911, after the passage of the ordinance over the veto of the burgess, bids for paving were received and opened, and “it was unanimously resolved that the bid of William McIntyre & Sons be accepted, subject to the entering into of a contract by them with the Borough of Sharpsville, as provided for in the printed specifications.” We agree entirely with the
Another ground of objection to the contract is that while it was provided in the ordinance that the specifications for the paving should be prepared or procured by the burgess and paving committee of council, they were in fact prepared or procured and reported to council by the borough engineer and the street committee. We see no merit in this objection. The court below found, as set forth in its opinion on the exceptions, from testimony taken after the original findings were made, that there was no special paving committee of the borough council, and that what was intended by that term, was the standing street committee; and that for the current year, the street committee and the paving committee were one and the same, and made up of the same members of the borough council. Whether the burgess or the borough engineer acted in preparing the specifications was of no special consequence. The committee were authorized either to prepare or procure specifications, and this gave them the right to call for such assistance as they might desire. We agree with the trial judge that the terms of the ordinance in this respect were merely directory, and we think that the council had the right to accept such specifications as seemed to them most fit, whether presented by the street committee or
The assignments of error are all overruled; and the decree of the court below is affirmed.
Reference
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- Boroughs — Contracts—Time of contract — Posting and advertising ordinance — Act of .April 8,1851, Sec. 8, P. L. 820. 1. A resolution of a borough council that the bid of a firm of contractors “be accepted subject to the entering into of a contract by them with the borough, as provided for in the printed specifications,” is not in itself a contract within the meaning of Section ’3 of the Act of April 3, 1851, P. L. 320, which provides that such a contract cannot be entered into before the ordinance authorizing it has been posted and advertised for a period of ten days after its final passage. 2. If a formal contract in strict conformity with the printed specifications including the furnishing of bonds as required by the specifications is entered into between the borough and the contractors twenty-one days after the passing of the resolution, nineteen days after its posting, and thirteen days after its publication, the contract will be binding upon the borough. 3. An acceptance of an offer to be effectual must be identical with the offer and unconditional. Where a person offers to do a definite thing, and another accepts conditionally or introduces a new term into the acceptance, his answer is either a mere expression of willingness to treat, or it is a counter proposal, and in neither case is there an agreement. Boroughs — Ordinance—Paving contract — Preparation of contract — Burgess—Borough engineer — Paving or Street Committee. 4. Where a borough ordinance provides that the specifications for a paving contract should be prepared or procured by the burgess and paving committee of council, it is immaterial as affecting the validity of the contract that they were in fact prepared or procured and reported to council by the borough engineer and the street committee, if it appears that there was no special paving committee; that what was intended by that term was the standing street committee; and that for the current year the street committee and the paving committee had been one and the same, and made up of the same members of the council. In such a case whether the burgess or the borough engineer acted in preparing the specifications is of no special consequence in view of the fact that the committee was authorized either to prepare or to procure the specifications.