Lapidus
Law Offices of Cary S. Lapidus v. City of Wasco
Opinion
Opinion
Pollak, J.
The City of Wasco (Wasco) and the Wasco Public Financing Authority (WPFA) appeal from a writ of mandate directing them to make appropriate budgetary appropriations for payment to plaintiff Law Offices of Cary S. Lapidus (Lapidus) of the enforceable portion of a money judgment in his favor. Appellants contend that the superior court’s order violates article XVI, section 18 of the California Constitution (section 18), which prohibits a city from incurring any indebtedness or liability exceeding in any year the income and revenue of the city for that year, without approval of two-thirds of the qualified voters of the city. We agree that the constitutional restriction is inapplicable to the circumstances of this case and, therefore, affirm.
Background
The background of the present controversy is rather complex, and many of the underlying issues are not fully developed in the record that is before this court. However, a simplified version of the facts is sufficient to evaluate the single issue presented by this appeal.
WPFA was created in 1989 by a joint powers agreement between Wasco and the Wasco Redevelopment Agency to provide a mechanism for the issuance of bonds to…