Oregon Advisory Opinions January 01, 1969: OP 6582

Advisory Opinion Text

STATE OF OREGON

DEPATRMENT OF JUSTICE

SALEM

January 10, 1969

Honorable Roger Rook

District Attorney, Clackamas County Clackamas County Courthouse

Oregon City, Oregon 97045 No. 6582

You state:

"The Clackamas County Park Advisory Board has requested that our office obtain an opinion from you as to whether voluntary contributions by Clackamas County park users should be placed in a fund separate from the county general fund, and whether the local budget law applies to said revenues received in the current year. These contributions were placed in containers which carry a written statement that the funds will be used for park purposes."

You ask whether such contributions would constitute "grants, gifts * * * transferred to a municipal corporation in trust for specific purposes or * * * other special purpose trust funds at the disposal of municipal corporations" within the mean­ing of ORS 294.326 (2), which provides:

"Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to the expenditure in the year of receipt of grants, gifts, bequests or devises trans­ferred to a municipal corporation in trust for specific purposes or to other special purpose trust funds at the disposal of municipal corpo­rations. However, subsection (1) of this sec­tion shall apply to the expenditure of grants, gifts, bequests or devises transferred to a municipal corporation for undesignated general purposes or to the expenditure of grants, gifts, bequests or devises transferred to a municipal corporation in trust for specific purposes which were received in a prior year."

This subsection provides a qualified exception to the application of the Local Budget Law.

The question thus posed is whether donations of the informal sort which you have described may be deemed to have been received in "trust," as provided for in ORS 294.326 (2).

In 15 McQuillin, Municipal Corporations, Sec.39.45, p. 139, it is stated:

" * * * irrespective of statute, a fund raised by a municipality for a special purpose is a trust fund, and equity will, in a proper case, interfere to prevent its diversion, or will entertain a suit for an accounting. * * * "

Under the circumstances you describe it would appear that the contributions made were for a special purpose within the meaning of the statute. We must consider that the terms "specific purposes" and "special purposes" were intended to be interpreted as in contrast to the later reference in the same subsection to "grants, gifts * * * transferred to a municipal corporation for undesignated general purposes * * * . "

The contributions having been made specifically for park purposes, they cannot be expended for other purposes. McQuillin, supra. Clearly they are not for "undesignated general purposes" as referred to in the statute.

Your question is therefore answered in the affirmative.

Very truly yours,

ROBERT Y. THORNTON Attorney General

By

William T. Linklater Assistant

WTLrms