HomeMy WebLinkAboutMiscellaneous Legal Opinion related to City Charter Amendmen1 OPINION RELATIVE TO FIXING SALARIES OF PUPLIC OFFICERS
2 IN THE CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
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4 I have been asked to submit to your honorable body an
5 opinion as to the pourer vrhich your honorable body possesses, under
6 the Constitution and lays of the State of California and the
7 Charter of the City of Huntington Beach, to fix or alter the
8 salaries of employees of tho City of Huntington Beach.
9 Such an opinion must resolve itself into the only two kinds
10 of changes, namely: increase in salaries, or decrease in salaries;
11 and each of those must be applied, in turn, to two types of public
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12 officers, namely: elective officers and appointive officers`
13 The question of increasing the salary of any municipal
14 officer, elected by vote of the people, is set definitely at rest
15 by Article XI, Section 5, of the California Constitution, as that
16 section eras amended June 27, 1933. It provides:
17 "The compensation of any county, tovnship, or municipal
18 officer shall not be inerease6 alter his election or
19 during his term of office, nor shall the term of any such
20 officer be extended beyond the period for which he was
21 elected or appointed."
22 The question of decreasing the salary of any municipal
23 officer, elected by the people, is not touched upon in our Constitu-
24 tion. It will be seen that the above constitutional inhibition
25 refers only to increases Pfter one's election to, or during his"
26 term of, office. However, this question came before our State_
27 Supreme Courtin Crockett v. M,.:Lthews, 157 Cal. 153 (1910), where
28 a Justice of the peace contended that the state legislature had no
29 poser to decrease the salary of an elected official during his term
30 of office. Pointing out that the Constitution was silent on the
31 subject of decreasing onets salary after his election and during
32 his term, the court held that the power to decrease a salary, in
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1 such circumstances, did exist in the legislature. It is my opinion
2 that the same power, to decrease the salary of an elective city
3 official, exists in your honorable body, since there is no inhibi-
4 tion either in the Constitution or the City Charter, against such
5 authori ty.
6 As to the questions of increasing or decreasing, the sal-
7 aries of apnointive officers of a city, t_iere is no section dealing
8 aith them, either in the Constitution, or in the Charter of the
9 City of Huntington Eeach. Indeed, the Charter specifically permits
10 the Council to fix the compensation of subordinate officers by
11 ordinance (Art. VII, Sec 1); to fix the salary of the City Attorney
12 by either ordinance or resolution (Art VIZ, Sec. 6 ); to fix -the
13 salary of the City Engineer by ordinance or resolution (Art. V,
14 Sec. la); but it is silent on increase or decrease of such salaries.
15 Further, the Charter makes absolutely no mention of the
16 salaries of the Chief of Police, City Assessor,•City Colicctor,
17 City Judge, nor Auditor; likewise it is silent on the question of
18 hose such salaries may be determined, i.e., by ordinance, resolution,
19 motion, or otherwise.
20 The Charter does, however, provide that the compensation of
21 deputy city clerks (Art. VI, Sec. 8) and that of deputy city
22 treasurers (Art. VII, Sec. 7) may be prescribed by the Council
23 either by ordinance or resolution.
24 Respectfully submitted
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26 1 111X�
City A o ney of -Huntington Beach
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OPINION R LATI7hC TO HOLDING GPXCIAL Si ECTIONS
Pursuant to section 17, Article 7 of the charter of the City
of '3untiugton Beach, two ordinanoon were submitted to the electors
at a special election, which ordinances provided that the offices
of City Judge, City Attorney and Chief of Police would thereafUr
be elective. The date upon which the above mentioned special
election was hold was arrived at under the provisions of the
initiative law pertaining to cities and towns.
Neither ordinance set a date for the holding of an election
at which the above mentioned offices should be filled, but provided
that a special election should be called to fill said offices in
the time provided for by law.
Cection 4, Article 4. of the charter of the City of Hunting-
ton Beach applies the election law applicable to sixth clads cities
to all elections in the City of HuntinGton Beach, except when
changed by the charter or by ordinances. The election laws applic-
able to sixth clads cities are found in Act 5229, Genoral Lava of
the state of California. That act Bets up the machinery to hold
elections but is silent as to the time when elections may be hold.
In _1Cenfield v. Nita. 52 Cal. 164, 169 (IM), the Supreme
Court stated: "The time of holding an election, whether general
or special, must be authoritatively dated in advance, either by
law or by some means which the law has prescribed; othersiae the
election is held without authority, and In ineffectual for any
purpose".
There is nothing in the lair setting the time of holding a
special election. The law does prescribe a means to do so.' the
sponsor of the initiative petition could have directed the election
to be held upon a date certain, or within a period not inconsistent
with the lave relative to proper notice and proper nomination of
candidates.
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The above to a statement of the law in effect at the time
these initiative ordinances were adapted. It is my opinion that,
there being no law fixing the date within which a special election
may be hold, the offices of the City Judge, City Attorney, and
Chief of Police cannot be filled by election until the next general
election to be held in the City of lAmtington Beach next year.
DAZED: au M. 23, 1937
(Signed) THOMAS H. KUCHKL
City Attorney of the City of Punoh
Beach.
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