The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-09-17

Attorney and Counselor, sometimes STYLED
D. 232), Superintendent of Public Streets
Highways and Squares and School Directors
are not named in the county government act
as county officers, and consequently cannot be
subject 10 the provisions of that sta tute
Judges of the Police Court are not named in
the county government act, either as county
or township onlcerS and no provision is found
therein relative to their duties or term of
office.
The Treasurer Auditor, Tax Collector and
surveyor are designated in the consolidation
act as officers OF the municipality, and are re-
CURED to perform certain municipal duties
which are not required from county officers
VINO are elected tor these offices in their re-
spectlve counties. In addition to these duties,
the treasurer is instituted part of the ap-
PSoinung Bower for the License Collector
member OF the Board of New City Hall Com
missioners Stats. 1876, p. 461), and the Audi
tor,the Tax Collector and the City and County
surveyor are members of the Board of Election
commissioners for the City and County.
Stats. OF 1873, D. 299.)
The Supervisors authorized by the cOnsol-
idaton act to be elected do not Constitute the
same body as that authorized by the county
government act, although they bear the same
name. The Board of Supervisors authorized
by the consolidation act is for the government
OF the city and county, and consists of twelve
members. while the Board of Supervisors
authorized for county consists of only five
members, and exercises functions peculiarly
appropriate to a county, but has not the
snthor1ty required for providing for the wants
The Court discussed at much length the
status of Justices of the Peace, and the
| conclusion is reached that:
From these considerations it must be held
that the provision in the county government
act fixing the term of Office OF Justices of the
Peace for the townships into which the several
counties are divided at four years, does not
apply to the Justices of the Peace elected for
the City and County OF San Francisco. We hold.
therefore, that the term of office OF the forego-
mnniCiDal officers. and
of the Police Court, and of the Justices OF the
Peace who were elected at the general election
in 1894, has not been changed by the county
government act, and that an election for their
successors must be held at the coming general
election.
The dissenting opinion holds, in ad-
dition to what has already been indicated
| bv extracts, that the consolidated City
and County is municipal corporation;
| that the corporation brought into exist
ence by the consolidation succeeded to
| the rights and liabilities of both of the
| governments that were merged; that all
| the officers were municipal and that in no
sense were some County officers and some
/ City officers.
| We cannot, therefore, elect certain officers
! and say that they County officers and of
! others that they are City officers, for all are
! municipal officers, and municipal officers only
| Therefore, if it be true that the Legislature
! cannot in this mode change the terms of the
! officers of the municipality because that
|
have nc application to the City and County OF
San Francisco 1t would not follow from this
that general laws affecting the powers and
| duties of County officers would not apply 10
| the officers OF the consolidated City and
| County. The idea of a consolidated govern
1nent of this character is that thereby TIM
| State provides Cor the inhabitants of the in
| cluded territory the benefit of county gov
eminent To do this effectually such laws
must apply to tie consolidated government
AS 10 the corporate existence of the muni-
! cipality and the officers through whom the
| corporate functions shall be discharged. no
reason exists why such interference should be
allowed, and If it were conceded that the
Legislature could so change the municipal
charter, we cannot presume that it was in
tended. 1t was not necessary that the act
! shall include the consolidated CITY and County
| in order that the law shall have general and
/ uniform operation. The City and County of
/ San FRANCISCO is not mere county, but is
recognized in the cons titution itself again and
! again as constituting a class apart OF course
| II 1t is municipal corporation, and therefore
/ the Legislature cannot thu change IT'S charter
| this point need not be further discussed