The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-09-20
FIX SALARIES OF
 ALL CITY OFFICERS
Finance Committee Has Execu-
 tive Session
JONES GIVEN $12OO A YEAR
Members Decline To Give Out Other Changes, Hut Heidt Says Some Were Increased and Some
 Decreased,

| The finance committee of the City Council met last night and in two hours set the salaries of every employe of the city of Birmingham, about 500 in num- 1 Der. After hearing talks by MT. T. D. Parke and pr. R. B. Hardness, asking for increases in the sanitary department, and Romaine Boyd, asking that his sal ary remain the same as that now drawn I by City Attorney Robert Thach, the com mittee went into executive session Mir. | Boyd stated that he could do away with one assistant, asking for only three, in stead of the four now employed. I The committee, after adjournment, re- fused to give out anything relative to salary changes, except that the president of the council will be paid s1200 annually. l Chairman Heidt admitted that several salaries had been raised and several de- creased, but 1t was decided to make noth- | Ing public until tomorrow night at the council meeting.
 l The committee received the opinion Of City Attorney Thatch to the effect that 1t will be illegal to pay councilmen sal aries and 1t was recommended to the council that the salary resolution be not adopted. However, the attorney con- sidered the president of the council a city official and eligible to receive pay, so the committee gladly voted Harry Jones stipend Here is the attorneys opin- ion:
 To the Honorable, the City Council of
 Birmingham.
 Gentemen-In the matter of fixing sal | aries of the president of the council and councilman from the various wards of the city I beg to submit to you the following opinion as a general proposi- l ton, in the absence of clear legislative grant of power, the members of the | governing body of a city are not author ized to fix and determine their owr compensation. This question has never arisen in Alabama and, consequently, our supreme court has never been called upon to decide it, but as supporting the cases which contain clear expositions of the law on the subject, especially New Jersey cases:
 McEwan vs. West Hoboken, 5S N. J. L.. | 512 34 All. 130; Tacoma vs. Lillis, 4 Wash, 797, 31 Pac. 321, IS l.. R. A. 372; Mcfarland vs. Gordon, 70 Vt. AS, fl Att. 5o7; Gregory vs. Jersey City 34 N. J. L. 42g; Mcfarland vs. Gordon, 70 Yt 455, fl Att 5O7.
  bama, 1907 bearing on this matter. are sections 1456 and 1066-I put the latter first because it was passed first by the legis- lature That part of section 1456 bearing | on the matter In hand is as follows: "The | salaries of mayors in all cities in the state, having over 25.000 population, ac- cording to the next preceding federal | census, shall not exceed the sun of s5000 per annum. payable in monthly in- stallments out of the treasury of the said cities, to be fixed by the city council or other governing bodies of said cities, and the salaries of all other officers of such cities, except aldermen and councilmen, shall be fixed by the city council or other governing body of such cities" This section was a part of the act Of March [, 1907, and clearly shows that 1t was the intention of the legislature to deprive city councils or other governing bodies of cities of the right to fix sal aries of aldermen and councilmen. Section 1066 which was section IT of the municipal code act, which was approved August 13 1907, after conferring on the council the right and duty of electing certain officers, provides as follows:
 And, except as otherwise provided, the council shall have authority to fix the terms O. office; prescribe their duties and fix the salaries of the officers" 1t will be clearly seen rom the read ing of the two sections that 1t was the intention of the legislature not to confer on the city council the right to fix sal aries of the councilmen, since not only is there no clear grant of power, but the power to fix salaries Is expressly re- served by section 1456 Therefore, in my judgment, the city council has not the right to fix the salaries of the council men and aldermen.
 A different rule however, seems to pre- vail in the case of the president of the council At the time of the passage and approval of the act of March z. 1907, part of which is now embodied in the code of 1907 as section 1456, above referred to, the office of the president of the council had not been created by the legis- lature and, in fact, 1t was not created till the passage and approval of the act of August 13, 1907. known as the munich pal code act, that part of it bearing on the question at hand, being embodied in section 106s of the code of 1907, and, in my opinion, the president of the council Is included in the general term officers" mentioned in section f06S, conferring upon the city council the right and duty to fix the salaries of the officers, and does not come within the exception of section l+56 SO that in my judgment. the city council has the right and the power to fix the salary of the president of the council
 Yours very truly,
 ROBERT THATCH.