The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-03-05


 or appointed. The finance committee recognizing the fact that there would bt Greater Birmingham and that the du. tles or the officers above mentioned would thereby become enlarged, agreed with anf promised said officers that they would moi fix their salaries for the entire term hr, would fix them for one year, reservinp the right expressly to fix them for the remainder of the term of two years at the expiration of the first year They did adopt and pass the resolution of October 2l, lsOs, which appears on Minute Boos M. page 57S, and on September 15. 1909 they seeing that the duties of the above mentioned officers would be far heavie, and that their salaries were insufficient for the work performed, adopted ana passed the report in regard to the salaries set out in Minute Book N, page 155, a copy of which is attached. The resolu. tion set out In Minute Book M, page 57S. Is true and correct statement of the action of the finance committee and the City Council in reference to said sal. aries. copy of said resolution is hereto attached.
 "The finance committee was of the opinion that they had perfect and lega right to pay the officers above mentioned what they were worth and adopted the plan they did for the accomplishment ol that purpose.
 ''They also allowed the city auditor al the same meeting 5000 in addition to his regular salary on account of the in. creased work brought about by the in- creased territory of Greater Birmingham as shown by report of September 15 1909 Minute Book N, page 1855.
 There was clerical error in the min utes of October 21. 1908 (Minute Book M page 576S), showing an incorrect date te which the salaries of the city treasurer city attorney and city clerk were to run but this error the finance committee had corrected as soon as discovered.
 ''C. C. Heidt simon Klotz, Dan A. Ho- gan, w. Barnes Morgan, John w. ONeill M. J. Gregg, Finance Committee"
 Thach's Report
 The explanation of Assistant City At torney Robert H. Thach, at the time city attorney, follows:
 Hon Romaine Boyd, City Attorney. City.
 Dear Sir-In reply to your letter of the 27th inst, in regard to the charge by Auditor Petersen that the minutes of the\ City Council of October 21, 1908 were so altered that I. as city attorney received an illegal increase of salary l beg leave to state that when I suc- ceeded MT. F. D. Smith as city attor- ney and before was elected I dis cussed the question of salary with the members of the finance committee and with MT. Gregg, chairman of the judici- ary committee, and it was fully under stood and agreed that l would take the office at $175 per month until October 1, 1909, at which time, if the council saw fit, they would increase my salary. It was one of the conditions of my election also that l move my office to the city hall.
 Sections 10G6 and 1257 of the code of 1907 were considered at the time and carefully gone over by MT. Gregg and myself, and we decided. that all though the code provided that the city treasurer, city clerk and city attorney should be elected to hold office until the general election in 1910, and until their successors were elected and quail fled, that the council had the power to fix the salaries of these officers till October l, 1909. Accordingly at the meeting of October 21, 1908, the City Council adopted resolution fixing the salaries of the city treasurer city clerk and city attorney till October, 1909. both saw this resolution and heard 1t passed and the resolution of that date as 1t now stands on the of the city clerk is the resolution as adopted by the council. In examining the minutes of the City Council I dis covered that this resolution had been improperly recorded and called the at- ,tention of MT. Shropshire, the clerk. to the matter and mentioned 1t to some
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