Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-05-18
Deputy City and County Attor.
ney Lymer Submits Written
Opinion For Supervisors
OUTGRoWTH OF DISPUTE
- OVER CARPENTER SHOP
Department Heads Have Sole
Power to Appoint Their Sub
ordinate Employees, and the
! Power to Discharge is Vest
ed in same Individual"

First Deputy City and County At
torney w. B. Lymer submitted a writ
/ ten opinion to the board of supervisors
last night holding that the mayor has
no power to discharge, employ or 9TH
erwise tamper with department EN-.
pIoyes of the city under the law.
! The opinion was submitted at the
request of Supervisors Larsen and Lo-
gan following the alleged interfer-
ence OF the mayor with the exeeu-
tive staff at the school carpenter shop.
| 1t follows: ..
'In compliance with the request
made at the last meeting of the board,
Il beg to submit the following report
on the matter of the power Of the
mayor and the board respectively, to
employ and discharge heads of de-
partments and subordinate employees
of departments of the city and county
OF Honolulu: r.. ...
section 1904 of the Revised Laws
OF Hawaii. 1915. provides: RI. -.
B 1.-The mayor with the approval of
the board OF supervisors, shall appoint
all officers of the city and county.
whose election or appointment is not
otherwise specially provided for IN
this chapter or by law h..
Under the decision in Goster vs.
Trent, 19 Hawaiian 352 at Page 356,
our supreme court has construed this
section to give TO the mayor and
board joint power to appoint all heads
of departments, the court ruling that
these heads of departments in turn
have sole power to select their own
employees. ..sz.:. ~
Section 1855 of the Revised Laws
of Hawaii. 1915, provides: :. D..
ANY city and county officer may
remove from Office any deputy, as
sistant or clerk appointed by him.
And any officer who shall have been
appointed by the mayor with the ap.
proval of the board of supervisors,
may be removed by the same author
ity' 49,.
SECTIONS 1904 and 1856, when con.
strued together, in the light of Coster
VS.. Trent decision make it clear that
the joint action of the mayor and
board is necessary to the appointment
of all heads of departments, and such
department heads have sole power to
and power to discharge either depart.
ment heads or employees thereof is
vested in the same body or individual
as has the appointing power.
at must be noted that Section 1904
gives the mayor and board joint power
to appoint heads of departments in
all cases not otherwise especially pro-
vided for by law and ! take it that
this would include provisions enacted
by way OF ordinance. So that, in case
an ordinance was drafted, vesting the
power as to any particular
department head in the board of sup
ervisors alone or in the mayor alone,
such ordinance would be valid.
by way of illustration it may be
noted that our present ordinance, No.
4S, has expressly provided that the
board of supervisors has the power
of both appointment and discharge in !
the case of the plumbing Inspector
of the city and county of Honolulu. !
This is the only department head, so /
far as / am aware, whose appointment !,
and discharge is under the sole con-
troll of the board. !
al may add that Section 1909 of the I
Revised Laws of Hawaii, 1915, gives !
the mayor the sole right to suspend !
any official guilty of official miscon- /
duct, pending an official Investigation.
This is the extent, however, of the /
mayors control over department (
heads. ... /
Respectfully submitted, I
"WILLIAM B. LYMER, /
First Deputy City and County !