THE COUNTY OF THE FUTURE
In our mind’s eye we have now completely made over the system.
Metropolitan counties have retired from the field; the remainder have
in a large measure been put in command of their own destinies through a
generous extension of the home-rule principle. The county politician of
the conventional type has been extinguished and single-minded service
of the whole people has replaced a hyphenated allegiance that put the
county chairman in the place of highest honor.
What could such a county do for its citizens?
It should be kept in mind that this county of the imagination with
which we are particularly concerned will be practically confined to
rural and semi-rural localities. Here, even while we dream, a very
actual metamorphosis is going on which inevitably promotes a sense of
community interest. Thanks to Alexander Graham Bell and Henry Ford, the
countryside is getting together in spite of itself! The rural gentry
will think in bigger units and the basis of its allegiances will be
correspondingly broadened. And a more fundamental accomplishment for
county betterment could not well be conceived, for, as Herbert Quick
has asked: “Did you ever know a man that was proud of his county?” The
answer to which he gives himself: “I knew but one such man and his
relations were all in county offices.”
The county of the past has lacked opportunity to “do itself proud.”
The county of the future will be equipped to do interesting things in
an interesting way. But it must develop policies--real politics--as
a substitute for the interest that has made place hunting and place
holding a basic rural industry. The farmer of the future must be
given something more wholesome to think about “during the long winter
evenings” than who is to be the next coroner; and he must cease to
measure his freedom by the number of offices he attempts to fill with
his ballot.
But before county citizenship is raised to the point of appreciation
of the new order a benevolent deed of violence must be done to a
power in the community noted principally for sycophantic approval of
the administration in power, an utter lack of either conscience or
ideas, and “patent insides”--the county official newspaper. The cheap
“boiler-plate” weekly must go the way of old Dobbin and in its place
will come some means yet to be devised, for putting out official
advertising that really advertises and furnishing news that is not only
“fit to print,” but worth the while.
When these mechanical essentials of an efficient local democracy shall
have been acquired the county will be in a position to formulate a
genuine program of service. As to the ingredients for the same a few
suggestions may be in order:
PUBLIC HEALTH
Contrary perhaps to general opinion, the rural sections of the
country are not conspicuously free from a public health problem. All
the squalor, bad housing and contagion is not in the crowded city
tenements. Rural citizens have perhaps much more to learn about pure
milk and water, for instance, than their city brethren. But the public
health movement has struck the country districts. It seems to have come
principally by way of the nation wide attack on tuberculosis. During
the past six or seven years there has been a remarkable campaign for
institutions for the care of persons afflicted with this malady. It
is something entirely distinct from the idea of caring for the pauper
sick, for it has been found difficult to persuade many people in need
of proper treatment to go to an institution to which a long-standing
stigma is attached. New York now has such special institutions in
about half of its counties. In the South, North Carolina has made
more important progress than any other state. Ninety of its hundred
counties have part-time county physicians, while the other ten have
county health officers devoting their entire time and energies to
the preservation of public health and the prevention of disease. The
standard for the selection of these officers is very high.
Wisconsin has enacted a statute authorizing the board of supervisors of
any county to employ a graduate trained nurse whose duties are:
“To act as a consulting expert on hygiene for all schools not already
having medical inspection either by physician or visiting nurse, to
assist the superintendents of the poor in their care of the poor in
the county who are in need of the services; to give instruction to
tuberculosis patients and others relative to hygiene measures to be
observed in preventing the spread of tuberculosis; to aid in making
a report of existing cases of tuberculosis; to act as visiting nurse
throughout the county and to perform such other duties as a nurse and
hygienic expert as may be assigned to her by the county board.”
That the spirit of the new public health movement is taking hold to
some extent in Minnesota is the testimony of a local authority[27]:
“Koochiching County has the first and only county health organization
in the state. The county commissioners and the county school board
there see the economy of hiring a medical man to preserve the health
of the community and to keep the children in school the maximum number
of days each term.
“Furthermore, they have chosen a health officer with a proper point
of view; one who believes that a health department should be an
educational agency more than a police bureau; one who reserves the
‘police club’ for exceptional emergencies, but who is ever ready
to instruct and convert. In Koochiching County the authorities are
laying the foundation for a type of citizenship that is not only
going to grow up healthy, but will be so well informed that it will
observe sanitary laws and insist upon proper health safeguards. A
county health organization similar to the one in Koochiching County,
or a better one if it can be afforded, is needed in every Minnesota
county, southern as well as northern, but particularly in the pioneer
district.”
The public health movement in counties is by no means limited to the
cited states.
COUNTY PLANNING
An example full of suggestive possibilities for almost any locality
comes to us from Westchester County, N. Y. It is a district which
is partly suburban and partly rural and has had very little unity
excepting a political one. The lines of railroad travel run not to
a common center within the county but to the Grand Central Terminal
in New York City. This situation the Westchester County Chamber of
Commerce set about to alleviate at least in some degree by means of
a county physical plan which would facilitate communication between
sections and possibly tend to distribute population more evenly. The
plan calls for a carefully thought-out system of roads, parks and
sewers. It is a private undertaking, but _cities_ have official
planning commissions; why not counties? What could better serve as the
starting point for a broad, comprehensive program for a modernized
county to undertake?
COUNTY LIBRARIES
Quite as fundamental to the welfare of the rural county as turnpikes
and bridges is the awakening of its intellectual life. The school
system is becoming everywhere more highly centralized, so that
educational policies and administration are controlled from the state
capitol. But the schools only meet the demand in an elementary limited
way, leaving the adult population and the graduate of the common and
high schools for the most part unprovided for. The United States
Commissioner of Education has discovered that “probably seventy per
cent. of the entire population of the country have no access to any
adequate collection of books or to a public reading room. In only about
one third of the counties of the United States is there a library of
five thousand volumes or more. In only one hundred of these do the
villages and country people have free use of the libraries.”
In 1901 an Ohio county through a legacy left by one of its citizens
was enabled to meet this deficiency at least partially by establishing
the first county library. It has grown rapidly and now has not only a
central building but a number of sub-stations. The county is said, as a
result of this beginning, to have experienced a general awakening which
has been evidenced in good county pikes, county parks and a hundred
other tangible ways.
Following the example of Ohio, county library laws were passed in
Wyoming, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Maryland, Oregon, Nebraska and
New York. California has twenty-seven county libraries.
THE PUBLIC DEFENDER
Throughout Oklahoma and in Los Angeles county a humanitarian public
opinion has manifested itself in the erection of a new county office,
that of public defender. The purpose of this new institution is to
put the impecunious litigant actually as well as legally on an equal
footing with his opponent, whether he be a defendant in a criminal
action or a party to a civil suit. Hitherto the law had prescribed
that every defendant should have counsel, even if it be at the state’s
expense. But the lawyers assigned to this somewhat thankless task
(in a pecuniary sense) were either young and inexperienced or too
busy with more lucrative practice to give the “charity” cases the
attention they deserved. Under the new system the salaried defender is
a man comparable in his ability to the district attorney; he gives his
entire time to the county and has a number of assistants. The defender
serves also as an investigator for the court and often in this capacity
discovers circumstances which justify the judge in mitigating sentence.
Incidentally, two years experimentation with this office in Los Angeles
has shown that a considerable saving can be made as against the old
method of employing various lawyers in private practice.
While the public defender will doubtless acquire greatest importance in
city counties, rural communities will not fail to provide opportunities
for his services.
AN IDEALIZED POORMASTER
For another piece of successful experimentation we must again revert
to Westchester County, N. Y., this time to the work of V. Everit Macy,
the superintendent of the poor elected in November, 1914. Mr. Macy
entered upon his public duties, a man of wealth and long experience in
social welfare work. He found the poor administration of the county at
its political worst: petty graft in commitments and the purchase of
supplies, an archaic almshouse, a notable absence of informing records,
neglect of proper medical examinations. He began at the source of the
trouble by eliminating “politics,” in the making of appointments,
by the simple expedient of requiring applicants for positions to
state their qualifications. In time he had surrounded himself with a
group of trained social workers, men and women who, according to one
observer,[28] “are as unlike the staff commonly found with a poor-law
officer as the faculty of a university is unlike that of a one-room
country school.” The simple recital of a few of his achievements in
his first two-year term presages, perhaps, the county of the future
as somewhere in sight of its highest efficiency as a humanitarian
agency. Mr. Macy systematized records, required physical and medical
examination of all inmates, weeded out mental defectives and sent them
to custodial institutions, started competitive bidding in the purchase
of supplies (saving $18,000 in the first year), improved the diet
of inmates and their general level of health, tripled the amount of
produce raised upon the county farm, made the hospital a preventive
agency instead of a place for treating cases suffering obviously from
disease.
The superintendent’s basic interest, by the way, is the ultimate
causes and prevention of poverty, and to this end he has instituted
investigations and records of the habits, occupations and every other
matter concerning the inmates that might throw light upon their present
condition.
In the handling of children’s cases, his work has been particularly
effective. To begin with, unnecessary commitments, which had been
encouraged by the fee system prevailing in New York, have been
prevented. And during the first year of the term 311 children ceased
to be public charges, some of those previously committed having
been transferred to state homes, some having been placed in foster
homes, but the far greater number, 239, having been returned to their
relatives. Inasmuch as the annual cost to the county for each committed
child was $237, the public saving accomplished through this systematic,
intelligent handling of the child problem was over $17,000.
Before Mr. Macy’s first term had expired he had so far won the
confidence of the board of supervisors and the public in general that
they accepted plans for centralizing the public welfare work of the
county in a great plant for which nearly $2,000,000 has already been
appropriated. Within the confines of this new establishment will be
accommodated the almshouse, the county hospital and the county jail.
The office of superintendent of the poor, in the meantime has been
abolished (January 1, 1917) and a new officer to be known as the
commissioner of charities and correction, and having greatly extended
jurisdiction, will take his place.
It is a new conception which Mr. Macy has given us of the once
melancholy job of the poormaster and he has new revelations of the
possibilities of his position in store.
CITIZEN ORGANIZATION
But movements for better rural health, better library facilities,
better physical development and for a better conception of public
humane obligations do not spring out of the air. Always they are the
product either of some personal initiative or some organized effort.
Does any county clearly lack that element of citizen leadership?
Then the obvious need of the county is to bridge that gap. The rural
population of America suffers (the word is all too weak) for the
lack of a public community sense. Every “average” rural citizen is
a unit, he does not travel in droves--so much for his independence.
On the other hand, he has not fully learned the art of coöperation
and legitimate compromise. The end of this condition, however, will
doubtless come by way of his growing realization of a community of
private interest developed through such special organizations as
county chambers of commerce, boards of trade and county agricultural
associations.
Sometimes such bodies, founded with the idea of promoting a common
material advantage, as, for instance, by enhancing the value of local
real estate or attracting capital to local industries, discover by a
gradual process that the government is an indispensable leverage to
achieving the particular ends in view and that existing government is
a decidedly ineffectual instrument. It was through such a metamorphosis
that the Chamber of Commerce in Westchester County, N. Y., progressed
in its program of county planning, to a study of and attack upon
the faulty system of taxation, to plans for a revision of county
government and finally to an active interest in county home rule
through constitutional revision. County chambers of commerce are also
doing much to beat down the barriers of distrust that have existed
between the farmer and the business man. By a commingling of the two
in a common organization both have often come to an understanding of
their mutual interest in good roads, good schools and all the other
appurtenances of a developed community.
COUNTY STUDY CLUBS
An interesting effort to stimulate a healthy county consciousness
through a different intellectual means is being undertaken in North
Carolina. Under the auspices of the University of North Carolina
“home-county clubs” have been established in many counties and,
according to the prospectus, the members “are bent upon intimate,
thoughtful acquaintance with the forces, agencies, tendencies, drifts
and movements that have made the history we study to-day, and that
are making the history our children will study to-morrow.” The club
studies are mainly concerned with rural problems. Each county is
compared with itself during the last census period, “in order to learn
in what particulars it has moved forward, marking time or lagging to
the rearward.” But also it is compared with other counties of the
state, in every phase of the study, in order to show its rank and
standing.... “Meanwhile the state as a whole is being set against the
big background of world endeavor and achievement.”
* * * * *
Such are just a few of the signs of the broadening of rural community
life. To plan, to put before the public for discussion and approval,
and to execute just such projects as these is the constructive
opportunity of the county of the future. It is a program which will tax
the county’s citizenship and statesmanship. It is the county’s real
“politics.”
[27] Dr. I. J. Murphy of the Minnesota Public Health Association.
[28] See Winthrop D. Lane, “A Rich Man in the Poor House,”
_Survey_, Nov. 4, 1916. Reprinted in pamphlet form by the County
Government Association, White Plains, N. Y.
APPENDIX A
CONSTITUTIONAL COUNTY HOME RULE IN CALIFORNIA
[In response to a considerable demand for a reorganization of certain
counties the Legislature of California in 1911 submitted to the people
the amendment to Art. XI. of the constitution which appears herewith.
It was adopted October 10, 1911. For summary and comments see pp.
145-147 of the text.]
_County charters._
SEC. 7½. Any county may frame a charter for its own government
consistent with and subject to the Constitution (or, having framed such
a charter, may frame a new one), and relating to matters authorized
by provisions of the Constitution, by causing a board of fifteen
freeholders, who have been for at least five years qualified electors
thereof to be elected by the qualified electors of said county at
a general or special election. Said board of freeholders may be so
elected in pursuance of an ordinance adopted by the vote of three
fifths of all the members of the board of supervisors of such county,
declaring that the public interest requires the election of such
board for the purpose of preparing and proposing a charter for said
county, or in pursuance of a petition of qualified electors of said
county as hereinafter provided. Such petition, signed by fifteen per
centum of the qualified electors of said county, computed upon the
total number of votes cast therein for all candidates for Governor at
the last preceding general election at which a Governor was elected,
praying for the election of a board of fifteen freeholders to prepare
and propose a charter for said county, may be filed in the office of
the county clerk. It shall be the duty of said county clerk, within
twenty days after the filing of said petition, to examine the same,
and to ascertain from the record of the registration of electors of
the county, whether said petition is signed by the requisite number of
qualified electors. If required by said clerk, the board of supervisors
shall authorize him to employ persons specially to assist him in
the work of examining such petition, and shall provide for their
compensation. Upon the completion of such examination, said clerk
shall forthwith attach to said petition his certificate, properly
dated, showing the result thereof, and if, by said certificate, it
shall appear that said petition is signed by the requisite number of
qualified electors, said clerk shall immediately present said petition
to the board of supervisors, if it be in session, otherwise at its
next regular meeting after the date of such certificate. Upon the
adoption of such ordinance, or the presentation of such petition,
said board of supervisors shall order the holding of a special
election for the purpose of electing such board of freeholders, which
said special election shall be held not less than twenty days nor
more than sixty days after the adoption of the ordinance aforesaid
or the presentation of said petition to said board of supervisors;
_provided_, that if a general election shall occur in said county not
less than twenty days nor more than sixty days after the adoption
of the ordinance aforesaid, or such presentation of said petition to
said board of supervisors, said board of freeholders may be elected
at such general election. Candidates for election as members of said
board of freeholders shall be nominated by petition, substantially in
the same manner as may be provided by general law for the nomination,
by petition of electors, of candidates for county offices, to be
voted for at general elections. It shall be the duty of said board of
freeholders, within one hundred and twenty days after the result of
such election shall have been declared by said board of supervisors,
to prepare and propose a charter for said county, which shall be
signed in duplicate by the members of said board of freeholders, or a
majority of them, and be filed, one copy in the office of the county
clerk of said county and the other in the office of the county recorder
thereof. Said Board of Supervisors shall thereupon cause said proposed
charter to be published for at least ten times in a daily newspaper
of general circulation, printed, published and circulated in said
county; _provided_, that in any county where no such daily newspaper
is printed, published and circulated, such proposed charter shall be
published for at least three times in at least one weekly newspaper,
of general circulation, printed, published and circulated in such
county; and _provided_, that in any county where neither such daily
nor such weekly newspaper is printed, published and circulated, a copy
of such proposed charter shall be posted by the county clerk in three
public places in said county, and on or near the entrance to at least
one public schoolhouse in each school district in said county, and the
first publication or the posting of such proposed charter shall be made
within fifteen days after the filing of a copy thereof, as aforesaid,
in the office of the county clerk. Said proposed charter shall be
submitted by said board of supervisors to the qualified electors of
said county at a special election held not less than thirty days nor
more than sixty days after the completion of such publication, or after
such posting; _provided_, that if a general election shall occur in
said county not less than thirty days nor more than sixty days after
the completion of such publication, or after such posting, then such
proposed charter may be so submitted at such general election. If a
majority of said qualified electors, voting thereon at such general
or special election, shall vote in favor of such proposed charter,
it shall be deemed to be ratified, and shall be forthwith submitted
to the Legislature, if it be in regular session, otherwise at its
next regular session, or it may be submitted to the Legislature in
extraordinary session, for its approval or rejection as a whole,
without power of alteration or amendment. Such approval may be made
by concurrent resolution, and if approved by a majority vote of the
members elected to each house, such charter shall become the charter of
such county and shall become the organic law thereof relative to the
matters therein provided, and supersede any existing charter framed
under the provisions of this section, and all amendments thereof, and
shall supersede all laws inconsistent with such charter relative to the
matters provided in such charter. A copy of such charter, certified and
authenticated by the chairman and clerk of the board of supervisors
under the seal of said board and attested by the county clerk of said
county, setting forth the submission of such charter to the electors of
said county, and its ratification by them, shall, after the approval
of such charter by the Legislature, be made in duplicate, and filed,
one in the office of the Secretary of State and the other, after being
recorded in the office of the recorder of said county, shall be filed
in the office of the county clerk thereof, and thereafter all courts
shall take judicial notice of said charter.
The charter, so ratified, may be amended by proposals therefor
submitted by the board of supervisors of the county to the qualified
electors thereof at a general or special election held not less than
thirty days nor more than sixty days after the publication of such
proposals for ten times in a daily newspaper of general circulation,
printed, published and circulated in said county; _provided_,
that in any county where no such daily newspaper is printed, published
and circulated, such proposed charter shall be published for at least
three times in at least one weekly newspaper, of general circulation,
printed, published and circulated in such county; _provided_,
that in any county where neither such daily nor such weekly newspaper
is printed, published and circulated, a copy of such proposed charter
shall be posted by the county clerk in three public places in said
county, and on or near the entrance to at least one public schoolhouse
in each school district in said county. If a majority of such qualified
electors voting thereon, at such general or special election, shall
vote in favor of any such proposed amendment or amendments, or any
amendment or amendments proposed by petition as hereinafter provided,
such amendment or amendments shall be deemed to be ratified, and shall
be forthwith submitted to the Legislature, if it be in regular session,
otherwise at its next regular session, or may be submitted to the
Legislature in extraordinary session, for approval or rejection as a
whole, without power of alteration or amendment, and if approved by
the Legislature, as herein provided for the approval of the charter,
such charter shall be amended accordingly. A copy of such amendment
or amendments shall, after the approval thereof by the Legislature,
be made in duplicate, and shall be authenticated, certified, recorded
and filed as herein provided for the charter, and with like force and
effect. Whenever a petition signed by ten per centum of the qualified
electors of any county, computed upon the total number of votes cast
in said county for all candidates for Governor at the last general
election, at which a Governor was elected, is filed in the office of
the county clerk of said county, petitioning the board of supervisors
thereof to submit any proposed amendment or amendments to the charter
of such county, which amendment or amendments shall be set forth in
full in such petition, to the qualified electors thereof, such petition
shall forthwith be examined and certified by the county clerk, and if
signed by the requisite number of qualified electors of such county,
shall be presented to the said board of supervisors, by the said
county clerk, as hereinbefore provided for petitions for the election
of boards of freeholders. Upon the presentation of said petition to
said board of supervisors, said board must submit the amendment or
amendments set forth therein to the qualified electors of said county
at a general or special election held not less than thirty days nor
more than sixty days after the publication or posting of such proposed
amendment or amendments in the same manner as hereinbefore provided in
the case of the submission of any proposed amendment or amendments to
such charter, proposed and submitted by the board of supervisors. In
submitting any such charter, or amendments thereto, any alternative
article or proposition may be presented for the choice of the electors,
and may be voted on separately without prejudice to others.
Every special election held under the provisions of this section,
for the election of boards of freeholders or for the submission of
proposed charters, or any amendment or amendments thereto, shall be
called by the board of supervisors, by ordinance, which shall specify
the purpose and time of such election and shall establish the election
precincts and designate the polling places therein, and the names of
the election officers for each such precinct. Such ordinance, prior
to such election, shall be published five times in a daily newspaper,
or twice in a weekly newspaper, if there be no such daily newspaper,
printed, published and circulated in said county; _provided_, that
if no such daily or weekly newspaper be printed or published in such
county, then a copy of such ordinances shall be posted by the county
clerk in three public places in such county and in or near the entrance
to at least one public schoolhouse in each school district therein. In
all other respects, every such election shall be held and conducted,
the returns thereof canvassed and the result thereof declared by the
board of supervisors in the same manner as provided by law for general
elections. Whenever boards of freeholders shall be elected, or any such
proposed charter, or amendment or amendments thereto, submitted, at a
general election, the general laws applicable to the election of county
officers and the submission of propositions to the vote of electors,
shall be followed in so far as the same may be applicable thereto.
It shall be competent, in all charters, framed under the authority
given by this section to provide, in addition to any other provisions
allowable by this constitution, and the same shall provide, for the
following matters:
1. For boards of supervisors and for the constitution, regulation and
government thereof, for the times at which and the terms for which the
members of said board shall be elected, for the number of members,
not less than three, that shall constitute such boards, for their
compensation and for their election, either by the electors of the
counties at large or by districts; _provided_, that in any event
said board shall consist of one member for each district, who must be a
qualified elector thereof; and
2. For sheriffs, county clerks, treasurers, recorders, license
collectors, tax collectors, public administrators, coroners, surveyors,
district attorneys, auditors, assessors and superintendents of schools,
for the election or appointment of said officers, or any of them, for
the times at which and the terms for which, said officers shall be
elected or appointed, and for their compensation, or for the fixing of
such compensation by boards of supervisors, and, if appointed, for the
manner of their appointment; and
3. For the number of justices of the peace and constables for each
township, or for the number of such judges and other officers of such
inferior courts as may be provided by the Constitution or general
law, for the election or appointment of said officers, for the times
at which and the terms for which said officers shall be elected or
appointed, and for their compensations, or for the fixing of such
compensation by boards of supervisors, and if appointed, for the manner
of their appointment; and
4. For the powers and duties of boards of supervisors and all other
county officers, for their removal and for the consolidation and
segregation of county offices, and for the manner of filling all
vacancies occurring therein; _provided_, that the provisions
of such charters relating to the powers and duties of boards of
supervisors and all other county officers shall be subject to and
controlled by general laws; and
[29]4½. For the assumption and discharge by county officers of certain
of the municipal functions of the cities and towns within the county,
whenever, in the case of cities and towns incorporated under general
laws, the discharge by county officers of such municipal functions is
authorized by general law, or whenever, in the case of cities and towns
organized under section eight of this article, the discharge by county
officers of such municipal functions is authorized by provisions of the
charters, or by amendments thereto, of such cities or towns.
5. For the fixing and regulation by boards of supervisors, by
ordinance, of the appointment and number of assistants, deputies,
clerks, attachés and other persons to be employed, from time to time,
in the several offices of the county, and for the prescribing and
regulating by such boards of the powers, duties, qualifications and
compensation of such persons, the times at which, and terms for which
they shall be appointed, and the manner of their appointment and
removal; and
6. For the compensation of such fish and game wardens, probation and
other officers as may be provided by general law, or for the fixing of
such compensation by boards of supervisors.
All elective officers of counties, and of townships, of road districts
and of highway construction divisions therein shall be nominated and
elected in the manner provided by general laws for the nomination and
election of such officers.
All charters framed under the authority given by this section, in
addition to the matters herein above specified, may provide as follows:
For offices other than those required by the Constitution and laws of
the State, or for the creation of any or all of such offices by boards
of supervisors, for the election or appointment of persons to fill such
offices, for the manner of such appointment, for the times at which
and the terms for which such persons shall be so elected or appointed,
and for their compensation, or for the fixing of such compensation by
boards of supervisors.
For offices hereafter created by this constitution or by general law,
for the election or appointment of persons to fill such offices, for
the manner of such appointment, for the times at which and the terms
for which such persons shall be so elected or appointed, and for their
compensation, or for the fixing of such compensation by boards of
supervisors.
For the formation, in such counties, of road districts for the care,
maintenance, repair, inspection and supervision only of roads, highways
and bridges; and for the formation, in such counties, of highway
construction divisions for the construction only of roads, highways
and bridges; for the inclusion in any such district or division, of
the whole or any part of any incorporated city or town, upon ordinance
passed by such incorporated city or town authorizing the same, and upon
the assent to such inclusion by a majority of the qualified electors of
such incorporated city or town, or portion thereof, proposed to be so
included, at an election held for that purpose; for the organization,
government, powers and jurisdiction of such districts and divisions,
and for raising revenue therein, for such purposes, by taxation, upon
the assent of a majority of the qualified electors of such districts
or divisions, voting at an election to be held for that purpose; for
the incurring of indebtedness therefor by such counties, districts or
divisions for such purposes respectively, by the issuance and sale,
by the counties, of bonds of such counties, districts or divisions,
and the expenditure of the proceeds of the sale of such bonds, and for
levying and collecting taxes against the property of the counties,
districts or divisions, as the case may be, for the payment of the
principal and interest of such indebtedness at maturity; provided,
that any such indebtedness shall not be incurred without the assent
of two thirds of the qualified electors of the county, district or
division, as the case may be, voting at an election to be held for
that purpose, nor unless before or at the time of incurring such
indebtedness provision shall be made for the collection of an annual
tax sufficient to pay the interest on such indebtedness as it falls
due, and also for a sinking fund for the payment of the principal
thereof on or before maturity, which shall not exceed forty years
from the time of contracting the same, and the procedure for voting,
issuing and selling such bonds shall, except in so far as the same
shall be prescribed in such charters, conform to general laws for the
authorizing and incurring by counties of bonded indebtedness, so far as
applicable; provided, further, that provisions in such charters for the
construction, care, maintenance, repair, inspection and supervision of
roads, highways and bridges for which aid from the State is granted,
shall be subject to such regulations and conditions as may be imposed
by the Legislature.
Whenever any county has framed and adopted a charter, and the same
shall have been approved by the Legislature, as herein provided, the
general laws adopted by the Legislature in pursuance of sections four
and five of this article, shall, as to such county, be superseded
by said charter as to matters for which, under this section it is
competent to make provision in such charter, and for which provision
is made therein, except as herein otherwise expressly provided; and
except that any such charter shall not affect the tenure of office of
the elective officers of the county, or of any district, township or
division thereof, in office at the time such charter goes into effect,
and such officers shall continue to hold their respective offices until
the expiration of the term for which they shall have been elected,
unless sooner removed in the manner provided by law.
The charter of any county, adopted under the authority of this section,
may be surrendered and annulled with the assent of two thirds of the
qualified electors of such county, voting at a special election,
held for that purpose, and to be ordered and called by the board of
supervisors of the county upon receiving a written petition, signed and
certified as hereinabove provided for the purposes of the adoption of
charters, requesting said board to submit the question of the surrender
and annulment of such charter to the qualified electors of such county,
and, in the event of the surrender and annulment of any such charter,
such county shall thereafter be governed under general laws in force
for the government of counties.
The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to any county
that is consolidated with any city.
[29] This paragraph was adopted as an amendment, Nov. 3, 1914.
APPENDIX B
THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY CHARTER
[This was the first charter to be drafted and adopted by the people
of a county under the amendment of the California constitution (_q.
v._). For summary and comment on its provisions see pp. 172-173.
Date of adoption: Nov. 7, 1912.]
We the people of the County of Los Angeles, do ordain and establish for
its government this
CHARTER
ARTICLE 1.
_Name and Rights of the County_
SEC. 1: The County of Los Angeles, as it now exists, is a body
corporate and politic, and as such has all the powers specified by the
constitution and laws of the State of California, and by this Charter,
and such other powers as are necessarily implied.
SEC. 2: The powers mentioned in the preceding section can be
exercised only by a Board of Supervisors, or by agents and officers
acting under their authority or by authority of law or of this Charter.
SEC. 3: The corporate name shall be “County of Los Angeles,”
which must be thus designated in all actions and proceedings touching
its corporate rights, properties and duties. Its boundaries and county
seat shall remain the same as they now are, until otherwise changed by
law.
ARTICLE II.
_Board of Supervisors_
SEC. 4: The County of Los Angeles shall have a Board of Supervisors
consisting of five members, each of whom must be an elector of
the district which he represents, must reside therein during his
incumbency, must have been such an elector for at least one year
immediately preceding his election, and shall be elected by such
district. Their terms of office shall be four years, each shall hold
until his successor is elected and qualified, and they shall each
receive a salary of $5000 per year payable monthly from the County
Treasury. They shall devote all their time during business hours to the
faithful service of the public.
SEC. 5: The County is hereby divided into five supervisor
districts, the boundaries of which shall be and remain as they now are
until otherwise changed as provided in this Charter.
SEC. 6: At the general election to be held in November, 1914,
supervisors shall be elected from the First and Third Supervisor
districts, whose terms shall begin at noon on the first Monday after
the first day of January, 1915, and end at noon on the first Monday
in December, 1918; provided, that each shall hold office until his
successor is elected and qualified.
At the general election to be held in November, 1916, supervisors
shall be elected from the Second, Fourth and Fifth districts, whose
terms shall begin at noon on the first Monday after the first day of
January, 1917, and end at noon on the first Monday in December, 1920;
provided, that each shall hold office until his successor is elected
and qualified.
At each general election after November, 1916, there shall be elected,
either two or three supervisors, as the case may be, for terms of four
years, beginning at noon on the first Monday in December next after
their election, and ending at noon on the first Monday in December,
four years thereafter.
SEC. 7: The Board of Supervisors may, by a two-thirds vote
of its members, change the boundaries of any supervisor district. No
such boundaries shall ever be so changed as to affect the incumbency
in office of any supervisor. Any change in the boundaries of any
supervisor district must be made within one year after a general
election.
SEC. 8: Whenever a vacancy occurs in the Board of Supervisors
the Governor shall fill such vacancy, and the appointee shall hold
office until the election and qualification of his successor. In such
case, a Supervisor shall be elected at the next general election, to
fill the vacancy for the unexpired term, unless such term expires on
the first Monday in December succeeding said election.
SEC. 9: The Board of Supervisors shall elect a Chairman, who
shall preside at all meetings. In case of his absence or inability to
act, the members present must, by an order entered of record, select
one of their number to act as Chairman _pro tem_. Any member of
the Board may administer oaths, when necessary in the performance of
his official duties. A majority of the members shall constitute a
quorum, and no act of the Board shall be valid or binding unless a
majority of the members concur.
ARTICLE III.
_General Powers of the Board of Supervisors_
SEC. 10: The Board of Supervisors shall have all the jurisdiction
and power which are now or which may hereafter be granted by the
constitution and laws of the State of California or by this Charter.
SEC. 11: It shall be the duty of the Board of Supervisors:
(1) To appoint all county officers other than elective officers, and
all officers, assistants, deputies, clerks, attachés and employees
whose appointment is not provided for by this Charter. Except in the
cases of appointees to the unclassified service, all appointments by
the Board shall be from the eligible civil service list. The Board
shall provide, by ordinance, for the compensation of elective officers
and of its appointees, unless such compensation is otherwise fixed by
this Charter.
(2) To provide, by ordinance, for the number of Justices of the Peace
and Constables, to be elected and appointed, respectively, in each
Township. The Board may also provide, by ordinance, for the number and
fix the compensation, of such other judges and inferior officers of
such inferior courts as are now, or may hereafter be, provided by the
constitution or by general law.
(3) To provide, by ordinance, for the number of assistants, deputies,
clerks, attachés and other persons to be employed from time to time
in the several offices and institutions of the county, and for their
compensation and the times at which they shall be appointed.
(4) To provide, by ordinance, for the creation of offices other than
those required by the constitution and laws of the State, and for the
appointment of persons to fill the same, and to fix their compensation.
(5) To require, if deemed expedient, any county or township officer,
or employee, before or after entering upon the duties of his office,
or service, to give bond for the faithful performance thereof, in such
penal sum as may be fixed by the Board.
(6) To provide, publish and enforce, a complete code of rules, not
inconsistent with general laws or this Charter, prescribing in detail
the duties, and the systems of office and institutional management,
accounts and reports for each of the offices, institutions and
departments of the county.
ARTICLE IV.
_County Officers Other Than Supervisors_
SEC. 12: The elective county officers other than members of
the Board of Supervisors shall be: Sheriff, District Attorney and
Assessor.
SEC. 13: At the general election to be held in November, 1914,
a District Attorney shall be elected, whose term shall begin at noon
on the first Monday after the first day of January, 1915, and end at
noon on the first Monday in December, 1916. At the same election a
Sheriff and Assessor shall be elected, whose terms shall begin at the
same time and end at noon on the first Monday in December, 1918. At the
general election to be held in November, 1916, and every four years
thereafter, a District Attorney shall be elected, whose term shall be
four years, beginning at noon on the first Monday in December following
his election and ending at noon on the first Monday in December four
years thereafter. At the general election to be held in November,
1918, and every four years thereafter, a Sheriff and Assessor shall
be elected, whose terms shall be four years, beginning at noon on the
first Monday in December following their election, and ending at noon
on the first Monday in December, four years thereafter. All elective
county officers shall hold office until their successors are elected
and qualified.
SEC. 14: The appointive county officers shall be:
Auditor.
Board of Education, Members of.
Board of Law Library Trustees, Members of.
Civil Service Commission, Members of.
Coroner.
County Clerk.
County Counsel.
Fish and Game Warden.
Health Officer.
Horticultural Commissioner.
License Collector.
Live Stock Inspector.
Probation Committee, Members of.
Probation Officer.
Public Administrator.
Public Defender.
Purchasing Agent.
Recorder.
Registrar of Voters.
Road Commissioner.
Superintendent of Charities.
Superintendent of Schools.
Surveyor.
Tax Collector.
Treasurer.
Such other officers as may hereafter be provided by law shall also be
appointive.
The Tax Collector shall be ex-officio License Collector.
SEC. 15: All fees collected by any county officer, Board or
Commission shall be paid into the County Treasury on the first Monday
of each calendar month, together with a detailed statement of the same
in writing, a duplicate copy of which shall be filed with the Auditor
at the same time.
SEC. 16: Whenever a vacancy occurs in an elective county
office other than a member of the Board of Supervisors, the Board
shall fill such vacancy, and the appointee shall hold office until the
election and qualification of his successor. In such case, there shall
be elected at the next general election an officer to fill such vacancy
for the unexpired term, unless such term expires on the first Monday in
December succeeding said election.
ARTICLE V.
_Township Officers_
SEC. 17: The Board of Supervisors must provide, by ordinance,
for not less than one Justice of the Peace and one Constable in each
township, and may provide for more in townships where population
and the business therein require a greater number; provided, that,
until the Board shall so provide for such Justices of the Peace and
Constables, the number of each thereof in each township shall continue
as now or hereafter provided by law; provided, further, that if the
Legislature shall hereafter, instead of the system of Courts of Justice
of the Peace now established by law, substitute some other system of
inferior courts, then and in that event, it shall not be compulsory
upon the Board of Supervisors to provide any number for, and the Board
may discontinue the existence of all Justices of the Peace in the
several townships, if such discontinuance be allowed by law, and the
Board may provide for such number of inferior Judges or Justices as may
be necessary for the needs of the county under such substituted system.
SEC. 18: Justices of the Peace shall be nominated and elected
at the times and in the manner and for the terms, now or hereafter
provided by general law. Constables shall be appointed by the Sheriff
from the eligible civil service list.
SEC. 19: The compensation of Justices of the Peace and of
Constables shall be fixed by the Board of Supervisors, and must be by
salary only, which need not be uniform for the several townships, nor
proportionate to population therein. Their duties and qualifications
shall be such as are now, or which may hereafter be prescribed by law,
or by this Charter.
SEC. 20: All fees collected by any Justice of the Peace or
Constable shall be paid into the County Treasury, on the first Monday
of each calendar month, together with a detailed statement of the same
in writing, a duplicate copy of which shall be filed with the Auditor
at the same time. The fees to be so paid into the Treasury by each
Constable shall include all fees charged and collected by him for
service of any writ or process of any court or for any act or service
done or rendered by him, or which he has power or which it is his duty
to do or render, in his official capacity; and every Constable shall
enter in the fee book kept by him all such fees charged and collected
by him and pay the same into the County Treasury as above provided,
without deduction for any such acts or services purporting or claimed
to have been done or rendered by him as a private citizen.
ARTICLE VI.
_Duties of Officers_
SEC. 21: The County Counsel shall represent and advise the
Board of Supervisors and all county, township and school district
officers, in all matters and questions of law pertaining to their
duties, and shall have exclusive charge and control of all civil
actions and proceedings in which the county, or any officer thereof, is
concerned or is a party. He shall also act as attorney for the Public
Administrator in the matter of all estates in which such officer is
executor, administrator with the will annexed, or administrator, and
the County Counsel shall, in every such matter, collect the attorney’s
fees allowed therein by law and pay the same into the County Treasury.
SEC. 22: The Superintendent of Charities shall be under the
direction of the Board of Supervisors, and shall exercise a general
supervision over, and enforce rules and regulations for the conduct
and government of, the charitable institutions of the county. He
shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of
Supervisors or by law.
SEC. 23: Upon request by the Defendant or upon order of the
Court, the Public Defender shall defend, without expense to them, all
persons who are not financially able to employ counsel and who are
charged, in the Superior Court, with the commission of any contempt,
misdemeanor, felony or other offense. He shall also, upon request, give
counsel and advice to such persons, in and about any charge against
them upon which he is conducting the defense, and he shall prosecute
all appeals to a higher court or courts, of any person who has been
convicted upon any such charge, where, in his opinion, such appeal
will, or might reasonably be expected to, result in a reversal or
modification of the judgment of conviction.
He shall also, upon request, prosecute actions for the collection of
wages and of other demands of persons who are not financially able to
employ counsel, in cases in which the sum involved does not exceed
$100, and in which, in the judgment of the Public Defender, the claims
urged are valid and enforceable in the courts.
He shall also, upon request, defend such persons in all civil
litigation in which, in his judgment, they are being persecuted or
unjustly harassed.
The costs in all actions in which the Public Defender shall appear
under this section, whether for plaintiffs or for defendants, shall be
paid from the County Treasury, at the times and in the manner required
by law, or by rules of court, and under a system of demand, audit
and payment, which shall be prescribed by the Board of Supervisors.
It shall be the duty of the Public Defender, in all such litigation,
to procure, if possible, in addition to general judgments in favor
of the persons whom he shall represent therein, judgments for costs
and attorney’s fees, where permissible, against the opponents of such
persons, and collect and pay the same into the County Treasury.
SEC. 24: Subject to rules and regulations which shall be
adopted by the Board of Supervisors, by ordinance, the Purchasing Agent
shall be the buyer of furniture, fixtures, tools, supplies, materials
or other articles of personal property for the county and for county,
township and all other officers.
SEC. 25: Each county or township officer, Board or Commission
shall have the powers and perform the duties now or hereafter
prescribed by general law, and by this Charter, as to such officer,
Board or Commission.
ARTICLE VII.
_Road Department_
SEC. 26: The Board of Supervisors may provide for the formation of road
districts for the care, maintenance, repair and supervision of roads,
highways and bridges; and for the formation of highway construction
divisions for the construction of roads, highways and bridges; for
the inclusion in any such district or division of the whole or any
part of any incorporated city or town upon ordinance passed by such
incorporated city or town authorizing the same, and upon the assent
to such inclusion by a majority of the qualified electors of such
incorporated city or town or portion thereof proposed to be so included
at an election held for that purpose; for the organization, government,
powers and jurisdiction of such district or division, for raising
revenue therein for such purposes, by taxation, upon the assent of a
majority of the qualified electors of such district or division, voting
at an election held for that purpose; for the incurring of indebtedness
therefor by the county, district or division for such purposes,
respectively, by the issuance and sale, by the county, of bonds of the
county, district or division, and the expenditure of the proceeds of
the sale of such bonds, and for levying and collecting taxes against
the property of the county, district or division, as the case may be,
for the payment of the principal and interest of such indebtedness at
maturity; provided that any such indebtedness shall not be incurred
without the assent of two-thirds of the qualified electors of the
county, district or division, as the case may be, voting at an election
held for that purpose, nor unless before or at the time of incurring
such indebtedness, provision shall be made for the collection of an
annual tax sufficient to pay the interest on such indebtedness as it
falls due, and also for a sinking fund for the payment of the principal
thereof on or before maturity, which shall not exceed forty years
from the time of contracting the same; and the procedure for voting,
issuing and selling such bonds, except insofar as the same shall be
otherwise prescribed in this Charter, shall conform to general laws
for the authorizing and incurring of bonded indebtedness by counties
so far as applicable; provided, further, that the construction, care,
maintenance, repair and supervision of roads, highways and bridges
for which aid from the state is granted shall be subject to such
regulations and conditions as may be imposed by the Legislature.
SEC. 27: The Road Commissioner, subject to such rules and regulations
as shall be prescribed by the Board of Supervisors, shall have
direction and control over all work of construction, maintenance and
repair of roads, highways and bridges, other than work done under
contract, and it shall be his duty to examine and inspect contract
work as the same progresses and to see that the same is properly
performed, and when completed to file his written approval thereof with
the Board of Supervisors. He shall also have the control and management
of all county rock quarries and gravel pits, and of all other
materials, property and instrumentalities necessary for and connected
with the construction, maintenance and repair of roads, highways and
bridges.
ARTICLE VIII.
_Constabulary Department_
SEC. 28: There is hereby created a Constabulary Department, consisting
of the Sheriff and of all Constables, who are hereby made _ex-officio_
Deputy Sheriffs.
SEC. 29: The Sheriff shall be the head of said Department, and shall
so organize the same as to give the county efficient and effective
police protection. Each Constable shall be subject to the orders of the
Sheriff and must serve process within his township, or elsewhere, when
requested, and he shall also perform all the duties required of him by
law.
ARTICLE IX.
_Civil Service_
SEC. 30: On or before the first day of July, 1913, the Board of
Supervisors shall appoint three persons as members of the Civil Service
Commission, who shall so classify themselves as that one shall serve
until the first Monday in December, 1915, at noon, one until the
first Monday in December, 1917, at noon, and one until the first
Monday in December, 1919, at noon. Before the first Monday in December
of each alternate year after 1913, the Board of Supervisors shall
appoint one person as the successor of the member of the Commission
whose term shall then expire, to serve for six years. Any vacancy on
the Commission shall be filled by the Board of Supervisors for the
unexpired term. Each member of the Commission shall serve until his
successor is appointed and qualified. Not more than one member shall be
an adherent of the same political party. No member shall hold any other
salaried county office, nor shall he have been, within the year next
preceding his appointment, an active executive officer in any political
organization. Each member shall have been a resident of the county
for the five years next preceding his appointment, and his name shall
be upon the state and county assessment rolls at the time thereof.
The Board of Supervisors by a four-fifths vote of all the members may
remove a member of the Commission during his term of office, but only
upon stating in writing the reasons for such removal and allowing him
an opportunity to be publicly heard in his own defense. The Commission
shall elect one of its members president.
SEC. 31: Each member of the Commission shall receive a compensation
of Ten Dollars for each meeting thereof attended by him, not to
exceed five meetings in any calendar month. The Commission shall
appoint and fix the compensation of a Chief Examiner, who shall also
act as Secretary. This position shall be in the competitive class.
The Commission may appoint and fix the compensation of such other
subordinates as may be necessary.
SEC. 32: For the support of the work of the Commission, the Board
of Supervisors shall annually levy and collect a tax on all taxable
property in the county, at the rate of not less than one-half of one
cent on each One Hundred Dollars of assessed valuation thereof. Any
part of the tax so levied for any fiscal year not expended during such
fiscal year, or required to defray expenses incurred during such year,
shall on the first day of January next succeeding the end thereof, be
placed in the general fund of the county.
SEC. 33: The Civil Service of the county is hereby divided into the
unclassified and the classified service.
* * * * *
The unclassified service shall comprise:
(a) All officers elected by the people.
(b) In the office of the District Attorney: The Chief and one other
deputy, one secretary, and three detectives; and special counsel and
special detectives for temporary employment.
(c) In the office of the Sheriff: The Under Sheriff, or Chief Deputy.
In the office of the Assessor: The Chief Deputy.
(d) Superintendents, principals and teachers in the school system.
(e) Members of the County Board of Education.
(f) Members of the Civil Service Commission.
(g) All officers and other persons serving the county without
compensation.
The classified service shall include all other positions now existing
or hereafter created.
* * * * *
SEC. 34: The Commission shall prescribe, amend and enforce rules for
the classified service, which shall have the force and effect of law;
shall keep minutes of its proceedings and records of its examinations
and shall, as a Board or through a single Commissioner, make
investigations concerning the enforcement and effect of this Article
and of the rules and efficiency of the service. It shall make an annual
report to the Board of Supervisors.
* * * * *
The rules shall provide:
(1) For the classification of all positions in the classified service.
(2) For open, competitive examinations to test the relative fitness of
applicants for such positions.
(3) For public advertisement of all examinations.
(4) For the creation of eligible lists upon which shall be entered
the names of successful candidates in the order of their standing in
examination. Such lists shall remain in force not longer than two years.
(5) For the rejection of candidates or eligibles who fail to comply
with the reasonable requirements of the Commission in regard to age,
residence, sex, physical condition or who have been guilty of crime or
of infamous or disgraceful conduct or who have attempted any deception
or fraud in connection with an examination.
(6) For the appointment of one of the three persons standing highest on
the appropriate list.
(7) For a period of probation not to exceed six months before
appointment or promotion is made complete, during which period a
probationer may be discharged or reduced with the consent of the
Commission.
(8) For non-competitive examinations for minor positions in the county
institutions when competition is found to be impracticable.
(9) For temporary employment of persons on the eligible list until
list of the class covering the temporary employment is exhausted; and
in cases of emergency, for temporary employment without examination,
with the consent of the Commission, after the eligible list has been
exhausted. But no such temporary employment shall continue longer than
sixty days, nor shall successive temporary appointments be allowed. Nor
shall the acceptance or refusal to accept such temporary appointment on
the part of a person on the eligible list be a bar to appointment to a
permanent position from said eligible list.
(10) For transfer from one position to a similar position in the same
class and grade and for reinstatement within one year of persons who
without fault or delinquency on their part are separated from the
service or reduced.
(11) For promotion based on competitive examination and records of
efficiency, character, conduct and seniority. Lists shall be created
and promotion made therefrom in the same manner as prescribed for
original appointment. An advancement in rank or an increase in salary
beyond the limit fixed for the grade by the rules shall constitute
promotion. Whenever practicable, vacancies shall be filled by promotion.
(12) For suspensions for not longer than thirty days and for leaves of
absence.
(13) For discharge or reduction in rank or compensation after
appointment of promotion is complete, only after the person to be
discharged or reduced has been presented with the reasons for such
discharge or reduction, specifically stated and has been allowed a
reasonable time to reply thereto in writing. The reasons and the reply
must be filed as a record with the Commission.
(14) For the appointment of unskilled laborers and such skilled
laborers as the Commission may determine in the order of priority of
application after such tests of fitness as the Commission may prescribe.
(15) For the establishment of a bureau of efficiency, consisting
of the Commission, the Secretary thereof and the Auditor, for the
purpose of determining the duties of each position in the classified
service, fixing standards of efficiency, investigating the methods of
operation of the various departments, and recommending to the Board of
Supervisors and department heads measures for increasing individual,
group and departmental efficiency, and providing for uniformity of
competition and simplicity of operation. The Commission shall ascertain
and record the comparative efficiency of employees in the classified
service and shall have power, after hearing, to dismiss from the
service those who fall below the standard of efficiency established.
(16) For the adoption and amendment of rules only after public notice
and hearing.
The Commission shall adopt such other rules, not inconsistent with the
foregoing provisions of this section, as may be necessary and proper
for the enforcement of this Article.
SEC. 35: In case of a vacancy in a position requiring peculiar
and exceptional qualifications of a scientific, professional or expert
character, upon satisfactory evidence that competition is impracticable
and that the position can best be filled by the selection of some
designated person of recognized attainments, the Commission may, after
public hearing and by the affirmative vote of all three members of
the Commission, suspend competition, but no such suspension shall be
general in its application to such positions, and all such cases of
suspension shall be reported, together with the reason therefor, in the
annual reports of the Commission.
SEC. 36: All examinations shall be impartial and shall deal
with the duties and requirements of the position to be filled. When
oral tests are used, a record of the examination, showing basis of
rating, shall be made. Examinations shall be in charge of the chief
examiner except when members of the commission act as examiners. The
commission may call on other persons to draw up, conduct or mark
examinations, and when such persons are connected with the county
service it shall be deemed a part of their official duties to act as
examiners without extra compensation.
SEC. 37: All persons in the county or township service holding
positions in the classified service as established by this Article,
at the time it takes effect, whether holding by election or by
appointment, and who shall have been in such service for the six
months next preceding shall hold their positions until discharged,
reduced, promoted or transferred in accordance with the provisions
of this Article. The Commission shall maintain a civil list of all
persons in the county service, showing in connection with each name
the position held, the date and character of every appointment and
of every subsequent change in status. Each appointing officer shall
promptly transmit to the Commission all information required for the
establishment and maintenance of said civil list.
SEC. 38: The Auditor shall not approve any salary or compensation for
services to any person holding or performing the duties of a position
in the classified service, unless the payroll or account for such
salary or compensation shall bear the certificate of the Commission
that the persons named therein have been appointed or employed and are
performing service in accordance with the provisions of this Article
and of the rules established thereunder.
SEC. 39: Charges against any person in the classified service
may be made to the Commission by any elector of the county, such
charges to be in writing.
SEC. 40: In any investigation conducted by the Commission it
shall have the power to subpœna and require the attendance of witnesses
and the production thereby of books and papers pertinent to the
investigation and each Commissioner shall have the power to administer
oaths to such witnesses.
SEC. 41: No person in the classified service, or seeking
admission thereto, shall be appointed, reduced or removed or in any way
favored or discriminated against because of his political or religious
opinions or affiliations.
SEC. 42: No officer or employee of the county, in the classified
service, shall, directly or indirectly, solicit or receive, or be
in any manner concerned in soliciting or receiving, any assessment,
subscription or contribution for any political party or political
purpose whatever. No person shall, orally or by letter, solicit, or be
in any manner concerned in soliciting, any assessment, subscription
or contribution for any political party or purpose whatever from any
person holding a position in the classified service.
SEC. 43: No person holding a position in the classified service shall
take any part in political management or affairs or in political
campaigns further than to cast his vote and to express privately his
opinions.
SEC. 44: Any person willfully violating any of the provisions of this
Article or of the rules established thereunder, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor.
ARTICLE X.
_Labor_
SEC. 45: In the employment of persons in the service of the county,
where sex does not actually disqualify and where the quality and
quantity of service is equal, there shall be no discrimination in
selection or compensation, on account of sex.
SEC. 46: Eight hours shall constitute a day’s work for mechanics and
others engaged in manual labor in the service of the county.
SEC. 47: In fixing compensation to be paid to persons under the
classified civil service, the Board of Supervisors shall, in each
instance, provide a salary or wage at least equal to the prevailing
salary or wage for the same quality of service rendered to private
persons, firms or corporations under similar employment in case such
prevailing salary or wage can be ascertained.
SEC. 48: Every person who shall have been in the service of the county,
continuously, for one year, shall be allowed a vacation of two weeks on
full pay, annually.
SEC. 49: The Board of Supervisors shall prohibit enforced labor without
compensation as a penalty for the commission of public offenses.
The net earnings of all county prisoners, based upon reasonable
compensation for services performed, shall go to the support of their
dependents, and if such prisoners have no dependents, such net earnings
shall accumulate and be paid to them upon their discharge.
ARTICLE XI.
_Recall_
SEC. 50: The holder of any elective or appointive county or township
office may be recalled by the electors at any time after he has
held his office six months. The provisions of this Article shall
apply to officials now in office, and to those hereafter elected
or appointed. Such recall shall be affected as follows: A petition
demanding the election or appointment of a successor to the person
sought to be recalled shall be filed with the Registrar of Voters,
which petition shall be signed by qualified voters equal in number to
at least fifteen per cent. of the entire vote cast within the county
for all candidates for the office of Governor of the state at the
last preceding election at which a Governor was elected (or at least
twenty-five per cent. of such vote cast within the district or township
for which the officer sought to be recalled was elected or appointed,
in case of an official not elected by or appointed for the county)
and shall contain a statement of the grounds on which the recall is
sought. No insufficiency of form or substance in such statement shall
affect the validity of the election and proceedings held thereunder.
The signatures to the petition need not all be appended to one paper.
Each signer shall add to his signature his place of occupation and
residence, giving street and number or if no street or number exist,
then such a designation of his residence as will enable the location
to be readily ascertained. To each separate paper of such petition
shall be attached an affidavit made by a qualified elector of the
county, stating that the affiant circulated that particular paper and
saw written the signatures appended thereto, and that, according to
the information and belief of the affiant, each of said signatures
is genuine, and the signature of a qualified elector of the county
(or particular sub-division thereof in which such signers are hereby
required to reside). Within ten days from the filing of such petition,
the Registrar of Voters shall, from the records of registration,
determine whether or not said petition is signed by the requisite
number of qualified voters, and he shall attach to said petition his
certificate showing such determination. If such certificate shows the
petition to be insufficient, it may be supplemented within ten days
from the date of the certificate by the filing of additional papers,
duplicates of the original petition except as to the names signed. The
Registrar of Voters shall, within ten days after such additional papers
are filed, ascertain from the records of registration, and certify
whether or not the names to such petition, including such additional
papers, are still insufficient, and if insufficient, no action shall
be taken thereon; but the petition shall remain on file as a public
record. The failure to secure sufficient names shall not prejudice
the filing later of an entirely new petition to the same effect. If
required by the Registrar of Voters, the Board of Supervisors shall
authorize him to employ, and shall provide for the compensation of,
persons necessary in the examination of said petition and supplementing
petition, in addition to the persons regularly employed by him in
his office. In case the Registrar of Voters is the officer sought to
be recalled, the duties in this Article provided to be performed by
him shall be performed by the County Clerk. If the petition shall be
found to be sufficient, the Registrar of Voters shall submit the same
to the Board of Supervisors without delay, whereupon the Board shall
forthwith cause a special election to be held not less than thirty-five
nor more than forty days after the date of the order calling such an
election, to determine whether the voters shall recall such officer.
If a vacancy occur in said office after a recall petition is filed,
and the office is elective, the election shall nevertheless proceed as
in this section provided. One petition is sufficient to propose the
recall of one or more officials and the election of successors to such
thereof as are elective. Nominations for any elective office under such
recall election shall be made by petition in the manner prescribed by
section 1188 of the Political Code. Upon the sample ballot there shall
be printed, in not more than two hundred words, the grounds set forth
in the recall petition for demanding the recall of the officer, and
upon the same ballot in not more than two hundred words, the officer
may justify himself. There shall be printed on the recall ballot,
as to every officer whose recall is to be voted on, the following
question: “Shall (name of person against whom the recall petition is
filed) be recalled from the office of (title of office)?” following
which question shall be the words “Yes” and “No” on separate lines,
with a blank space at the right of each, in which the voter shall, by
stamping a cross (x) indicate his vote for or against such recall. On
such ballots, under each such question there shall also be printed,
if the officer sought to be recalled be an elective officer, the
names of those persons who shall have been nominated as candidates to
succeed him, in case he shall be recalled at such election; but no vote
shall be counted for any candidate for said office unless the voter
also voted on the question of the recall of the person sought to be
recalled therefrom. The name of the person sought to be recalled shall
not appear on the ballot as a candidate for the office. If a majority
of those voting on said question of the recall of any incumbent shall
vote “No” said incumbent shall continue in said office. If a majority
shall vote “Yes,” said incumbent shall thereupon be deemed removed from
such office, upon the qualification of his successor. The canvassers
shall canvass the votes for candidates for said office and declare the
result in like manner as in a regular election. If the vote at any such
recall election shall recall the officer, then the candidate who has
received the highest number of votes for the office shall be thereby
declared elected for the remainder of the term. In case the person who
received the highest number of votes shall fail to qualify within ten
days after receiving the certificate of election, the office shall be
deemed vacant and shall be filled according to law. If the incumbent of
an appointive office be recalled at such election, his successor shall
be appointed immediately after the canvassing of the vote.
Before any petition can be filed under this section for the recall of
any person in the classified service of the county, there shall be
presented to, and be passed upon by, the Civil Service Commission, a
complaint in writing giving the grounds for and asking the removal of
such person. Such complaint must be considered and be finally acted
upon by the Commission within twenty days after such filing.
Until such time as the Board of Supervisors shall appoint a Registrar
of Voters under the provisions of this Charter, the powers and duties
by this section conferred upon the Registrar of Voters shall be
exercised and performed by the County Clerk. In case, at any time
prior to the appointment of such Registrar of Voters, the County Clerk
shall be sought to be recalled, such powers and duties, in and about
the matter of such proposed recall, shall be exercised and performed
by some other officer or person to be designated by the Board of
Supervisors.
ARTICLE XII.
_Miscellaneous_
SEC. 51: Each county or township officer, Board or Commission shall
appoint, from the eligible civil service list, for either permanent
or temporary service, all assistants, librarians, deputies, clerks,
attachés and other persons in the office or department of such officer,
Board or Commission, as the number thereof is fixed and from time to
time changed by the Board of Supervisors; provided, that appointments
to the unclassified service in their respective offices and departments
shall be made by such officers, Boards and Commissions, without
reference to such eligible list.
SEC. 52: The compensation of any elective county or township officer
shall not be increased nor diminished during the term for which he was
elected, nor within ninety days preceding his election.
No compensation for any position, nor of any person under civil
service, shall be increased or diminished without the consent of the
Civil Service Commission specifically given thereto in writing.
SEC. 53: Whenever any person in the service of the county is compelled
to travel in the performance of his duty, he shall, in addition to
his regular compensation, be reimbursed for his actual necessary
expenditures for transportation, the hire of conveyances, and for
lodging and meals. An itemized account of such expenditures shall be
filed with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and be approved by the
Auditor before being paid. The Board of Supervisors shall fix a maximum
price to be paid for such lodging and meals, which shall be uniform and
be made applicable to all persons alike, including members of the Board
of Supervisors.
SEC. 54: No attorney, agent, stockholder or employee of any firm,
association or corporation doing business under or by virtue of any
franchise granted by, or contract made with the county, shall, nor
shall any person doing such business, nor shall any person financially
interested in any such franchise or contract, be eligible to or hold
any appointive county office.
SEC. 55: The District Attorney, Public Defender, County Counsel, and
their deputies, shall not engage in any private law practice, and they
shall devote all their time and attention during business hours to the
duties of their respective offices.
SEC. 56: Nothing in this Charter is intended to affect, or shall be
construed as affecting, the tenure of office of any of the elective
officers of the county or of any district, township or division
thereof, in office at the time this Charter goes into effect, and such
officers shall continue to hold their respective offices until the
expiration of the term for which they shall have been elected unless
sooner removed in the manner provided by law; nor shall anything in
this Charter be construed as changing or affecting the compensation of
any such officer during the term for which he shall have been elected.
But the successors of each and all of such officers shall be elected
or appointed as in this Charter provided, and not otherwise.
SEC. 57: This Charter shall take effect at noon on the first Monday in
June, 1913.
We, the undersigned members of the Board of Fifteen Freeholders of
the County of Los Angeles, in the State of California, elected at a
special election held in the said County on the 14th day of May, 1912,
to prepare and provide a Charter for the said County, under and in
accordance with Section 7 1-2 of Article XI of the Constitution of this
state, have prepared, and we do hereby propose, the foregoing as and
for a Charter for said County.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we hereunto sign our names in duplicate this
twenty-fourth day of September, 1912.
LEWIS R. WORKS, _Chairman_.
FREDERICK BAKER,
WILLIS H. BOOTH,
T. H. DUDLEY,
WILLIAM A. ENGLE,
DAVID EVANS,
H. C. HUBBARD,
J. M. HUNTER,
GEORGE F. KERNAGHAN,
FRANK R. SEAVER,
J. H. STRINE,
CHARLES WELLBORN.
APPENDIX C
PROPOSED COUNTY HOME RULE IN NEW YORK
[Below is the text of a constitutional amendment introduced in the
Legislature of New York in 1916 by the County Government Association
of New York State. The general object of this amendment is to limit
the amount of special legislation affecting counties by empowering
boards of supervisors to deal with many subjects of administrative
organization and detail over which at present they have no general
jurisdiction. The amendment anticipates legislation under which
counties by referendum would be able to adopt one of several
simplified forms of government in substitution for the existing form.]
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY
Proposing the repeal of sections twenty-six and twenty-seven of
article three, the insertion of two new sections at the beginning of
article ten, to be numbered sections one and two, respectively, and
the renumbering and amendment of sections one to nine, respectively,
of article ten of the constitution.
Section 1. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That sections twenty-six
and twenty-seven of article three be hereby repealed.
§ 2. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That article ten of the
constitution be hereby amended by inserting therein two new sections
at the beginning thereof, to be numbered sections one and two,
respectively, to read as follows:
§ 1. [30]_Laws relating to the government of counties and to the
methods of selection, terms of office, removal and compensation of
county officers shall be general laws, both in terms and in effect.
The board of supervisors of any county, the members of which shall
be elected in the year one thousand nine hundred and seventeen or
thereafter, may repeal such sections of any law then in force as shall
relate to the foregoing subjects and affect exclusively such county.
The legislature may pass a law authorizing any county, except a county
wholly in a city, upon petition of a percentage of the electors thereof
to be determined by the legislature, to adopt one of such optional
forms of county government as may be set forth in such law. Such law
may authorize the selection of any county officer or officers by the
electors, by the board of supervisors or by other county officers, and
provide for the removal of officers so selected; it may confer upon the
board of supervisors such powers of local legislation, government and
administration as the legislature may deem expedient._
§ 2. _There shall be in each county, except a county wholly included
in a city, a board of supervisors, to be composed of such members and
chosen by the electors of the county or of its several subdivisions
in such manner and for such period as is or may be provided by law.
In a city which includes an entire county or two or more counties,
the powers and duties of a board of supervisors may be devolved upon
the municipal assembly, common council, board of aldermen or other
legislative body of the city._
§ 3. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That sections one and two of
article ten of the constitution be renumbered respectively sections
three and four and be hereby amended to read as follows:
§ [1]_3._ Sheriffs, clerks of counties, district attorneys and
registers, in counties having registers, shall be chosen by the
electors of the respective counties [once in every three years and as
often as vacancies shall happen, except in the counties of New York
and Kings, and in counties whose boundaries are the same as those of
a city, in every two or four years], as the legislature shall direct,
_unless and until the electors in the manner provided in section
one hereof shall adopt other methods of selection_. Sheriffs shall
hold no other office and [be ineligible for the next term after the
termination of their offices. They] may be required by law to renew
their security from time to time, and in default of giving such new
security, their offices shall be deemed vacant. But the county shall
never be made responsible for the acts of the sheriff. The governor
may remove any officer, in this section mentioned, within the term for
which he shall have been elected _or appointed_; giving to such
officer a copy of the charges against him and an opportunity of being
heard in his defense.
§ [2]_4._ All county officers whose election or appointment is not
provided for by this constitution, shall be elected by the electors
of the respective counties or appointed by the boards of supervisors,
or other county authorities as the legislature shall direct. All
city, town and village officers, whose election or appointment is not
provided for by this constitution shall be elected by the electors
of such cities, towns and villages, or of some division thereof,
or appointed by such authorities thereof, as the legislature shall
designate for that purpose. All other officers, whose election or
appointment is not provided for by this constitution, and all officers
whose offices may hereafter be created by law, shall be elected by
the people, or appointed as the legislature may direct. _Nothing in
this section shall prevent the transfer in whole or in part, of the
functions of any town or village officer to any county officer, or the
transfer in whole or in part of the function of any county officer to
any town or village officer._
§ 4. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That sections three, four, five,
six, seven, eight and nine of article ten of the constitution be hereby
renumbered five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten and eleven, respectively.
[30]EXPLANATION:--Matter in _italics_ is new; matter in brackets [] is
old law to be omitted.
APPENDIX D
PROPOSED COUNTY MANAGER LAW IN NEW YORK
[This is the text of a bill introduced in the New York legislature
at its session in 1916 at the instance of the County Government
Association of New York State. For summary and comment on its
provisions see pp. 178, 179.]
AN ACT
PROVIDING AN OPTIONAL FORM OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT FOR COUNTIES NOT WHOLLY
INCLUDED IN A CITY
_The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows_:
Section 1. Chapter sixteen of the laws of nineteen hundred and nine,
entitled “An act in relation to counties, constituting chapter eleven
of the consolidated laws,” is hereby amended by adding after article
fourteen-a a new article, to be article fourteen-b, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 14-B
§ 240. _Application of article. This article shall apply to all
counties which shall adopt the same in the manner hereinafter
prescribed, providing that the question of its adoption may not be
submitted in counties included wholly in a city._
§ 241. _Submission of article. If prior to the first day of October
in any year one percentum of the registered electors of any county
shall file with the appropriate officer a petition for the submission
of the question of the adoption of this article, the said officer shall
prepare the following question to be submitted at the general election
held in that year, in the same manner as other questions are submitted:
“Shall article fourteen-b of the county law, providing for government
by a board of county supervisors and a county manager, apply to the
county of (name of county)?”_
§ 242. _Election of county officers. If a majority of all votes cast
on such proposition be affirmative, there shall be elected in the
county at the next succeeding general election, in the same manner
as are other county officers, five officers to be known as county
supervisors. The said county supervisors shall hold office for a term
of three years, commencing at noon on the first day of January next
succeeding their election; provided, however, that of those elected
at the first election under this article two shall hold office for
one year, two for two years, and one for three years, the designation
whereof shall be made on the election ballot._
§ 243. _County supervisors; qualifications; vacancies and removals.
County supervisors shall be electors of the county. When a vacancy
shall occur, otherwise than by expiration of term, in the office of
county supervisor, the same shall be filled for the remainder of the
unexpired term at the next general election happening not less than
three months after such vacancy occurs; and until such vacancy shall
be filled the governor shall fill such vacancy by appointment. A
county officer may be removed by the governor in the same manner as a
sheriff._
§ 244. _The board of supervisors; organization, powers, compensation
of members. The county supervisors in each county adopting this article
shall constitute the board of supervisors of such county and the powers
and duties conferred and imposed upon the board of supervisors and
the officers and committees thereof in any general or special law are
hereby devolved upon the board so constituted, together with such other
powers, duties and responsibilities as may be conferred upon them by
law, to be exercised subject to the provisions of this article. When
the county supervisors elected within such county shall have qualified
the supervisors of the several towns and wards of cities within the
county shall cease to convene as a board of supervisors or to exercise
any of the powers and duties required to be exercised by the board of
supervisors of the county. The board shall elect one of its number
president, whose powers and duties shall be determined by said board,
and shall adopt rules for the conduct of its business. Each member
of the board shall receive an annual compensation not to exceed five
hundred dollars, the amount of which shall be determined by the said
board for attendance upon each of its meetings, provided, that the
total amount shall not exceed five hundred dollars. Such compensation
shall be a county charge and in addition to the actual necessary
expenses incurred for transportation in going to and from the meetings
of the board._
§ 245. _Election officers. No person who shall hold or be elected
to any elective county office at or before the election at which this
article is adopted shall be removed therefrom under authority of this
article before the expiration of the term for which he was elected or
appointed to fill a vacancy._
§ 246. _The county manager; appointment; qualifications; tenure;
compensation. The board of supervisors shall appoint an officer who
shall be a citizen of the United States but who, at the time of his
appointment, need not be a resident of the county, to be known as the
county manager. The said county manager shall execute to the county
good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by the county judge,
in a sum to be fixed by the board of supervisors, conditioned upon
the faithful performance of his duties. He shall not be personally
interested in any contract to which the county is a party; he shall
hold office at the pleasure of the board of supervisors, and upon
removal, the said board shall furnish him with a written statement of
the reasons for such action, signed by at least two members thereof.
The board of supervisors shall prescribe the salary of such county
manager and the compensation of the assistants and subordinates to be
appointed by him, which shall be a county charge and may be increased
or diminished at any time. A member of the board of supervisors, during
the term for which he is elected or appointed, shall not be eligible
for the office of county manager._
§ 247. _Duties and powers of the county manager. The county manager
shall be the administrative agent of the board of supervisors. It shall
be his duty_
(_a_) _To attend all meetings of the board of supervisors_;
(_b_) _To see that the resolutions and other orders of the board
of supervisors and the laws of the state required to be enforced by
such board, are faithfully carried out by the officers and employees of
the county, including all officers chosen by the electors_;
(_c_) _To recommend to the board of supervisors such measures as
he may deem necessary or expedient for the proper administration of
the affairs of the county and its several offices_;
(_d_) _To appoint all county officers whose election by the
electors is not required by the constitution, except county supervisors
and the county auditor or comptroller, and for such terms of office as
are provided by law._
_Subject to resolutions of the board of supervisors he shall_
(_e_) _Purchase all supplies and materials required by every
county officer, including the superintendents of the poor_;
(_f_) _Execute contracts on behalf of the board of supervisors
when the consideration therein shall not exceed five hundred
dollars_;
(_g_) _Obtain from the several county officers reports of their
various activities, in such form and at such times as the board of
supervisors may require_;
(_h_) _Obtain from the several county officers itemized estimates of
the probable expense of conducting their offices for the ensuing year,
and transmit the same to the board of supervisors with his approval or
disapproval of each and all items therein, in the form of a tentative
budget_;
(_i_) _Perform such other duties as the board of supervisors may
require._
_In the exercise of the foregoing duties, the county manager shall
have the same powers to examine witnesses, to take testimony under
oath and to investigate the affairs of every county officer which is
conferred by this chapter upon the boards of supervisors and committees
thereof._
§ 248. _The administrative code. Within ninety days after the first
day of operation under this article, the board of supervisors shall
adopt, publish in pamphlet form and cause to be delivered to every
officer of the county, and to such other persons as shall apply for
the same, a code of administrative rules. Such code, subject to such
regulations concerning the conduct of various county officers as may be
made from time to time by the comptroller, shall contain the rules of
the said board on the following subjects_:
(_a_) _The methods by which the county manager shall exercise
the duties imposed upon him in sub-divisions (e) to (i), inclusive, of
section two hundred and forty-seven of this article._
(_b_) _The method by which, and the form in which, the several
county officers and employees shall order supplies and materials_,
(_c_) _The form in which, and the times at which, the several
county officers shall submit the estimates of the probable financial
needs of their offices for the ensuing year_,
(_d_) _The manner in which the county treasurer shall disburse
the funds of the county_,
(_e_) _Such other regulations as shall be necessary to secure
the efficient conduct of the affairs of the county and its several
offices_.
§ 249. _Application of certain laws. All general and special laws
applicable to the county shall remain in full force and effect except
in so far as they are in conflict with this article._
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
APPENDIX E
THE CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER IN NEW YORK CITY
[An amendment of the New York City Charter (Chap. 284 Laws of 1915)
abolished the elective coroners in the five boroughs and created the
office of Chief Medical Examiner. This amendment was prepared by
representatives of the principal medical, legal and civic societies in
New York City working in conjunction with the Commissioner of Accounts
and representatives of the District Attorney’s office. It is believed
to embody important standards of organization and procedure in the
prosecution of public medico-legal investigations. The provisions of
the amendment will go into effect January 1, 1918.]
AN ACT
To amend the Greater New York charter, and repeal certain sections
thereof and of chapter four hundred and ten of the laws of eighteen
hundred and eighty-two, in relation to the abolition of the office of
coroner and the establishment of the office of chief medical examiner.
_The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows_:
Section 1. The office of coroner in the city of New York shall be
abolished on January first, nineteen hundred and eighteen, and after
this section takes effect, a vacancy occurring in such an office in any
borough shall not be filled unless by reason of the occurrence thereof,
there shall be no coroner in office in such borough, in which case the
vacancy in such borough last occurring shall be filled for a term to
expire on January first, nineteen hundred and eighteen. If, by reason
of the provisions of this section, the number of coroners in a borough
be reduced, the remaining coroner or coroners in such borough shall
have the powers and perform the duties conferred or imposed by law on
the board of coroners in such borough.
§ 2. Title four of chapter twenty-three, sections fifteen hundred and
seventy and fifteen hundred and seventy-one of the Greater New York
charter, as re-enacted by chapter four hundred and sixty-six of the
laws of nineteen hundred and one, is hereby repealed, and in its place
is inserted a new title to be numbered four and to read as follows:
TITLE IV
CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER
Section
1570. Organization of office; officers and employees.
1571. Violent and suspicious deaths; procedure.
1571-a. Autopsies; findings.
1571-b. Report of deaths; removal of body.
1571-c. Records.
1571-d. Oaths and affidavits.
ORGANIZATION OF OFFICE; OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES
§ 1570. There is hereby established the office of chief medical
examiner of the city of New York. The head of the office shall be
called the “chief medical examiner.” He shall be appointed by the mayor
from the classified service and be a doctor of medicine, and a skilled
pathologist and microscopist.
The mayor may remove such officer upon stating in writing his
reasons therefor, to be filed in the office of the municipal civil
service commission and served upon such officer, and allowing him an
opportunity of making a public explanation. The chief medical examiner
may appoint and remove such deputies, assistant medical examiners,
scientific experts, officers and employees as may be provided for
pursuant to law. Such deputy medical examiners, and assistant medical
examiners, as may be appointed, shall possess qualifications similar to
those required in the appointment of the chief medical examiner. The
office shall be kept open every day in the year, including Sundays and
legal holidays, with a clerk in constant attendance at all times during
the day and night.
VIOLENT AND SUSPICIOUS DEATHS; PROCEDURE