Bailey v. Philadelphia

Citations

• 167 Pa. 569
• 31 A. 925
• 1895 Pa. LEXIS 947

Syllabus

<p>Municipalities — Moral obligation as consideration for payment of public money — Appropriation.</p> <p>The councils of a municipality may recognize a moral obligation as a good consideration for the payment of public money.</p> <p>Councils of the city of Philadelphia have the power to transfer an item from one appropriation to another.</p> <p>A teacher was elected supervising principal by a sectional school board in the city of Philadelphia. After she had entered upon the performance of her duties the board of education refused to confirm her election and regraded the school so as to dispense with the office of supervising principal. She held herself at all times ready to perform her duties as teacher, and brought suit by mandamus to compel the board ot' education to certify her name on the roll of teachers, but the suit was decided adversely to her. The councils of the city subsequently inserted in the appropriation to the board of education an item to pay her the amount of her salary, but on the board refusing to draw a warrant for this item, it was transferred by ordinance to the appropriation to the clerks of councils. JReld, that the ordinance making the transfer was valid. The act of June 1,1885, art. 6, P. L. 45, which provides that “ no money shall be drawn from the city treasury except by due process of law, or upon warrants signed by the head of the appropriate department,” does not limit the discretion of councils over the department to which appropriation should properly be assigned.</p> <p>The words “appropi-iate department” in the act of'1885, include all officials charged with duties pertaining to the city government for whose expenses the city is obliged to provide. The clerks of councils are such officials as to all miscellaneous matters which councils may devolve upon them, though they are not technically heads of departments.</p>