Higgins v. Cole

Citations

• 100 Cal. 260
• 34 P. 678
• 1893 Cal. LEXIS 781

Syllabus

<p>Municipal Corporations—Power to Remove Chief of Fire Department. —Where a chief of the fire department of a city has no right or authority except such as he has acquired under the ordinances of the •city, he may be removed or superseded by the action of its legislative body.</p> <p>Td.—Construction of Ordinance— Duration of Term of Office—Power to Remove Officers—Constitutional Law.—Where a lawful ordinance of a city provided that the chief of the fire department should be appointed to hold office for one year, or until his successor should he appointed and qualified, it must be construed as declaring only that the term of office shall continue until his successor is elected and qualified, and not necessarily for a full year; and under a statute providing that the city trustees may appoint and remove such subordinate officers as they may deem proper, their right of removal cannot be limited by such ordinance, and the term of office of the chief of the fire department not being fixed by the constitution nor declared by law must be held to continue only during the pleasure of the appointing power, by virtue of section 16 of article XX of the state constitution.</p>