Miller v. Smith

Citations

• 7 Idaho 204
• 61 P. 824
• 1900 Ida. LEXIS 38

Syllabus

<p>Appeal from Judgment Removing County Officer. — Under our constitution and statutes an appeal will lie from the judgment of a district court removing a county officer.</p> <p>County Commissioner — Members of Board. — Individual members of the board of county commissioners cannot perform services for the county, and charge for them as commissioners.</p> <p>Boards Act Collectively. — Boards of commissioners are entireties, and can only act as empowered by law, and collectively.</p> <p>Same. — The board is given certain limited powers, and a single member of such board is not empowered to act alone and bind the county in any manner.</p> <p>Same. — Members of the board cannot perform duties of road overseer and draw pay therefor as commissioners.</p> <p>Ignorance of the Law. — The plea of ignorance of the law will not protect a member of the board from removal from office, when it is shown that he has repeatedly violated the plain provisions of the law.</p> <p>Power of Boards. — Boards of county commissioners are given a general supervisory power over county affairs, but they cannot, as a board or as individual members thereof, perform the duties imposed by law on any other county officer, and draw compensation as county commissioner therefor.</p> <p>Same — Appropriation to be Used by One Member.- — Board of county commissioners has no authority to appropriate money for repairing and constructing roads and bridges, and place the same at the disposal of a member of such board, and authorize him to superintend the construction of such work, and allow him compensation as a commissioner for so doing.</p> <p>Duty of County Attorney. — A county attorney may be removed from office under the provisions of section 7459 of the Revised Statutes for ineompeteney or a neglect to perform the duties imposed on him by law. Courts will not tolerate any connivance or collusion between the county attorney and the board for the unlawful appropriation of county funds.</p> <p>Approval of