State ex rel. Dickson v. Williams

Citations

• 6 S.D. 119
• 60 N.W. 410
• 1894 S.D. LEXIS 130

Syllabus

<p>1. By the terms of section 5, art. 3, c. 37, Laws 1890, which provides, that “the mayor shall have power to remove any officer appointed by him, whenever he shall be of the opinion that the interests of the city demand such removal, but he shall report the reasons for such removal to the council at its next regular meeting,” power is conferred upon the mayor of a city incorporated under that act to remove any officer of the city appointed by him “whenever he shall be of the opinion that the interests of the city demand such removal.” And the last clause of the section, which requires the mayor to report “the reasons for such removal to the council at its next regular session, ” does not constitute a qualification or limitation upon such power of removal by the mayor.</p> <p>2. The city council of a city incorporated under the Laws of 1890, providing for the incorporation of cities, possesses only such powers in appropriating the money of the city as are conferred upon it by the act under which it is incorporated.</p> <p>3. The mayor of the city of Sioux Falls, on May 14, 1894, caused to be served upon D.,the chief of police of said city, an order signed by him as such mayor, removing said D. from his said office of chief of police, reciting therein that in his opinion the interests of the said city demanded the removal of said D. from the said office; hut the city council of said city notwithstanding the action of the mayor, allowed, and ordered to he issued to said D., city wai-rants for his salary as such chief of police, for the months of May and June, 1894, Held, that on May 14th the said D. was legally removed from his said office as chief of police, and that thereafter he had no legal claim upon the city for such salary. Held, further, that the allowance to D. made by the city council for salary after May 14th, 1894, was not for the payment of any debt or legal expense of the city, nor for any corporate purpose, and that the allowance to D. of such salary w