Nation v. State ex rel. Fire Fighters Local 279, I.A.F.F.
| Decision Date | 08 February 1974 |
| Docket Number | No. 4264,4264 |
| Citation | 518 P.2d 931 |
| Parties | 86 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2574, 73 Lab.Cas. P 53,244 Bill NATION, Mayor, and the members of the city Council of the City of Cheyenne, et al., Appellants (Defendants below), v. The STATE of Wyoming on the relation of FIRE FIGHTERS LOCAL 279, I. A. F. F.,et al., Appellees (Plaintiffs below). |
| Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Franklin J. Smith, Asst. City Atty., Cheyenne, for appellants.
Edward P. Moriarity, Cheyenne, for appellees.
Before PARKER, C. J., and GUTHRIE and McINTYRE, JJ.
Members of Fire Fighters Local 279 filed a petition against the mayor and members of the Cheyenne City Council seeking a writ of mandamus or in the alternative a declaratory judgment. The purpose of the suit was to determine who, as 'corporate authorities,' must enter into collective bargaining with representatives of the Fire Fighters local. The case was heard by the district judge without a jury and his finding was generally for the fire fighters and against the city officials. The officials have appealed.
Referring to the chapter of the statutes which has to do with collective bargaining for fire fighters, it is clear from the provisions of § 27-268, W.S.1957, C.1967, that it is the obligation of the city, 'through its corporate authorities,' to meet and confer in good faith with representatives of the bargaining agent (in this instance Local 279). Section 27-265, W.S.1957, C.1967, contains definitions and states:
'The term 'corporate authorities' shall mean the council, commission or other proper officials of any city, town or county, whose duty or duties it is to establish wages, salaries, rates of pay, working conditions, and other conditions of employment of fire fighters.'
Here, the Mayor of Cheyenne wrote a letter naming four appointed person and directing that they should be the 'Corporate Authority' in negotiations with the fire fighters local. None of the persons named had been elected to an official position with the city. The persons named included the personnel director of Cheyenne, the city treasurer, the assistant city attorney, and chief of the Cheyenne Fire Department.
Representatives of the fire fighters local refused to negotiate with those persons designated by the mayor, claiming they were not corporate authorities within the meaning of §§ 27-265 and 27-268. The district court held the appointed individuals were not the proper corporate authorities to negotiate with representatives of Local 279; and the only issue raised on appeal is whether the district court erred when it so held.
The cases relied on by appellants clearly hold that the term 'corporate authorities,' as used in statutes such as we are concerned with, means those municipal officers who are either directly elected by the inhabitants of the municipality or are appointed in some mode to which they (the inhabitants) have given their consent. 1 Similar definitions are contained in 9A Words and Phrases, 'Corporate Authorities,' pp. 377-378, and in the 1973 Cum. Annual Pocket Part, p. 31.
Parties on both sides of this case agree the individuals named by the mayor as corporate authorities have not been elected by inhabitants of Cheyenne. Nor is there any legislative authority for the election of such arbitrators and no statute authorizes their appointment by the mayor.
It is a cardinal principle of municipal law that a city has only those powers which are expressly granted to it by the legislature or constitution, or which are necessarily implied from such powers as are granted. 2 A corollary is that a city official has only such powers as are expressly granted to the official by the legislature, or are necessarily implied from those powers which are granted. 3
Counsel for appellants says no case law could be found that explicitly limits the term 'corporate authorities' to elected officials. Of course, such a statement overlooks that appellants have the burden of showing error in the district court's ruling, and absence of authority fails to meet that burden. The important thing is that appellants fail to cite authority for the proposition that the term 'corporate authorities,' as used in statutes such as §§ 27-265 and 27-268, include persons appointed by the mayor, when such persons have not been elected and have not been appointed pursuant to a statute authorizing the...
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Board of Trustees, Laramie County School Dist. No. 1 v. Spiegel
...before an administrative body was deemed error. Thus, I will presume counsel found no such authorities, Nation v. State ex rel. Fire Fighters Local 279, I.A.F.F., Wyo., 518 P.2d 931, 933, and authorities cited. The case of Duffield v. Charleston Area Medical Center, Inc., 4 Cir., 503 F.2d 5......
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Schoeller v. Board of County Com'rs of Park County
...to do those things both necessary and proper to directly effect the functions by the legislature created. Nation v. State ex rel. Fire Fighters Local 279, IAFF, Wyo.1974, 518 P.2d 931; Gonzales v. Personal Collection Service, Wyo.1972, 494 P.2d 201 (involved a county hospital.) I conclude t......
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Powell v. Board of Trustees of Crook County School Dist. No. 1, Crook County
...to be sufficient ground for discharge. In the absence of such citation, we must assume none were found. Nation v. State ex rel. Fire Fighters Local 279, I.A.F.F., Wyo., 518 P.2d 931. We make one final observation concerning the 'good cause' facts necessary to support the discharge of a teac......
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Tri-County Elec. Ass'n, Inc. v. City of Gillette, TRI-COUNTY
...or impliedly conferred by constitution or statute. City of Buffalo v. Joslyn, Wyo.1974, 527 P.2d 1106; Nation v. State ex rel. Fire Fighters Local 279, I. A. F. F., Wyo.1974, 518 P.2d 931; Wyoming State Treasurer v. City of Rawlins, Wyo.1973, 510 P.2d 301. The legislature is therefore the w......