Shelton v. Reeder

• Court: Florida Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: HOBSON; THOMAS
• Citation: Shelton v. Reeder, 121 So.2d 145 (Fla. 1960)
• Decision Date: 18 May 1960
• Parties: C. W. SHELTON, B. H. Stone, D. M. Cox, Woodrow Aultman, and Albert Tindel, as and constituting the Board of County Commissioners of Calhoun County, Florida, Appellants, v. W. C. REEDER, Sheriff of Calhoun County, Florida, Appellee.

Page 145

121 So.2d 145

C. W. SHELTON, B. H. Stone, D. M. Cox, Woodrow Aultman, and Albert Tindel, as and constituting the Board of County Commissioners of Calhoun County, Florida, Appellants, v. W. C. REEDER, Sheriff of Calhoun County, Florida, Appellee.

Supreme Court of Florida.

May 18, 1960.

As Modified June 23, 1960.

Virgil Q. Mayo, Blountstown, and Ernest W. Welch, of Isler, Welch & Jones, Panama City, for appellants.

Cornett & Leath, Panama City, for appellee.

John A. Madigan, Jr., of Caldwell, Parker, Foster, Madigan, Oven & Moriarty, Tallahassee, for intervenor, Florida Sheriffs Ass'n.

Richard W. Ervin, Atty. Gen., Ralph M. McLane and Joseph V. Barrs, Asst. Attys. Gen., and Mallory E. Horne, of Horne & Rhodes, Tallahassee, amici curiae.

HOBSON, Justice.

The facts which give rise to the instant appeal may be summarized as follows:

By Chapter 57-368, the 1957 Legislature attempted to abolish the fee system method of compensation for county sheriffs by a general act establishing a comprehensive salary scale. ¹ This law also established budget procedures and provided for the disposition of the fees and commissions collected by county sheriffs within its purview.

Pursuant to this statute the appellee, sheriff of Calhoun County, Florida, submitted a proposed budget for the fiscal year commencing on October 1, 1958, to the appellant, Board of County Commissioners. The appellant, although willing to continue paying the appellee in accordance with the old fee schedule, refused to honor the sheriff's salary requisition.

Shortly after this refusal, the appellant brought an action in the Circuit Court of Calhoun County, requesting a declaratory judgment as to the validity of Chapter 57-368. It is the appellant's contention that said statute violates Sections 20 and 21 of Article III of the Constitution of the State of Florida, F.S.A.

Upon completion of the arguments of the parties the Circuit Court found Chapter 57-368 constitutional. The chancellor held in part that this statute 'established a reasonable classification of counties under the law, so as to justify not only differences in salary among the several sheriffs of the state, but also the exclusion of certain counties of the state from the operation of this act.'

This cause is now before us on direct appeal, as a matter of right, from the circuit court's final judgment wherein that court directly passed upon the validity of Chapter 57-368, General Laws of 1957. ²

The challenged act provides in pertinent part:

'Section 2. Salaries.----

'(1) On and after October 1, 1957, each sheriff shall receive for the performance of his official duties as sheriff an annual salary, which shall be due and payable on the first day of the month after the month in which it accrued; * * * '(2) The annual salary of each sheriff shall be fixed according to the population of the county according to the latest official decennial federal census of such county, as follows:

"Population            Salary  (Counties)
                                                 3
                0 -3445                $6,000  (Glades, Liberty, Flagler
                                                 Lafayette)
                3446-3490               7,500  (Okeechobee)
                3491-3900               6,000  (Gilchrist)
                3901-4000               7,500  (Dixie)
                4001-4500               6,000  (Charlotte)
                4501-5500               7,500  (Wakulla)
                5501-6200               7,500  (Franklin, Hendry, Citrus)
                6201-6400               8,000  (Baker)
                6401-7000               7,500  (Collier, Hernando)
                7001-7800               7,800  (Gulf)
                7801-10,414             7,500  (Martin, Calhoun, Union
                                                 DeSoto
                                                 Hamilton, Hardee
                                                 Jefferson)
                10,415-11,000           9,000  (Taylor, Levy)
                11,001-12,000           7,500  (Sumter, Osceola, Bradford,
                                                 Indian
                                                 River, Washington)
                12,001-13,000           9,000  (Nassau)
                13,001-14,000           7,500  (Highlands,
                                                 Holmes)
                14,001-14,300           8,500  (Madison--Break in
                                                 population
                                                 sequence omits
                                                 Clay--14,323)
                14,701-17,500           7,500  (Walton,
                                                 Suwannee)
                17,501-18,500           9,000  (Columbia)
                18,501-20,000          11,000  (Santa Rosa)
                20,001-20,500           7,500  (St. Lucie)
                20,501-23,000           8,500  (Pasco)
                23,001-23,500           8,500  (Lee)
                23,501-23,650           7,500  (Putnam)
                23,651-24,000          10,000  (Brevard)
                24,001-27,000           9,000  (St. Johns, Seminole)
                27,001-28,000           9,300  (Okaloosa)
                28,001-29,000           9,000  (Sarasota)
                29,001-33,000          10,000  (Monroe)
                33,001-36,400           9,000  (Jackson, Manatee, Lake)
                34,650-35,000           9,500  (Manatee--34,704.  Break in
                                                 population sequence)
                36,401-37,000           7,500  (Gadsden--36,4-
                                                 57)
                37,001-42,000           8,500  (Marion)
                42,001-80,000          10,000  (Bay, Leon, Alachua,
                                                 Volusia)
                80,001-100,000         10,500  (Broward)
                100,001-113,000        12,500  (Escambia)
                113,001-114,900        12,000  (Palm Beach)
                114,901-150,000        10,000  (Orange, Polk)
                150,001-250,000        10,500  (Pinellas, Hillsborough)
                250,001-400,000        12,000  (Duval)
                400,001-and up         15,000  (Dade)
                

"When the salaries in this salary table are changed

because of a change in the population of a county, the

change in each salary shall become effective on and from

the first day of the county's fiscal year occurring after the

date as of which the census was taken. However, the

annual salary of each sheriff shall not be less than the

compensation earned by such officer or his predecessor in

office and payable to him in the year 1955, or the year

1956, whichever is the higher amount, notwithstanding the

amount set forth in the above salary table.

* * * * * * *

"Section 9. The provisions of the act shall not

apply to the sheriff of any county of the state having a

constitutional amendment requiring the setting of salaries of

all county officers and budget procedures for the conduct

of the county offices of such counties, and the counties

having a general budget procedure bill involving all fee

officers in the counties. The provisions of this act shall (Polk,

Dade

not apply to any county of this state which has a population Hillsbo--

rough,

in excess of 120,000 inhabitants according to the Duval)

latest official decennial federal census, and which has a

budget commission in such county. This act shall not

apply to counties having a population of not less than

36,401 nor more than 38,000 inhabitants, according to the (Gadsde--

n)

last Federal decennial census. This act shall not apply to

any county which, according to the last offical federal

decennial census, had a population within the following

brackets:

                  "Not less               3000   nor more        3300  (Libert--
                                     than                          than                  y)
                                     " " "                3400     " " "         3450  (Lafaye--
                                                                                         tte)
                                     " " "                4500     " " "         6000  (Frankl--
                                                                                         in,
                                                                                       Wakulla)
                                     " " "                6100     " " "         6300  (Citrus)
                                     " " "                8920     " " "         9100  (Hamilt--
                                                                                         on)
                                     " " "              11,000     " " "       11,400  (Sumter)
                                     " " "              15,000     " " "       17,000  (Suwann--
                                                                                         ee)
                                     " " "             150,000     " " "      240,000  (Pinell--
                                                                                         as)
                

"Section 10. Provided that the provisions of this

act shall not apply to counties having a population of not

less than seventy thousand and not more than eighty (Volusi--

a)

thousand according to the last federal census. This act

shall not apply to counties having a population of not less

than 10,200 nor more than 10,414 inhabitants (Jefferson)

according

to the latest federal census, nor shall this act apply to

counties having a population of not less than 17,500 nor

more than 18,500 inhabitants. Providing that this act (Columb--

ia)

shall not apply to any county having a population of from

14,000 to 14,300 according to the last offical state-wide (Madiso--

n)

census." ⁴ Chapter 57-368 also contained a 'saving clause', declaring it to be the intent of the legislature that should any portion of the act be declared unconstitutional the legislature would have, nonetheless, enacted the remaining valid portions without the inducement of such invalid portions.

We interrupt our examination of Chapter 57-368 to observe that we initially had given consideration to the possibility that the issues of this case had been rendered 'moot' by the 1959 enactment of Chapter 59-216 ⁵ which repealed or drastically amended those subsections of Chapter 57-368 now under attack. Chapter 59-216 abolished the population-connected salary classifications, providing in lieu thereof that until otherwise fixed by the legislature, 'the annual salary of each sheriff shall be equal to the compensation earned by such officer or his predecessor in office and payable to him in the year 1958.'

It is apparent that Chapter 59-216 which applies to all sheriffs is not plagued with the defects inherent in the 1957 law. Therefore, although we cannot in this proceeding pass upon the validity...