State v. Reber
| Decision Date | 07 March 1910 |
| Citation | 126 S.W. 397,226 Mo. 229 |
| Parties | STATE ex rel. SKRAINKA CONST. CO. v. REBER, President of Board of Public Improvements, et al. |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
St. Louis City Charter, art. 3, § 32 (Ann. St. 1906, p. 4820), authorizing the municipal assembly to transfer the duties in whole or in part from one officer to another, refers to city officers and does not permit a transfer of the duties of a city officer to his assistant.
2. MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS (§ 126) — OFFICERS — ASSISTANTS — CREATION OF OFFICE — "CITY OFFICER."
Ordinances authorizing the president of the board of public improvements and the city comptroller each to "designate an assistant, clerk or other subordinate" to execute vouchers, requisitions, and to do other clerical work do not create new offices as authorized by St. Louis City Charter, art. 4, § 45 (Ann. St. 1906, p. 4834), the appointees under the ordinances not being "city officers," but mere clerks or assistants to the officer appointing them.
For other definitions, see Words and Phrases, vol. 2, pp. 1180-1181; vol. 8, p. 7603.]
3. OFFICERS (§ 107) — DELEGATION OF POWER AND DUTIES.
An officer, to whom a discretion is intrusted by law, cannot delegate to another the exercise thereof, but after he has himself exercised the discretion he may, under proper conditions, delegate to another the performance of a ministerial act, such as signing instruments, to evidence the result of his own exercise of the discretion.
4. MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS (§ 531) — PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT — SPECIAL TAX BILLS — AUTHENTICATION.
St. Louis City Charter, art. 4, § 41 (Ann. St. 1906, p. 4833), provides that the president of the board of public improvements "shall authenticate all such tax bills against property owners chargeable with special taxes for work performed or materials furnished under ordinances of the city, which said tax bills shall be made out and certified to him by the head of the department under which said work is done or materials furnished," and, when signed, the president delivers said tax bills to the comptroller for his countersigning. Held, that the acts of signing the names of such president and comptroller to the tax bills are ministerial, which may be delegated to assistants, and such tax bills signed by assistants or clerks specially appointed for that purpose, pursuant to a city ordinance authorizing such appointment, are valid.
In Banc. Original petition in the name of the State, on the relation of the Skrainka Construction Company, for mandamus to Maxine Reber and others. Writ denied.
This is an application for a writ of mandamus to require the president of the board of public improvements and the comptroller of the city of St. Louis to sign, with their own hands, certain special tax bills issued to relator in payment of work done by him, under contract, in the street department of the city. The cause is before us on the petition of the relator, the return of the respondents, and a motion by relator for judgment on the pleadings.
The facts shown by the pleadings are as follows: In 1908 the relator entered into a contract with the city to pave an alley, or part of one, according to specifications. He duly performed his contract, and was entitled to receive special tax bills in payment for the work. These tax bills were made out in due form by the proper officers and tendered to relator, but he declined to receive them, for the reason that the president of the board of public improvements did not, with his own hand sign them, nor did the comptroller, with his own hand countersign them, as by the terms of the city charter as relator construes it they were required to do, but their names were signed by an assistant appointed by each to perform that duty, as certain ordinances of the city authorized. The return sets forth at length and in detail the duties of the president of the board of public improvements, as prescribed by the charter, many of which are of a character that require the exercise of a high degree of discretion and good judgment and others are of a ministerial character, and it is shown that in the performance of the duties demanding the exercise of discretion and judgment practically all the time of the officer is consumed, and it is physically impossible for him to do with his own hand all the work of the kind that relator seeks to have him do without neglecting the more important duties that none but he can do. And so it is, though perhaps not to so great a degree, with the comptroller. These facts are admitted. In order to meet the situation the municipal assembly passed an ordinance No. 24,526, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the president of the board of public improvements to designate an assistant, clerk or other subordinate to execute vouchers, requisitions and special tax bills for such president, and providing for the deposit of such designation and a copy of the signature of such assistant, clerk or subordinate with the register." The ordinance requires as a precaution for the identification of the signature that the person designated shall write the signature of the president of the board of public improvements on the same sheet that contains the appointment, and that it be filed with the register, and when that is done he is authorized to sign for the president special tax bills and other specified documents, a like ordinance No. 24,527 was passed in reference to the comptroller. Acting under those ordinances the officers named appointed each an assistant or clerk to perform that duty, and it was by such so performed in this case. Work of the kind performed by the relator was, by the terms of the charter, "charged upon the adjoining property as a special tax and collected and paid as hereinafter provided." Section 18, art. 6 (Ann. St. 1906, p. 4858). The president of the board of public improvements "shall authenticate all special tax bills against property owners chargeable with special taxes for work performed or materials furnished under ordinances of the city, which said tax bills shall be made out and certified to him by the head of the department under which said work is done or materials furnished." Section 41, art. 4 (Ann. St. 1906, p. 4833)...
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