Potter v. Bell
Potter v. Bell
Opinion of the Court
Opinión of the Court by
Affirming.
The question involved in this record is whether the market master of the city of Paducah (second class) is lawfully elected by the general council or by the board of public works. Appellant (the plaintiff below) was elected by the board of public works. The appellee (defendant) holds the office under an election by the general council. The question is one purely of law, and must be solved by reference to the charter of cities of the second class and the ordinances of the city of Paducah passed with reference to the subject in hand.
The general council of the city of Paducah, by an ordinance, created the office of market master, fixed his term, salary, and duties, and ordered that he should be elected by the general council in joint session; and under this ordinance the appellee was: elected, as said before, and now holds the office, to the exclusion of appellant. There is no language in the
Section 3038, Ky. Stats., 1903, which incorporates cities of the second class, confers upon them the following general power: “ * * * With power to govern themselves in all fiscal, prudential and municipal concerns by such ordinances and resolutions as they may deem proper, not in conflict with this act or the Constitution of the'State of Kentucky or the Constitution of the United States. * * *” Section 3049 contains the following provision: “All officers and agents of the city, in any of its departments, not required to be otherwise elected or appointed, shall be elected by the general council in joint session upon joint viva voce vote, subject to removal at any time by said general council.” Among the special powers given to the general council of cities of the second class, we find the following provision in subsection 7
The foregoing provisions clearly confer upon the general council of cities of the second, class the power to establish markets and to preserve the health and general welfare of the cities,' and along ■ with this, incidentally, the power to create the office of market master, and to prescribe his duties and salary. In the case of Lowry v. City of Lexington, 68 S. W. 1109, 24 Ky. Law Rep. 516, in construing the . quotation from section 3049, that “all officers and agents of the city, in any of its departments, not required to be otherwise elected or appointed, shall be elected by the general council in joint session upon joint viva vóce vote, subject to removal at any time by said general council, ” it is said: ‘ ‘ For the city it is maintained that this should be construed to mean that if the general coun - cil, in creating the offices, has not required them to be otherwise elected or appointed, then they shall be elected by the general council. We are not able to
As this was the opinion of the learned trial judge, his judgment, sustaining the demurrer to the petition and dismissing it, is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.