Bigley v. Bellevue Borough
Bigley v. Bellevue Borough
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The plaintiff was the high constable of Bellevue. As such he was entitled to fees for the service of process issued by the burgess for the enforcement of the ordinances and the preservation of the public peace. For serving notices and similar services rendered the borough he has a right to compensation, either by a salary or fees, as the borough may determine. But his official duties were not onerous. He obtained employment from the borough in lighting the street lamps, and patrolling the streets from 2 o’clock p. m. of each day until 2 o’clock A. M. of the next, at the price of two dollars per day. He served in this capacity for one or more years. At length the borough decided for some reason to discontinue the employment and gave the plaintiff notice. This action is brought to recover three months pay, alleged to have accrued since the discontin
The learned judge of the court below was quite right in his view of this case and the judgment must be affirmed.
Reference
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- Constables — Boroughs—Reducing salary — Art. 3, sec. 13, const. Where a borough employs a constable to light lamps and patrol the streets at a fixed compensation per day, the wages received by the constable for such work are not an official salary which cannot be reduced Without violating art. 3, § 13, of the constitution, which forbids the decrease of an officer’s salary during his term of office.