City of Beaumont v. Bond

546 S.W.2d 407, 1977 Tex. App. LEXIS 2656
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 10, 1977
Docket7921
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 546 S.W.2d 407 (City of Beaumont v. Bond) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Beaumont v. Bond, 546 S.W.2d 407, 1977 Tex. App. LEXIS 2656 (Tex. Ct. App. 1977).

Opinions

KEITH, Justice.

Appellee below instituted this declaratory judgment as a class action against the City of Beaumont and the Mayor and the individual members of the City Council of the City of Beaumont to declare a portion of a city ordinance invalid. The cause was submitted to the trial judge upon stipulated facts and judgment was entered declaring one section of the challenged ordinance to be invalid. Notwithstanding the fact that this was a class action with only twenty-seven persons and one named plaintiff, the judgment continued with another decretal paragraph reading:

“ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED AND DECLARED that the Plaintiffs individually have and receive from the defendants herein judgment per the following sums of money:
[and here follow thirty-three names with varying amounts of money set opposite the respective names]” (emphasis added)

Appellants have attacked the judgment with a single point which is quoted in the margin.1 We sustain the point.

As we have noted, the trial court held the challenged ordinance to be invalid since it was found to be in conflict with a statute. It is well to state, at this time, the rule governing the review of such contention.

It has long been settled that a general law and a city ordinance will not be held repugnant to each other if any other reasonable construction leaving both in effect can be reached. City of Beaumont v. Fall, 116 Tex. 314, 291 S.W. 202, 206 (1927); Wagstaff v. City of Groves, 419 S.W.2d 441, 443 (Tex.Civ.App. — Beaumont 1967, writ ref’d n. r. e.). Moreover, it is the duty of the court to reconcile the ordinance with the general law if a fair and reasonable construction of seemingly conflicting enactments will leave both in concurrent operation. City of Houston v. Reyes, 527 S.W.2d 489, 494 (Tex.Civ.App. — Houston [1st Dist.] [409]*4091975, writ ref d n. r. e.). Having stated the rule, we now examine the agreed facts and the contentions of the parties.

Since appellee has not challenged the correctness thereof, much of our statement of the case is taken from appellants’ brief without benefit of attribution. See Tex.R. Civ.P. 419 and Crawford v. Modos, 465 S.W.2d 220, 222 (Tex.Civ.App. — Beaumont 1971, writ dism’d).

On October 1, 1974, the Beaumont City Council adopted Ordinance 74-63; and, insofar as material to this appeal, the applicable provisions are to be found in subsection 1, quoted in the margin.2 Upon the same date, the City Council decided to grant an across the board ten percent wage increase to all employees (including Grade I policemen, our appellee’s class), effective October 1. 1974. From a budgetary standpoint, the City Council determined that it should freeze all automatic salary increases for all employees. To that end, the City Council enacted Ordinance 74-65 freezing the automatic six and eighteen-month salary increases granted in Ordinance 74-63.3 The challenged ordinance was adopted on October 3, 1974, with an effective date of October 1, 1974. No police officers accrued either six or eighteen months of service between October 1 and October 3, 1974. After the adoption of Ordinance 74-65, no two police officers with the same number of days of service with the Beaumont Police Department were paid different salaries.

The City of Beaumont is a home rule city and derives its powers to legislate from Tex.Const. art. XI, § 5, and Tex.Rev.Civ. Stats.Ann. art. 1175 (1963). So, it is necessary to look to the acts of the legislature not for grants of power to such cities but only for limitations on their powers. Forwood v. City of Taylor, 147 Tex. 161, 214 S.W.2d 282, 286 (1948). Or, as was stated recently in Lower Colorado Riv. Auth. v. City of San Marcos, 523 S.W.2d 641, 644 (Tex.1975):

“The powers of home rule cities are subject to and may be limited only by their charters or by the Constitution or by general law.” (emphasis supplied)

Counsel for appellee argues that Ordinance 74-65 is invalid because the language therefrom quoted in footnote 3 is “inconsistent with the letter and spirit of Section 8 of Article 1269m, Revised Civil Statutes of the State of Texas.” 4 Counsel contends that Ordinance 74-65 is in conflict with this language found in the cited statute:

“All persons in each classification shall be paid the same salary and in addition thereto be paid any longevity or seniority or educational incentive pay that he may be entitled to.”

There is no contention that the ordinance conflicts with any other statute.

Appellee cites Nichols v. Houston Police Officers’ Pension Board, 335 S.W.2d 261, 263 (Tex.Civ.App. — Waco 1960, writ ref’d n. r. e.), as supporting the position taken. [410]*410Again, we disagree. The court there was considering an ordinance which established four different “base pay” provisions in a single classification based upon length of service in such classification. It was held that this was not inconsistent with the statute since the salary increases with length of tenure and “[i]t increases consistently and uniformly for ‘all persons’ in the classification.” Id.

The real thrust of appellee’s argument here is that he and those whom he represents, acquired a vested right to receive a salary increase at stated intervals in perpetuity; and, having acquired such vested right (apparently in the two-day period October 1-3,1974), City is powerless ever to repeal or mpdify the ordinance which appel-lee claims grants such rights.5 The mere statement of the contention discloses its fallaciousness.

The agreed statement of facts does not show that any member of appellee’s class had acquired a vested right in and to the automatic pay increases mentioned in Ordinance 74-63. It is apparent that our dissenting brother declares Ordinance 74-65 invalid because some member of appellee’s class may — sometime in the future —achieve the time in grade which would authorize the automatic pay increases provided in Ordinance 74-63 but for the adoption of Ordinance 74-65.

No one contends that Ordinance 74-65 operated retroactively; indeed, it specifically shows that it operates only prospectively. No police officer, upon the date of the adoption of Ordinance 74-65 was entitled to the increased pay because of his time in service in the particular classification. While our dissenting brother does not point to any authority supporting his views, we cite Mellinger v. City of Houston, 68 Tex. 37, 3 S.W. 249, 253 (1887), where it was said:

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City of Beaumont v. Bond
546 S.W.2d 407 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1977)

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