Loux v. Lakewood

92 Ohio Law. Abs. 545
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 7, 1963
DocketNo. 26545
StatusPublished

This text of 92 Ohio Law. Abs. 545 (Loux v. Lakewood) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Loux v. Lakewood, 92 Ohio Law. Abs. 545 (Ohio Ct. App. 1963).

Opinion

Seobekt, J.

This is an appeal on questions of law from a judgment entered in the Common Pleas Court sustaining a motion of defendants-appellees for summary judgment.

There is no dispute as to the facts involved in the case.

Plaintiff-appellant, after making due demand upon the law director, in accordance with Section 733.59, Revised Code, brought suit as a taxpayer and by his petition alleges that an ordinance fixing salaries of the members of the Lakewood City Council was void and in contravention of Article II, Section 20, of the Constitution of the State of Ohio. It is alleged that defendants-appellees were abusing their corporate powers by the misapplication of funds of the city for salary increases of the councümen made and paid during the term for which they were elected. Plaintiff-appellant asked that the defendants be permanently enjoined from enforcing the provisions of this ordinance.

Subsequent to the joining of the issues, both plaintiff-appellant and defendants-appellees filed motions for summary judgment. Thereafter, the trial court overruled plaintiff-appellant’s motion and granted defendants-appellees’ motion and accordingly entered judgment for defendants.

The assignments of error propounded by the plaintiff-appellant are twofold:

“1. That the Trial Court committed prejudicial error in that the judgment of the Court is contrary to law in that the said Trial Court should have granted the Motion for Summary Judgment made by the appellant herein.
“2. That the Trial Court committed prejudicial error in that the judgment of the Court is contrary to law in that the said Trial Court should have overruled the Motion for Summary Judgment made by appellees herein.”

We will address ourselves only to the granting of defendants-appellees’ motion for summary judgment and not to the overruling of plaintiff-appellant’s motion for summary judg[547]*547ment, the same not being a final order. Swanson v. Ridge Tool Co., 113 Ohio App., 357, 178 N. E. (2d), 255.

In 1912, Article XVIII of tbe Ohio Constitution, commonly-referred to as tbe “Home Rule Amendment,” was adopted which, in part, provides:

“3. Powers of. Municipalities shall have authority to exercise all powers of local self-government and to adopt and enforce within their limits such local police, sanitary and other similar regulations, as are not in conflict with general laws. ’
“7. Local Self-G-overnment. Any municipality may frame and adopt or amend a charter for its government and may, subject to the provisions of Section 3' of this article, exercise thereunder all powers of local self-government.”

In 1913 the electors of the City of Lakewood adopted a Charter which was last amended in 1957. The pertinent parts of the Charter which are germane to the case at bar are as follows:

Article I, Section 1, reads:

“The City of Lakewood shall have all power now or hereafter granted to municipalities by the Constitution and laws of Ohio.”

Section 2 of the same Article reads:

“All powers shall be exercised in the manner prescribed by this Charter, or if not prescribed herein, then in such manner as shall be provided by ordinance or resolution of the Council. * * *”

Article III, Section 3, reads:

“The salaries of the Members of Council shall be established by ordinance of Council. ’ ’

It should be noted that prior to amendment in 1957, Article III, Section 3, provided as follows:

“The salaries of members of Council shall be $600.00 per annum, payable in equal monthly installments; but said salary may be changed by ordinance, provided that such ordinance must be passed at least one year prior to the next regular municipal election.”

The ordinance in question which increased the salaries of the members of council from $3000 to $4000 per year was adopted on March 18, 1962. On March 23, 1962, the Mayor vetoed the [548]*548ordinance and thereafter on April 2, 1962, Council passed the ordinance, overriding the veto of the Mayor.

The ordinance reads as follows:

“Ordinance No. 8-62.
“An Ordinance fixing the salaries of the members of the Council of the City of Lakewood, commencing April 1, 1962.
“Be It Ordained By The Council of the City of Lakewood, State of Ohio:
“Section 1. That commencing April 1, 1962, the salaries of the members of the Council of the City of Lakewood shall be $4000.00 per annum, payable in equal, semi-monthly installments or equal installments every two weeks.
“Section 2. That this ordinance shall take effect and he in force from and after the earliest period allowed by law and that Ordinance No. 47-93, adopted December 17, 1951, be and the same is hereby repealed.”

Plaintiff-appellant contends that the action of Council in raising its salary, payable during the existing term for which it had been elected, was void and in contravention of Article II, Section 20, of the Constitution of the State of Ohio, which provides:

“The General Assembly, in cases not provided for in this Constitution, shall fix the term of office and the compensation of all officers; but no change therein shall affect the salary of any officer during his existing term unless the office be abolished.”

The question presented for this court to decide is whether the Council of Lakewood, which is duly authorized by Charter to establish its own salaries, can lawfully increase the salaries during its term of office.

Through the enactment of the “Home Rule Amendment” to the Ohio Constitution, municipalities were given an alternative to the theretofore common law concept of municipalities being mere agencies of the state. By this amendment they were given the authority by Article XVIII, Section 3, “* * * to exercise all powers of local self-government and to adopt and enforce within their limits such local police, sanitary and other similar regulations, as are not in conflict with general laws.” This-vested municipalities with greater power to regu[549]*549late their own affairs. In the case of Schultz v. City of Upper Arlington, 88 Ohio App., 281, 97 N. E. (2d), 218, “powers of local self-government” were said to be those that contemplate and include “only such powers as are local in the sense that they relate to municipal affairs of the particular municipality; * * *"

The broad scope of these powers is indicated by the Supreme Court in State, ex rel. Canada, v. Phillips, 168 Ohio St., 191, 151 N. E. (2d), 722.

“4. The words ‘as are not in conflict with general laws’ found in Section 3 of Article XVIII of the Constitution, modify the words ‘local police, sanitary and other similar regulations’ but do not modify the words ‘powers of local self-government.’ ”

See also, Mullen v. City of Akron, 116 Ohio App., 417, 188 N. E. (2d), 607.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Schultz v. Upper Arlington City
97 N.E.2d 218 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1950)
Swanson v. Ridge Tool Co.
178 N.E.2d 255 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1961)
Mullen v. City of Akron
188 N.E.2d 607 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1962)
City of Mansfield v. Endly
176 N.E. 462 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1931)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
92 Ohio Law. Abs. 545, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/loux-v-lakewood-ohioctapp-1963.