Newcomb v. City of Indianapolis

28 L.R.A. 732, 40 N.E. 919, 141 Ind. 451, 1895 Ind. LEXIS 301
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedMay 28, 1895
DocketNo. 17,400
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 28 L.R.A. 732 (Newcomb v. City of Indianapolis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Newcomb v. City of Indianapolis, 28 L.R.A. 732, 40 N.E. 919, 141 Ind. 451, 1895 Ind. LEXIS 301 (Ind. 1895).

Opinion

Jordan, J.

Appellant, as a citizen and taxpayer of the city of Indianapolis, instituted this action in the lower court for an injunction. As against the municipal corporation and its several officials, appellees herein, it was sought by the action to enjoin them from turning-over their official functions or duties, alleged to be incumbent upon each, to appellees, Denny, Daniels, Pickens, Brown and White.

It is charged in the complaint that these last mentioned persons are assuming to act as a pretended board of examiners, after the manner of a “civil service commission,” and are thereby interfering with the various departments of the city, in the discharge of duties defined and imposed by law, by requiring the city and its properly constituted officers to relinquish to said board the duty of selecting and supervising the subordinate employes of said city, and appellant asks that they be restrained from intermeddling with the affairs of said city, etc.

The complaint, after describing the several departments of municipal government, and referring to the duties of the official heads thereof, proceeds with the following averments: “* * * That on the 13th day of February, 1894, at a meeting of the mayor with the heads of the several departments, rules and regulations were adopted for the appointment and promotion of the employes of said city.”

Copies of these rules are filed as exhibits therewith. Considering the complaint as an entirety, it is evident from its general scope and character, that it seeks to assail the validity of the action of the mayor, and the heads of the departments of the city of Indianapolis, in [453]*453the adoption of the rules mentioned therein, denominated “civil service rules,” for the appointment of the employes of the city, and also the right of the board of examiners created thereby to exercise any powers thereunder.

The pleading proceeds upon the theory that there is no grant of authority, under the city’s charter, to adopt the rules and regulations in question, or to create the board of examiners. A demurrer was sustained to the complaint, and this is the only error assigned. The grounds of the contentions of appellant’s learned counsel are, substantially, as follows:

“1st. That the rules in controversy operate as an unwarranted abridgement of the powers of the heads of departments, and require them to surrender unto unauthorized and. irresponsible persons certain functions'or duties which the law enjoined upon these officials.

“2d. That by the creation of the board of examiners there is an attempt to establish an independent, executive or administrative department of the municipal government in violation of law.”

On the side of appellees, their learned counsel contend, “that the rules and regulations, under the charter, are required to be adopted (and in this case were) by the mayor and all of the heads of the several departments (except that of assessment and collection) acting together; that it was the legislative intention that when these rules were adopted they should be paramount and controlling upon the heads of these departments; that it was the object of the Legislature when it enacted the statute for the government of the city, to put the administration of its affairs upon a practical business basis and thereby have the city conducted as a business institution is operated, instead of being run as a ‘political machine’; that as aids to accomplish this purpose they [454]*454contend that it appears to have been the legislative intent:

“1st. To secure, so far as possible, uniformity in the methods of administering the affairs of the several city departments, by substituting for the individual will and caprice of the several heads of departments, rules and regulations adopted by all acting together, and representing their collective judgment.

“2d. To make business capacity instead of political activity the prime qualification for place among the servants of the city.

“3d. To require the adopting of a systematic method which should be common to all departments of the city government (except one) for ascertaining the comparative fitness of ‘all applicants for office, position and promotion, and of selecting, appointing and promoting those found to be best fitted, * * * without regard to political opinions or services.’

“4th. That these rules and regulations when adopted should be paramount to any rules and regulations which might be adopted by the heads of departments for the government of their own subordinates, and should control the individual action of the heads of departments.”

In order to determine the questions presented by this appeal, it will be necessary to examine and consider the scope and character of the series of rules and regulations in controversy, as they are presented by the record, and which are alleged to have been adopted by the mayor and the several heads of departments. Rules 1 and 2 are as follows:

“Rule 1. The mayor shall appoint" from among the officers or the employes of the city, two persons, and two other residents of Indianapolis, not connected with the city service, who, together with the mayor as ex officio chairman, shall constitute the ‘Board of Examin [455]*455ers.’ All such persons shall serve without pay. Not more than three members of said board shall be of the same political party. Three members of such board shall constitute a quorum. The board shall elect a secretary (either of his own number or otherwise), who shall keep records of all its proceedings, which records shall be open to the inspection of the public. This board shall conduct by themselves or by their appointees, all examinations held under these regulations, to ascertain the comparative fitness of applicants for position and promotion. The secretary of the board shall also keep all necessary records of applicants, their examinations and standings, and a complete record of all persons employed in the several departments, and of all appointments, promotions, dismissals, resignations and changes of any sort therein.

“Rule 2. For the purpose of ‘ascertaining the comparative fitness of applicants for employment, and of selecting and appointing those found to be best fitted, without regard to political opinions or services,’the board of examiners will designate qualified persons (either from their own number or otherwise) to conduct examinations, and may at any time substitute another person in place of anyone so selected. Whenever the qualifications required for a position are such as that assistance from experts in conducting the examinations is desirable, such experts may be designated to aid the examining board, as so far as practicable such experts shall be persons employed in the department to which the applicant seeks admission.”

Rule three classifies the offices and places to be filled thereunder, and this classification embraces all the subordinate employes of the city.

Number four defines the qualification of applicants for positions.

[456]*456Five relates to the maimer of making applications.

Six applies to the character of examinations of applicants.

Rule seven refers to the marking and grading of applicants upon examination..

Eight defines the duty of a city official in the appointment of an employe.

The ninth rule is as follows:

“Rule 9.

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Bluebook (online)
28 L.R.A. 732, 40 N.E. 919, 141 Ind. 451, 1895 Ind. LEXIS 301, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/newcomb-v-city-of-indianapolis-ind-1895.