Swank v. Tyndall

78 N.E.2d 535, 226 Ind. 204, 1948 Ind. LEXIS 153
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedApril 7, 1948
DocketNo. 28,387.
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 78 N.E.2d 535 (Swank v. Tyndall) 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
Swank v. Tyndall, 78 N.E.2d 535, 226 Ind. 204, 1948 Ind. LEXIS 153 (Ind. 1948).

Opinions

Gilkison, J.

The appellee, Frank P. Huse, Treasurer of Marion County, Indiana, is sued as ex-officio City Treasurer of the City of Indianapolis, Indiana. Appellee, Ralph F. Moore, is sued in his official capacity as Auditor of Marion County, Indiana. Appellee, Dean S. Tyndall is sued as executor of the last will of Robert H. Tyndall, deceased, who was mayor at the time of his death in 1947. The appellee, The City of Indianapolis, Indiana, is sued as a municipal corporation. Each of the remaining appellees is sued in his capacity as an officer of the City of Indianapolis, Indiana.

This is an equitable action by appellants as representatives of all taxpayers of the City of Indianapolis and of Marion County, Indiana, to recover for the use and benefit of said city and county, as their interests may appear, after the public authorities had refused to sue, from each of the city’s 11 elective officers, any increase in salary that may have been paid them as allowed by Section 1 of Acts 1945, ch. 203, p. 668, and from the defendants Hickman and Huse as such city officials for the total amounts drawn upon the city *207 funds and paid out by them to or for the use of said elective officers, for the allegedly unlawful amounts so paid them, with 6% interest per annum from the date of payment. They further pray that said defendants be perpetually enjoined from paying out or receiving and converting to their own use any of the city’s funds for the amounts of the increases in the respective salaries over and above the salaries fixed at the time their elective terms of office began.

Appellees’ demurrer to the complaint was sustained, with judgment, from which this appeal is taken.

Section 1 of ch. 208 of the Acts of 1945, § 48-1223 Burns’ 1945 Supp. became effective by emergency clause on March 6, 1945, and is as follows:

“Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That Section 11 of said above entitled act be amended to read as follows: Sec. 11. In cities having a population of over two hundred fifty thousand as shown by the last preceding United States census, the annual salaries for the officers herein named shall be fixed by the common council at the following amounts: Mayor, twelve thousand dollars; City Clerk, four thousand dollars ; ex officio City Treasurer, sixteen hundred dollars; County Auditor for services to civil city, six hundred dollars; members of the Common Council, twelve hundred dollars; and for the president thereof and the chairman of the finance committee thereof, six hundred dollars in addition thereto. Such compensation for services to the city of the ex officio City Treasurer and County Auditor shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of the Act concerning salaries of county officials, the same being Chapter 234 of the Acts of 1941, as amended by Chapter 212 of the Acts of 1943. The salaries of all other officers, employees, deputies, assistants and department and institutional heads of such cities not named in this section but otherwise provided for by law shall be fixed in the manner provided in section 10 of this act.”

*208 The prior law fixing the salaries of the 11 elective officers, appellees herein, is Section 11, ch. 233 Acts 1933, p. 1050, 1051; § 48-1223 Burns’ 1933, and reads as follows:

“In cities having a population of over two hundred fifty thousand, as shown by the last preceding United States census, the annual salaries for the officers herein named shall be fixed by the common council, as hereinafter provided, at not to exceed the following amounts: Mayor, six thousand dollars; controller, three thousand six hundred dollars ; deputy controller three thousand dollars; city clerk, two thousand four hundred dollars; county treasurer ex officio city treasurer, one thous- and six hundred dollars; corporation counsel, four thousand five hundred dollars; city attorney, three thousand six hundred dollars; city engineer, four thousand five hundred dollars: Provided, The salary established within the maximum herein named for the city engineer shall be in full for all services of whatsoever kind or nature, including his services as member of the board of sanitary commissioners and he shall receive no other fees, per diem- or emoluments whatsoever; president of board of public safety, two thousand five hundred dollars; two members of the board of public safety, nine hundred dollars each; president of board of public works, three thousand dollars; two members of the board of public works, two thousand one hundred dollars each; city purchasing agent, three thousand six hundred dollars; president .of board of sanitary commissioners, three thousand dollars; one member of the board of sanitary commissioners, other than the city engineer, two thousand one hundred dollars; members of the common council, six hundred dollars each; county auditor, for service to civil city, six hundred dollars.”

Section 21 ch. 233 Acts 1933, page 1055; § 48-1233 Burns’ 1933, provides, so far as may be applicable to this case, that the common council of every city shall by ordinance duly enacted on or before the first Monday in September, 1933, and thereafter on or before *209 the first day of April of the year in which elections for city officers are held, fix the annual salaries of all officers provided for in this act at not exceeding the amounts herein specified, and such salaries when so fixed for such officers shall not be changed during their respective terms of office. The salaries of appellee elective officers were fixed by the Common Council of Indianapolis, by ordinance pursuant to § 48-1223, supra, during March, 1942. They were not fixed by statute, and a question is presented whether they were fixed by law or only pursuant to law. This question has been recently considered by this court. See Benton County Council v. State (1946), 224 Ind. 114, 65 N. E. 2d 116, 119; Also Anno. Cases 1917-C p. 688.

By Section 1 of ch. 229, Acts 1945, page 1071, § 29-4312, Burns’ 1945 Supp. sometimes called “The 2d Skip Election Law,” the time for holding the election of all the elective officers of all cities in Indiana was changed from the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 1946, to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 1947. By § 4 of the Act, § 29-4315, Burns’ 1945 Supp. it is provided that the city officials to be elected under this act shall take office at twelve o’clock noon on the first day of January, 1948, and shall serve four years and until their successors are elected and qualified.

A “Skip Election Law” was enacted in 1933, Acts of 1933 ch. 173, p. 878, § 10 of that law page 881, Burns’ 1933, § 29-1809, provided:

“The several city officials to be elected under the provisions of this act shall take office at twelve o’clock noon on the 1st day of January, 1935, and thereafter such city officers shall take office at twelve o’clock noon on the first day of January next following their election. Such officers shall serve for four years and until their successors are elected and qualified.”

*210

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Bluebook (online)
78 N.E.2d 535, 226 Ind. 204, 1948 Ind. LEXIS 153, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/swank-v-tyndall-ind-1948.