Los Angeles County Municipal Code Art. XII Miscellaneous

Each County or township officer, Board or Commission shall appoint, from the eligible civil service list, for either permanent or temporary service, all assistants, librarians, deputies, clerks, attaches and other persons in the office or department of such officer, board or commission, as the number thereof is fixed and from time to time changed by the Board of Supervisors; provided that appointments to the unclassified service in their respective offices and departments shall be made by such officers, boards and commissions, without reference to such eligible list.

The compensation of an elective County officer shall not be increased nor diminished, unless suspended pursuant to Article XI, Section 17 of this Charter, during the term [120] for which they were elected, nor within ninety days preceding their election [121]provided, however, that the Board of Supervisors may adopt an ordinance thirty or more days preceding the election increasing or diminishing the salary of an elective office upon taking office of a new officer who was not the holder of the office during the immediately preceding term. Whenever the Board of Supervisors fills a vacancy pursuant to Section 16 of this Charter, the compensation of the office may be increased or diminished by an ordinance adopted prior to the appointment of the new officer. [122]

The amendment of the Butte County Charter, consolidating offices and reducing the salary of the probation officer is in violation of Article XII of said charter which prevents the increase or decrease of compensation during the term of an elective or appointive officer. (dictum) Bybee v. Richards, 134 Cal. App. 467, 35 P. (2d) 472 (1933).

Where an elective township officer entered into office at noon on a certain day, the Board of Supervisors of San Bernardino County could not diminish his compensation by an emergency ordinance passed afternoon on the same day, since Article VIII, Sec. 1 of the San Bernardino County Charter provided that the compensation of a township officer "shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which such officer shall be elected or appointed." Sawyer v. Berger, 34 Cal. App. 567, 168 P. 371 (1917).

The compensation of an elective County officer cannot be increased during his term of office by amendment to the charter since such an increase is in violation of Sec. 9 of Article XI of the Constitution providing: "The compensation of any county, city, town or municipal officer shall not be increased after his election or during his term of office." Shay v. Roth, 64 Cal. App. 314, 221 P. 967 (1923).

Where two amendments to the Butte County Charter were adopted at the same election (1) that the salary of the assessor should be reduced, and (2) that the compensation elective officers should not be increased or decreased during the term for which they were elected, it was held that the assessor's salary was not to be reduced until the expiration of his term. Morton v. Richards, 134 Cal. App. 665, 26 P. (2d) 320 (1933).

Under a 1944 amendment to former Sec. 5 (now repealed) of Article XI of the Constitution and Deering Act 5625, Stats. 1945 Chap. 5, P. 316 passed pursuant thereto, a county ordinance increasing salaries of elective officials during the war and for a period of time after its termination is valid and applies to existing incumbents notwithstanding this Section of the charter. Holland v. Byram, 28 Cal. (2d) 567, 170 P. (2d) 938 (1946).

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The salary of an elective officer is the amount fixed by the law in force on the 91st day prior to election. Cline v. Lewis, 175 Cal. 315, 165 P. 915 (1917). See also County of Los Angeles v. Hammel, 26 Cal. App. 580, 147 P. 983 (1915).

Such a provision if constitutional. Pulcifer v. County of Alameda, 29 Cal. (2d) 258, 175 P. (2d) (1946).

Former Sec. 5 (now repealed of Article XI of the State Constitution and this Section "…do not prohibit a salary increase for an officer elected to fill an unexpired term where the increase is adopted a sufficient time prior to the election to comply with any local provisions." McKesson v. Lowery, 51 Cal. (2d) 660 at 663, 335 P. (2d) 662 at 664 (1959).

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1994 Amendment. Amended by Stats. 1995, Charter Chap. 8.

Whenever any person in the service of the County is compelled to travel in the performance of his duty, he shall, in addition to his regular compensation, be reimbursed for his actual necessary expenditures for transportation, the hire of conveyances, and for lodging and meals. An itemized account of such expenditures shall be filed with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and be approved by the Auditor before being paid. The Board of Supervisors shall fix a maximum price to be paid for such lodging and meals, which shall be uniform and be made applicable to all persons alike, including members of the Board of Supervisors.

No attorney, agent, stockholder or employee of any firm, association or corporation doing business under or by virtue of any franchise granted by, or contract made with the County, shall, nor shall any person doing such business, nor shall any person financially interested in any such franchise or contract, be eligible to hold any appointive County office, the holding of which office empowers the incumbent to enter into or approve any such franchise or contract. [123]

1948 Amendment. Amended by Stats. 1949, Resolution Chap. 9, P. 2880 at P. 2883.

The District Attorney, Public Defender, County Counsel, and their deputies, shall not engage in any private law practice, and they shall devote all their time and attention during business hours, to the duties of their respective offices.

Nothing in this Charter is intended to affect, or shall be construed as affecting, the tenure of office [124] of any of the elective officers of the County or of any districts, township or division thereof, in the office at the time this Charter goes into effect, and such officers shall continue to hold their respective offices until the expiration of the term for which they shall have been elected unless sooner removed in the manner provided by law; nor shall anything in this Charter be construed as changing or affecting the compensation [125] of any such officer during the term for which he shall have been elected. [126] But the successors of each and of all such officers shall be elected or appointed as provided in this Charter, and not otherwise.

The Charter in its entirety contemplates that as to elective officers made appointive by its provisions, successors may be appointed at the expiration of their terms of office to which they were elected. An officer elected under the provisions of the general law cannot be removed pursuant to a subsequent charter provision until the expiration of his office, but he may be removed pursuant to the general law provisions. Hunt v. Superior Court, 178 Cal. 470, 173 P. 1097 (1918). This Section, together with the former Constitution Sec. 7½, Article XI, prevents either the removal from or extension of the term of office under Charter provisions of an elective officer holding office when the charter took effect.

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Fees Collected by the sheriff which he is entitled to keep under Gov. Code Sec. 26749 are part of his "compensation," and where the sheriff was elected before the adoption of the charter, he is entitled to keep such fees until the expiration of this term, despite Sec. 15, Article IV of the County of Los Angeles v. Hammel, 26 Cal. App. 580, 147 P. 983 (1915).

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Section 4 is limited by Sec. 56. All elective County officers whose terms commenced before the charter went into effect should during such terms continue to draw the salaries which attached to such officers under the general laws of the state. Pridham v. Lewis, 30 Cal. App. 395, 158 P. 333 (1916).

Section 56¼.

The Board of Supervisors may contract with a city, district, public agency or political subdivision in the County for the performance by its officers or employees of any or all of the functions or duties required or authorized to be performed by the County or any County officer within the territorial limits of such city, district, public agency or political subdivision, whenever in the case of a city organized under Section 8 of Article XI of the Constitution, the discharge of such functions or duties by city officers or employees is authorized by its charter, or whenever in the case of any other city, district, public agency or political subdivision the discharge of such functions or duties by its officers or employees is authorized by law. [127]

1958 Addition. Added by Stats. 1959, Resolution Chap. 7, P. 5344 at P. 5347.

In City of Pasadena v. County of Los Angeles, 235 Cal. App. (2d) 153, 45 Cal. Rptr. 94 (1965) the court upheld a contract whereby in consideration of monetary payments by the County to the City, the City Health Officer performed the duties of the County Health Officer within the boundaries of the City of Pasadena.

Section 56½.

Said County shall have power and authority to provide for the assumption and discharge of, and to assume and discharge, by County officers, any of the municipal functions of any of the cities and towns within said County, whenever, in the case of its cities and towns incorporated under general laws, the discharge by County officers of such municipal functions is authorized by general law, or whenever in the case of cities or towns organized under Section 8 of Article XI of the Constitution of the State of California, the discharge by County officers of such municipal functions is authorized by the provisions of the charters or by amendments thereto, of such cities or towns. [128]

1934 Addition. Added by Stats. 1935, Resolution Chap. 31, P. 2440 at P. 2441.

Section 56¾.

The Board of Supervisors may require any County department, officer or Commission to perform any or all of the functions of any department, officer or Commission of any city, district, public agency or political subdivision in the County whenever requested by such city, district, public agency or political subdivision. The terms and conditions upon which such functions are to be performed by the County shall be fixed by agreement, which may provide for the consideration to be paid to the County, the blanketing into County civil service with or without examination of any or all officers or employees who have been performing such functions or such city, district, public agency or political subdivision for at least six months, and for the terms and conditions upon which such persons are to be employed in the classified service of the County, including seniority, efficiency, sick leave, vacation and all other rights or benefits granted County employees. [129]

1954 Addition. Added by Stats. 1955, Resolution Chap. 20, P. 3788 at P. 3791.

Section 56⅘.

The County shall not have the power to provide for the assumption or discharge by County officers of any of the functions of a county formed after June 1, 1978, from territory which prior to that date was part of the County of Los Angeles. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit mutual aid pacts. [130]

1978 Addition. Added by Stats. 1978, Charter Chap. 29.

This Charter shall take effect at noon on the first Monday in June 1913. [131]

We, the undersigned, members of the Board of Fifteen Freeholders of the County of Los Angeles, in the State of California, elected at a special election held in the said County on the 14th day of May 1912 to prepare and provide a Charter for the said County, under and in accordance with Section 7½ of Article XI of the Constitution of this State, have prepared, and we do hereby propose, the foregoing as and for a Charter of said County.

In witness whereof, we hereunto sign our names in duplicate this 24th day of September 1912.

LEWIS R. WORKS, Chairman

FREDERICK BAKER.

WILLIS H. BOOTH.

T.H. DUDLEY.

WILLIAM A. ENGLE.

DAVID EVANS.

H.C. HUBBARD.

J. M. HUNTER.

GEO. F. KERNAGHAN.

FRANK R. SEAVER.

J. H. STRINE.

CHARLES WELLBORN.

A charter is effective upon filing with the Secretary of State, but may itself provide for a certain operative date. 10 Ops. Atty. Gen. 1 (1947).