the taxable property within its borders. No city may borrow money to meet its ordinary running expenses; money may be borrowed only to pay for necessary real estate or to make permanent improvements. Every bond issue must be for a definite purpose which must be stated on the ballots used at the election, and the money realized from the sale of bonds may not be used for any other purpose.

90. The City Attorney. The city attorney does the legal work of the city. He gives advice to other city officers on points of law; draws up bonds, contracts, and other papers for the city; and represents the corporation in all civil suits in which it is interested. In some cities he prosecutes in the police courts persons who commit misdemeanors. In other cities this is the duty of the district attorney of the county, except in cities and towns using the sixth class charter, where it is attended to by the marshal. Where special prosecuting attorneys are provided for the police courts, they are sometimes appointed by city attorneys and sometimes by district. attorneys. In some cities the city attorney is elected; in others, he is appointed either by the mayor or by the council.

91. Police Judges. — Every city has at least one judge whose duty is to try petty civil and criminal cases arising under its charter and ordinances. Such judges are usually known as police judges, but in some towns and cities they are known officially as recorders, and in others as city justices of the peace. This difference in name indicates no difference in powers and duties. They are provided for in each case either by the city charter or by state law.

Freeholders' charters could not legally provide for them prior to 1896, but a constitutional amendment (section 81⁄2, article XI), adopted in November of that year, removed this restriction. Most of the

1 In San Francisco the police judges have no civil jurisdiction.

newer freeholders' charters, therefore, provide for police judges, but some do not. When not provided for in the charter, provision is made for them by state law. In such cases they are elected at county elections rather than at municipal elections.1 Some few charters, instead of providing for special police judges, confer the powers of such judges on local township justices of the peace.2

Police judges, in addition to their powers to try petty cases arising under city charters and ordinances, also have power to try certain kinds of cases arising under state law. They are, therefore, a part of the general judicial system of the state, and will be considered more in detail in Chapter XV.

92. The Selection of City Officers. Little need be said respecting the selection of city officers at this point, as the matter was quite fully discussed in Chapter II. The method there described of nominating city officers by nonpartisan direct primaries is rapidly gaining ground. National questions, upon which our political parties are founded, can find no legitimate place in municipal elections. Municipal officers should be selected on their records as men, and according to their attitude respecting municipal questions. Most freeholders' charters of recent date provide for nonpartisan direct primaries, and in some cases,3 old charters have been amended by the addition of this feature.

The "short ballot " is another feature of recent charters and charter amendments. Our people are coming to believe that the voters should elect only the most important officers, and that these elective officers should appoint all others. If the duties of an office are such that general

1 These are the city justices of the peace above referred to.

2 Alviso, Santa Clara, Gilroy, Nevada City, Napa, Grass Valley.

3 San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego, for example.

policies can legitimately determine the manner in which they are to be discharged, the incumbent of the office should be elected because the voters should have what they desire in respect to general policies. If the duties of an office are such that expert knowledge, rather than an adherence to general policies, is required for their proper fulfillment, the incumbent of such office should be appointed, because experts can be selected more intelligently by one man, or a small group of men, than by the mass of the voters. General policies may be illustrated by such questions as the following: Shall the city improve its water front? Shall it engage in the business of selling water, gas, or electricity to its people? Shall saloons be licensed? Shall gambling places be tolerated? Shall the city spend much or little money on streets, parks, playgrounds, and the like? Shall the state law be honestly and rigidly enforced in the city? The members of the council and the mayor are the only city officers who are concerned directly in determining what shall be done with respect to these problems. The work required of all other city officersthe assessor, tax collector, treasurer, auditor, superintendent of streets, health officer, chief of police, fire chief, attorney, etc. demands expert knowledge. These officers should be appointed not only because experts can best be selected in that way, but also because appointed officers can be held to a strict performance of their duties more readily than elected officers, and can be more easily dismissed in case they prove incompetent. By electing a few officers and giving them power to appoint, supervise, and dismiss other officers and employees, the people know whom to hold responsible in case of incompetency or wrongdoing. This centralizes the city government, and gives it

greater efficiency and greater freedom of action; while the recall places a remedy within reach of the people in case the elective officers prove weak or unfaithful.

To guard against the appointment of city employees according to the pernicious" spoils system," a few charters provide for the selection of employees according to civil service regulations. This will be considered under the head of the Civil Service Commission (§ 110).

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93. The Removal of City Officers. Elective city officers may be removed, like county officers, by the superior court and by the people. Removal by the superior court is governed by the same sections of the Penal Code 1 as the removal of county officers. The procedure is the same and is as unsatisfactory in the one case as in the other (§ 69). Removal by the people by means of the recall has been considered (§ 86).

All that need be added here is to repeat that the voters of every city have it within their power to recall any elective officer by the provisions of a recent state law, if not according to the city charter. It is not likely that our cities will often find it necessary to use the recall, but the possession of this power by the voters has a wholesome effect upon municipal officers.

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94. The Commission Plan. A number of recent city charters provide for a plan of government which is known as the "commission plan." It derives its name from

1 §§ 758-772.

2 Political Code, § 4058, a new section added in 1911. See statutes of Extra Session, page 128.

3 It has been used twice in Los Angeles, once in San Francisco, and once in the 28th senatorial district, Santa Clara county, resulting in removal from office in each case. It has been invoked unsuccessfully in Kings county, and in Oakland, Berkeley, and a few other California cities. Notable instances of its use outside of California have been in Seattle and Spokane.

the fact that in cities where it is applied the government is in the hands of the mayor and a small group of men known as commissioners,1 usually four in number. They and the mayor constitute the city council, the mayor being the presiding officer and having a vote but no veto power. The mayor has general supervision over the city government, and each commissioner is at the head of an administrative department. The legislative and executive powers of the city are thus placed in the hands of the same men. The charter provides for the various departments, and the commissioners assign one of their number to each department. It is intended that the mayor and commissioners shall give their entire time to their official duties, and the salaries paid them are considerably larger than those paid the mayor and councilmen in other cities.

The "short ballot" is one of the principal features of the "commission plan." The mayor, the commissioners, and the members of the board of education are in some cities the only officers elected. Other cities elect also the auditor, or the clerk, or the treasurer, or possibly two of these. Nonelective officers and employees are appointed, some by the mayor, and some by the council on the nomination of the mayor or the various commissioners. Officers and employees may be dismissed at any time by the appointing power. Elective officers are subject to the recall; and the initiative and referendum are provided for.

The plan according to which American cities have been governed since the independence of the United States is modeled after our state and national governments. This accounts for the fact that everywhere our municipal governments are divided into legislative, executive, and judicial 1 Sacramento and Pasadena have no elected mayors. See Appendix E.