clared to be inalienable, except by a four-fifths vote of all the members elected to the Council approved by the Mayor; and no franchise or right to use the same, either on, through, across, under, or over, and no other franchise granted by a city, shall be for a longer period than twenty-one years to any private corporation, association, or individual. Such grant or any contract in pursuance thereof may provide that upon the termination of the grant, the plant, as well as the property, if any, of the grantee in the streets, avenues, and other public places shall thereupon, without further or other compensation to the grantee, or upon the payment of a fair valuation thereof, be and become the property of the city; but the grantee shall be entitled to no payment because of any valuation derived from the franchise. Every grant shall specify the mode of determining any valuation therein provided for, and shall make adequate provision by way of forfeiture of the grant, or otherwise, to secure efficiency of public service at reasonable rates, and the maintenance of the property in good order throughout the term of the grant. Every grantee of such franchises or rights to use shall keep books of accounts and make stated quarterly reports to the Financial Department of the city, which shall contain an accurate statement in summarized form and also in detail of all its financial receipts from all sources and all expenditures for all purposes, together with a full statement of its assets and debts, as well as such other information as to the financial condition of such grantee as said department may require, and said department may inspect and examine, or cause to be inspected and examined, at all reasonable hours, any books of account of such grantee.

SEC. 2. No city shall hereafter give any money or property, or loan its money or credit to or in aid of any private individual, association, or corporation; but it may make such provision for the aid and support of its poor as may be authorized by law.

No city shall become indebted for any purpose or in any manner to an amount which, including existing indebtedness, shall exceed per centum of the assessed valuation of the real estate within such city subject to taxation as shown by the last preceding assessment for State or city taxes; provided, however, that in determining the limitation of the city's power to incur indebtedness there shall not be included the following classes of indebtedness:

(1) Certificates of indebtedness or revenue bonds issued in antici

pation of the collection of taxes, unless the same be not paid within two years from the date of issue;

(2) Or bonds authorized by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of Council approved by the Mayor and approved by the affirmative vote of the majority of the voters of the city voting upon the question of their issuance at the next ensuing election of city officers for the supply of water or for other specific undertaking from which the city will derive a revenue.

All certificates of indebtedness and revenue bonds shall be provided for and payable from the taxes levied for the year in which they are issued, and shall never exceed the amount of such taxes.

Provision shall be made at the time of their issue for raising a sum of money by taxation or otherwise sufficient to pay the interest upon all city bonds as it falls due, and to pay and discharge the principal thereof within twenty years from the date of their issue.

The amount to be raised by tax for city purposes upon real and personal property, or either of them, in addition to providing for the principal and interest of existing debt, shall not in the aggregate exceed in any one year · percentum of the assessed valuation of the real and personal estate subject to taxation by such city, to be ascertained as hereinbefore prescribed in respect to the city debt.

SEC. 3. The legislative authority of any city now existing or hereafter created within the State may, as to elections to elective municipal offices, establish minority or proportional or other system of representation; but before such exercise of authority takes effect it must be approved by a majority of the then legally qualified voters of the city voting thereon at the then next ensuing general or municipal election, occurring at least days thereafter.

On a petition therefor, signed by at least per cent. of the legally qualified voters of the city and filed in the office of the Mayor, a proposition as to elections to elective municipal office to establish minority or proportional or other system of representation must be submitted to the legally qualified voters of the city at the next ensuing general or municipal election occurring at least days thereafter; if a majority of such voters voting upon such proposition are in favor thereof, such proposition shall go at once into effect.

SEC. 4. Every city shall keep books of account and make stated financial reports at least as often as once a year to the * in accord

* State Comptroller or other fiscal officer.

ance with forms and methods prescribed by him, which shall be applicable to all cities within the State. Such reports shall be printed as a part of the public documents of the State, and submitted. by the to the Legislature at its regular session next succeeding the making of such report. Such reports shall contain an accurate statement in summarized form and also in detail of the financial receipts of the city from all sources, and of the expenditures of the city for all purposes, together with a statement in detail of the debt of said city at the date of said report, and of the purposes for which such debt has been incurred, as well as such other informa

tion as may be required by the *. Said shall have power by himself, or by some competent person or persons appointed by him, to examine into the affairs of the financial department of any city within this State. On every such examination inquiry shall be made as to the financial condition and resources of the city, and whether the requirements of the constitution and laws have been complied with, and into the methods and accuracy of the city's accounts, and as to such other matters as the said * may prescribe. The and every such examiner appointed by him. shall have power to administer an oath to any person whose testimony may be required on any such examinations, and to compel the appearance and attendance of any such person for the purpose of any such examination, and the production of books and papers. A report of each such examination shall be made, and shall be a matter of public record in the office of said *

*

SEC. 5. Cities may establish minor courts which shall have exclusive civil and criminal jurisdiction in the first instance for the enforcement of ordinances of the corporation and of punishments and penalties for violations thereof. Such courts shall have such further or other jurisdiction as may be conferred by the Legislature, subject to the other provisions of this constitution, but they shall not have any equity jurisdiction nor any greater jurisdiction in other respects than is conferred upon **. The justices of such courts shall be appointed and may be removed by the Mayor. No one shall be eligible to appointment as such justice unless he has been *** for at least five years. Such justices shall be subject to the same liabilities,

* State Comptroller or other fiscal officer.

**See foot note on next page.

***An attorney and counselor-at-law of the State, or some equivalent expression appropriate to the particular State.

and their judgments and proceedings 'may be reviewed in the same manner and to the same extent as is now or may be provided by law in the case of **. Except as otherwise in this constitution provided, all city judicial officers shall be appointed and may be removed by the Mayor thereof.

SEC. 6. In the organization of every city hereafter created provision shall be made:

For a Council, the members of which shall be elected by the people;

For a Mayor elected by the people; the chief executive officer of the city shall be the Mayor, who shall appoint and remove all heads of departments in the administrative service of the city, except the head of the Finance Department; and who shall appoint and remove all other officers, agents, and employees in the administrative service of the city and fill all vacancies therein, provided, however, that appointments and promotions in the administrative service of the city shall be made solely according to fitness, which shall be ascertained, so far as practicable, by examinations, that, so far as practicable, shall be open competitive examinations.

All persons in the administrative service of the city, except the Mayor, shall hold their offices without fixed terms.

The Mayor and members of the Council shall be the only city officers elected by popular vote.

SEC. 7. Within its corporate limits, every city within the State shall have the same powers of taxation as are possessed by the State. It may license, tax, and regulate all trades, occupations, and businesses, and shall be vested with power to acquire, hold, manage, and control property, perform and render all public services, and with all powers of government, subject to such limitations as may be contained in the constitution and laws of the State, applicable either to all the inhabitants of the State or to all the cities of the State, or in such special laws applicable to less than all the cities of the State, as may be enacted in the manner hereinafter provided.

Such special laws shall require the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all the members of the Legislature, and shall not be valid in any city unless they receive the formal approval of its legislative authority within sixty days after the passage thereof by the Legislature, or, within thirty days after disapproval by the legislative authority of

* Some lower court recognized as a regularly constituted part of the State's judiciary system.

the city, shall again be passed by the Legislature by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of all the members of the Legislature, which two-thirds shall include three-fourths of the,members of the Legislature from districts outside of the city or cities to be affected. The failure of the legislative authority of the city to take formal action approving or disapproving a special law shall be deemed a disapproval thereof. The laws repealing such special laws may be passed in the manner provided for the passage of general laws.

SEC. 8. The Legislature shall pass a general municipal corporations act applicable to all the cities in the State which shall, by popular vote, determine to adopt it.

ARTICLE FOURTH.

Subject to the constitution and the laws of the State, applicable to all of the inhabitants or all the cities thereof, and to such special laws as may be passed in the manner hereinbefore provided, any city having a population of twenty-five thousand or more may adopt its own charter and frame of government in the following manner:

The legislative authority of said city may, and when requested by a petition filed in the office of the Mayor signed by per cent. of the legally qualified voters thereof, must provide by ordinance for an election not less than nor more than days after the passage of such ordinance, at which the legally qualified voters of said city shall elect a board of not less than fifteen and not more than members, who for at least five years preceding said election shall have been legally qualified voters therein. Each member of said board shall be a householder within said city. It shall be the duty of said board to convene upon the after said election, and thereafter and within days to prepare and propose a charter and frame of government for such city, which shall be signed in duplicate by the members thereof or a majority of them, and returned, one copy thereof to the Mayor and the other to the Secretary of State. Such proposed charter and frame of government shall then be published daily in two papers of general circulation in such city for at least twenty days, and within not less than thirty days and not more than sixty days after such publication, shall be submitted to the qualified voters of such city at a special or general municipal election, and the legislative authority of said city shall provide by ordinance for the holding of such special election, unless