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Council Proceedings

Council Proceedings image
Parent Issue
Day
12
Month
May
Year
1893
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

( OFFICIAL.) CoUDCÜ Chamber. Ann Arbor, May 5th, 1893. Special session. C'alled to order by Pres. Watts. Aid. Prettyman was elected clerk pro tem. Roll called. Full board present. Mayor's Office, May 3rd, 1893. Wm. J. Mijler, City Clerk. Sir : - Please cali a special meeting of the common council to be held Friday "May 5th at 7'30 p. m., to consider the question of amending the city charter so as to confer upon the mayor the power to appoint or reinove the city attorney, marshal and patrolmen- without the consent oi' the common council. Yours &c, B. M. THOMPSON, Mayen". The cali íor special meeting having been read by the clerk, the íollowing communication írom the mayor was read : To the Honorable Comnion Council. Gentlemen : - The charter of this city confers upon the mayor, the power to appoint certain city officers and upon the council, the power to confirm or reject such appointments. The power to confirm implies to examine into the character and ability of the persons appointed prior to the exercise of the right of confirmation. Your action, therefore, In referring all appointments sent in, to & special committee was such as you had an unquestioned legal right to take. Nor can the inference lo drawn trom that fact alone, that there is on your part any purpose to oppose the confirmation of any particular person, much less that you intend to viólate your duty, as members of the city government, to aid and assist the mayor in enforcing the law, and that on the contrary, you intend to obstruct and einbarrass hini in his efforts to preserve peace and good order. But the fact must not be overlooked or belittled, that your action has been regarded by the public as indicating very clearly that the mayor will not receive, either your sympathy or support, in the performance of his official duties, but that he will encounter, certainly, your passive and perhaps your active opposition. Tliis public opinión is due perhaps partly to the circumstance that your action was unusual, indeed without precedent, in this city and in part to the fact that no explanation was made at the time and none has been offered since. It is to be deplored that your action has produced the impression that you are ready and willing to uphold any one in violating any ordinance of this city or any law of this state. And the faet that such impression may be wrong, unjust and wholly unfounded does not mitígate its evil effects. I regret it personally, because it surrounds my position with new difficulties. In a foriner cornnmnicat'ion to your honorable body, the course that would be pursued in regard to the entorcement of the liquor tax law was plainly stated. But neither the lil'ain language of my message nor your approval, has liad the effect to enforce that law. There are several persons in this city who openly, boldly and continually viólate some of the plain provisions of that statute. They apparently court a prosecution and as the time approaches in which their desires will be gratified, and I trust, f ore ver satisfied, I ani confronted with this public sentiment that, if any one is prosecuted it will be done in opposition to the wish and desire of the coramon council. The qüeetion is. how can we relieve ourselves f rom this embarrassing situation ? How can you relieve yourselves i'rom this imputation upon your official honesty and integrity ? How may the public gonerally and especially those who are violating the l.iw, be made to undcrstand that every department of the city government, iucluding the common council. is unmistakably in favor of a wie. Judlcious and vigorous enforcemènt oí tlio laW V I ássume that since you had u. legal right to reïer my appointnients you wcrc, in doing so, actuated by proper motives and I have given no ear to the rumor that some memlioi' of your body luis Stated as a roanon, for your. action, tint all the appointmente were nót made at once ; nor t; that other, thai my recominenilation 1 o the council i) employ some Bilitable person as city phyei -iaa. coupled with the suggestiou n t Icular ttame, ua ■, oífensive, encrí achiug apon the pe-rogatives of the coutocll. I can understand that if you consulted yovtr own feeltngs you mighi perhaps prefe'r one general execution of officials 1o two or more. l)ht 1 am satlsfied that you wouli not dream oi sacrillclng my rights on that account, and I am positive that since you have officially and unánlmouely, save one, requested me to appolnt a particular person to a particular office, you could not have taken offense at my calling your attention to au estimable lady whose learning and abillty iuake her worthy of your consiilcrat ion. I assure you, therefore, that I have given do crcdence to those rumora. They probably priginated with some malicious enemy of the council. I have been informeel however, through reporta of your proceedings, that ohe of your number gave as a reason for hls action a íact that commands consideration. He said the council had been censured for confirming appointments when the appointee did not possess the requisite character and ability. It certainly does not seem just or reasonable that the council should be called upon to share the opprobrium due to an unfit appointment when the appointee is not under the control of the council and his duties do not pertain to your department of the city governmeut. To this class bélong the marshal and patrolmen. If the mayor appoints a member of the pólice forcé who provea a fallare, why should not the mayor be held solely reeponsible ? But he cannot be held reeponsible, uniese he is given the power of an unlimited selection Ín the first instance, and also the power to correct a mistake of this kind instantly. ín other words, unless he is given the power to appoint and remove at pleasure. In my judgment the mayor should be clothed with this authority. He is at the head of the executive department of the city charged with the enforcement of the ordinances of the city and of certain state statutes, and he should have conferecí upon him all the necessary powers to enable him to perform those duties promptly and efficiently. He should not expect that the council will share with him the odium of his mistaken, lus blunders, his inclïiciency or his cowardice. The council should be relieved from all responsibility whatever In regard to the executive department of the city. Experlénce has proved the wisdom of this policy. There is no city of any considerable size in this state that has not given to the mayor, or to a board of pólice commissioners, absolute control over the pólice forcé. The new charter of Detroit, prepared by a committee composed of the leading Jurista, lawyers and taxpayers of that city, takes away from the council all ulministrative power. At the present time the mayor of Detroit appoints the city attorney and the poice are, and have been for years, under the solé control oí a board. It does not seem necessary to state the reasons why the pólice should be under the control of the mayor, and consequently that he should possess the lower to appoint and to remove at pleasure. YV'hile the same reasons do not exist in reference to the city at:orney, still the reasons are practically the same. He has charge of all the prosecutions growing out of the enforcement of city ordinances. I recommend therefore, that you request the legislature to so amend ;he city charter as to confer upon the mayor the power to appoint and to remove the city attorney, marshal and policemen at pleasure. And I. trust tliat whatever may be your views upou this recommendation that vou wiU at the first oppoetunity take sucli action as wlll thoroughly disabuse the public mind of the irnpression it has received that you sympathize with any class of violators of the law or that you intend under any circumstances to hinder or delay in any manner the due exccution of the law. May 5th, 1893. Yours &c, B. M. THOMPSON, Mayor. Aid. Ferguson moved that the message be received and placed on file. Adopted. Aid. Prettyman moved that the message be referred to the ordinance committee. Aid. O'Mara moved that the raotlon be laid on the tnble. Adiopted as floüow : Yeas- Aids. Herz, Martin, Snow, Fillmóre, O'Mara, Ferguson, Taylor, Manly- 8. Xays- Aids. Schairer, AVagner, Kitson. Prettyman, Ires. Watts- 5. on motion the conncil adjourned. Glerk pro tem.

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Subjects
Ann Arbor Argus
Old News