Albright v. City of South San Francisco

Opinion

GOOD, J.*— Appellant, a taxpayer in the City of South San Francisco, filed an action to enjoin the city’s practice of paying councilmen and the mayor $50 and $75, respectively, per month as reimbursement for miscellaneous unitemized expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties. These flat sums were paid in addition to any itemized expenses for which individual officers would file particular claims. The flat claims were prepared monthly by the city clerk and signed by the claimants. They were processed, approved and ordered paid as a package along with all other claims presented at regular council meetings. The complaint also sought accounting and [869]reimbursement of the city treasury for all sums received by the officers involved since 1958. Depending upon length of service of individual officers, these sums vary from $9,575 down to $1,350. Attorneys’ fees were also prayed for.

The practice apparently arose in 1958 when the amounts were $30 and $50 per month. It has continued until the filing of this action. Until appellant protested the practice, there was no resolution or ordinance fixing these amounts or providing for their payment. Therefore, we are not faced with an issue that had such ordinance existed, it could constitute a legislative determination that these amounts were actually and necessarily expended each month—a determination with which a court could not interfere or substitute its own judgment for that of the legislative body.

The trial court found that the councilmen and mayor each month submitted their claims for necessary and actual expenses in the performance of their duties. In a brief memorandum of decision the court state's, “The attack by the plaintiff is one dealing with method and procedure; the court does not agree that the attack is successful.” If this were accurate the evidence would justify affirmance of the judgment rendered. But, in our opinion, the determinative question is whether under the evidence and applicable statutes the claims were in themselves sufficient to support an order for their payment. Although some determinative sections of the Government Code and California Constitution were not cited either here or at trial, we cannot ignore them.

An expenditure of public funds is regulated solely by constitutional and statutory provisions and, must be confined to public purposes. An expenditure of municipal funds is permitted only “ . . . where it appears that the welfare of the community and its inhabitants is involved and . . . benefit results to the public.” (4 McQuillin, Municipal Corporations (3d ed.) p. 66.)1 In the absence of a valid ordinance or resolution, a flat expense allowance to the extent that in any one