HomeMy WebLinkAbout2578 SEYMOUR B. FLEMING, et al, vs.
- LAWRENCE D. KIMMEL, e~ al.
CASE NO. 75 38 CA
For his services as Ci.ty Enginesr, he was paid a salary~totalingr
$4,000.00. During ~he time he was City Engineer~ he also served ;
as Councilman for the City o~ Part St. Lucie and received his ~
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regular salary therefor. Councilman Beardsley was employed as ~
Officz Manager.or Head of the Department of General Government, ~
the two titl~s being vsed in~erch~ngeable. He served in that
capacity from Apr.il l, 1974, until December 31, 1974, and was - ~
paid a salary totaling $1,800.00. During this time he also i
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served as Councilman for the City of Port St.--Lucie~ and received ~
~ his regular salary therefor. Kimmel and,Beardsley were both ~ ~
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appointed to their respective positions by the City Council of ~
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which they were a part. ~
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Plaintiffs first contend that Kimmel and Beardsley ~
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violated Article II, Section 5(a), of the Florida Constitution, ~
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which provides in part as follows: -s
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No person shail hold at the same time - . ;
more than one office under the governn:znt of
the state and the counties and municipalities
therein . . }
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The initial question is whether or not Kimmel and Beardsley were ~
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holding more than one "office" under the government of the City
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i of Port St. Lucie. IL- has been held that the ~~ord "officer"
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~ implies a delegation of a portion of the sovereign power of the
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state to, and the posse~sion of such power by, tne person filling
the office. Th~ word_ "office"_ ustially embraces -idea of tenure,
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. duration, emolument, duties and responsibilities imposed by law, ~
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a puiblic trust to be exercised usually with some degree ~f dis- ~
~ cretion and judgment, in behalf of the government. On the other.
hand public "employ~nent" as distinguished from "public: office",
does nat authorize ~xercise_in one's own right of any sovereign - ~
= power or any pr.escribed ind~pendent authority of a governmental
- nature. Glendinning v. Curry, 14 So 2d. 794 (Fla. 1943). ~
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