Fresno County Employees Ass'n v. Fresno County

Plaintiffs appeal from a judgment entered pursuant to an order sustaining defendant’s demurrer to their amended complaint for declaratory relief without leave to *829 amend. Plaintiffs also purport to appeal from the nonappealable order sustaining demurrer.

The controversy stems from an ordinance enacted by the Board of Supervisors of Fresno County declaring the terms of the five members of the civil service commission expired upon the effective date of the ordinance. It also provided for five new terms on the commission, to be filled by appointments by the board of supervisors.

Under the power delegated to charter counties by the state Constitution (art. XI, § 7½) and the Government Code (§ 31101), Fresno County provided for the establishment of a civil service commission by the following language of section 44, subdivision (2) of the county charter:

Pursuant to this enabling provision, the board of supervisors enacted section 170 which, insofar as here relevant, read:

Thereafter the board of supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 511 which amended section 170 to read, in pertinent part:

Appellants Carl Fuller and C. L. Kaiser held unexpired terms of office as civil service…