87. The City Solicitor. This officer must be an elector of the city and an attorney admitted to practice in the courts of Ohio. He is elected for two years. He is the chief legal adviser of all city officials, and prosecutes all offenders in the police court and mayor's court of the city.

88. The Department of Public Service. Every city maintains a department of public service under the director of public service, who is appointed by the mayor and holds office until his successor is qualified. He must be an elector of the city. He supervises the improvements of streets, alleys, lands, lanes, squares, wharves, docks, market houses, bridges, sidewalks, playgrounds, sewers, ditches, culverts, streams; the lighting, sprinkling, and cleaning of public places, etc. He has the management of the municipal water, lighting, and heating plants, garbage, etc.; of all cemeteries, crematories, sewage-disposal plants, etc. The director of public service looks after all contracts for the city under the supervision of his department, up to the amount of five hundred dollars. Expenditures above that amount are authorized by the town council.

89. The Department of Public Safety. Every city has a department of public safety with a director of public safety, who must be an elector of the city, appointed by the mayor to serve until his successor is qualified. He is the chief authority of the fire, police, charity, correction, and building departments, and makes all contracts in the name of the city with reference to the erection and management of all buildings, etc. He directs the management of all police stations, fire houses, cemeteries, reform schools, infirmaries, hospitals, workhouses, pesthouses, houses of refuge, and all other charitable and reformatory institutions.

90. The Police Department. The chief of police is the executive head of the police department, under the direction of the mayor. The police department is composed of the chief of police and such inspectors, captains, lieutenants, sergeants, corporals, detectives, patrolmen, etc., as are provided by the council.

91. The Fire Department. The chief of the fire department is its executive head, under the direction of the mayor. The department consists of the chief and such marshals, assistants, firemen, telephone and telegraph operators as may be provided for by the council. The police force maintains the peace and the fire force protects the lives and property of the city. Both are maintained upon the merit system.

92. The Board of Control. The mayor, the director of public service, and the director of public safety constitute the board of control of the city. The mayor serves as chairman. The board prepares estimates of the revenues and expenditures of its respective departments, to be submitted to the council. No contract in any department in excess of five hundred dollars can be awarded except upon the approval of the board.

93. The Judicial Power of Cities. In the larger cities a police court is provided by law. The judge of the police court is elected for a term of three years. The court has jurisdiction over all offenses against the city ordinances, and may examine persons charged with serious crimes under the laws of the state, and if there is probability of guilt, the accused may be bound over to the grand jury. In cities not having a police court the mayor has such jurisdiction. As has been stated above, the city solicitor or his assistant

conducts all cases in the police court and mayor's court on behalf of the city.

94. The Incorporation of Villages. Villages in Ohio may be incorporated either by the county commissioners or by the trustees of the township. In case the action is to be taken by the commissioners, a petition must be presented, signed by at least thirty electors of any territory which has been laid off in village lots. Thereupon the commissioners appoint a time for the discussion of the question, which time must be after a lapse of sixty days from the presentation of the petition. The commissioners usually grant the petition, although they are not bound to do so. If the petition is granted, the matter is made a part of the county records, and the secretary of state is notified of the creation of a new village. The organization of the village government is completed by the election of its officers (Boynton, School Civics, p. 300).

When the petition is addressed to the township trustees, it contains a request for an election in order that the sense of the voters of the territory concerned may be expressed on the question of incorporation. After ten days' notice the trustees submit the question to the voters, and if a majority of the ballots is cast in favor of incorporation, the trustees declare the village incorporated. At the next annual municipal election officers are chosen.

If the village wishes to surrender its corporate powers, forty per cent of the electors must sign a petition to this effect, which is then presented to the village council. The council orders a special election, and the question of surrender of the village organization is submitted to the people. If a majority favor the surrender of the corporate powers,

notice is sent to the secretary of state and also to the recorder of the county, who makes record of the fact. Of course such a surrender of corporate powers does not affect in any way the liabilities or debts of the village.

95. Legislative Power of Villages. The legislative power of every village is vested in a council composed of six members, who are elected at large for terms of two years. Councilmen must be electors and must have lived in the village at least a year preceding the election. They receive no compensation. The power of the council is legislative, and extends to a large number of subjects. The council maintains the police and fire departments; provides pesthouses; regulates the use of streets and the running at large of animals; has charge of the construction, maintenance, and operation of all public buildings; and fixes the compensation of the regular municipal officers.

96. Executive Power of Villages. The executive department of the village government consists of the mayor, clerk, treasurer, marshal, street commissioner, and other minor officials, which the council provides as they are needed.

The mayor must be an elector of the corporation; he is elected at the usual time and serves for two years. He is the chief conservator of the peace within the village, enforcing all ordinances of the village council and the laws of the state within the limits of the municipality. The village mayor is president of the council and presides at all meetings, but has no vote except in case of a tie. In case of the death, resignation, or removal of the mayor, the president pro tempore of the council serves for the unexpired term, and when, temporarily, the mayor is unable to perform his

duties, the president pro tempore becomes the acting mayor. The mayor appoints the street commissioner, the deputy marshal, the policemen, the fire chief and firemen, and such other officers as may be authorized by the council; in all these appointments the council must concur.

The clerk, who must be an elector of the corporation, is elected by the people and serves for two years. He not only keeps the records of all meetings of the council and of all the business of the village, but also performs the same duties as the auditor of the city, keeping accounts of the receipts and expenditures and making reports of the financial condition of the village to the council at various times.

The treasurer, like the other village officers, must be an elector of the corporation. He is elected by the people and serves for two years. He performs the same duties as the treasurer of the city. He has the care and custody of all the funds of the village, receiving from the county treasurer all taxes and assessments levied by the order of the council, and pays out money for public purposes upon the order of the village council.

The street commissioner must also be an elector of the corporation, but instead of being elected by the people he is appointed by the mayor with the consent of the council for a term of one year. His duties are similar to those of the city engineer, who in cities is also appointed by the mayor. He has charge of the construction of all public works, including streets, sewers, etc.

97. Other Village Officers. The marshal is elected for a term of two years by the people and must be an elector of the corporation. He is the peace officer of the village, having charge of the police and executing the laws under