City of Berkeley v. Jensen

This is a petition for a writ of mandate to compel the auditor of the city of Berkeley to issue her warrant for the payment of a designated sum of money to the East Bay Municipal Utility District for fire hydrant rental for the month of December, 1946. There is no dispute concerning the intrinsic validity of the claim, but respondent places her refusal to issue the warrant on the sole ground that the approval of the claim by City Manager Fitch Robertson, which approval is required by the Berkeley charter (§61), was invalid because the appointment of Robertson as city manager was illegal,…