§ 300. Department of audit and control. 1. The head of the department
of audit and control in a county operating under the county manager
form, the county director form or the county president form shall be the
comptroller. The office of comptroller shall be elective, except that
under the county manager form it shall be appointive and under any of
the other forms provided by this chapter it may be made appointive by
vote of the people as provided in section fifty-eight.

2. If the comptroller is elective, the first comptroller elected under
the form adopted shall be elected at the first general election after
its adoption, except that, if the county has an elective county auditor
at the time of such adoption, the first comptroller shall be elected at
the general election in the last year of the term of the last county
auditor elected or, if the office of such auditor becomes vacant before
the last year of his term, at the next general election thereafter at
which the vacancy may be filled by the election of a comptroller. The
second comptroller shall be elected at the general election in the
second odd-numbered year after the year in which the first comptroller
is elected, and subsequent comptrollers shall be elected at the general
election in every fourth year thereafter. The term of office of the
comptroller shall be four years from and including the first day of
January next following his election, except that the first comptroller
elected shall serve for a term of three years if he is elected in an
even-numbered year. A vacancy in the office of an elective comptroller
occurring otherwise than by expiration of term shall be filled by
appointment by the board of supervisors and the person so appointed
shall hold office until the commencement of the calendar year next
succeeding the first general election at which the vacancy may be
filled.

3. If the comptroller is appointive, he shall be appointed by the
board of supervisors for an indefinite term and shall be removable by
the board of supervisors at its pleasure. If the office becomes vacant
in such a county, the board of supervisors may appoint an acting
comptroller pending its appointment of a new comptroller.

4. In counties adopting the county manager form, the county director
form or the county president form, the office of county auditor is
abolished, and the functions, powers and duties of the office shall
devolve upon the department of audit and control.

5. In a county having an elective county auditor wherein the office is
thus abolished, the last county auditor elected before the alternative
form becomes effective in the county shall perform the duties of
comptroller, unless a vacancy otherwise occurs, until the expiration of
the term for which he was elected county auditor. If the office of the
last auditor elected becomes vacant otherwise than by expiration of
term, the board of supervisors shall forthwith appoint a comptroller,
who shall serve until his successor is elected or appointed and has
qualified.

6. In a county having no county auditor or having an appointive county
auditor in which the form adopted provides for a comptroller, the board
of supervisors shall appoint a county comptroller as soon as the
alternative form takes effect and the person so appointed shall succeed
the county auditor, if any, forthwith and hold office until his
successor is elected or appointed and has qualified.

7. Nothing in this article contained shall be construed to impair the
powers of the county auditor in counties adopting the county
administrator form of government.