§ 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.