OFFICE OF THE A-ITORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

maor*blo wayno L8fovro 

COanty Auditor 

Clay county 

Renrlotto, Toeras 

d4r the faa 

a would B oan4rltsraa Into bethe Olay Oounty 

8ionor8* court 

T V8laatlua Itamekr8, for tha mlton of all oil, and 

atllitler rendwed 

alay oountf,.b6 *al800 requsrtln& thb qd.nlon 

tated questfun rbrda 18 

meko a request ice an oplnlon 

ontraot entorrd into betwon 

Coaoriaalonefs Court end Pritt, farsr taluetlou Englnssra, 

whereby alay county Cormie8lenerr Court donttaot to pay Priehsrd d Abbott &OO.OO per 

mlllion dollars tcaluation OS all oil end gas 

and utllltl~a rendered in cfry Oorinty, be rrlid? There 088 not plaoad in tha bud@ for 

th6 jasr Sn whioh thla uontraat is made satimetes to pay ,Eor said aontraot. Al80 ~ag.?rsnta 

. 
Xoaarablo myno L6i6vr6, Paga n 

Waoo 

for suoh servloo8 would exoeod the r6v6nuoa 

frem the CJ666rsl popd if other obllgstlons 

droady bad&66 wers paid. There is no 

6ourt order l xlstsnt aettirrg up a tax rate 

to teks oar0 of psyment, or the ursatln~ of 

an lat6rest & 6lnklng ftldl tar rate. And 

6616 oontraot was never road in open Oourt 

bven though t&s obalrarn OS ths oourt, had 

arks4 the oomalsdonera if they oared to 

road QC haoo read said oontrsot. Alao the 

oontraot la ~lgned by tho foar members oi 

the oourt but not by the County Judge. But 

thsrs 16 an odor 6;prorlng ssld aontreat 

on the minutea of aaid oourt. 

.I would approoLt6 a raply et your 

66rllOSf Oonv6rlionOo.~ 

Ia the oaso of Roper vs. Ball, Z80 8.S. 2439, th6 

t+rt_of cltf~~App~al6 s~rt~lned a aontr6ot 166do by 

Yl'eOstoM County with Thomas I. Piokett for oollestln( and 

oompllhg information oonsornfng oil properties sad tho 

Siring of ralu66 thetoo& It ns pointed out 66 the basis 

for that holding thsfthoss a6nloo6 involrod 6n l x tr a o r - 

dlnsrr skill not D0660860d br an ordlnarr mrson. The 

power-of the4 0omm~66l&er6~ 

eharaotor intolcrsd In Roper 

Is the ease at Marquart ~8. 

W quote from the 

followa: 

Goart to 166kG Sontraots 0r 6ho 

l ass of Roper va Rail, oupra, as 

aExpre66 authority howwer, 1s glveh to 

tha ooIsal66lo66r6~ oourt over ths anbjeot oi 

the levying of taxes end requlrfng all property l ltust64 in th6 oounty to b6 proprly as66666d and to kar its proportion of ths bardon of taxation sorordln& to its value. 860 

authorltioe above oftod. Ths gsn6rsl powors 

60 glron to th6 oaamlr6loner6~ oourto l r6 o? 

little preotloikl value without th6 further 

authority to use adrquats mess6 to lnsuro th6 
Hoaorablo u6yaa Lafovre; Peg* S 

Proper, lntalllgant and a~fmetlra amr*$*a 

thereof. The Constitution require8 end pub110 

p*lioY demanda that 611 taxable property shall 

oontributa it* ju6t proportiaa to the expen606 

of 4sovernm6nt. The PU'pOSa of the oontreot 

under *Ou6ldar6tlOn waa to aid in SaOWing au& 

rasalt. Tha 66rViOO6 oontraoted to be rendercpd 

oalled for lntormatlon ana l xperienoa not pOSSWJsad by the ordiary p*non. So far as they 

6fiSOt6d the diaoovarp, aa6assnent, and valuathI Or IUXT4UdOroa oil pTOp6Tti46, they OOdd 

not bsva bean perfornud by the oounty a6*eg*Or 

onl**s he po66a66od extraordinary lnfomtla 

and azp*ri*nO* along the required 1ineS. Ha 

taatiiled In the ease, and under oath dlsOlSitwd 6uoh qualifimstion. Halther oould tlm 

OQXlUZi66iOll4T6' OQUl?%, Sitting a6 an 6qU6liz6- 

tlon board, perform ita funotfons efl*otlraly 

without auoh expert aid. The oourt so dealarod, 

in offeet, when it entered into the oontraot. 

It does not appear thaf It x*6 tl;e intent or 

effaot of the aontraot that Plokatt should perform the dutiel hpO6ad by law on any of tIte 

ottloetro oonoerned. On the oontrarg, it da6 

appear that It6 purpose ~6 merely to aid suoh 

offloers in the effaotl~a ~r?omano* of th*lr 

Te~~eOti~e dutiO6 . . . . 

"The nraklng of the aontraot under aonsld- 

*ration was within the lspli*d power posseesad 

by the oomml66lon*r6' aoUt O? fi**StOnO Eounty, 

and 6uoh oontraot dfd not eontenrg~ata the parrormsme by *aid Piakett of duties imposed by 

law Upon either the aeaa66or or the oormi66ionsr6~ 

oourt . . . ." 

l?a do not have the oontraot in qu*atiOn before u6, 

therefore, we *an exproas no opinion as to th* V*lid$tY Qf 

ths SOnX3. However, the above mentioned Oa*** *rpr***lY hold' 

that the m6king Of suoh a oontraot for the OOll*otlon *nd 

ae~embabl~ 0f Information atmoernlng oil imp*rti** *nQ fbgong or the r*iu** thareoxs 1,s within the power R***e**ed by 

ths ooaml*6loner*' OOUSt. 

Under the faOt6 Stated in POW l*tt*r, it b aPparent thet when ths bu3gat fm the OOUW w6* Pr*R*rd 
Hanorablo Wayne Lafevre, Page 4 

the bud&i oonteined'no proridlon for erpendlture~ ciuoh 

au are here larolrwI. 

Artlole 089a-11 provides In 2srtr 

he Oouaty Court, and taxsa 

leviad only in aooordanoe therewith, and no oxponditura or the rlulas 0: the oounty shall thereafter be me80 except in &riot oomplle~oe with 

the budget aa adopted by the Court, 6xoapt that 

l mergenoy expenditures, In oaaa of grave publio 

noeessity, to meet wiuaual and unioreoeen oonditlon# rhioh oould not, by reasonably diligent 

thought and attention, have been inolutWi in 

the original buQ@t, my frwn tim to tini@ be 

authoriswd by tha Courlr BP mnem&aents to tha 

original buflg8t. In ~11 oaaea Wh8rt! euoh CBUWidmeat to the original budge0 is mado, a oopy Of 

the ardor of the Co url mWIing t tha budget shall 

be tiled nith tha Cllerk of the Couuty Uourt, aad 

attaohea to the buQot 0rigiinally aaopted.~ 

Aa 00 erpenditua'oa of the fund8 Of the County Bhau 

k made woept In strlot ooqplimea with the bu&& as adopted 

by the Oolat and as the budget eontafnr no~grovlsion with rbfbrenoo to expenditurbr, ourh a@ are iswolvsd, it ia our opinion 

that the county oannot expend its finds for auoh purpoaa, without harb oomplle& with the budget la% 

TruotLnp that the rorogolng fully amera fout inqulrr, we are