### THEATI-~RNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

HonorableW. W. Kilgore OpinionNo. ~~-583 CountyAttorney Victoria County Re: Authority of Victoria Victoria, Texas CountyTax AssessorCollector to collect fees from County-wide Navigation District Dear Mr. Kilgore: Taxes.

Your request for an opinion from this office concerns the following statute.

Section 5 of Article 1042b of Vernon's Civil Statutes reads as follows:

"Sec. 5. When the CountyAssessor and County Collectorare required to assess and collect the taxes in any Incorporated city, town or village, drainage district,water aontrol and improvement district,water Improvementdistrict, or navigation district, they shall respectivelyreceive for such servicesan amount to be agreed upon by the governing body of such incorporated cities, towns or villages, drainage districts,water control and improvementdistricts,water improvementdistricts, or navigation districts, and the Commissioners Court of the county in which such incorporated cities, towns or villages, drainage districts, water control and improvementdistricts,water lmprovement districts, or navigation districts are situatednot to exceed one per cent of the taxes so collected. Acts 1939, 46th Legislature,p. $5:;,,Acts

1941, 47th Legislature,p. 404, ch. 235,

. Your question is "shouldthe County Tax Assessor and Collectorreceive **one** per cent for assessing and one per cent for collecting and/or one per cent of the taxes collected."

Prior to November 8, 1932, Section 14 of ArticleVIII of the Texas Constitutionprovided for separateassessing and collecting offices In County Qovernmentwith each having had aHonorableW. W. Kllgore,page 2. (w-583)

separate fee schedule. Since that date said office of Tax Assessor and Tax Collectorhave been combinedby the amendment of Section 14 of ArticleVIII of the Texas Constitution. Therefore,your question is whether the Tax Assessor-Collectorof Victoria County as one office can collecta fee of "one cent for assessing and one per cent for collecting,and or one per per cent of the taxes collected" from the County-wideNavigation District.

In reading the language of Section 5 of Article 1042b, Vernon's Civil Statutes, it states that:

"Whenthe CountyAssessor and County Collector are required to assess and collect the taxes in any

. . .navigation district, they shall respectively receive for such servicesan amount to be agreed upon by the governingbody of such

. . .navigation districts,and the CommissionersCourt of the county In which such

. . .navigation districts are situated not to exceed oneper cent of the taxes so collected." (Emphasisadded.) Article 7359 of Vernon's Civil Statutes states, In part, as follows: "Any incorporated city, town or village in this

state is hereby authorizedby ordinance to authorize the County Tax Assessor and County Tax Collectorof the County in which said city, town or village is situated,to act as Tax Assessor and Tax Collector res ectivel for said city, town or village. -11 respectivelyreceive for such s&ices one per cent of the taxes so collected." (Emphasis added.)
In both statutesthe word "respectively"is used. Webster'sNew InternationalDictionary, secondedition, defines the word "respectively"as follows:

'Respectively

. . .as relating to each, in particular; each to each; each in the order given."
It therefore follows thatwhen the statuteuses the phrase "they shall respectivelyreceive for such services," it Imports that a dual service is performed for which a dual fee is entitled to be credited. The mere fact that the former law and constitutionalprovision provided for dual office holders,HonorableW. W. Kllgore,page 3. (w-583)

one performing the duty of County Tax Assessor and another performing the duty of County Tax Collector, for which each was entitled to his separate fees of office, does not now lessen those duties nor the actual servicesrendered since the two offices are combined into the one office of AssessorCollector.

The navigation district is still receiving the same amount of servicesunder the present law as it receivedwhen the officeswere separatelyheld. Therefore, since the law provided for a separate fee prior to the combining of these two offices, those same fees are still required to be paid as this property In the district is stillbeing assessed for taxes and the taxes are stillbeing collected.

Section 5 of Article 1042b does, however, state that such fee to be paid to either shallnot exceed one per cent of the taxes collected.

By Acts 1939, 46th Legislature,p. 652, Article 1042b of Vernon's Civil Statuteswas amended in part, but that provision established the maximum fee to be paid the CountyAssessor and the fee to be paid the County Tax Collectorremained the same notwithstanding said officeswere combined into one office by the amendment of Section 14, ArticleVIII of the Texas Constltutlon on November 8, 1932. Article 1042bwas again amended in part to itspresent form by Acts 1941, 47th Legislature,p. 404, ch. 23.5,

par. 1.~ The amount of the fees collected for the assessing and the collecting of these taxes were never changed or amended.

It Is, therefore, our opinion, that the Tax AssessorCollectormay assess a fee of no more than one per cent of the taxes collected for assessing, and a fee of no more than one per cent of the taxes collected for collecting the taxes for the county-widenavigation district. SUMMARY TheVictoria County Tax AssessorCollectormay charge's fee not to exceed one per cent of the taxes collected for the assessing of the taxes for the county-widenavigation district and a fee not to exceed. .

HonorableW. W. Kilgore,page 4. (W-583 1

one per cent of the taxes lected for the collecting taxes for the county-wide colof thenaVlgation district as is provided for in Section 5, Article 1042b of Vernon's Civil Statutes.

Yours very truly,
WILL WILSON

LFP:me APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE Geo. P. Blackburn, Chairman
J. Arthur Sandlin Wallace Finfrock Riley Eugene Fletcher Robert Lewis
REVIEWED FOR TRE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: W. V. Geppert