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Honorable Albert S, Wright 

Special County Auditor 

San Augustine County 

San Augustine, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

Opinion No. O-2478 

Re: Should a county auditor work 

on a calendar or fiscal year 

basis in calculating revenue 

and expenditure8 for current 

and prior years in arriving at 

the county scrip that has been 

issued in excess of current 

revenue for each year? 

Your recent request for an opinion of this Department upon the above stated question has been received. 

We quote from your letter a8 follows: 

"Kindly advise me if I should work on a calendar 

year basis or a fiscal year basis in calculating 

revenue and expenditures, for current and prior years, 

in arriving at the county scrip that has been issued 

in excess of current revenue for each year. The point 

with me is: whether to compile current revenue and 

scrip issued for each calendar year or for each fiscal 

year beginning October 1st and ending September 30th, 

in arriving at the scrip issued in excess of the current revenue for the respective years." 

Article 68ga-9, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, 

reads as follows: 

"The county judge shall serve as budget officer for the commissIonerat court in each county, and 

during the monthtiof July of each year, he, assisted 

by the county auditor or by the county clerk, shall 

prepare a budget to cover all proposed expenditures 

of the county government for the succeeding year. 

Such budget shall be carefully itemized so as to 

make as clear a comparison as practioable between expenditures inoluded in the proposed budget and actual 

expenditures for the same or similar purposes for the 
Honorable Albert S. Wright, Page 2 (WW-O-2478) 

preceding year. The budget must also be so prepared 

as to show as definitely as possible each of the various projects for which appropriations are set up in 

the budget, and the estimated amount of money carried 

in the budget for each of such projeats. The budget 

shall also contain a complete financial statement of 

the county, showing all outstanding obligations of the 

county, the cash on hand to the credit of each and 

every fund of the county government, the funds received 

from all sources during the previous year, the funds 

available from all sources during the ensuing year, 

the estimated revenues available to cover the proposed 

budget and the estimated rate of tax which will be required." 

In counties having a population of 350,000 inhabitants 

or more, as shown by the last preceding or any future Federal 

census, its is provided by House Bill 958, page 144, Acts of 

the 46th Legislature, 1939, that: 

II The county auditor in all counties having 

a popuiatlon in excess of (350,000) three hundred and 

fifty thousand as shown by the last preceding or any 

future United States census shall serve aa the budget 

officer for the commissioners' courts in each county, 

and on or immediately after January 1st of each year 

he shall prepare a budget all proposed expenditures 

of the county governmznt for the current fiscal and 

calendar year. . . . 

This statute has no application to San Augustine County. 

It will be noted that Article 68ga-g, supra, proviaes 

that the county judge shall serve as the budget officer for the 

commissioners' court, and that in July &f each year, with the 

assistance of the county auditor or the county clerk, he shall 

prepare a budget to cover all proposed expenditures 'of the county government for the succeeding year. Other articles of the 

same Act provide that said budget, when completed, shall be 

filed with the county clerk and be available for public inspection; also that the commisslonerst court shall provide for a 

public hearing on the county budget, the hearing to take place 

subsequent to August 15th and prior to the levy of taxes by 

said commissioners' court. 

We quote from an opinion rendered by this Department 

February 10, 1933, addressed to Honorable Ii. P. EasterXng, 

County Attorney, Mentone, Texas, as follows: 
r . 

Honorable Albert S. Wright, Page 3 (WW-O-2478) 

11 

. . . It will be noted that the budget to be prepared is for 'the succeeding year', that is, as I understand it, the year beginning January lst, following. 

The levy whiah the commissioners1 court is to make this 

year is for the purpose of raising money on which to 

operate the county government during the coming or succeeding year. Hence, it Is clear to me that the levy, 

which is to raise money to operate the county government for the nextyear was not intended to be made, until, by the preparation of the budget, it could be known 

or estimated how much money would be required. The requirements of the budget would necessarily fix or influence the rate of the levy. . . .' 

In our Opinion No. O-2324 It was held that the commissioners' court does not have the power to make a budget year 

other than the calendar year. 

In view of the foregoing, you are respectfully advised 

that it is the opinion of this Department that the county judge, 

assisted by the county auditor or county clerk, should work on 

a calendar year basis in calculating revenue and expenditures 

for current and prior years in arriving at the county scrip that 

has been issued In excess of current revenues for each year. In 

this connection, we want to point out that a special county 

auditor does not occupy the ssme position as a regular county 

auditor and does not have the same authority or duties. We 

have been unable to find any authority authorizing or requiring 

a special county auditor to assist the county judge in the matters above mentioned. 

Trusting that the foregoing fully answers your inquiry, we are 

Your5 very truly 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

Ardell Willisms 

Assistant 

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