OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

GROVERSELLERS 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

Zonorcble S. H. Allen 

county nttoxncy 

Hadlton Counbp 

Radlton, Texas 

Dear Sir; 

Your lstter ot Fab request1 ng the 

opinion or. this department ‘ompcAaation of the 

9 

f 

.?htrlff of:Ystilton C as followo: 

~flolals or said oounty are oonpwuwted 

Q perforwmce of their oflfloisl sarvioes 

ual salary basis. 

61, i.rtlole 16 or the State Constitution, 

anonrj other thiog, provilss in ef’ieot that tne Coadsslonara* 

Cart in Counties huving a pOptibtiOU Of lea6 than twenty 

thousand (20,000) lnhabitcmts sooordln~ to the then last 

prt~csding fe3eral census, s&all have tiae authority to deterdne whether county ofl’ioars mhall bb compeiisatc.6 on a 

fbt haeia or on a ealerp baeia. 
Iionorabls 3. R. Allen, pa&;* 2 ’ 

.:;eotlon 2 of Artiolr 39126, ?ernoa’s Annotated 

ClVil ::tatutd8, provides iA part: 

*IA oountles havlnc: 4 population of lees 

than twenty thousand (?O,OOO) lahabltanta aoaordlng to the last praorlllng tedbral. eonbum, 

it shall likwise be tne duty of the Conmlssionl rs* Court, by its order duly 1~38 and eatsred 

of moor6 at it Pirat regrller meetin& in January ot eaoh 0, 4 Unbar yeer, to dstwmlno whether 

oounty 0frlOiA of suoh oountp (cxolucilna oounty 

uurveyorc, registrars of vital st~tlstlos and 

notarj p&lios) shall be OOmpGrl8etd for t(?e 

fisocrl your ou the basis of an annual salary 

or whether they shall Oe oo=.>wwntrSU on the 

basis of fees earned by tbm in tha perfomaooa 

of their offiolsl duties, an3 it rhall also be 

the duty of the oowty clerk to forward to the 

Comptroller of i’ubllo Accounta of the Otete of 

Texas, on or bbfors the jlst dap of Januwl,‘a 

certiflcd copy of sail order of ealri Cormisaionsrs~ 

Court.” 

\ 

UAdbX' Art!.oler 388j and 3891, ~el’non’c Annotated 

Civil Zitatutes, Me maximum oompansation that mcy be ratalne3 by tbe .“.hsrlrf of :iao;ilton County cannot ~xobsd 

Throb Thouband ( $jWO) '30111~s per aniium. The lherlff 

Is authorlssd *under Artlole 3891 to psy or be pal:1 the 

amcuat rtlig#ed bin under the psovlalons oi id%lole 

)82j, together with the salarise of hla aaeistan$s and 

deputjas. an.i a&horized exp&~~ses wlur Artiols 3839, 

and the awlunt ~aeaeasary t3 cover costs of prelrium on 

wnatsver siiretg bonds that may be rbqufrad by law, 

out of the o.irmnt feee of Me. o,Crloo. If tbc o~rrTi?.lt 

fees of auoh ofriou, oolisoted 5~n any yaar, be r.ore 

than the amount naeded to pay the fu!mmt above 8geCiflea. 

the BC~ snali be .iea;,& axoeos leas and &-ml1 be dlui.0.~ed 

of ln ~JJG wnncr Etated ln ,.rtlcle 3691. 310 :shdrr 16 

a&hrized to sake the atove ded.mtloae in arri+in.:, at 

his maximum oospensatioc. 
Honorable 3. R. Allen, pa&e 3 

hrtlole 3934, Vernon*8 Annotated Civfl Jtatutea, 

~rClVidO6: 

Vherlffs, ahall also rcoeivr the following 

ooapensationz 

"(1) Tar all prooees tesuc from the 3ipreaie 

Court or cgurts or Civil Appeals, terted by ther, 

the mffie f6a8 es are elloued ttem for rlz.ilar 

services upoz&roaena issue frocl the Metrlct 

Courts. 

“(2) For eum~onlng jurora In dlstrlot and 

aountp oouxU+, serving all tl6otlon notlwm, 

notice6 to overseers of' road8 and doing a11 

other Fubllc b;rslness not otheruloa provided 

ror, not exceeding ijne Thousand ($1,000) 3011~s 

per annum to be fixed by the Comlseloners~ Court 

at the awae time otimr ox off1010 salaries are 

fixed, snd to be psi3 out of the general funde of 

the oo$lntyl provided that no auoki ox offZolo 

salary shall be allowed any EhQriff who baa reaelved 

E ~maxf.mum s&lary al1we.i by 1ew." 

:,z sboro s;atcr;1, und6r id.iole 383 and Artlale 

)891, Y6rLlsll'B AflIlOt@it+d civil i%tUtGE, the :liaXihlU!? COBpensetlon of the 3htirirr of t.Kailton County oaanot oxces~l 

Three Thousand (&jOOO) ‘Dollars >er annum. 

Under the above mentioned statutes, the C&I&Bsionars’ Court ~an~legallg allow the aherlff 61 otf~clo compansetlon 

not to exceed We l&uaand (jlOO0) Dollars per ye*r, provided, 

that the soid ex oXicis aoepeneatLon 4oee not l,ncreaee the 

eom;ensatlon of the sheriff bejran.1 the maxlmlm *e provl3ed by 

law. 
Honorable 2. II. Allon, pnse 4 

In ooaaeetloa with ths foregoing we want to pQint 

out that la rlew of ;\rtlole 6869, Veraon*s &m(rtated Civil 

Ststutes, that it is our opinion that the Coami~8fonsrs~ 

Court oan legally pay the salaries of deputy snerlffa out 

of the general fund ol the county, if la the opinion of the 

Comissfoners* Court, fees, of the ahmiff’s ofii@e are sot 

sufficient to justify the papent of the salaries of such 

leguties. The sslsriss of a;lah 1ayJtlea are to be dctermindd 

as provided by Art:crle 3902, Yernmfs Annotated Civil ‘:tstut6s. 

Yours ver;l :r4ly,