JIM MATTOX 

Attorney General 

Supreme Court Buffdin 

P. 0. BOX 12949 

Aw,tih. TX. 7971% 2549 

51214752501 

Telex 8101874-1397 

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An Equal OppWtunitYl 

Afflrmatiw Action EfIlPlOYer 

The Attorney General of Texas 

F&cuary 21. 1986 

Emotablt Daniel W. Shindlar 

District Attorney 

P. 0. Drawer 2280 

Bay City, Texas ,7'1414 

opinion No. a-442 

Et: Whether an elected mayor may 

receive a salary increase at any 

time during his term 

Dear Mr. Shindler: 

You ask whet&r an elected mayor of a general law city may 

receive a salary increase at any time during his term or whether any 

such increase must take effect in the two-year term subsequent to that 

during which the salary increase was adopted. We conclude that 

article 1010, V.T.C..S., acts as an absolute impediment to the mayor 

receiving an incraast in salary during his tern. 

Article 1010. V.T.C.S., provides the follouiug: 

The city couucil shall, on or before the first day 

of January next preceding each election, fix the 

salary aa'd fees of office of the mayor to be 

elected Ict the next regular election, and fix the 

comptnsaM.on to be paid to the officers elected or 

appointed by the city council. The compensation 

so fixed shall not be changed during the term for 

whfch sa:3 officers shall be elected or appointed. 

(Emphasir~ added). 

It has been suggested that courts have construed the date provisions 

of the statutory pztrdtcessors of article 1010 to be permissive and not 

mandatory; therefore, it is suggested, a salary increase adopted at 

any time during izhe mayor's term is effective for that term not 

withstanding the plain terms of the statute. We disagree with this 

construction of the cases construing article 1010 and conclude that 

the plain terms of article 1010 prohibit such an increase. 

There is a :L:Lna of casts which hold that the provisions of 

article 1010 whic:h. require city council action on or before the 

January 1 next preceding each election are directory and not mandatory; none hold, however, that a salary increase may be approved and 

made effective during the term of office of the officer whose salary 

is to be increased. As the court in City of Uvalde v. Burney. 145 

S.W. 311. 312 (Tex. Civ. App. - San Antonio 1912, no writ) declared: 

p. 2013 
Eonorable Daniel W. Shindlel, - Page 2 (JM-442) 

The law in question is affirmative in requiring 

that the salarlelr of the city officers shall be 

fixed at a certain time, and we think [it] is 

merely directory. It will be presumed that the 

[llegislature intruded what was reasouable, and it 

would not cripple, or completely break down, a 

municipal corpora:ion by a failure to name salaries 

at a certain tiacz. The time is not essential to 

the perfect operetion of the law, and there is 

really but one maidatory provision in it, and that 

is that when they salary has been once fixed or 

established it shztl uot be changed during the term 

for which the o&cer was elected or appointed. 

That provision 1; negatively expressed, and mst 

necessarily be ma&atory. The -directions as to the 

time at which t1.e appropriation for the salaries 

should be made is :not of the essence of the duty to 

be performed; the main object of the law being to 

prevent an iucreas,e in salary during the incumbeacy 

la office. (Emphasis added). 

(Tex. Civ. App. 

137 S.W. 417 (Tax. Civ. App. - Austin 1911, no writ). Neither article 

1010 (nor Its prtdectsso~s) uor the casts construing the statute 

permit the aalary of a mayor to be increased and made effective during 

that officer's term. We must interpret the statute in a way which 

expresses only the will of the makers of the law, 

not forced aor cjtraintd, but simply such as the 

words of the law in their plain sense fairly 

sanction and will. clearly sustain. 

Railroad Commission of Tenas v. Miller. 434 S.W.2d 670, 672 (Tex. 

1968). The plain terms ofythe statute clearly forbid any increase la 

compensation during the tam for which the mayor is elected. 

SUMMARY 

The salary of a mayor of a ganeral law city may 

aot be incrsased during the term for which the 

mayor is elected. 

JIM HATTOX 

Attorney Ceaeral of Texas 

p. 2014 
Bonorable Daniel W. Shindltr - Page 3 (JM-442) 

JACKHIGETOWER 

First Assistant Attorney Gentera 

MARY KELLER 

Executive Assistant Attorney General 

ROBERT GRA-f 

Special Assistant Attorney Zzneral 

RICK GILPIN 

Chairman. Opinion Committee 

Prepared by Jim Moellinger 

Assistant Attorney General 

p. 2015