OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 11. TEXAS 

GERALD C. MANN 

-N 

A-RNEY CHCNERAI. 

Hon. E. Y. Cunningham 

Cbunty Auditor 

Navarro Countg~ 

Corsicana, Texas 

Dear Sir: Opi,nlon No. O-1231 

Re: May some anticipated amount of 

delinquent taxes to be collected 

under delinquent tax contract be 

included in the budget? 

Your request for an opinion on the question as herein 

stated has been received by this department. 

Your letter reads in part as follows: 

“We have recently made a contract with Judge 

Edgar Hutchins for the purpose of collecting our 

delinquent taxes and he started upon his duties 

during the month of July. 

"I am now in the process of making our budget 

for 1940 and am wondering if it will be permissible 

for me to use in the budget some anticipatea amount 

of delinquent taxes to be collected by him and if 

so, Is there any per cent for figuring same?" 

Article 68ga-9, R,C.S. reads as follows: 

"The County Judge shall serve as budget 

officer for the commissioners' court in each 

county, and during the month of July of each 

year he, assisted by the County Auditor or by 

the County Clark, 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 practicable between expenditures included in the proposed budget and actual 

expenditures for the same or similar purposes for 

the 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, anWthe esti- 
Hon. E.Y. Cunningham, page 2 0 -1231 

mated amount of money carried in the budget for 

each of such projects. 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." 

Article 68qa-11, R.C.S., neads In part as follows: 

11 

tion di 

. ..The County Judge shall, after the aaopthe county budget and prior to October 15th 

of each year, file with the State Comptroller at 

Austin, Texas, a true and correct summarized statement of the adopted budget, which statement shall 

show the total amount adopted for each of the several 

divisions of the county's activities and outstanding 

obligations together with true and exact copies of 

any revenue estimates, financial statements and balance 

sheets required to be contained in said budgets, and 

the correctness of said copies shall be'sworn to by 

the County Judge and County Auditor, and in counties 

which have no County Auditor, by the County Clerk..." 

Article 1666, R. C.S., referring to county auditors, 

reads as follows: 

"lie shall prepare an estimate of all the 

revenues and expenses, and annually submit It to 

the commissioners court, which court shall carefully make a budget of all appropriations to be 

set aside for the various expenses of the county 

government in each branch and department. He shall 

open an account with each appropriation in said 

budget, and all warrants drawn against same shall 

be entered to said account. He shall carefully 

keep an oversight of same to see that the expenses 

of any department do not exceed said budget appropriations, and keep said court advised of the condition of said appropriation accounts from time to 

time." 

The above mentioned statutes specifically provide that 

the budget shall also contain a complete financial statement of 

the county . . . . showing the estimated revenues available to cover 

the proposed budget and the estimated rate of tax which will be 
Hon. E. Y. Cunningham, page 3 o-1231 

required and the statutes further provide that the correct summarized statement of the adopted budget filed with the State 

Comptroller shall show . . . . . any revenue estimates....... 

In view of the foregoing statutes you are respectfully 

advised that it is the opinion of this department that it would 

be permissible when preparing the county budgetto anticipate 

some amount of delinquent taxes to be collected; however, there 

is no statutory provision providing or setting forth any per 

cent for figuring the same. It would be wholly within the discretion of the County Judge and County Auditor in determining 

any per cent of delinquent taxes that they reasonably anticipate to be collected. 

Trusting that the foregoing answers your inquiry, we 

rema in 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS 

By s/Ardell Williams 

Ardell Willtams 

Assistant 

AW:AW:wc 

APPROVED SEP 7, 1939 

s/Gerald C. Mann 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

Approved Opinion Committee By s/RWB Chairman