OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN **GROVER SELLERS**  **ATZORNEI GENERAL** 



### Eon. m. P. Bema,. Jr. County Auditor Yeller COuat.J, .'::;i:: Hen#Aeed;Texas : !

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### !a-;+6 j67 Ro: How mny dopey shrrl?ia oan be appointed la Valler ; A, County to be paid by war- .I .I xt rent on OOMty funds and

.! x,. ,F
.. auoh salarlea chargeable .to the sheriff?

. . i. .I 20 have..&&ived y&r ti$,ent opinion reqwat, quoted as ro11owa: ,./‘*

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?:; nThk q~sstlon.

bob.. srlaea ,BIto the number o? shsrlSf*odeputieswhloi~ can, by request of-the sheriff,be ap olnted by tho Commissionera Court and. paid by ?;aler County.

P *This ccupty’iatm a tea basls, and aontsm- .pi&es apFolnting,3’deputiea, to be peid by 

### war-

.rant bg tha County, and ohargeable to the rherlif on hla mnu~l report. -a*, i “1 ishall

appreolatsyour opinion regarding the~huinbec~

oi deputleewhich 060. be so oppolntsd and. peld. by Yaller County.p - ,. c Yeller County kes 8 popiiietion O? 10,210 acoording to the 191rO

Federal Census.
In aountlesoperating on 8 tee hale, Artlale 3591, Vernon’s AnnotatedCivil Ctatutee,provide8 irjr the payment of compensationof certelnotrlcera, their eesietbntsacd doputiea end other dispoeitlcn0r rees, n8 r0ilows:

Taah orflcarnemed In this chapter shall first out of the ourrent fees of his otiio8 pay or be paid the amount allowed him under the provivioaaoi!I.

n. '7. -'. Harms, Jr., pagr 2

' Artlola 3883, togetherwith the ralarlea a? his assletnnts and daputlse, andl uthorlzad l

xpontwa under Artiole 3859, and the amount neoweary to cover oosts of premium on whatever surety bond may be required by law. I? thr ourrrnt ?ers o? suoh oirioa oolleotsd In any year be aon than the amount needed to pay the amounta above specified, same shall ba deemed SXOOBI 1008, and shall ba dlepoead of in the Eanner bertlnartar provId.d. *In counties containingtwenty-?Irethousand (25,000)or laaa Inhabitants, District and County orrloers named herein shell retain one-third or such exoesa ?aSs until auoh one-third,together with the amounts spsaISIadIn Artlala 3883, anrxants to Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000).

. . .* The Fhcrl?? 1s one of the o??i.?srs named In the Chapter containingthe above Artlolr.

Art. 3883, V. A. C. C., provider, in part, aa ?ollowa: Y?%oept as otherwiseprovided In this Act, thm annual ?eer that may be retained by prsolnot, county and district oftlosrs nantionad In thin Artlale ahall be aa follows: 1. In oounti aa aontaInIce twenty five (25,000)thousand or 108s Inhabitants:

. . . .Chari??

. . . . Twenty-?wr Hundrrd (,12400.00) Dollars

. . .* Wtlola 3902, V. A. C. r., In regard to the number of deputies that mey be appointedand the anu3unt o? aalarlas to be allowed them, provldas in part as iollowa:
i "“nenever any district,oounty or praclnot 

### ofricer ahall require the serviceso? deputies, ssaiatants or clerks In.thaper?ormanceo? his duties ha shall apply tk: the County commiasioncrsl

### 736

Court of hls county for authority to appoint auoh deputlea,aaslstsatsor olerke, stating by aworn appllostlontha number needed, the poaitlon to be tilled and the emount to be paid. 9aid applioatlon shell be aooom9anladby e statement showing the probeble raoelpta from ieea, oommlaslons and oaapeneatlonto be aollaotadby said oifloa dwin% the ii8081 yaer and the probebla dlaburaemsnte whlah ahall lnolude all aalarira and l xpenaaa of **88id** oiiloe;

anda ald

owrt l hall make it8 order authorizingthe appointmentor auoh deputlea, laslatantaand olerkr and $1~ thr oompanaatlonto/ ba paid them wlthln the llmltatlonsheFaIn preaoribedand determinethe nmber to be appolntatl as in the dleorctlonof aald oourt leay be proper; provided that in no oaaa shall the Comisalonera’ Court or any mambar Charao? attempt to influenoa the appointmentof any person aa deputy, aaalatant or olerk la any office. Upon the entry of suoh order the ofiloera applying for such aselatanta, daputleaor olerka shall be authorizedto appoint them; provided that aald ouapensetionshall not eroaed the maximum amount hereinafter set out.Tha oompenaatlonwhloh may be allowed to the deputies, aaalatantaor ol8rk8 above named for their sarrloes shell be a reasonable one, not to eraeed t&a following araxanta: “1. In oountles having a populatlonot twentyfire thousand (25,000)or leaa lnhabltaots,rlret assistantor ohlei deputy not to exoead Eighteen Hundred (atl800.00) Dollars per annum; other aaaIatante, deputies or alerks not to exoead Firteen Uundred (3500.00) Dollars per annum eaoh.

. . .*
Art. 6869, V. A. C. -. , provices a8 follows: *Tharlffa shall hava the power, by wrltlng, to appoint one or more deputies fcr their raepeotive counties,to continue in offlca during the pleasure of the sheriff, who shall !?ave power and authority to perrorm all the acts and duties of their prlnqJEil$; < end every parson so a9Tolntedshall, bafore ha s;:tera

upon the dutlaa of his of?‘Ice, take and subsorlba to the otflcial oath, Tdhloh shell be Indorsedon hla sppolntncnt,toaethcr ?jith the oar

### t,irlcate or 

### the orricer atiAnI:torin&the sane; and

### 737

i’.on. “!. ?. Herma, Jr., page 

### 4

such appointmentand oath shall be recorded in the offloe o? the County Clerk and deDoalted in aald orrioe. The number o? deputies appointedby the aharl?? o? any one county shall be limltad to not exceeding three in the Juatloe preolnot in whloh Is looated the oounty site of auoh oounty, and one in aaoh Juatloe preolnot, and a list ot these appointments shall be posted up in a oonapiououa plaoe in the Clerk ’ s Olflae. An lndlotmentfor a felony o? any deputy aherlrr eppolnted shell oper- ~~~r;r;erooatlon

o? his appointmentas auoh deputy

. Provided rurther. that I? in the opinion or the Commisalonera’ Court foes or the aherlrr~a orrioe are not surriolentto juatlry the payment o? eelarIas o? auoh deputies, the ,Commlaslonera~ Court shall have the power to pay the aemeout o? -jij said county.” (Underaooring oura). Article 

### 6869,supra, was sneoted in its present 

### r0m by anendmant in 1929, while Art. 3902, supra, we6 anaotad in Its present ?orm by amendment In 

### 1939. As they are In *Pari Xaterlan they are to be oonatrued together sxoaptwhere in oonrllctwith eaoh other. where in oonillot,aa they are in reapeot to the llmltatlonplaced by said Art. 

### 6869 on the number o? deputies allowed, the leter enaotad statute (Art. 3902) ~111 control. In other reapeotanot oonrliotlng,auoh as the provisions of said Art. 

### 6869,undersooredby ua herein, eald Article 

### 6869 la appllaable.

Thereiore, it la our opinion thet as many deputy sherliismay be appointed in ::eller County a8 In tha discretion of the Commiaalonera~ Court may be proper; the aalarleso? such deputies are to be determinedas provided by as16Art. 3902; and they cannot be paid other than ?rom lees of ofiloe as provided In said Art. 3891, unless In the opinion of the CommIaaIoners’ Court ?aas or the sherlrr’sorrloe are not au?rloientto justify the payment o? aelarIeao? suoh deputies, then, In that oase,the Conmissioners’Ccjurt shall have the power to pay the satze out o? the General Fund of Yeller County.

:‘!e rind no statute authorizIne: the salnrlespaid out o? t,ke General Fund to be charged agalnst the aherlrt.Article 

### 6869, supra, euthorlzeathe payment o? deputiesout o? the General;:cn. 7. ?. Hems, Jr., page 5

F’und of thr oounty onlr when the CommIssIonera Court Is or the &pinion that the ieea of the sheriff are not surf Iolent to juatirg the payment 0r the deputies. This statute does not oontampletethat the oompenoetlonpaid to thr deputies out ot the Oenaral lund In aooordenoetharewith shall be charged against the sheriff.The purpose or the atatute Is to enable the sheriff to have a suffIaIentnumber of deputies to perrorm the dutloa or hla oifloe. Ii your ComnlssIonera’ Court contemplatesadvanolngmoney to the sheriff to pay the oompensation of three deputlea for which he must aooount in his annual report,you are advised that suoh edvanoementis not outhorlzedby eitherArtIole 6869 or any other atatute known to ua. Trusting the above fully answers your inquiry, we are Yours very truly, ATTORNZY WNBRAL OF TYXACRLL:rt BY Robert L. Lattlmore,Jr. Assletant.