OFFICEOFTHEATTORNEYGENERALOFTEXAS 

AUSTIN 

GROVER SELLERS 

mrr~RNEv GENER*l. 

Honorable J. Pinsa Smith 

County Auditor 

chftrokec county 

Rusk, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

by law to count 

we hve reeaelved .yo 

100. 0n tb3 r0uoviag quma0w 

1 

“SNGOND, 3?he $tilsrg of the Diatrl~t Clerk 

vas ~~$2,4OO.OO~ptm yeti by an order of the 
Sionorable J. Fiuen Smith, page 2 

>----mr*~ Court in 19S6 and hm 10 beeo eet 

eaah yea ado. oontlaued at that figure to this 

date. The annual report on file 61 the r&strict 

Clerk for the year 1935 shov@ a gross GARBED fee 

of $3,&0*98 with 0~ $1,472.17 of this tee oollected. Said report ale0 8how6 au Ex-otfimlal cemPM~tl~ Of 41,28O.O3 berider the gross fee above 

mentioned asldns a total of $h,,Y~l.Og as groua 

feea earned. !Ihe authorlted deductions ehw 

(65o.w for deputy hire, ho.00 for preml.&~ ou 

surety bad, $3.00 otrloe aupplles, 446,22 arr 

~-togs -6 $7.00 for trcltellng expewes, lerpiag 

a mt EAREfaD iecr ot 43.604.81. IO the right of 

the80 Evhat fQure, in your oplnlon, ehould 

govern ,thc Cwd68loner~* Qourt ia mttlag f&i . 

88-Y ai the Dlatriot Clerk tn aooordtume ulth 

Art. 39X(1, Motion IS, (P.A.C.8.). 
Eonorable J. Flnaa Smith, PsfZe 3 

1Qcreased for the rereelnder of the year, or frm 

the time application for increase va5 applied 

for? 

Wl+TH. We would further like to knov, if 

in yaw-on, the Commla8ioner15 Court is bound 

by the 5nnual report8 on file for 8ald offiicers 

for the yeear 1935, and If.aot, vho is to deterII&IS and.vhen aad hov are they to determine vhat 

15 the correct figure to govern in aettlag the 

aal.ary or 8alaries of the official8 mentioned in 

Art. 3912e, Section 13 (V.A.C.S.) 

"SIXTH. Artlale 3912e reads ia ptwt, Q&ah 

of rraim%aers shall be paid in money en awaaal 

5ala.ry in tuelve equal ln5tallm5nt5 of not leso 

th8n the total num EARXKD as aompellsatloa by hl.m 

i ‘.j. 10. hi5 offlalal eapaelty for the y5m 3.935.' ~Do55 

.'thl5 5msnb in your opinion, the.dROSS E4RlIIXGS of 

said offiae or the IKEI! EARBlDios of 8ald offLee, 

after deducting all expanses of 8ald offleet' 

;k. -IF% -4.~ ;i@y:> .-;: ::::. i ..m -pop~tioQ::of~LQ&#p~, .Cwntro.:.i.r:i:43,g7o.‘:lrhrb~t-:, /:: ~,:, : _ ,,; : ,, 

? mt5, Moordiog to the 1940Federal Cenra8. The 1930 Federal 

I Cen5u8 shoved a populatlen fof,aald county or 43,180 inhablt- 

: ult5. Therefore, Artlol# 3912e, V~IOQ~~ Aaaotited,Oivll Stati utc5, commonly knovn a8 the "offteerrl &l#&rg UN' la apliaable 

; to 85id aounty. 

t Under the pr0?lsibn8 of Art. 3912e, V.A.C.S., your 

i Co5sala5ioner5~ Court 15 authorised and Lt 15 it8 duty to fix the 

-1 annual 8alarlea of the County Clerk, Mstrlet Clerk and County 

t Judge of Cherokee County at an amount~'of sot lea5 than the 

: total 8um earned 85 coapen8stlon by hl51 la hlr offlolal cagei elty for the fiscal year 1935, 5nd not mom th5n the m5x+uiit 

c tmowzt alloved 8uch offloar8 under lavs txlstlng on August ?4, 

1935.” Said artlale further provide5 for an lnareabe of aaid 

? wslmum amount alloved %I& counties oovdtq uith%n certain p6pti8- 

; tlon brackets and havlug aertaln a88e88ed pm&arty valu5tioas. 

Our Opltioa Ho-. O-345, in response to a question 

whether the expenses for deputy hire, prem.tum on surety bond, 

telephone and postage should be deducted from the total reae;pta of the office La oamputlog the *total sum earned 88 empensat;on by hiin la his otflalal 08pMity,A hold8 thet the co!+ 

e5s;onerq' Court should dsduat fs?om the total aolapsnsation 
Ronorable J. Finw Wraith, page 4 

esrtted, collected urd unaollected, the expewes of the orrlae 

for the year I.935 vhluh vere legally allaved by the Comalesionera' Court for tht year. 

Our 6eld Opinion No. O-345 also holds that the exofflci.al rsrl.Ary paid M officer In 1935 should be taken in conslderrtlon In aaaputlng the airpilaupr cral5ry of ruah offluer 

under the pre5ent lev. 

Art. 3863b V.AdLS., wovlder that, exoept as otherwise provided in thfs hat, the anaual fee5 th5t xay be retain& 

by the county judge, oouuty clerk and dlstrlot clerk in oounties h5vlng the popul5tlon 0s Cherokee Oounty 5h5llbe Thirtyfloe Hundred (&AKL) Doll5rs each. 

Art. 3891, V.A.G.8.b provides that 5u0h offlaers 

5m.l first out of the oumtnt icas 0s hi5 offltt p5y or be 

p5i.a thta1~nntaIlovtdhlt5under thepm~181ons 0rbe.3883, 

together with the mlarfaa of his arrlsta~tr and dtputltr, and 

authorWd espenrm .\ardor Art; 3899, 5nd the mount metslurry 

to eovtr aostr of premfmn on vhattver surety bond say be re-. 

qpirva by 28v;and 2s mt ourrent rtt5 of tush 0rrb5 eolleot- 

::_. ed .: laiauy yy.M&k .;+#fpeatbra..thr.~iamwat. :~.~;tQi;~:?tbu...xmonnt. , above spta%fltd,~stae dsllbe dttwd exataa feea, a&t 8ueh 

0rriatm sha.ll~tainOne-thlra 0s ruahawers rcsr unt%lmoh 

oaa-thedb together uLth the amwit ~oiiisd %m AH. 3886, 

samate to Forty-tve ~Buwlred l id Nifty Dollar8 ($@50). 

Sat& tit*. 3883 tab 3891, V.A.C& utre txktng 

&I agplla&ble to Cherokee Clom?g OR Asgnst 44, ,393s. 

‘Ehartr0ra, la antvtr to your first quaatlau, ia Wder 

to determint the - u&r 

tha dmthorlcea Mp5n555 ($5 7b 

rtta of $8,938.52, Tht mtmtiit +d 

quent fear io 1935 La not to bo here beem wune 

was aot tarnta in 1935. After SW& dedwtiorrr for authri4ed 

za 010~ or the r0rtgag, we answer your 5eoopa we* 

tion *a $olZovsr 93 aWlVe at thd llliDtmar fQW@e that i* to 
Bmoreble J, Fiwn Smith, page 5 

:-’ i 

? 

~~OVO~S said Co~MIoner~’ Court iafi.xlng the Dbtrict Ch!kts 

salary for the aurrent paar, ve must deterl&le the exact 4kmo~t 

OS current fees that such District Clerk would have been al-. 

loved to retain (18 co!tQeaSetloa ior his servicer ia the year 

1935 13 such less aarwd bad all been collected by b3.m. After 

all authorized deductiona were made, ynu show the amount of 

$3~604.~ a; tp; yned feea for the year 1935. Under raid 

. ., the annual ieea thnt map be retained 

Art: 3883: V:A:C.S., t&z annual fee4 th4t mey be retained 

.by the Mlrtrlat Clerk aPtounta4 to $3.500.00. Thlr lcares 

$104.81 that AS to be *eated as exaeas fees aacordlng to the 

prv?isivas of said Art. 3891; V.A.O.S. Oae-third or 8uah oxcew feea amounta to $34.93 g/3. Thla one-third OS the cxteas tees tatty also be reta%Md by said District Clerk. Therefore, the eW of $3,534.93 p/3/ la the exact emouat that euuh 

Dlistrlct Cleric would have been alloved to ret&in. .Sn 1935 If 

all feei wraed had beea ool%ected, and this la th4 mi$sS.mum 

flptuce governibg the O~a81oaer’(1~ Court”ia.ffxYng the Dletrlut ~Clerk~a28alary for the curreat year. 

ia, $4,wLoo. 

The mexlmum ftgurs 

trerted an exuesr fees uader sold Atr. 3891, V*A.C.S., a& the 

ak-ofSclo 8aapeanatlva reuelved by *gr. aomty judge’ ih 19% 

exact~~ualedtbe plpgunt allovedhlmuader aald Art.=, 

V.A.C.S. After deduatlng the suthorlzed expea~s; ,riioh exaeal 

~feer amount $0 $189.46. !fhereiWa, oa!ky one-thl*d of Such 6X- 

;BglLi3ef could have been rstiataed by maM 0Stlaer ae4oxW.U 

This one-third ($63.15 14) added to 43 500.~ 

egaln*$3,%3.X5 l/3, whioh La the mlaiwnp &umm~ vhich.gweras 

tb 0aolPli~mtbfm~ 04mFnftiFagtb 44bry0t aaid abunts 

judge for the unrrent year. ObviouSly, the pwieat ammt 

re.oeived by your CaWW 1 

3 

(f3,5W.O~) la avt within the 

lirnitr ps~~ded in Art. 391 

au&mm figure in $S,WLOC. 

, sectloo. 13, V.A.G.S. The 

our mmter to your fotith quertha la aa tollcove: 

Oti inions xos. O-1595 aad 0-6%?3 each hold La 6ubstawe 

that %a 0 C0ms.8alvwre~ Court halas the right 

fix tba ~slari98 at artah bftlcera with&i the 

au vba nut& ~larlea have awe been fixed, 

ehaaged duH.n& thdlt Yb=. 

Thiah~lngabcfvre us the quertZolnvhetherthe Cm+ 

rpL~si0g~rst Oawt 115 Mtttiag ealarles Of offlwrs la araounta 

not authorized by lau, fixed mush s&laxS.es Iflthln the ooatgputloo of the next abo%i%jldlnge. We do not think no. 
Honorable J. FiWn Bmlth, page 6 

the.aaa9 OS B(ecogdocbea county v. Jlaklns, (Clv. A&Q. - vrit 

refded) 140 E. W. (*d) 901, an order of the CocUeelonere~ 

Court fixing the district clerks 1 ealary at a ewn less than 

the tinlmum fixed by lav ut$s held void, and a judgment ln 

SavOr Of said clerk for the difference betueeo the salary p&d 

&la sad the lainlaum Wy allowed hla by law war atf lrmd. 

(Ill80 eee Xaco@5bahea Co. v. Ulnder (010. App. - writ refueed) 

140 8. K. (26) 9 

of County Clerk. T 

, for similar rullag on judgmnt ln favor 

Therefore, it 10 ow oplnlon that la such 

oases Where the sabrier have not been fixed lawSully, the 

Comalaaloaer~f Court OwlUg the current yew should Six the 

salmler of the aouaty offiaerr nmmd In Sec. 13 of Art. 

V.A.C.S., au dlreoted by #aid article, for the yeaar lg45. 

>912e, 

8uoh tiles, when Sired accordlug to l&v, would be anmel 

saleries, payable la twelve equal lartallmentr. Thud= 

enoe between the aoathly suma paid such officersduring the 

yem befor4~ the ealarles ware ~flxed anf3 the amount 0s the 

munt 

3 

inatallmeatm of such u%larler after same are flxed 

fc@ tl p~8r aocOrQln$ to I&FI would be due aad payable to the 

osfleeru iavolved. In 80 aa8e could them annual salaries be 

Stied for aye8.r thsthad’explred. (See aormaisaianerrr~ Court 

0f X~Ogd0~h0a OOUaty v. Winder et al, 113 9, W. (W) 277.) 

;.,~( ~:jl: _..,, ::!:! ..:;.:;:p : ..~:-:-~:.;:,,::,!‘.:,:::i:: iii:::,::::, ‘‘L:li..::r f;.: ::; i:::.i.::z; ,.:.,,y ,:.::. ‘:? .: . . . . ,~ ,,, 

we a&r y0u.p f~&bq&jjt~on 88 ‘foll&i~’ &it. 4896, 

.V.A.C.S.; providee that ewh district, county sad gzoo$aot 

otflusr shall keep a correot rtntmat OS all Sees earaed by 

him, eta., aad that it shall be the duty 0r the sounty audltor to aaaually exaaiae the booke aad amounts of suah otilaera aad repat hla fladlags to the grand Jnry or to the district aourt. 

Art. 38!?7, V.A.C.S., provider that each dlrtrlct, 

county had preulaut bifioer rhallmke, at the aloae of e&ah 

flwal jam, a rapert shoulag the amant of all ‘fee8 4ad 00mpewe&lonr earned during the fleoal 6lr, nQk¶ ehow1ngthe 

amowt of same aolleated, aad ltendr GJ that part of .aa!ne 

aot eolleoted, chewing the aame OS the party oviag ruch kincall.eat& feea, wmalaaioaa end amqwmeatlons. 

The annual reporto ara n4t aooolucrlve proof of the 

truth OS the i’sots sOate+ thereh and u?e aot binalw on the 

C&salowra’ Court in determl&6 the s~~unt oS ~~u~~ mlary to pay its ossioers. See 34 Tex. Jur. P* 600. 

Ye belf.eve the ncturl apra\rat of au f*e? yap a?;.; 

mls,siona owned by the officer niey 

fautlon of the Caaalsaloaers~ Court, b’~ the Count 

disuharge of the duty inrpoeed on him by .Maid Art. 

be detertiwa to tw mamae- 

.g auditor’s 

3896, V.A.C.S. 
RCXlOrable J. Finen Smith, page 7 

; Your sixth queatlon la fully answered hereti by our 

a&suers to your firat, seaond and third queetiaar. 

Ye are enclosing herewith copies of said opinions 

Noa. O-345, o-1595, and O-6223, utiah fully net out the text 

OS the etatutea la questiou. 

We trust the foregoing fully answers your queWtlOn8. 

Yours very truly 

A!WORBEURtiR?ALOFl’RXAB 

m /rlstle4/ 

Robert L. latt~lmsJ;. 

APFRcwRn 

Oplnfaa ~Comfttee 

By /a/ U.Y.B. 

chlllrlaun