GROVER SELLRRS AUSTIN PI. TEXAS 

This Opinion Overrules Opinion 

#o-834 and Overrules o-1447 In 

part. 

Honorable R. C . Neaves 

County Auditor, Grayson County 

Sherman, Texas 

Dear Sir: Opfnion No. O-5951 

Re: Salaries of various deputies of 

the County Tax-Assessor Collector. 

Your letter of April 7, 1944, requesting the opinion 

of this department on the questions stated therein, is, in 

part, as follows : 

“1 o May the County Auditor approve’warrants 

drawn on the Grayson County OffLcers’ Salary Fund, 

payable to the deputy or deputies working in the 

branch office of’the Assessor and Collector of Taxes 

in excess of an aggregate total of $1,200.00 for any 

one calendar year? 

“For your consideration I submit the following 

lnf ormat ion : 

“‘The Assessor and Collector of Taxes of Grayson 

County, Texas, with the consent and approval of the 

Commissioners’ Court, maintains a branch office in 

Denison, a city in Grayson County other than the county 

seat. The city of Denlson is located about ten miles 

from Sherman, the county seat, and a great volume of 

business is handled by the deputies stationed in the 

branch office there. Their work consists of collecting and issuing receipts for property taxes, issuing 

poll tax receipts, registering motor vehicles and issuing license plates therefor. According to the last 

Federal census, Grayson County had a~ population of 

69,499 inhabitants, and the city of Denison had a 

population of 15,581 inhabitants a ’ 

“At the January 1944 Term of the Commissioners’ 

Court, the Assessor and Collector of Taxes of Gragson 

County, Texas, submitted his application for deputy 

hlre for the operation of the above mentioned branch 

office for the year 1944, same being approved as presented by the Commissioners’ Court as follows: 

‘. 
Honorable R.C. Neaves, page 2 o-5951 

"One full time deputy at an annual salary of $1,440.00 

"One deputy for four months @ $85.00 per month 340.00 

"One deputy for month of January 150.00 

"One deputy for half of month of January 

"One poll writer for month of January 782 $E 

"One poll writer for half month of January 41:25 

"Total deputy hire approved for the branch 

office for the year $2,128.75 

"In other words, would it be mandatory upon the 

County Auditor to refuse to sign a county warrant drawn 

on the County Officers' Salary Fund, in payment of com- 

$ 

ensation to the above'mentioned deputies, after the 

1,200.OO has been exhausted, regardless of what portion 

of the year is left? 

"2 . May the County Auditor approve a county warrant in payment of daily travel expense for a deputy 

tax assessor and collector going from Sherman, the 

county seat, to Denison and return, while working in 

said branch office? * * *' 

Article 7256, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, among 

other things, provides, in effect, that in all counties containing a city or town, other than the county seat, which has in 

excess of 7,000 inhabitants according to the last Federal Census, 

the assessor and collector of taxes, withthe consent and approval of the commissioners' court, may appoint a deputy assistant collector of taxes in such town or city,"who shall have the 

right to collect taxes from all persons who desire to pay their 

taxes to him, and to issue a valid receipt therefor, and that 

such deputy is authorized to receive a fee of not exceeding 

twenty-five cents when receipt issued covers property taxes, and 

that such deputy shall receive no other compensation for his 

services, and that such deputy shall not retain more than $1,200 

for any one calendar year, and the balance, if any, shall be 

deposited to the credit of the General Fund of the county. 

Section 61, Article 16 of the State Constitution, provides: 

"All district officers of the State of Texas 

and all county officers in counties having a population of twenty thousand or more, according to the 

then last preceding Federal Census, shall from the 

first day of January and thereafter subsequent to 

the first regular or special sessi~on of the Legislature after the adoption of this resolution, be compensated on a salary basis. In all counti~es in 
Honorable R. C. Neaves, page 3 o-5951 

this State, the commissioners court shall be authorized to determine whether precinct officers shall 

be compensated on a fee basl.s or on a salary basis; 

but in counties having a populati,,on of less than 

twenty thousand, according to the then last preceding Federal Census, the commissioners’ Court shall 

also have the authority to determine whether county 

officials shall be compensated on a fee basis or on 

a salary basis. 

“All fees earned by district, county and precinct officers shall be paid i.nto the county treasury 

where earned for the a,ccount of the proper fund, provided that fees incurred by the State, county and any 

municipality, or in case where a pauper’s oath is filed, 

shall be paid into the county treasury when collected 

and provided that where any officer is compensa,ted 

wholly on a fee basis such fees may be retained by 

such officer or paid into the treasury of the county 

as the Commissioners ’ Court may direct. All Notarles 

Public, county surveyors and public weighers shall continue to be compensated on a fee basis.” 

Section 1 of Article 3912e, Vernon’s Annotated Civil 

Statutes, prov:,des : 

“No district officer shall be paid by the 

State of Texas any fees or commission for any service performed by him; nor shall the State or any 

county pay to any county officer in any county containing a population of twenty thousand (20,000) 

inhabitants or more according to the last preceding 

Federal Census any fee or commission for any service 

by him performed as such officer; provided, however, 

that the assessor and collector of taxes shall continue 

to collect and retain for the benefit of the Officers’ 

Salary Fund or funds hereinafter provided for, all fees 

and commissions which he is authorized under law to 

collect; and it shall be his duty to account for an to 

pay all such monies received by him into the fund or 

funds created and provided for under the provisions 

of this Act; provid,ed further, that the provisions of 

this Section shall not affect the payment of costs In 

civil cases by the State, but all such costs so paid 

shall be accounted for by the officers collecting the 

same, as they are requ.ired under the provisions of this 

Act to account for fees, commissions and costs collected 

from private parties .” 

Section 5 of Article 3912e, Vernon’s Annotated Civil 

Statutes, reads, in part, as follows: 
. -- 

Honorable R.C, Neaves, page 4 o-5951 

"It shall be the duty of all officers to charge 

and collect in the manner authorized by law all fees 

and commissions which are permitted by law to be assessed and collected for all official service performed 

by them. As and when such fees are collected they shall 

be deposited in the Officers' Salary Fund, or funds provided in this Act, * + *' 

Article 3902, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, is a 

general statute ~regarding the appointment of deputies, assistants or clerks of any district,county or precinct office, and 

applies to all counties within the population bracket therein 

contained. This statute sets out the przedure to be followed 

whenever a district, county or precinct officer shall require 

the services of deputies, assistants or clerks in the performance of his duties, and Section 4 of this Article reads as 

follows: 

"In counties having a population of sixty 

thousand and one 

hundred thousand I 

60,001) and not more than one 

100,000) inhabitants, first assistant OP chief deputy not to exceed Twenty-four 

Hundred ($2400,00) Dollars per annum; other assistants, deputies or clerks not to exceed Twenty-one 

Hundred ($2100,00) Dollars per annum each." 

In view of the foregoing statutory and constitutional 

provisions, it is the opinlon of this department, that the 

deputy assessor and collector of taxes in the branch office 

mentioned in your inquiry, mst pay in all fees collected under 

Article 7256 to the Officers' Salary Fund. The deputy in the 

branch office must be paid out of the Officers' Salary Fund of 

said county, and the maximum amount of his compensation cannot 

exceed $2,100 per annum. 

It is our further opinion, in view of the foregoing 

statutory provisions and Section 61, Article 16 of the Constitution, that Article 3902 supersedes Article 7256 insofar as 

the salary of the deputy in the branch office is concerned. 

The full time deputy in the branch office can receive 

any compensation for his services as set by the commissioners' 

court 

$ 

provided, of course, that his compensation does not exceed 2,100 per annum. The County Auditor would have no legal 

right to refuse to sign a county warran,t drawn on the Officers' 

Salary Fund in the payment of compensation to such deputy whose 

salary or compensation has been fixed by the commissioners' 

court at $1440 per annum. 

Article 2971, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, provides: 
Honorable R.C. Neaves, page 5 0 -5951 

"In all counties containing a city of ten 

thousand inhabitants or more, other then the county 

seat, such collector shall have a duly authorized 

and sworn deputy to represent him for the purpose 

of accepting poll taxes and giving receipts therefor, 

who shall keep his office for such purpose at some 

convenient place in such city during the entire 

month of January of each year, and he shall publish 

four weeks notice of the authority of such deputy 

and the location of the office." 

The foregoing statute authorizes the county tax assessor 

and collector to have duly authorized and Sworn deputy to represent him for theourpose of accepting poll taxes and giving 

receipts therefor in a city of ten thousand inhabitants or more, 

who shall keep his office for such purpose at some convenient 

place in said city during the entire month of January. With 

reference to the compensation of this deputy, or deputies; it 

is our opinion that such deputy or deputies, acting under the 

provisions of Article 2971, would. be compensated under the applicable provisions of Article 3902, Vernon'3 Annotated Civil 

Statutes. The compensation of these deputies for the month of 

January would be payable out of the Officers' Salary Fund. 

In answer to your question regarding the traveling expenses of the deputy assessor and collector of taxes in the 

branch office mentioned in your letter, who travels daily between Sherman and Denison, you are advised that it ins our opinion that the county is not legally authorized to pay such traveling expenses. Stated another way, we have failed to find such 

statute authorizing such expenses to be paid out of county funds. 

All other expenditure of county funds for the compensation of various deputies employed in the branch office az set 

forth in the order of the commissidners' court are unauthorized 

and the County Auditor has no legal authority to approve such 

claims. In other words, the deputy in the branch office and 

the deputy or deputies performing the duties mentioned in Article 2971 can be paid from the Officers' Salary Fund. The other 

deputies in the branch office cannot legally be paid. 

Our Opinion No. O-834 is hereby expressly overruled and 

our Opinion No. O-1447 is overruled insofar as it conflicts with 

this oplnion. 
Honorable R.C. Neavas, page 6 o-5951 

Yours very truly 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AW:EP:wc 

By s/Ardell Williams 

Ardell Williams 

Assistant 

APPROVED APR'25, 1944 

s/Gee. P. Blackburn 

(Acting) ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

Approved Opinion Committee By s/BwB Chairman