**OFFICE** 

### OF **THE ATTORNEY**  **GENERAL OF**  **TEXAS AUSTIN** 



### BOJL J. 3. Altied CountyAuditor **m91or county**  

### sle CityNationalmlldlng Hahita falls,mxcs
war Sir:



### Your requertfor 0 oarefullyoonaldered**by thl**  

### yourrequestas followa:

thealaimafter a8 abovenumberhe individualcormisng outwarrants,eta. allyboundto do but doesdofor thepublicand the pub114of**urt** 

### i8 of theopinionthatthis also is not a legalliabilityof the county,and thereforehas asked **me** 

### to submitthe oountyolerkc8 billto you and ask thatyou give an opinion thereon."

**We** 

### hare a340 oarefullyeraminedthe Olaimyou tanol0red

in your lstter. **The** 

### alalmis forpostagel 

### xpenaeHon. J. 8. Allred, page 2.

at the rate of 21.50 per month for the past 8 years for a t0td **or w4.00.**  The olalm Is not Itemized, The rtatsment is ztade in the alalm that the postage was “used for mailing warrants for oounty in R &B **Fund, I:**  **&** J Fund and Hospital Fund”

.

Opinion NO. O-1891 of this department passed upon this claim **based** upon the faot situation **yreeented** 

### in the r4quest. The raot situation **passed upon**  **in** opinion NO. O-1891, was a8 follows, quoting from the letter of request:

“The 

### OODrmiesloners~ Court of 

### BaylorCounty has asked me, as their County Auditor, to get a ruling from you relative to payment or expenses or their oounty olerk over a period 

### running baok as far as nine years for extra help and poetageb It Is myunderstanding that this orrioer’s tee8 **are** supposed to oover any extra help he uses in hi8 offloe, as ~411 as the expense for po8tage. Euring the time I have been county auditor in Enylor county, which la only part time work, slnoe the Oounty Is not large enough to require full time, the county has paid this offloer 4x-orfiofo fn an amunt for county and district clerk avaraging around $1400.00 per year, and It ~483~9 that th4se expenses should have been taken oar4 of by the offioer from theas payments, &so, in view or the faot that the orfleer is expeoted to make an expense statement nonthly to the oourt, whlah he has done and In

. which he has not alatied th4s4 expsnses, it is my belief that hs is not entitled to olalz them at this late date.

“1 would like to have your opinion on this matter 

### for the full period 

### or any part of the nine year perlod.~ Opinion NO. O-1891, held that the county via6not liable ror the expenses olaimed. W4quote from the opinion as 

### r0110vv0:

“The oounty has paid the county olsrk exofficio oompsnsatlon in the approximate sumof ~~1400.00per year during the above mentioned nine year period. The Conmlesioners~ Court Is debarred from allowing compensation for ex orricio servloes to oounty orrlolals when the conpensatlon and excess fees which they are allowed to retain shall rsaoh the maximumprovided **by** law. .\aabove stated, oounty orrlolals who are oompensated on a fee basis must pay their expenses **out** of feea earnedEon. J. R. Allred, Iage 3

**by** their respective offices, and t:?o oon?mIssIonem* oourt Is without authority to allow payzent of the sane by the oounty.

“You are respeotfully advised that It la the opinion at this departzent that the above rentloned expenses of the oounty clerk should have bean paid by him iron fees of office and the oounty hes no authority to pap such expenses.” ?fe think Opinion no. O-1891 or this departzzent Is oorreot under tte faots stated and we adbtrs to that rUling. we also oall. your attention to the recent oa8e of Pierson vs. Galveston Cc,Inty, 131 3. W, (2nd) Page 27, which supports our oonolu8ion reaahad In Opinion z&O-1891.

In your request ror opinion Uponthe o1al.m as now pmzeented **you** stat., amongother things, as follows:

W..,. the aountp olerk now **OCE~S** baak with another olaim which he does not c1aiE is expenses or 

### orrioe, but that it is 

### ror acoomodations to the **court** and the individual oomiesioners, ets., 1n n.alcTng Out warrants, etc., which he is not legally bound **to** do **but** doer SOior the oonveniencs of the pub110 and the pub110 orrioiais.~
Ion of this You are therefore respectfully advised It Is the opindepartmnt, under the taats stated In your letter, that Raylor County, Texas Is not legally liable for the claim described in your letter, and that same should not be approved. 

### Very **truly yours**  CTTCiSEYcE?XRALOF “CTiiS

a9 $$iy&zL+

Phn.J. Fanning Asri stant WJF: jm End1,