OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF IEXA8 

AUSTIN 

Rcnorable Jemo8 A. Ouest 

County Attorney 

amp couBty 

Fittrburg, es4kesr 

aat0 

30 6ro in feocip 

and puoto ~POBI your 

Y, it has booomo Imporepayment in aash for rator 

008, iiatsaa of aoooptfng a8 horotou0a agalmt th0 ocr~eral mna of tho 

II rla of the inability of the 

this obllptlon logally, threui# 

a ~alntaiwa tborobJ, tho County 

* Court pP880a an odor at It8 regular 

Of thin yOW, PW$UfriB(s pmOBt in 048h 

Out Or th0 @oIlOral ftlad, for watOr and 8Oworom 8OrThO8, ana also, 8alary of the Wurtheu80 J8rdbor. 

of fSO.00 $WP menth, netwitlmtendl.n& that than 18 

an OUt8tiknah.g a8fi0lt agaln8t tho 8aid &moral ma. 

'Wov, tho aotlon of tho Od881onOM' Court, 

uider tbo eari of tho wrltbs, woo borrod PM? the 
747 

Fionorable James A. Guest, pae,e & 

ocnviotions of that body that It Is lawful to 

pay the eotucl operating oxpensee of the aounty, 

in oo8h, rm5 the proper fma, regardless of any 

dafioite, or reglatertrd sorip that might be outatending, especially, in oonsideratlon of the 

preSsing neoessity to meet thi8 emergenoy; however, the County Tron6uror doe8 not rO8poad to the 

order of the COmd8SioBere’ Court, and In oon8equanoe thereof, I, aa County Attorney, advirred 

the Treasurer that, under the provisions of 

Article 1709, It was ag oplaion that he would be 

aoting within the law In oomplying with tho orders 

duly passed by the Commisslonersg Court in this 

ease. My advice wes submitted to the Treasurer 

in writing, but having railed to retain a copy 0r 

same, I am unable to &ive you the bcneilt of the 

wmdlng of my opinion in it6 entirety but It We8 

substantially as outlined above In this paragraph. 

liy advice to the Treasurer, 18 also disregardOd, 

as In the case or the order of the CommlesIoner8* 

Court. 

"It oocurs to me that the throat and detePmInation of the City to aiaoontinue the water ana 8-r 

8ervioe8 to the County Courthouao, oonetltutoe an 

omergenoy whloh duly jastitiee the aourao we bavo 

taken, since hundreda of pcraona, including jurio8 

and prisoner8 in Jail, all oourts and regular dounty 

offioiale, together tith people from a dlstsnuo, 

patronize tke orrices of the Courthouse daily. 

Tour edvfoe on the following questions will be 

fully appreciated: 

"No.1. under Article 1709, 1s it the duty of 

the County Trestsuror to aomply with the ardor 

passed by the Cosaairsfoners~ Court, as herein 

above outlined? 

w0.e. If the oraer of the CoDZkissiOnOP8' Court 

as above outllned, should be fully complied with 

by the County Traasarer, and such order Should 

be routi to bs inwia, roula the Treasurer bo 

llabls on his bond, or in any mtmner whatSoeVw? 
748 

Honorable James k.. Cueat, page #3 

"NO. 3. fr an order is pamed by the Comissiocera' Court, in ,qood faith, and 8am4 becoxes affeotlva, and later such order is found 

to be invulla, ii fUna or the oounty havo been 

expended thereundar, and no fraud is shown, rho 

is liable and, what the penalty? 

*NO. 4. Ia a County Commlaelon6rs* Court in any 

mmner subservient to the directions of the 

County TreaSur4r, in authorizing the dlsbur8erent or county runas ror operetlhg pwposo 0r 

the county? 

"MO. 5. In the abaenoe of fraud or flagrant vialstion of State law8, 1s a County Tw8uror 

fied in dieregarding ordOr8 duly paasod by a 

jueitlComml4elon4rS~ CoSt'ln good faith, for the purpooae of promoting th4 welfare oi the oounty. 

wherein such orbs8 requlrs the aervloee and oooyeratlon of the County TrOaaur8r?w 

We feel that 

here is the power of 

_ 

the rlrat important question im0lv0a 

the COllml2S81OnOr8' Court to sat aolaa 

a portion of the rev4nu4 of the oounty as a fund for the paymont in oaah for wetef, ssrerage and janitor ssrvloea for the 

County Courthouse, to be paid in prOfer4noe over othecr reglrtared indebtedcase 4f the oounty. 

479, 

16 the ease of Honard VS. Henderson County, 116 9. W. 

Chier Sust!.ce Bond said: 

"The county treaaurer,,by atatuto. 18 the 4ustodlan of county funds; and the statute, Artiolo 

1025, I-L. s., direate that: 'Eech oounty treaeurar 

shall keep a well-bound book in which he ehall 

re@ster all alaims against his county in the 

ordaf of presentation, and~lf more than one 18 

presented at the same tine be shall register then 

in the order OS thafr date. H4 shall pay no suoh 

claim or any part ther0or, nor shall the Oarno, or 

any part tharaof, be raaalvod by any officer in 
749 

Honorable &uses A. Guest, page #4 

psyuxnt of any Indebtedness to the county, until 

It hns been duly regfstered in nacordame with 

the rrcvlsions of this title. 131 cleims in eech 

class shall be p6L-3 in the order in which they 

ore registered!: bnd, Article 1713, that: 'The 

county treesurer shall not pay any zimey out of 

the county treasury eroept In pursuance of a 

certiflaate.or rarrsnt from some oftlaer euthorlzed by low tv issus the s6nie * * **. 

"The langmge of the stetute8 Is plain, the 

authority $a exclusive and prese&s no ground 

for construatlon. The aounty treasurer is not 

authorized to pay claims o&nat the aounty, 

exaept on warrants drawn by sonxe offlaer authorized by law to lsfsue @ame; snd the coxmlseionera' court Is without power to bLna the aounty 

by contract or otharwlse to pay alaims in cash, 

without providing some means for such payments, 

thereby giving preiereace in payment over other 

registered indebtednear of the oounty." 

The coae of Wlllcinsea ~8. Frenklln county, et al., 

94 5. W. (2d) 1190, holCs.lo substnnoe that Article 1625 

clearly provides the order in which clnlsts drawn agaIn& 

the Oounty Treasurek are to be paid, and amnmt@ to an 

appropriation o? the funds of the County Treesury.to the 

payment of all. alalma legally drawmagsinst the eeveral 

olassss of fundsln the order of their reglstratlor. 

Therefore, under this deofeion, the order of the 

Commlaeioners* Court of Camp County requiring paysent in 

oa8h out of the General Fund for water, sewerage and janitor 

services, is oiolntlve of Article 1625, Revised Clvll atatutea, and is therefore void. 

In view br the above ruling, we reel that it is unnecessary to enswar further the questions submitted by you.