The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-12-23
BINGHAM REMOVES
FEES OF AUDITORS
Attorney General Makes a
Sweeping Ruling for the
State Auditor.
CUT TO STRAIGHT SALARY
NO LONGER CAN THESE OFF,
GALS COLLECT MONEY FOR DO
ING LITTLE ODD JOBS, THAT
THEY HAVE TO DO
CUT TO STRAIGHT SALARY
palladium Specially

+ Indianapolis, Dec. 23.-Attorney
General Bingham has given Auditor
of State Billheimer an important opin-
ION touching on the duties and the
rights of county auditors. He says it
is unlawful for board of county COM
missioners to allow a county auditor
pay for preparing books and blanks
for the use of township assessors
unlawful for county commissioners to
allow special claims of county audi
tors for services as clerk of the board
of commissioners while acting as a
board of turnpike directors, as we'll
as unlawful for county treasurer to
pay such claim if allowed: unlawful
for county auditor to charge a town
ship trustee for furnishing lists of
land descriptions for assessment pur-
poses, and unlawful for county audi
tor to retain for himself fees which
have been collected for transcripts
supplied purchasers of county or
township bonds. all of which are
handled by the auditor.
The questions on which the opinion
was based were submitted to the audi
tor of state by the state board of tax
commissioners, after it had been
learned by the board that auditors in
a number OF counties had been col
lecting one or more of the class of
fees referred to in the opinion.
Cannot Allow Claim.
The county auditor must have each
vno IN rnodiracc f0v. Io1ir0rxy To <0u
ship assessors all necessary blanks
for assessment of personal and real
property. and in the absence Of a sta
tute enabling the auditor to charge a
fee for such services the commission
ers cannot legally allow claim for
such a fee when it is submitted.
The county auditor is required by
law to act as clerk to the board of
county commissioners, and he must
act as such clerk when the board is
sitting as a board Of turnpike direc-
tors. There is no statute authorizing
the auditor to receive compensation
for such clerical services, and it is
therefore unlawful for the commits
sioners to allow such claim when fill
ed
There is no statute requiring the
auditor to supply the township as
SCISSORS with descriptions OF lands or
of road taxes to each supervisor S
district" but even if there was. there
being no statute authorizing compen-
sation to the auditor for such list. he
is not entitled to such compensation.
1t becomes the duty of the county.
on request of prospective purchaser
of bonds. to supply transcripts of pro-
ceedings leading to the issuance OF
the bonds. and such service should be
paid for by the bond dealers. But
when such pay is collected it does not
belond to the auditor. under the sta
tute. and must therefore be turned in
to the county treasurer.
The opinion of the attorney general
will deprive the county auditors in a
good many counties of large sums
which they have heretofore been col
lecting for serving as clerk of the
board of commissioners when the
board was sitting as board of turn
pike directors. This has been a COM
mon practice. 1t is possible too. that
in counties where allowances have
been made for services by the boards
of county commissioners suits may be
brought on behalf of the county to re-
cover the amounts of money paid to
the auditors for serving as such clerk,
the theory being that such payment
was unauthorized by law, and there
fore illegal