Opinion ID: 2399233
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Office Rent

Text: The county attorney claimed credit for one-half of the cost of office rent for his law office. There was no office available for him in the courthouse, so he handled the county legal business from a private office rented by him, in which he also carried on a private law practice. The lower court disallowed this claim, on the ground there was no statutory duty or authority of the fiscal court to rent an office for the county attorney. As indicated at the outset of this section of the opinion, it is our view that the allowance of credit for official expenses of a fee officer does not depend upon express statutory authority for the particular kind of expense. We think that the expense of maintaining an office for the carrying on of the legal business of the county is properly an official rather than a personal expense, and should be allowable on proof of reasonableness and necessity. Here the county did not make an office available in the courthouse, so there was a basis of necessity for the county attorney to rent one. As concerns reasonableness, it appears to be conceded that at least one-half of the business conducted in the county attorney's office was county business, and the amount of rent was reasonable. It is our opinion that the claim for office rent should have been allowed.