Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1945 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
GROVERSELLERS
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Zonorcble S. H. Allen
county nttoxncy
Hadlton Counbp
Radlton, Texas
Dear Sir;
Your lstter ot Fab request1 ng the
opinion or. this department ‘ompcAaation of the
9 .?htrlff of:Ystilton C as followo:
f
~flolals or said oounty are oonpwuwted
Q perforwmce of their oflfloisl sarvioes
ual salary basis.
61, i.rtlole 16 or the State Constitution,
anonrj other thiog, provilss in ef’ieot that tne Coadsslonara*
Cart in Counties huving a pOptibtiOU Of lea6 than twenty
thousand (20,000) lnhabitcmts sooordln~ to the then last
prt~csding fe3eral census, s&all have tiae authority to de-
terdne whether county ofl’ioars mhall bb compeiisatc.6 on a
fbt haeia or on a ealerp baeia.
Iionorabls 3. R. Allen, pa&;* 2 ’
.:;eotlon 2 of Artiolr 39126, ?ernoa’s Annotated
ClVil ::tatutd8, provides iA part:
*IA oountles havlnc: 4 population of lees
than twenty thousand (?O,OOO) lahabltanta ao-
aordlng to the last praorlllng tedbral. eonbum,
it shall likwise be tne duty of the Conmlssion-
lrs* Court, by its order duly 1~38 and eatsred
of moor6 at it Pirat regrller meetin& in Jan-
uary ot eaoh 0,4 Unbar yeer, to dstwmlno whether
oounty 0frlOiA of suoh oountp (cxolucilna oounty
uurveyorc, registrars of vital st~tlstlos and
notarj p&lios) shall be OOmpGrl8etd for t(?e
fisocrl your ou the basis of an annual salary
or whether they shall Oe oo=.>wwntrSU on the
basis of fees earned by tbm in tha perfomaooa
of their offiolsl duties, an3 it rhall also be
the duty of the oowty clerk to forward to the
Comptroller of i’ubllo Accounta of the Otete of
Texas, on or bbfors the jlst dap of Januwl,‘a
certiflcd copy of sail order of ealri Cormisaionsrs~
Court.”
\
Art!.oler 388j and 3891, ~el’non’c Annotated
UAdbX'
Civil Me maximum oompansation that mcy be ra-
Zitatutes,
talne3 by tbe .“.hsrlrf of :iao;ilton County cannot ~xobsd
Throb Thouband ( $jWO) '30111~s per aniium. The lherlff
Is authorlssd *under Artlole 3891 to psy or be pal:1 the
amcuat rtlig#edbin under the psovlalons oi id%lole
)82j, together with the salarise of hla aaeistan$s and
deputjas. an.i a&horized exp&``ses wlur Artiols 3839,
and the awlunt ~aeaeasary t3 cover costs of prelrium on
wnatsver siiretg bonds that may be rbqufrad by law,
out of the o.irmnt feee of Me. o,Crloo. If tbc o~rrTi?.lt
fees of auoh ofriou, oolisoted 5~nany yaar, be r.ore
than the amount naeded to pay the fu!mmt above 8geCiflea.
the BC~ snali be .iea;,& axoeos leas and &-ml1 be dlui.0.~ed
of ln ~JJGwnncr Etated ln ,.rtlcle 3691. 310 :shdrr 16
a&hrized to sake the atove ded.mtloae in arri+in.:, at
his maximum oospensatioc.
Honorable 3. R. Allen, pa&e 3
hrtlole 3934, Vernon*8 Annotated Civfl Jtatutea,
~rClVidO6:
Vherlffs, ahall also rcoeivr the following
ooapensationz
"(1)
Tar all prooees tesuc from the 3ipreaie
Court cgurts or Civil
or Appeals, terted by ther,
the mffie f6a8 es are elloued ttem for rlz.ilar
services upoz&roaena issue frocl the Metrlct
Courts.
“(2) For eum~onlng jurora In dlstrlot and
aountp oouxU+, serving all tl6otlon notlwm,
notice6 to overseers of' road8 and doing a11
other Fubllc b;rslness not otheruloa provided
ror, not exceeding ijne Thousand ($1,000) 3011~s
per annum to be fixed by the Comlseloners~ Court
at the awae time otimr ox off1010 salaries are
fixed, snd to be psi3 out of the general funde of
the oo$lntyl provided that no auoki ox offZolo
salary shall be allowed any EhQriff who baa reaelved
E ~maxf.mum s&lary al1we.i by 1ew."
:,z sboro s;atcr;1, und6r id.iole 383 and Artlale
)891, Y6rLlsll'B AflIlOt@it+d civil i%tUtGE, the :liaXihlU!? COB-
pensetlon of the 3htirirr of t.Kailton County oaanot oxces~l
Three Thousand (&jOOO) ‘Dollars >er annum.
Under the above mentioned statutes, the C&I&B-
sionars’ Court ~an~legallg allow the aherlff 61 otf~clo compansetlon
not to exceed We l&uaand (jlOO0) Dollars per ye*r, provided,
that the soid ex oXicis aoepeneatLon 4oee not l,ncreaee the
eom;ensatlon of the sheriff bejran.1 the maxlmlm *e provl3ed by
law.
Honorable 2. II. Allon, pnse 4
In ooaaeetloa with ths foregoing we want to pQint
out that la rlew of ;\rtlole 6869, Veraon*s &m(rtated Civil
Ststutes, that it is our opinion that the Coami~8fonsrs~
Court oan legally pay the salaries of deputy snerlffa out
of the general fund ol the county, if la the opinion of the
Comissfoners* Court, fees, of the ahmiff’s ofii@e are sot
sufficient to justify the papent of the salaries of such
leguties. The sslsriss of a;lah 1ayJtlea are to be dctermindd
as provided by Art:crle 3902, Yernmfs Annotated Civil ‘:tstut6s.
Yours ver;l :r4ly,