Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1947 )

R-743
Bon. EL11 D. Hudson Opinion No. V-367
County Attorney
Reeves County Re: Maximum compensation
Pecos, Texas for the balance of 1947
of the,new Coupty Attor-
ney who qtialW$e& for
the positiotion August
14, 1947.
Dear Sir:
.I
You,have’iPe~ueat,e``-a:
o``r&Wn*Stithe above
subject Platter.:Ybur r,eqyest
*is &a.,Sp~loii+:
“.
“I today qualliied as couuty’e&tomeg
of Reeves County to Sill the unexpired term
OS T. F. SlsoIi. At the time of his death,
Mri Slack had collected aa Sees OS office
a pr,oximately’Th$rty-ThreeHundred Dollars
(~3300.00)duMng the current year since
January lst, 1947. His death ocourred In
July o.Sthis year. This county has a popu-
‘A:
lati.op,accozding..tothe 1940 census, of
8,006 people.+’The tax rolls show a vslu-
ation oi,sli&tly in excess OS $~,OOO,OOQ,OO.~
“In order to avoid conSusionand s&e
difference of opinibn I respectf’ullgrequest
an oplnlon irym,Jgur office on the Sollowlng
questions:
9 i ‘,
what ia,t’iiti,
msximuBlamount of com-
pensation vhioh siag:$eretained by the county
attorney of ‘thiscounty?
“2. Am I entitled to receive and retain
during the remainder of this year five-twelfths
(5/12ths)of such maximum compensation,or am
I limited to the differencebetween such maxi-
mum compensationand the amount pP8viouSly
drawn by the deceased?”
Reeves County has a population OS 8,006 inhabl-
tants according to the last preceding Federal census and
Hon. Hill D. Hudson - Page 2 (V-367)
its county officials are compensatedon a See basis.
Therefore, the compensationof the count attorne
governed by the provisions of Articles 3g83 and 389,":
V.C.S.
It was held in our Opinion Xo. V-13, a copy
of which we are enclosing,that the maximum compensa-
tion OS those officials in counties containing25,OOO
or less inhabitantswho are governed by Articles 3883
and 3891, is Three Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty ($3,750)
Dollars per annum. In answer to your first question,
thereSOP8, it is our opinion that the maximum compensa-
tion the county attorney of Reeves County may receive is
Three Thousand Seven Hnndred Fifty ($3,750) Dollars per
annum.
Article 3898, V.C.S., provides:
'The fiscal year, within the meaning
of this Act, shall begin on January 1st of
each year; and each district, county, and
precinct officer shall file his report and
make the final settlementrequired in this
Act not later than February 1st of each year;
provided, however, that officers receiving
an annual salary as compensationfor their
services shall, by the close of each month,
pay into the @SSicerst Salary Fund or funds,
all Sees, covnnissionsand compensationcol-
lected by him during said month., Whenever
such officer serves f,ora fractional part of
the fiscal year, he shall neverthelessfile
his report and make final settlementfor such
part df the year as he serves and shall be
entitled to such proportionatepart of his
compensationas the time SOP his service bears
to the entire gear." (Emphasis ours)
In the case of Tom Green County v. M&leg, (Corn.
App.) 118 S.W, (26) 335, 9'.M. Harper was eLected treasurer
of ToniGreen County for a term of two years commencingon
January 1, 1933, and he served in thst capacity until his
Play6, 1934. He hRd received at that time the maxi-
d--'R.c-l
mum amount of commissionshe was allowed for the ,entire
year" The question before the Supreme Court wa? whether
his estate was entitled to,retain the full amount OS com-
missions harper had retained or only that portisinof the
annual compensationthat the time he served bea:;,sto the
entire year. The Court took the latter view. Heferring
to the case of Davenport v. Eastland County, 60 S.W. 243,
the Court stated the Sollowing~
Bon. Bill D. Hudson '-Page 3 (V-367)
”
. . . The constructionof the statutes
theP8 given and the reasoning there employed,
when applied to the facts OS the Instant
case, lead certainly to but one conclusion,
and that is that Harper's estate was entitled
to retain only that portion of the annual
compensationof $2,000 which he earned, and
that such amount bears the s&me ratio to
$2,000 that the time S8PVed bears to one year.
While Pecognieingthat a treasurer's compen-
sation is not, strictly speaking,a salary,
the opinion in that case decides the question
presented just as IS it were a salary, basing
the ratio upon the time of service alone. The
compensationto which he is entitled is not
as fees for the performance of certain a&s,
but is an annual compensationfor his ser-
vices for an entire year. The fact that it is
payable in the form of commissionsas and
when those commissionsaccrue often results
in making his compensationpayable largely in
advance, but that does not alter the conclu-
sion that payment is for service Sor an entire
year to be r8tW?ned ratably if the service is
not p8PfOPmed."
Following the reasoning in the above cases,,it
was held in our Opinion No. O-5161 that where the county
and district clerk of Carson County died during his term
of office, his successorwas entitled to that portion of
the maximum compensationwhich the time he serves bears
to the whole year.
According to out recent telephone conversation,
the Commissioners'Court of Reeves County has set the
maximum compensationof the county attorney at Three
Thousand Seven Hundred Fifty ($3,750) Dollars, and SinC8
you qualified for the office of county attorney on August
14, 1947, It Is our opinion that the maximum amount 0r
compensationyou are allowed for the year 1947 is l40/
365ths of $3,750.
SUMMARY
The maximum compensationthat may be
allowed the County Attorney of Reeves County
Hon. Hill D. Hudson - Page 4 (V-367) ,,
for the year 1947 is $3,750. Articles
3883 and 3891, 8. C. S. Where the County
Attorney qualifies for office on August
14, 1947, he may receive only 140/365ths
of $3,750.
Yours very truly
ATTORNEY GEW!RAL OF TEXAS
‘tie-
JR:djm Assistant