Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1948 )

Hon. William N. Hensley Opinion NO. V-623
Criminal District Attorney
Bexar County Re: Maximum salaries of
San Antonio, Texas personnel of Robert
B. Green Memorial
Hospital and author-
ity of the Commis-
sioners’ Court to ex-
pend in excess of 20$
on the $100 valua-
tion of taxable prop-
erty voted for such
purpose.
Dear Sir:
You submit the following questions:
“(1 ) Is the Dower of the Board of Man-
agers of the Robert-B. Green Memorial Hospi-
tal under Art. 4480, R. C. S. 1925 to ‘fix
the salaries of the.Superintendent and all
other officers and employees within the lim-
it of the appropriation made therefor by the
Commissioners’ Court’ limited to the maximum
permitted for County employees under Art.
3912-e, Sec. 19 (h)?
“(2) Where a majority of the qualified
tax-paying voters of the County have, at an
election held for that purpose, authorized a
tax of not over 20# on the valuation of $100.00
in accordance with the provision of Sec. 3 of
Art. 4437-a as amended by Acts of 1945, 49th
Leg ., p, 46b Chap. 295, par. 2, does the Com-
missioners I L!ourt of such County have the power
to appropriate out of the County Purposes Fund
a sum in excess of 20$ on the valuation of
fi;ytOO for the operation of such County Hospl-
Han, William N. Hensley - Page 2 (V-623)
Articles 4478-4494 authorize Commissioners’
Courts to establish county hospitals and prescribe a
system for the maintenance control, and operation of
such hospitals under the direction of a county board
of managers appointed by the Commissioners’ Court.
The pertinent parts of said artfcles are8
Article 44798
‘When the commPssfonersD court shall
have acquired a site for such hospital and
shall have awarded contracts for the neces-
sary buildings and improvements thereon, it
shall appoint six resfdent property taxpay-
ing citizens of the county who shall con-
stitute a board of managers of said hospf-
tal 0 0 0 .”
Article 4480:
Article 3912e9 Section 191, provides the meth-
od by which the Commissioners * Court of Bexar County may
fix the compensation of deputies, assfstants and employ-
ees of “any district or county officer or precinct offf-
cer.,* Said article does not a ly to officers and em-
ployees mentioned in Article 4@O of Vernon’s Civil Stat-
utes whose compensation is ffxed by the hospftal board
of managers.
In Galveston H. & S, A; Ry, Co. ve Uvalde Coun-
ty, 167 SoWa (2d) 305 4error refused), the Court said:
“The Commfssfoners’ Court of a county
has only such powers as are expressly or
by necessary implicatfon given it by the
Constitution and Statutes of this State.”
Tex. Const. Art, V, Set, 18; V,C,S. p Art,
11, Sec. 3."
Hon. William N. Hensley - Page 3 (v-623)
Commlssionerst Courts have not been given the
power to fix the salaries of county hospital employees.
When such Court has appointed the county hospital board
and appropriated the money for its operating expenses,
as far as salaries are concerned, 14 is through. The
county horpltal board is authorized to appoint a super-
intendent and fix the salaries of the superintendent and
other officers and employees of the hospital.
The only limitation of the authority of the
Board of Managers of such hospitals to fix the salaries
of hos ltal employees is contained in the language in Ar-
ticle f:480 Vernon’s Civil Statutes: ‘Said board shall
fix the salaries of the superintendent and all other of-
ficers and employees within the appropriation made there-
for by the Commissioners Court, and such salaries shall
be compensation in full for all services rendered.”
The fact that the Legislature repealed all laws
and parts of laws in conflict with said Article 3912e,
Section 19 (h) does not militate against our decision
that the Board of Managers of Robert B. Green Memorial
Hospital is not limited by said article because it is not
in conflict with the special purpose law which controls
the operation of county hospitals,
In view of the foregoing, we answer your first
question in the negative,
For the years 19451950, both inclusive, at an
election held for that purpose by authority of Section ‘9
of Article VIII of the State Constitution, the qualified
voters re-allocated the tax rate in Bexar County so that
the general fund, from which the hospital operation and
maintenance must come, receives.46@ of the maximum 80# on
the $100.00 of taxable property in Bexar County.
The Bexar County Budget for 1948 allocates
$385 560.00 to the R. B, Green Memorial Hospital from a
tax ievy of .1890 cents on the $100.00 valuation, the to-
tal of which is shown to be ~204,000,000.00; and also
$19,795.08 derived from delinquent taxes, aggregating
$405,335.08 for maintenance of said hospital. The budget
was approved and the tax levied by the Commissioners’
Court as provided by law.
The aggregate sum is broken down in the 1948
budget as follcws:
Hon. William N. Hensley - Page 4 (v-623)
R. B. Green m
Operation 5176.682.'@
Pay Roll
Contingencies $358,71%63
The ertfnent part of Acts 1945, 49th Legisla-
ture, Chapter %5 page 93, which now appears as a~note
under Article 16b6 of Vernon’s Civil Statutes, which ap-
plies to Bexar County, reads:
” a 0 0 the amounts budgeted for current
expenditures from the various funds of the
county shall not exceed the balances In. said
funds as of January 1st plus the anticipatrd
revenue for the current year for which the
budget is made, as estimated by the County
Audit or 0 Upon final approval of the budget
by the Commissioners Court, a copy of such
budget as approved shall be filed with the
County Auditor, the Clerk of the Court, and
the State Auditor, and no expenditures of the
funds of the county shall thereafter be lade
except in strict compliance with said budget.
Said Court may upon proper application t.rans-
fer an existing budget surplus during the
year to a budget of like kind and fund, but
no such transfer shall increase the total of
the budget 0n
Section 3 of Article 4437a reads4
“A direct tax of not over 204 cm the val-
uation of $100.00 may be authorized and levied
by the Commissioners Court of such county for
the purpose of erecting buildings or other im-
pr0vement.s and for operating and maintaining
such hospital; provided that all such levy of
taxes shall be submitted to the qualified tax-
paying voters of the county and a majority
vote shall be necessary to i evy the tax. suc-
cessive elections may be held to authorize ad-
tfonal taxes hereunder p,r~RU&ya
of 01 Del- t&Q .-
provided.”
Hon. William N. Hensley - Page 5 (v-623)
The stated purpose of the tax levy is “erect-
ing buildings or other improvements and for operating
and maintaining such hospital.” The tax “shall not ex-
ceed 204 on the $100.00 valuation” for such purpose; at
an election held for the purpose the qualified voters
authorized the Commissioners ( Court to levy “not over
20# on the valuation of $100,00,1’
In the case of City of Kingsville, Texas v.
Meredith, 103 F. (2d) 279, it was contended that a city
charter provision that the city is authorized “to levy
and collect not exceeding 754 for general maintenance
purposes” constitutes a definite apportionment of 75f
to that purpose. While that is the converse of the sit-
uation under consideration the Court defined the words
“not exceeding” and in that regard said:
“, . . The provision in the charter that.
the City Is authorized ‘to levy and collect
not exceeding 75# for general maintenance
purposes’ is not as appellants claim it Is,
an apportionment, a setting apart excluslve-
ly to maintenance purposes, of that much of
the taxing power. It is merely a llmitation
imposed upon the use of the taxing power for
that purpose. ‘j&.e words ‘not exceedine. * j&
not of wt or anDa-
tatlon onlv. stand-
ilv o onstrued. Stuy-
vesant Ins, Co, v. Jackso&i~le Oil Mill 6
Cir., 10 F. (2d) 54, The context in whizh
they are here used makes that construction
more imperative, for instead of a following
provision for $1.75 ‘for all other purposes,’
as would have been the case, if apportion-
ment had been intended, there follows a gen-
eral provision for the levy and collection,
without apportionment, and ‘for all purposes,’
of the full $2.50 constitutional levy.
In the case’; of Saxhaug vI; Count&of Jackson
(Min& Sup.) 10 ,N. W. I ~722; the Court defined “not
exceeding” as follows:
“It is the function and duty of the
county board under subd. 3 (subsection (c))
Hon. Yllliam 1. Rensley - Page 6 (V- 623)
to determine the rate of any assessment for
ditch repairs.
uts the words ‘not exceeding’ are words of
ldtation. City of ,Kl.ngsville, Tax. v.
MerrdiYh, 5 Cir., 103 F. 2d 279. The vords
denote uncertainty of amount. Stuyvesant
Ins. Co. v. Jacksonville Oil l4iU; 6 OSr+
10 F. ‘26 54. Such language Imposes no d&y
to adopt the maximumrather than some lesh
amount authorized.”
In ViewI of the foregoing it is our a@,@-
that the authorlty~of the Commissioners1 Court bo Levy
no tto lsxcb* %&LO ~Ximym of 20# er $lOO.OO valubtienn
as q *rrwel ia Blwdm 3 ef Artic 4:(I 44378, vbrneri’s C.i,Q-
il 8 8, Mm, i%ucbr a nx@wa Wr4t of funds whiah raK be
tizuwa t0 a. xf. awn wwwz mpita3'f0r BBY pear,
a6 rat.0 bp the VbteSg Of %XnF CoUnty. Th@, of course,
IS #xc~I Usivs of delilkquent taxes from such fund and any
income which may be derived from paying patients. The
maximumamount of current tax money that may be used in
1948 for maintenance of the Robert B, Green Hemorlal Kos-
pita1 is .1890# on the #lQO.OO valuat,ion as provided $a
the current budget.
!fhr Board of Managers of a County Bes-
pita% bat qclusive authority to fit the,
a&xiee of the Superintendoat,and all other
offitora and employees vlthin the appropria-
tSon tie for such hospital by the Cemmle-
rioner s ’ court 0
ArtWe 3912e, Sec. 19 (h) V. C. 8.
d&s not apply to the Superintendent or other
offiaers and employees of a county hospital.
Commissioners’ Courts in countios,rhich
have voted to authorize such courts to levy
not exacediag 20.4 on the $100.00 valuation of
taxable property in the aounty for maintenance
Hon. William N. Hensley - Page 7 (v-623)
of hospitals are not authorized to appropriate
any additional sum for such purpose from any
other county purpose fund for any years.
Very truly yours,
ATTORNEY
GENERALOF TEXAS
B&4/&e&-
W, T. Williams
WTWwb Assistant
APPROVED: