Case Information
*1 Hon. E. G. Garvey Opinion NO. o-1728
County Auditor ,Re: Authority of commissioners' court Baxar County to employ special counsel in a particular San Antonio, Texas case and to amend budget to provide com-
pensation for such special counsel.
Dear Sir:
In your letter of November 22, 1939, you request our opinion as to whether the commissioners' court may legally employ special counsel to institute and maintain a suit against the county tax collector for the recovery of taxes allegedly collected by him and not paid over to the county. In case our answer to such,question is an affirmative one, you further request our opinion as to whether the situation is such a one as can be classified as an emergency under the budget law ao as TV permit to amend the cnmmis~ioners~ mart the budget to provideithe funds forthe:pajrlnent bf special counsel.
While under Article 339, Revised Civil Statutes, and as held in Lattimore vs. Tarrant County, 124 S.W.205, it is the duty of the county attorney to represent the county in suits of this character, it was held by the Supreme Court in the case of Adams vs. Seagler, 112 Tex. 583, that the commis- sioners' court may legally employ special counsel to assist the county attorney in bringing and prosecuting the same. Our answer to your first question, therefore, is that the commis- sioners' court may employ special counsel to assist your dis- trict attorney in the prosecution of the contemplated action. Since your letter indicates that your district attorney is willing to participate to the extent that other duties will permit, we feel that this constitutes a sufficient answer to your first question.
It is provided in Article 689a-11, Vernon's Civil Statutes, "that emergency expenditures, in case of grave pub- lic necessity, to meet unusual and unforeseen conditions which could not, by reasonably diligent thought and attention, have been included in the original budget, may from time to time be authorized by the court as amendments to the original budget." This statute gives.to the commissioners* court, within reason- able limitations, the power to determine whether a case is one *2 Hon. E. G. Garvey, page 2
of grave public necessity and whether the same could have been included in the original budget by reasonably diligent thought and attention. We can answer your second question only by saying that the question is one of fact to be passed upon by the commissioners court as to whether the case at hand is one of grave public necessity within the meaning of that part of the statute permitting the amendment of the original budget in certain cases.
Yours very truly ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS By /s/ Glenn R. Lewis Glenn R. Lewis, Assistant “i’F;V=$; 7G39
;TOR&! GEN&AL OF TEXAS
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