Case Information

*1 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

AUSTIN GROVER SELLERS

ATZORNEI GENERAL :

! . : ’

Eon. m. P. Bema,. Jr. I ! .,, ‘--.. \ i, County Auditor Yeller COuat.J, .'::;i:: ------c’ :i Hen#Aeed;Texas !a-;+6 j67 opln10n Ro: How mny dopey shrrl?ia oan be appointed la Valler ; A, be paid by war- County

.I .I xt rent on OOMty funds and .! auoh salarlea chargeable x,. ,F .. .to the sheriff? . . i. .I

20 have..&&ived y&r ti$,ent reqwat, quoted opinion as ro11owa: ,./‘* ,;.-J‘\. “\ ‘%.. ?:;

nThk q~sstlon. bob.. srlaea ,BI to the number o? shsrlSf*o deputies whloi~ can, by request of-the sheriff, be ap olnted by tho Commissionera Court and. paid by ?;a ler County. P

*This ccupty’ia tm a tea basls, and aontsm- .pi&es apFolnting,3’deputiea, to be peid by war- . rant bg tha County, and ohargeable to the rherlif

on hla mnu~l report. -a*, i “1 ishall appreolats your opinion regarding

the~huinbec~ oi deputlee which 060. be so oppolntsd and. peld. by Yaller County.p - ,. c . .

Yeller County kes 8 popiiietion O? 10,210 acoording to the 191rO Federal Census.

In aountles operating on 8 tee hale, Artlale 3591, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Ctatutee, provide8 irjr the payment of compensation of certeln otrlcera, their eesietbnts acd doputiea end other dispoeitlcn 0r rees, n8 r0ilows:

Taah orflcar nemed In this chapter shall first out of the ourrent fees of his otiio8 pay or be paid the amount allowed him under the provivioaa oi *2 !I. n. '7. -'. Harms, Jr., pagr 2

' Artlola 3883, together with the ralarlea a? his

assletnnts and daputlse, and l uthorlzad l xpontwa under Artiole 3859, and the amount neoweary to cover oosts of premium on whatever surety bond may be required by law. I? thr ourrrnt ?ers o?

suoh oirioa oolleotsd In any year be aon than the amount needed to pay the amounta above spec- ified, same shall ba deemed SXOOBI 1008, and shall ba dlepoead of in the Eanner bertlnartar provId.d.

*In counties containing twenty-?Ire thousand (25,000) or laaa Inhabitants, District and County orrloers named herein shell retain one-third or such exoesa ?aSs until auoh one-third, together with the amounts spsaISIad In Artlala 3883, anrxants to Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000). . . .*

The Fhcrl?? 1s one of the o??i.?srs named In the Chapter containing the above Artlolr. 3883, V. A. C. C., provider, in part, aa

?ollowa:

Y?%oept as otherwise provided In this Act, thm annual ?eer that may be retained by prsolnot, county and district oftlosrs nantionad In thin Artlale ahall aa follows: 1. In oounti aa aon- taInIce twenty five (25,000) thousand or 108s Inhabitants: . . . .Chari?? . . . . Twenty-?wr Hundrrd (,12400.00) Dollars . . .*

Wtlola 3902, V. A. C. r., In regard to the number of deputies that mey be appointed and the anu3unt o? aalarlas to be allowed them, provldas in part as iollowa: "“nenever any district, oounty or praclnot

i of ricer ahall require the services o? deputies, ssaiatants or clerks In.tha per?ormance o? his duties ha shall apply tk: the County commiasioncrsl

736 Court of hls county for authority to appoint auoh deputlea, aaslstsats or olerke, stating by aworn appllostlon tha number needed, the poaitlon to be tilled and the emount to be paid. 9aid applioa- tlon shell be aooom9anlad by e statement showing the probeble raoelpta from ieea, oommlaslons and oaapeneatlon to aollaotad by said oifloa dw- in% the ii8081 yaer and the probebla dlaburaemsnte whlah ahall lnolude all aalarira and l xpenaaa of oiiloe; and a ald owrt l hall make it8 order 88id authorizing the appointment or auoh deputlea, l a- slatanta and olerkr and $1~ thr oompanaatlon to/ ba paid them wlthln the llmltatlons heFaIn pre- aoribed and determine the nmber to be appolntatl as in the dleorctlon of aald oourt leay be proper; provided that in no oaaa shall the Comisalonera’ Court or any mambar Charao? attempt to influenoa the appointment of any person aa deputy, aaalatant or olerk la any office. Upon the entry of suoh order the ofiloera applying for such aselatanta, daputlea or olerka shall be authorized to appoint them; provided that aald ouapensetion shall not eroaed the maximum amount hereinafter set out.Tha oompenaatlon whloh may be allowed to the deputies, aaalatanta or ol8rk8 above named for their sarrloes shell be a reasonable one, not to eraeed t&a fol- lowing araxanta:

“1. In oountles having a populatlon ot twenty- fire thousand (25,000) or leaa lnhabltaots, rlret assistant or ohlei deputy not to exoead Eighteen Hundred (atl800.00) Dollars per annum; other aaaIat- ante, deputies or alerks not to exoead Firteen Uundred (3500.00) Dollars per annum eaoh. . . .* 6869, V. A. C. -. , provices a8 follows:

*Tharlffa shall hava the power, by wrltlng, to appoint one or more deputies fcr their raepeotive counties, to continue in offlca during the pleasure of the sheriff, who shall !?ave power and authority to perrorm all the acts and duties of their prln- qJEil$; < end every parson so a9Tolnted shall, ba- fore ha s;:tera upon the dutlaa of his of?‘Ice, take and subsorlba the otflcial oath, Tdhloh shell be Indorsed on hla sppolntncnt, toaethcr ?jith the oar- t,irlcate or the orricer atiAnI:torin& the sane; and

737 i’.on. “!. ?. Herma, Jr., page 4

such appointment and oath shall be recorded in the offloe o? the County Clerk and deDoalted in aald orrioe. The number o? deputies appointed by the aharl?? o? any one county shall be limltad to not exceeding three in the Juatloe preolnot in whloh Is looated the oounty site of auoh oounty, and one in aaoh Juatloe preolnot, and a list ot these ap- pointments shall be posted up in a oonapiououa plaoe in Olflae. An lndlotment for a the Clerk’s o? any deputy aherlrr eppolnted shell oper- felony ~~~r;r;erooatlon o? his appointment as auoh deputy

. Provided rurther. that I? in the opinion or the Commisalonera’ Court foes or the aherlrr~a orrioe are not surriolent to juatlry the payment o? eelarIas o? auoh deputies, the ,Commlaslonera~ Court shall have the power to pay the aemeout o?

-jij said county.” (Underaooring oura).

Article 6869, supra, was sneoted in its present r0m by anendmant in 1929, while Art. 3902, supra, we6 anaotad in Its present ?orm by amendment In 1939. As they are In *Pari Xaterlan they are to be oonatrued together sxoapt where in oonrllct with eaoh other. where in oonillot, aa they are in reapeot to the llmltatlon placed by said Art. 6869 on the number o? deputies allowed, the leter enaotad statute 3902) ~111 (Art. control. In other reapeota not oonrliotlng, auoh as the provi- sions of said 6869, undersoored by ua herein, eald Article 6869 la appllaable.

Thereiore, it la our opinion thet as many deputy sherliis may be appointed in ::eller County a8 In tha discretion of the Commiaalonera~ Court may be proper; the aalarles o? such deputies are to determined as provided by as16 Art. 3902; and they cannot be paid other than ?rom lees of ofiloe as provided In said Art. 3891, unless In the opinion of the CommIaaIoners’ Court ?aas or the sherlrr’s orrloe are not au?rloient to justify the payment o? aelarIea o? suoh deputies, then, In that oase,the Conmissioners’ Ccjurt shall have the power to pay the satze out o? the General Fund of Yeller County.

:‘!e rind no statute authorizIne: the salnrles paid out o? t,ke General Fund to be charged agalnst the aherlrt. Article 6869, supra, euthorlzea the payment o? deputies out o? the General

;:cn. 7. ?. Hems, Jr., page 5

F’und of thr oounty onlr when the CommIssIonera Court Is or the &pinion that the ieea of the sheriff are not surf Iolent to juatirg the payment 0r the deputies. This statute does not oontamplete that the oompenoetlon paid to thr deputies out ot the Oenaral lund In aooordenoe tharewith shall be charged against the sheriff. The purpose or the atatute Is to enable the sheriff to have a suffIaIent number of deputies to perrorm the dutloa or hla oifloe. Ii your ComnlssIonera’ Court contemplates advanolng money to the sheriff to pay the oompen- sat ion of three deputlea for which he must aooount in his annual report, you are advised that suoh edvanoement is not outhorlzed by either ArtIole 6869 or any other atatute

known ua. Trusting the above fully answers your inquiry, we are

Yours very truly, ATTORNZY WNBRAL OF TYXAC- BY Robert L. Lattlmore, Jr. Assletant.

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