Case Information

*1 ..I .a- ..~ OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS ^[*] _.

AUSTIN

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no& 0.r. ‘tillde, County &ditoZ?

mlcccs Cowty Corpus Ghriati; Texas,

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@xi. P.S.’ Viilde, p&o i . . . :. “‘. -’ ‘-.- . .

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Cburt that Ean De Cordova be &t%~~oyed .

. . a period of -12 months Sroz i)oce=?5cr 15th.

1930, as Tax Ferret c&a shlar”l or ~300.00 .. per math, trnder the suporvlsion OS the Co?- ._ .; .,..~ : .. ,*: : ‘_ . . ty Tti Assea8or-Goileotor.~ Y” $~-i’. ‘i; ._

- WpOn. s&&ion by ComIas.iooar dslsger, seooadod bg Co:rAssioxler +‘snlz~, it was voted .s ‘:~i .,by- the Court that LX. ,‘stoa. be ozqloyed.as ~:.. Wcx ‘Ferret* to represent the Coznis.sioners’

Court and assist it In the tsx as~essoss de- pnrtxent, to keep up and mintain the Stoner .‘.‘. .~ :...-- .Valuation Systen; said 9.X. Estoo to.be ox- . ; ployed at a salary of $250.00 per oonth and.

.tbat said salary be paid out OS the Ccmmxl .:_ *. L Fund OS the County, under supervision o$ the

.’ county Tax *saeseor-Coll.ootor.” ;:.. _. . .

.‘. By. the provisions OS the above’ @wted Minutes of tho Co~sIlseloaers~ Court; the pai%i’tfCs mmtiosad therein, are eqloyed ,as Tax Z’arrats. ‘. . ., .

.-_ : Artioleo 7264a’and 7335a,. Vernon*s Cd.+. mno-. tat& Statutes. rasd as Sollmm: -. ._ _ ._ : @Art. 7EbCa.. Adjustnant OS delincu;.nt tcrxes -- and collection thereof,

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Ea. 1. Iit is deroby declared the Polici of the State to.cd:ust dollrquent taxes, cor- rect errors, to elkinete conflicts ir.- surveys of land, and to collect thb delinquent, ocou- pation, Sranchise and Ad Valoraa Tzxos,’ in order to oieor this Stuto of such taxes, exyors ana cor.Slicts at the earliest dnto gosslble, and to provide a q&m--for. asoasors; in order to ollnlnute the uuz~rous errors thct new a,?- ~30~ on the tax rolls osch riiclui+:12 rem.” Gt. 73’35% Dell scmxt tizx contracts ---

SOC.~ 1. 30 ocatrsct ~::a11 tc pn,Ce or en- tered icto by the Co:~~lssioners* Court in con- nection wltt the collection 0S dolln~~eut tams vxhere the coqensation under such coctrsot 1s

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. ciore'than fifteen pia! omit @'the a;lo&t ocl- 18Oted. Said oontreot mst be agprovod by '.both the Co~#,roller end the Attorney Gkeral.

.of the Stete of Terzs, bath de to substwo end fern. Provided hovfev& tlx County or piStdCt .kttGZl87 &.a11 IlOt ree,J$V8 Oll7 OOCi?. -pamatior. ~:or any services ho my render la commotion Viith fhe'perfcrsefice of the oon- -traot or the tnxee oolloctsd the~knder."

The cake of XYATT YO. L?oCILL, County ‘SW&Z, ..~. et al, 114 S.Z. (Sd) 860 holds thut the statutes Govern- ing costmets emdo "in conmotion with the colleotion of delinquent taxes", tbo words edelincjueat taxes? ere not used in ths‘todhnical oonae, but ttc stntuto'ncni- lctent to check existing evil resultinS .fro3the isst ez$loyzent of tax:forrcts, and not only to fpeolfy fzaxi-~ mm cor;ipinsztion but to require wprovzl oi such contracts by both the Coziptroller of Public Accounts end the At- tcrney General of tho State oi Texcb end that a oont&mt .~ timreby the county agreed to pny tax ferrets for polntlng ptmmnaltg Vhich the.ocmsrs havo~failed to as6888 for th8 currept yem or prior yecrs, at a rate of tiftoon per collected on property c8nt of the state and county thrcs thus pcinted out, Or If the State Cozptrollar 0P Attor- nay General should refuse to alloYI paysent, for twXty- five per cent of the county taxes only, such a coztrect ~V&s in oor?nsctior.wfth the colloctlon of dollnr,uent suoh oontl'ncts to

taxes sod cltkin the statute roqu.irlrg. be a;groVed by both the Cozptrollcr and~the Attomcy General, an8 VXJS void rithout ~uch,g~~roval.

This ocso furthsr bold3 l&t the Comissioners~ Court my vaU.dly ezq~loy wski.lled experts" to velua for taxstloz3 purposes progorty in special lnstewos~> Where technical epsi~33it is required.

.-In Gpieion 30. O-1512, wr:rritt+n by iion.~Sll~y Coldbaq, JkiJist&nt Attorney Cmcral, 'dir&ted to Eo3.

J!W?d Xorris, County Audltcr of Polk County, this depcrt- avant held th2t the co'mty Coz.~irsl.orora~ Collrt hcd nuthor- lty tG oziplqy txi en~;iccora to reiwese$ the Co.~aissionersl ' COIL"~ In errlvitig Bt ver:tius,oll vsluc?tions in Folk CountJ. And thct EUCh coIitri;Ct.Vi:;aS not e.EnlGSOuS to 8' ' cor?trect,,for tits collection OLC doli3r~uant taxos. :, , y.. . . . .

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The oese XkXUAXT, -L ' & AL vs. EA:121s COIXTY, I% & 117 S.YT.-(2d) 494, holds that a oostzact \;hereby Ed oorunty ezz?loyod ahilled cxzerts to discover end &law on rolls for teration ?rcgarty whioh hss theretofore . escaped taxation ms a co::tWaot "in cooncotion with the 00118CtiOn of delinquent taX8J” Ed Within the ststute

.requlrlng ouch contracts to be ai;provod by the Co@trol- for of z'ublio Accounts aed Attornojr General of tho Strte of Texes nod was void klthout such ar?proval. .Thi.a cn3c further holds that the portioipation~~f.the Coz@troller .'~ was'8n indisponsoblo reqtiiremnt for the validity of a oontreot vkorcby sklilcd 8xperts'aSrsed to search for,’ survey, idontify the oznern of, ard.mke at.a>praisal ~oi all the taxable personnlty ifi a bxnty akoviia the vaiuo or such pmperty es of Sanuary 1, 1958, cod to coc1- ploto 6 lmd acd building valuations survey for the en- tire ooxunty and file the cozqlete. rocort of suet; iond and buildings end tt.elr values for the use of the Boevd of Equalization er,d tho Tex f,ssessor and Collaotor. ,..

In view of'tha foregoing huttorities you em : ~ . . ,. respectfully advised that it Is the opinion of this de- partment that aostmcts M-mrebg tex ferrets aro exployod EU& contraots zmst be in writing and approved by the Ccaptrpllcr of ?ublio ,?ccounts and the httcimoy Ggnorol.- of the Stste of Texas nod without such a;.provel, jucb.

coatrecto are void. “Youpi very’ truly

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. . 'Arttoll %liims.

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