Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

- aom L ElIa A- oIIIIIA& July 17, 1975 The Honorable Joe Max Shelton Opinion No. H- 643 Cirayaon County Attorney Sherman, Texas 75090 Re: Authority of commirrionerr court to reduce the ralary of a county attorney after the budget hearing. Dear Mr. Shelton: You have requeated our opinion regarding the authority of a commir- eionerr court to reduce the salary of itr county attorney after the annual budget hearing haa been held and ralariea have been set. You state that the 1975 budget approved by the Commisrioners Court of Grayaon County on Augurt 27, 1974, included a $1, 200.00 annual ralary increase for all elected county officiala. On January 13. 1975, the Court net the ralariea for such elected officiala in accordance with the amounta approved in the budget. Then, on February 18, 1975, the Commiraionera Court deter- mined that the county attorney ahould be excepted from the general salary increare and fixed hia salary at the amount paid by the State. &ay#on County ir one of a number of counties to which a.:: .ie 332b, V. T. C. S., ia applicable. That statute fixer the county attorney’0 salary at “an amount equal to the compensation paid by the rtatr: to district attorneys ar authorized by article 5, rection 21, Conrtitulion of Texar.” Thir amount, is paid to the county by the State, but the statute further provider that the county may pay “euch lddtional amount which the commiarionere court of the county in itr dircretion fixer aa adequate compensation. ” The commirrionera court is attempting to reduce the salary of the county attorney by thir previously approved “additional amount” of $1, 200.00. Whether or not auchaction in valid dependa upon an interpretation of article 3912k, V. T. C. S., which provider, in pertinent part: p. 2829 - .- . . . The Honorablr Joe Max Shelton, palo 2 . Section 1. Except aa otherwire provided by thir Act and rubject to the limitationa of thia Act, the commiaaionera court of each county ahall fix the amount of compensation, office expense, travel expenre. and all other allowancea for county~ and precinct officiala and employees who are paid wholly from county funda, but in no event shall such salaries be set lower than they exirt at the effective date of thlr Act. Sec. 2(a). The salaries. expenree, and other allowancea of elected county and precinct officerr ehall be ret each year during the regular budget haring and adoption proceedlngr on gtving notice ar provided by thia Act. In Attorney General Opinion H-11, (19731, we held that section 2 of article 3912k, by requiring that the ralariem of “elected county and precinct offkerr . . . be Bet each year during the regular budget hearing,” meana that the arkrice of elected offlctala, once set during the budget hearing, may not be increared until the following fircal year. Implicit in this conclusion ta the corollary that the ralarier of there officiala may not be decreased until the next f&al y:ar. But ree, Attorney General &i?ion H-314 (1974). It ir our oplnion, that rection 2 of article 3912k. unlike section 1. ir not limited to elected county and precinct officers “who are paid wholly from county fundr” and therefore applier to county attorneya paid in part with rtate fund@. We are #upported in thia poeitton by rub- rectlon 7(l) of article 3912k which epecifier: p. 2830 The Honorable Joe Max Shelton - Page 3 Nothing in thir Act applier to compenratlon; expenrer or lllowancee of: (1) dirtricl attorneyr, wholly paid by rtate fund., or their aarletantr, inveatigatorr or other amployeer. . . (Emphair added). Unlerr all persona paid a county ralary are covered by section 2 of article 3912k even though paid entirely or partly with funda rupplted by the atate, the exception regarding dirtrict attorney0 paid “wholly ” by atate funde ia unnecer- rary and meaninglear. District attorneyr, like county attorneyr, receive a bare salary from the rtate, rubject to being rupplemented by some CPI ntiea [ace - article 3aa6j, V. T. C. S. I. Accordingly, it ia our opinion that, on the barir on H-11 (1973\, the salary of the county attorney may not be reduced below the amount set at the annual budget hearing until the following fiacal year. SUMMARY The Commiaaionera Court may not reduce the salary of a county attorney below the amount ret at the annual budget hearing until the following fircal year. Very truly youra. *ROVED: , Firrt Assistant C. ROBERT HEATH, Chalrman -- Opinion Committee W