OWNEB~ GENERAL
OF-XAS
Honorable G. D. Minick
County Attorney
Wood County
Quitman, Texas
Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-6348
Re: The duty of the County Auditor
to examine and certify monthly
reports of the Tax Assessor-
Collector.
Your letter of December 22, 1944, requests the
opinion of this office as to whether it is the duty of the
county clerk or the county auditor to examine and certify the
monthly reports of the Tax Assessor-Collector of Wood County,
Texas, Your letter making this request, omitting the formal
parts, is here set out:
"Enclosed please find our form of monthly report
of taxes collected in use in this county since time
immemorial, having heretofore been executed by the
County Clerk, but which the County Clerk declines now
to execute and, since we recently have acquired a County
Auditor. determines it should be executed henceforth
by the County Auditor. Without going into the facts
you are simply reminded of the traditional functions
of the County Clerk and of the functions of the County
Auditor. It being stated the County Clerk, prior to
this time, having at all times executed this form
without any ckeck-up, without any information as to
its correctness, without anyf acility, time or
deputy to be spared or a deputy qualified to examine
these records, simply,relying upon the tax oollectorfs
responsibility to duty. For this service the clerk
receives no compensation. At no time does the County
Clerk ever examine or inspect the Tax Collectorrs
records, At all times does the County Auditor examine
and inspect these records, such being of course part
and parcel of his functions of office for which he is
paid. And may I state there is no disinclination on
the County Auditorts part to perform this function if
he should, as he is lead to understand his duty; nor is
there any friction between any of these officials or
among them. They all three simply desire the duty
Honorable G. D. Miniok - page 2, O-6548
performed in the right way by the proper official.
"Therefore, we Propound to you that under the
setup in Wood County, under the law, please advise
us what official, the County Clerk or the County
Auditor, should execute the form No. 117 of monthly
report of State and County Taxes collected wnclosed,
the certificate involved being marked off with a
bracket in ink? Your prompt opinion will be much
appreciated.
"May I add, due to some six or seven oil fields
in Wood County, recently developed, our tax assess-
ment is enlarged some six times its former bulk in
items and in valuation, thus indicating the onerous
burden to examine all these records, as well as to
note the weight of responsibility and liability for
it."
For answer to your question we refer you to
Article 7260, Vernon's Annotated Civil Statutes, the
revelant provisions of which are here set out as follows2
"At the end of each month the Tax Collector
shall, on forms to be furnished by the Comptroller
make an itemized report under oath to the Comptroller,
showing each and every item of ad valorem, poll and
occupation taxes collected by him during said month,
accompanied by a summarized statement showing full
disposition of all State taxes collected, provided
that said itemized reports for the months of December
and January of each year may not be made for twenty-
five (25) days after the end of such months if same
cannot be completed by the end of such respective
months.
"He shall present such report, together with the
tax receipt stubs to the County Clerk, who shall
within two (2) days compare said report with said
stubs, and if same agree in every particular as
regards names, dates and amounts, he shall certify
to its correctness, for which examination and cer-
tificate said Clerk shall be paid by the Commission-
ers Court twenty-five (25) cents for each certificate
and twenty-five (25) cents for each two hundred (200)
taxpayers on said report; provided that in counties
having a County Auditor the work men-n= xn this
WCs ~e%tF ~$i?ZE%%sF lTXffer
Similar provisions relating to the report of
collections made for the county are found in Article 7261,
Vernonts Annotated Civil Statutes.
_ -
Honorable G. D. Minick - page 5, O-6349
In accordance with these provisions of the law,
you are advised, that in our opinion the examination and
certification about which you inquire should be made by
the County Auditor.
Very truly yours
Attorney General of Texas
s/ Robert F. Cherry
BY
Robert F. Cherry
Assistant
RFC:zd/cS
APPROVED FEB. 8, 1945
s/ Grover Sellers
ATTORNEY GEN2RAL OF TEXAS
APPROVED OPINION COUdITTEE:
By BWB, Chairman