Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

A, ,.--Y, NEU GENE QDP EXAS Honorable Donald Allurns County Auditor &-din County Kountze, Texas Dear Sir: Opinion No. O-5653 Ret Appliaability of delinquent tax oontract executed under Articles 7335, 7335a and 7264a, V.A.C.S., to city taxes collected by the county tax assessor-collector under b-tide 1402b, V.4.C.S. Your opinion request of October 5, 1943, reads as followsr "1 would appreciate very much your opinion on the following question: "Where a city avails itself of the privilege of requiring the county tax assessor-collector to assess end collect the city taxes on the regular tax rolls (Article 1042b), is such oity bound by a contract between the com- missioners' court of the county and a delinquent tax collector? "Isthe delinquent tax collector entitled to his commission on city taxes collected by him in the above instance, when the city officials fail or refuse to ratify the contract?" pie assume that you refer to a delinquent tax collection contrnct ex- ecuted by the canmissioners' court under authority of Articles 7335, 7335a and 7264a, V.A.C.S. Although we do not know the term of the oontract to which you refer, we are satisfiedthat, regardless of the nature of its terms, both your questions must be answered im the negative. If the contract is on the forms cumsntrly promulgated by the Cmptrol- ller of Public Accounts, you will notice that the first paragraph of such contract provides8 "First party agreesto employ and does hereby employ second party to enforce by suit or otherwise, and to aid and assist the local officers in the en- forcement of the collection of all delinquent State and County ad valorem taxes, penalty and interest, and all delinquent taxes, penalty and interest (exceot taxes of independent school districts and incorporated cities and towns) due any and all political subdivisions or defined districts of said county and State which the county tax collector receives and receipts for, under the provisions of Articles 7254 and 7257, R.S. 1925 . . ." (Fmphasis added). Honorable DonaldAllums, Pare 2 (O-5653) Thus if this form of contract is employed, city taxes are expressly excluded from the scope of the contract, and we need not inquire further into the ques- tion. If, however, the contract to which you refer does not expressly exclude aity taxes, we feel that the same result obtains since no contract forthe collea- tion of city taxes may br made by any group other than the governing body of the city and since such contract must be made in strict conformity with the provisions of the statute governing such contra&s. Article 7343, V.A.C.S., provides in part as followsr " . When twenty days from the date of last publication of said list of de- lfn&ents hps elapsed, the governing body of the city or town may direct the city attorney to file suits for the collection of said taxes, or said govern- ing body may employ some other attorney of the county to file suits and the city attorney or other attorney filing said suits shall be entieled to the same fees as allowed the county or district attorney in suits for collection of State and county taxes, to be taxed as costs in the suit . . ." For an interpretation ofthis statute, see City of South Houston V* Dabney, 120 S.R. (2d) 436 (Comn. App. 1938) and Bell v. Mansfield Independent School District, 133 Tex. 403, 129 5.17.(2d) 629. We find no arithorityother than this for the execution of contracts for the collection of delinquent city taxes, and sines Article 7343 clearly provides that such contracts shall be made only by the "governing body" of the city, we feel that no other body possesses the power to execute contracts for the collection of such Baxes. Conversely, Articles 7335, 7335a and 7264~ define the power of a oom- missioners' court with respect to delinquent tax oontracts, and each of said Articles speaks in terms of a power to contract only for "State and county taxes." It is settled that the commissioners’ courts now derive their power to contract exclusively from these statutes, PFnitev. McGill, 131 Tex. 231, 114 S.W. (2d) 860; consequer.tly,* comnissioners' court posseP=es no power to enter into a contract affecting the collection of delinquent city taxes. Trusting that the foregoing fully answers your inquiry, we are Very truly yours AlTORnEYGENERALOF TEXAS APPROVED OCT 14, 1943 By /s/R. Dean Xoorhead /s/ GRWER SELLERS FIRST ASSISTANT R. Dean Moorhead ATTORNEY GFXERAL Assistant AFFROVED RDM:fo:egw Opinion Committee By G.P.B. Chairman