OFFICE OF THE A-ITORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
maor*blo wayno L8fovro
COanty Auditor
Clay county
Renrlotto, Toeras
d4r the faa
a would B oan-
4rltsraa Into be-
the Olay Oounty
8ionor8* court
T V8laatlua Ita-
mekr8, for tha ml-
ton of all oil,and
atllitler rendwed
alay oountf,.b6 *al-
800 requsrtln& thb qd.nlon
tated questfun rbrda 18
meko a request ice an oplnlon
ontraot entorrd into betwon
CoaoriaalonefsCourt end Pri-
tt, farsr taluetlou Englnssra,
whereby alay county Cormie8lenerr Court don-
ttaot to pay Priehsrd d Abbott &OO.OO per
mlllion dollars tcaluationOS all oil end gas
and utllltl~a rendered in cfry Oorinty,be rrl- .
id? There 088 not plaoad in tha bud@ for
th6 jasr Sn whioh thla uontraat is made sati-
metes to pay ,Eorsaid aontraot. Al80 ~ag.?rsnta
Xoaarablo myno L6i6vr6, Paga n
for suoh servloo8would exoeod the r6v6nuoa
frem the CJ666rslpopd if other obllgstlons
droady bad&66 wers paid. There is no
6ourt order lxlstsnt aettirrgup a tax rate
to teks oar0 of psyment, or the ursatln~ of
an lat6rest & 6lnklng ftldltar rate. And
6616 oontraot was never road in open Oourt
bven though t&s obalrarn OS ths oourt, had
arks4 the oomalsdonera if they oared to
road QC haoo read said oontrsot. Alao the
oontraot la ~lgnedby tho foar members oi
the oourt but not by the County Judge. But
thsrs 16 an odor 6;prorlng ssld aontreat
on the minutea of aaid oourt.
.I would approoLt6 a raply et your
66rllOSf Oonv6rlionOo.~
Ia the oaso of Roper vs. Ball, Z80 8.S. 2439,th6
Waoo t+rt_of cltf~~App~al6 s~rt~lned a aontr6ot 166doby
Yl'eOstoM County with Thomas I. Piokett for oollestln( and
oompllhg information oonsornfng oil properties sad tho
Siring of ralu66 thetoo& It ns pointed out 66 the basis
for that holding thsfthoss a6nloo6 involrod 6n lx tr a o r -
dlnsrr skill not D0660860d br an ordlnarr mrson. The
power-of the4 0omm~66l&er6~ Goart to 166kG Sontraots 0r 6ho
eharaotor intolcrsdIn Roper
Is the ease at Marquart ~8.
W quote from the lass of Roper va Rail, oupra, as
followa:
aExpre66 authority howwer, 1s glveh to
tha ooIsal66lo66r6~oourt over ths anbjeot oi
the levying of taxes end requlrfng all proper-
ty lltust64 in th6 oounty to b6 proprly as-
66666d and to kar its proportion of ths bar-
don of taxation sorordln& to its value. 860
authorltioe above oftod. Ths gsn6rsl powors
60 glron to th6 oaamlr6loner6~ oourto lr6 o?
little preotloiklvalue without th6 further
authority to use adrquats mess6 to lnsuro th6
Hoaorablo u6yaa Lafovre; Peg* S
Proper, lntalllgant and a~fmetlra amr*$*a
thereof. The Constitution require8 end pub110
p*lioY demanda that 611 taxable property shall
oontributa it* ju6t proportiaa to the expen606
of 4sovernm6nt. The PU'pOSa of the oontreot
under *Ou6ldar6tlOn waa to aid in SaOWing au&
rasalt. Tha 66rViOO6 oontraoted to be rendercpd
oalled for lntormatlon ana lxperienoa not pOS-
SWJsad by the ordiary p*non. So far as they
6fiSOt6d the diaoovarp, aa6assnent, and valua-
thI Or IUXT4UdOroaoil pTOp6Tti46, they OOdd
not bsva bean perfornud by the oounty a6*eg*Or
onl**s he po66a66od extraordinary lnfomtla
and azp*ri*nO* along the required 1ineS. Ha
taatiiled In the ease, and under oath dls-
OlSitwd 6uoh qualifimstion. Halther oould tlm
OQXlUZi66iOll4T6' OQUl?%, Sitting a6 an 6qU6liz6-
tlon board, perform ita funotfons efl*otlraly
without auoh expert aid. The oourt so dealarod,
in offeet, when it entered into the oontraot.
It does not appear thaf It x*6 tl;eintent or
effaot of the aontraot that Plokatt should per-
form the dutiel hpO6ad by law on any of tIte
ottloetrooonoerned. On the oontrarg, it da6
appear that It6 purpose ~6 merely to aid suoh
offloers in the effaotl~a ~r?omano* of th*lr
Te~~eOti~e dutiO6 . . . .
"The nraklng of the aontraot under aonsld-
*ration was within the lspli*d power posseesad
by the oomml66lon*r6' aoUt O? fi**StOnO Eounty,
and 6uoh oontraot dfd not eontenrg~atathe par-
rormsme by *aid Piakett of duties imposed by
law Upon either the aeaa66or or the oormi66ionsr6~
oourt . . . ."
l?a do not have
the oontraot in qu*atiOn before u6,
therefore, we *an exproas
no opinion as to th* V*lid$tY Qf
ths SOnX3. However, the above mentioned Oa*** *rpr***lY hold'
that the m6king Of suoh a oontraot for the OOll*otlon *nd
ae~embabl~0f Information atmoernlng oil imp*rti** *nQ fb-
gongor the r*iu** thareoxs1,swithin the power R***e**ed by
ths ooaml*6loner*' OOUSt.
Under the faOt6 Stated in POW l*tt*r, it b aP-
parent thet when ths bu3gat fm the OOUW w6* Pr*R*rd
HanorabloWayne Lafevre, Page 4
the bud&i oonteined'no proridlon for erpendlture~ ciuoh
au are here larolrwI.
Artlole 089a-11 provides In 2srtr
he Oouaty Court, and taxsa
leviad only in aooordanoe therewith, and no ox-
ponditura or the rlulas0: the oounty shall there-
after be me80 except in &riot oomplle~oe with
the budget aa adopted by the Court, 6xoapt that
lmergenoy expenditures, In oaaa of grave publio
noeessity, to meet wiuaual and unioreoeen oon-
ditlon# rhioh oould not, by reasonably diligent
thought and attention, have been inolutWi in
the original buQ@t, my frwn tim to tini@ be
authoriswd by tha Courlr BP mnem&aents to tha
original buflg8t. In ~11 oaaea Wh8rt! euoh CBUWid-
meat to the original budge0 is mado, a oopy Of
the ardor of the Co url t
mWIing tha budget shall
be tiled nith tha Cllerkof the Couuty Uourt, aad
attaohea to the buQot 0rigiinallyaaopted.~
Aa 00 erpenditua'oaof the fund8 Of the County Bhau
k made woept In strlot ooqplimea with the bu&& as adopted
by the Oolat and as the budget eontafnr no~grovlsion with rbfbr-
enoo to expenditurbr, ourh a@ are iswolvsd, it ia our opinion
that the county oannot expend its finds for auoh purpoaa, with-
out harb oomplle& with the budget la%
TruotLnp that the rorogolng fully amera fout in-
qulrr, we are