Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

..I . ..~ . : * .a- OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS _. AUSTIN ., Zl&=z ..: no& 0.r. ‘tillde, County &ditoZ? mlcccs Cowty Corpus Ghriati; Texas, . pear sir1 . record ca ths ‘_..1 ‘ ... @xi.P.S.’ Viilde,p&o i . . . :. “‘.-’ ‘-.- .. . ‘- .- Cburt that Ean De Cordova be &t%~~oyed for . ..a period of -12 months Sroz i)oce=?5cr15th. 1930, as Tax Ferret c&a shlar”l or ~300.00 .. per math, trnderthe 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, . : 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+:12rem.” 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 : - w: . 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$V8 Oll7 OOCi?. -pamatior. ~:or any services ho my render la commotion Viith fhe'perfcrsefice of the oon- -traot or the tnxee oolloctsd the~knder." .. The cake of XYATTYO. L?oCILL, County ‘SW&Z, ..~. et al, 114 S.Z. (Sd) 860 holds thut the statutes Govern- ing costmets emdo "in conmotion with the colleotion of delinquent taxes", tbo words edelincjueat taxes? ere not used in ths‘todhnical oonae, but ttc stntuto'ncni- .. isst lctent to check existing evil resultinS .fro3the ez$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 c8nt of the state and county thrcs collected on property 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 taxes sod cltkin the statute roqu.irlrg. suoh oontl'ncts to 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. . .-InGpieion 30. O-1512, wr:rritt+nby 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,,fortits collection OLC doli3r~uant taxos. :, , y.. .. .. .! : . .; .. . ‘_ : ‘. *.. CIci - .- .: .. .. ’ - :: : ..mn.c*J* .. _ :. y: . -Yildo, p~S8 4 ~.'.. :~ I .;'= 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 Within . escaped taxation ms a co::tWaot "in cooncotion with the 00118CtiOn of delinquent taX8J”Ed 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 : ‘.:.a.. .. .:.:.: : ‘,:~ ._ A?‘TQzJ~EYGz;szhL &? ,&?,S : . (~ ~.. .‘. .; . . 'Arttoll%liims. hY!:ob ; ,Asslstant : .. ,... ,. . . . .., : . .~ ,: