OF TEXAS
AUSTIN 11. TEXAS
GERALD C. MANN
-N
A-RNEY CHCNERAI.
Hon. E. Y. Cunningham
Cbunty Auditor
Navarro Countg~
Corsicana, Texas
Dear Sir: Opi,nlonNo. O-1231
Re: May some anticipated amount of
delinquent taxes to be collected
under delinquent tax contract be
included in the budget?
Your request for an opinion on the question as herein
stated has been received by this department.
Your letter reads in part as follows:
“We have recently made a contract with Judge
Edgar Hutchins for the purpose of collecting our
delinquent taxes and he started upon his duties
during the month of July.
"I am now in the process of making our budget
for 1940 and am wondering if it will be permissible
for me to use in the budget some anticipatea amount
of delinquent taxes to be collected by him and if
so, Is there any per cent for figuring same?"
Article 68ga-9, R,C.S. reads as follows:
"The County Judge shall serve as budget
officer for the commissioners' court in each
county, and during the month of July of each
year he, assisted by the County Auditor or by
the County Clark, shall prepare a budget to
cover all proposed expenditures of the county
government for the succeeding year. Such budget
shall be carefully itemized so as to make as
clear a comparison as practicable between expend-
itures included in the proposed budget and actual
expenditures for the same or similar purposes for
the preceding year. The budget must also be so
prepared as to show as definitely as possible
each of the various projects for'which appropria-
tions are set up in the budget, anWthe esti-
Hon. E.Y. Cunningham, page 2 0 -1231
mated amount of money carried in the budget for
each of such projects. The budget shall also
contain a complete financial statement of the
county, showing all outstanding obligations of
the county, the cash on hand to the credit of
each and every fund of the county government, the
funds received from all sources during the pre-
vious year, the funds available from all sources
during the ensuing year, the estimated revenues
available to cover the proposed budget ,and the
estimated rate of tax which will be required."
Article 68qa-11, R.C.S., neads In part as follows:
11
...The County Judge shall, after the aaop-
tion di the county budget and prior to October 15th
of each year, file with the State Comptroller at
Austin, Texas, a true and correct summarized state-
ment of the adopted budget, which statement shall
show the total amount adopted for each of the several
divisions of the county's activities and outstanding
obligations together with true and exact copies of
any revenue estimates, financial statements and balance
sheets required to be contained in said budgets, and
the correctness of said copies shall be'sworn to by
the County Judge and County Auditor, and in counties
which have no County Auditor, by the County Clerk..."
Article 1666, R. C.S., referring to county auditors,
reads as follows:
"lieshall prepare an estimate of all the
revenues and expenses, and annually submit It to
the commissioners court, which court shall care-
fully make a budget of all appropriations to be
set aside for the various expenses of the county
government in each branch and department. He shall
open an account with each appropriation in said
budget, and all warrants drawn against same shall
be entered to said account. He shall carefully
keep an oversight of same to see that the expenses
of any department do not exceed said budget appro-
priations, and keep said court advised of the con-
dition of said appropriation accounts from time to
time."
The above mentioned statutes specifically provide that
the budget shall also contain a complete financial statement of
the county .... showing the estimated revenues available to cover
the proposed budget and the estimated rate of tax which will be
Hon. E. Y. Cunningham, page 3 o-1231
required and the statutes further provide that the correct sum-
marized statement of the adopted budget filed with the State
Comptroller shall show ..... any revenue estimates.......
In view of the foregoing statutes you are respectfully
advised that it is the opinion of this department that it would
be permissible when preparing the county budgetto anticipate
some amount of delinquent taxes to be collected; however, there
is no statutory provision providing or setting forth any per
cent for figuring the same. It would be wholly within the dis-
cretion of the County Judge and County Auditor in determining
any per cent of delinquent taxes that they reasonably antici-
pate to be collected.
Trusting that the foregoing answers your inquiry, we
remain
Yours very truly
ATTORNEYGENERAL OF TEXAS
By s/Ardell Williams
Ardell Willtams
Assistant
AW:AW:wc
APPROVED SEP 7, 1939
s/Gerald C. Mann
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
Approved Opinion Committee By s/RWB Chairman