Harris County v. Charlton

• Decision Date: 24 June 1922
• Docket Number: (No. 3636.)
• Citation: 243 S.W. 459
• Parties: HARRIS COUNTY v. CHARLTON et al.
• Court: Texas Supreme Court

243 S.W. 459

HARRIS COUNTY v. CHARLTON et al.

(No. 3636.)

Supreme Court of Texas.

June 24, 1922.

Error to Court of Civil Appeals of First Supreme Judicial District.

Action by the County of Harris against James Charlton and others. From a judgment of the Court of Civil Appeals (228 S. W. 969) reversing a judgment in its favor, plaintiff brings error. Affirmed.

See, also, 243 S. W. 460.

Louis, Campbell & Nicholson, of Houston, for plaintiff in error.

Geo. L. Charlton and Carothers & Brown, all of Houston, for defendants in error.

PIERSON, J.

The Court of Civil Appeals gives a concise statement of the case, as follows:

"James Charlton, as county treasurer for Harris county, collected and retained as his commissions for each of the years 1915 to 1918, inclusive, the sum of $2,000. In addition, in his capacity as treasurer of the various drainage and navigation districts within the county, he collected and retained during the same four-year period — part of it from one and part from another of such districts — as his compensation for the latter service an aggregate amount of $3,248.52.

"In the court below the county recovered judgment for this $3,248.52 against him and his bondsmen, and they appeal.

"Appellants [Charlton and others] contend that Revised Statutes, art. 3875, providing that, `The commissions allowed to any county treasurer shall not exceed $2,000.00 annually,' merely prescribes the maximum annual amount that may be allowed the treasurer by the commissioners' court for handling strictly county funds, and neither applies to nor precludes retention by him of compensation received during the same year from drainage and navigation districts for like service with reference to their funds."

The honorable Court of Civil Appeals reversed the judgment of the trial court and rendered judgment for the defendants in error.

A law creating the office of county treasurer was first enacted in 1846. The Legislature, instead of itself fixing that officer's salary or compensation, delegated that authority to the county court. Briefly following this office and the compensation allowed through the enactments of 1876, 1879, and 1891, to the present law as found in Vernon's Sayles' Texas Civil Statutes, arts. 3873, 3874, and 3875, it is apparent that now, as at the beginning, the Legislature provided that the county commissioners' court shall fix the commissions allowed to the county treasurer for collecting county funds and public free school funds, and fixed a limit as to the per cent. of commission that may be allowed by the commissioners' court for handling these two funds, and also limited the total amount to be so allowed per...