Montana Attorney General Opinion 15-169

Opinion No. 169 Counties- Claims- County Auditor- Highways-Plats-County SUI"Veyor- City Engineer. HELD: It is proper for the County Auditor to disallow the claim of a cit)' engineer for plats furnished the connty relating to an established county high- way. It is the duty of the County Sur- yeyor to furnish them. April 18, 193R. The engineering department of your city engineer at Billings, prepared cer- tain plats for the "l{imroek !toad" leading to the munieipal airport, said road lying outside of the corporate lim- its of the city of Billings, and being a public highway within the county. For certain work done by the cHy engineer ill preparing said plats an expense of $27.00 was incurred for which the city enb';neer presented a claim to the com- missioners of Yellowstone County, and which claim was disallowed by the county auditor. The county commis- sioners, in order to carry out some con- demnation pl'oceedings, called upon the city engineer to furnish plats and field notes pre\iously made by him and on the strength of that the bill that the county auditor disallowed was present- ed to the county commissioners. The duty to build, repair and super- vise roads is imposed upon the board of county cOlllllIissioner". (Section 162"2 as amended by Chapter 59, Ses.<;ion Laws of 1!)29, and sUh-section 4 of Sec- tion 4465 as aillended by Chapter 100, Laws of 1931). The county surveyor under direction of the commissioners is required to make all plats for roads amI highways that cOllie under county supenision, and Illay employ another onl~' when the county surveyor is in- competent. (Sections 4836, 4837, 4845 and 4847 It. C. l\L 1911.) Considering sub-section 8 of Section 1622 as amended by Chapter 59, Ses- sion Laws of 1!)29, and the ruling of the Suprcme Court in Blair v. Kuhr, 86 Mont. 377, one might assume that nny such thing as that im'olve<l in your proposition might be done, but taking all the statutes relating to the subject into account, and the court de· cisions we have cited, we are of the opinion that your county auditor wal' correct in disappro,ing the claim of the city engineer for plats furnished to the county relnting to an established coun- ty highway. If the county sUl"\"eyor is "competent" he is the party authorized, and it is his duty to furnish such plats to the board of county commissioners.