Montana Attorney General Opinion 15-19

Opinion No. 19 Shel'iffs. Duties-Mileage-Dances. Policing of-County Commissioners. H]~LD: It is entirely within the dis- cretion of rhe hoa rrl of county com- missioners to approve or reject clnims for mileage presented by the sheriff for policing a dance or any public meet- 'ing held by a fraternal lodge. January 10, 1933. You request a<l\'ice from this office as to the legality of the action of the boa rd of county commissioners in re- fusing to pay a claim of the sheriff for mileage in attending a dance at the request of the Heheb."<'lh lJOdge of Al- berton, and also request advice as to whether the board of county commis- sioners may lawfully disallow such claims in the future. '.rhe sher,iff's duties are quite fully set out in SectiOIl 4774 of the Hevised Codes of Montnna of 1H21, and attend- ing a t any public functions at the ex- pense of the <-"Qunty for the purpose of policing an assembly of any nature is not mnong the duties enumerated in such section. 30 OPINIONS OF THE ATTOR~EY GENERAL Section 5 of Chapter 131, Laws of 1921). empowers the board of county cominissioners to regulate and control (lance halls, but the dance referred to would not come under this heading. The board of county commissioners is the executive head of a county and all other county officials are under the general supervision of the board, and it is the duty of the board to control, except where the particular officer's duties are outlined in the statute, any and all acts of the county officials. It is particularly within the discretion of the board of county commissioners to [)''1SS upon and appro\'e or reject claims presented against the county. In view of the general powers of the board and in the absence of any stat- ute specifically setting it out as the duty of the sheriff to attend such dances as you refer to, or any other meetings for the purpose of policing the same, it is the opinion of this of- fice that it is entirely within the dis- cretion of rthe board of county com- missioners to approve or reject such claims as the sheriff of Mineral County presented to them and that it is within the power of the board to disallow any such claims in the future.