Montana Attorney General Opinion 16-160

Opinion No. 160. County Commissioners-Cities and Towns-Tax Levies, No Super- vision of-Levies. HELD: The Board of County Com- missioners has no power to supervise city officers or the tax levies of city and town councils even though the levy be excessive. Mr. Thomas Dignan County Attorney Glasgow, Montana August 27, 1935. You have asked for an opmlOn on the following question submitted to you by your county treasurer: "Must the county commissioners adopt the city levies as adopted by the city councils, even though they be in excess of the legal limit, or may they refuse to adopt the illegal levies, and return the budgets to the cities for correction?" Section 5039 R. C. M. 1921, as amended by Chapter 115, subdivision 2, Laws of 1925, gives power to the city or town council "to levy and col- lect taxes for general or special pur- poses on all property within the town or city subject to taxation under the laws of the state." Section 5216 R. C. M. 1921, as amended by Chapter 49, Laws of 1925, provides: "The Council must on or before the second Monday of August of each year, by resolution, determine the amount of the city or town taxes for all purposes, to be levied and as- sessed on the taxable property in the city or town, for the current fiscal year and the city or town clerk must at once certify to the county clerk a copy of such resolution and the county treasurer must collect said taxes as in this chapter provided: Provided, that in cities where the council has provided by ordinance for the collec- tion of such taxes by the city t.reas- urer, the city clerk must certify a copy of such resolution to said city treasurer." Section 5214 R. C. M. 1921, makes it the duty of the county treasurer of each county to collect the tax levied by all cities and towns in his county, except as otherwise provided therein. I do not find any statute vlhich gives power to the county Cf)nll~'is· sioners to supervise dty officr.rs or the tax levies of city and town coun- cils. In the absence of such .5tatute I must conclude that they do not have such authority. As stated in said Chapter 49, the city or town clerk must certify to the county clcrl{ 8 copy of the resolution passed by the city or town council and thc county tre"asurer must collect the ta¥es. The duties of the county clerk and county treasurer are purely ministerial. Ap- parently no action by the board of county commissioners is contem- plated or required.