Schuylkill County v. Wiest

Citations

• 257 Pa. 425
• 101 A. 761
• 1917 Pa. LEXIS 754

Syllabus

<p>Public officers — Salaries — Fees — Hunters’ licenses — County treasurer — ■Constitution of Pennsylvania, Art. XIV, Sec. 5 — Act of March 81,1876, P. L. 18, and Act of April 17,1918, P. L. 85.</p> <p>1. Under Article XIV, Section 5 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, and tbe Act of March 31, 1876, P. L. 13, passed to carry the Constitution into effect, a county treasurer in a county containing over 150,000 inhabitants is not entitled to retain the fees collected by him for issuing hunters’ licenses under the Act of April 17, 1913, P. L. 85, but he is required to pay the sums so received into the county treasury.</p> <p>2. An analysis of these enactments, constitutional and legislative, clearly shows the fixed intention to confine such salaried county of•ficer to his salary as compensation for all services rendered in his official capacity.</p> <p>3. The presumption is that when an officer receives money for services rendered in his official capacity, it is as compensation for the performance of duties as such officer and the fee is not to be held for his individual use.</p>