In addition to the salaries provided for county assessors in Sections 4-44-4 through 4-44-5 NMSA 1978, county assessors may receive additional cumulative increments up to: A. an additional seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) a year for holding an "Appraiser 1" certificate; B. an additional one thousand seven hundred fifty dollars ($1,750) a year for holding an "Appraiser 2" certificate; C. an additional three thousand dollars ($3,000) a year for holding an "Appraiser 3" certificate; and D. an additional three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500) a year for holding an "Appraiser 4" certificate. History: 1953 Comp., § 15-38-1.3, enacted by Laws 1969, ch. 269, § 3; 1977, ch. 138, § 1; 2023, ch. 119, § 1. Compiler's notes. — Salaries for county assessors are now set out in Sections 4-44-4 to 4-44-8 NMSA 1978 and in 4-44-14 NMSA 1978. Cross references. — For certificates generally, see 4-39-2, 4-39-3 NMSA 1978. For powers of board of county commissioners as to hiring and setting of salaries of county employees and deputies generally, see 4-38-19 NMSA 1978. The 2023 amendment, effective July 1, 2023, effective July 1, 2023, increased the amount of additional compensation a county may provide to assessors, and revised statutory citations; in the introductory clause, after "may receive", added "additional cumulative increments up to"; in Subsection A, after "an additional", deleted "five hundred dollars ($500)" and added "seven hundred fifty dollars ($750)"; in Subsection B, after "an additional", deleted "one thousand dollars ($1,000)" and added "one thousand seven hundred fifty dollars ($1,750)"; in Subsection C, after "an additional", deleted "one thousand dollars ($1,000)" and added "three thousand dollars ($3,000)"; and in Subsection D, after "an additional", deleted "one thousand dollars ($1,000)" and added "three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500)". Additional compensation for county assessors is limited to the amount set out in this section. — The plain language of 4-39-4 NMSA 1978, states that the additional compensation listed in the section supplements the salaries of county assessors, and the plain language of 4-39-5 NMSA 1978, states that the additional compensation set out in that section is provided to any qualifying appraiser employed in the office of the assessor. Accordingly, the appropriate rate of additional compensation for a county assessor who obtains an appraiser certificate appears to be limited to the rate set out in § 4-39-4 NMSA 1978, and elected county assessors, therefore, are not entitled to the additional compensation contemplated in § 4-39-5 NMSA 1978. Appropriate Amount of Compensation for an Elected County Assessor (8/11/20), Att'y Gen. Adv. Ltr. 2020-08. A board of county commissioners is obligated to seek repayment of any amount improperly paid to county assessors. — The legislature has closely regulated the amounts which a county assessor can be compensated, which is consistent with the constitutional mandate set out in N.M. Const., art. X, § 1, that no county officer shall receive any salary, compensation, or emoluments in any form other than authorized by law, and therefore any action by a board of county commissioners to provide compensation which exceeds the statutory limits would be a violation of the express legislative cap, and a board of county commissioners that failed to comply with the statutory requirements when it approved a county assessor's compensation would be obligated to seek repayment of the amounts improperly paid. Appropriate Amount of Compensation for an Elected County Assessor (8/11/20), Att'y Gen. Adv. Ltr. 2020-08.
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