Could a Louisiana fire district let an employee or volunteer live in its firehouse in exchange for work?

Plain-English summary

A St. Tammany Parish fire district asked whether it could let an employee or volunteer live in firehouse quarters in exchange for administrative or fire-related services. In 2001, the attorney general's office said it could make that exchange if the district determined that the services were necessary and their value was commensurate with the quarters' rental value.

The opinion drew a line at giving away public value. If the lodging was worth more than the services, the difference would be a prohibited donation under the state constitution. The office compared earlier opinions approving housing tied to school duties with one rejecting rent-free housing for a fireman where the city received only incidental benefits.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2001. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Fire district officials at the time

The opinion required the district to determine that the proposed services were necessary and worth as much as the rental value of the quarters. It treated an exchange meeting those conditions as different from a donation.

Employees and volunteers at the time

The opinion allowed either group to provide the described services in exchange for lodging, subject to the same necessity and value conditions. It did not approve rent-free occupancy with only incidental public benefit.

Common questions

Q: Could a volunteer live in district-owned firehouse quarters instead of paying rent?
A: The opinion allowed an exchange for necessary services if the district found their value commensurate with the rental value of the quarters.

Q: What if the lodging was worth more than the services?
A: The opinion said the excess value would be a prohibited donation.

Q: Did the office treat simply having a firefighter on site as enough?
A: No. It distinguished an earlier attorney general opinion in which free housing chiefly benefited the firefighter and family, with only incidental benefit to the city.

Background and statutory framework

La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 14(A) generally prohibited donations of public property; subsection (C) allowed cooperative endeavors for a public purpose. The opinion applied its prior public-funds analysis requiring legal authority, a public purpose, and benefit proportionate to cost. It cited City of Port Allen and several earlier attorney general opinions on employee housing.

Citations and references

• La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 14(A) and (C) (public property and cooperative endeavors)
• City of Port Allen v. Louisiana Municipal Management Agency, 439 So.2d 339 (La. 1983)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/00-0345

Original opinion text

January 18, 2001
OPINION NUMBER 00-345

90-A-2 PUBLIC FUNDS & CONTRACTS - Loan, Pledge or Grant

La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 14

Fire protection district can exchange the use of firehouse living
Mr. Lane A. Carson
quarters for administrative services to be rendered by an employee
Assistant District Attorney
or a volunteer, as long as district has determined that services the
employee or volunteer will provide are necessary, as well as Washington – St. Tammany Parishes commensurate in value to the rental value of the living quarters.
428 E. Boston Street
Conversely, if use of the living quarters is worth more than the
value of the administrative services to be performed by the
Covington, Louisiana 70433
employee or volunteer, then the district would be making a
prohibited donation in the amount that the rental value exceeds the value of the services.
Dear Mr. Carson:

This office is in receipt of your request for an Attorney General’s Opinion on behalf of a St. Tammany Parish fire protection district. Specifically, you present the following two questions for our review:

“1. May a fire protection district exchange the use of living quarters in a firehouse for administrative services rendered by an employee related to fire protection such as answering the telephones, maintaining records of emergency calls and responses, and arranging training exercises?

“2. May a fire protection district exchange the use of living quarters in a firehouse for administrative services rendered by a volunteer related to fire protection such as answering the telephone after hours, responding to calls, securing the premises and some maintenance?”

Implicitly, your request must be examined in light of La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 14(A), which generally prohibits, subject to certain exceptions, the “funds, credit, property or things of value of the state or of any political subdivision” from being “loaned, pledged, or donated to or for any person, association, or corporation, public or private.” Also pertinent is La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 14(C), which provides that “[f]or a public purpose, the state and its political subdivisions…may engage in cooperative endeavors with each other, with the United States or its agencies, or with any public or private association, corporation, or individual.”

Despite the authorization for cooperative endeavors found in Art. VII, Sec. 14(C), the Supreme Court has interpreted Art. VII, Sec. 14 to be violated when the State

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Opinion Number 00-345
Mr. Lane A. Carson
Assistant District Attorney
Washington-St. Tammany Parishes
Page -2-

or a political subdivision seeks to give up something of value when it is under no obligation to do so. City of Port Allen v. Louisiana Municipal Management Agency, 439 So.2d 339 (La. 1983). This office has construed the “legal obligation” requirement referred to in the City of Port Allen decision to be a requirement that the purpose and power for a particular expenditure of public funds be “sanctioned” or “authorized by law” or in the “discharge of a legal duty”. Attorney General’s Opinion No. 92-204. Our opinions also refer to the requirement for “an underlying legal obligation or authority” for the transfer of public funds. Attorney General Opinion Nos. 98-378, 92-543, 92-494, 92-402, 92-204.

The requirement of a legal obligation to expend public funds or to use public property is a threshold requirement, but is not the only predicate, for the constitutionality of the expenditure. The expenditure must also be for a public purpose and create a public benefit proportionate to its cost. Attorney General’s Opinions Nos. 97-471-A, 92- 722 and 90-392.

We also direct your attention to certain prior opinions of this office, which dealt with issues similar to those raised by your request. In Attorney General’s Opinion No. 81-1270, we opined that a school board could allow a janitor/bus driver employee to live, rent free, in a house owned by the board because the occupancy was related to his employment. The employee was charged with the care, custody, preservation and security of school board property. The opinion concluded that the arrangement constituted a public purpose and the benefits to be derived by the school board were reasonably commensurate to the cost incurred. Similarly, in Attorney General’s Opinion No. 80-195, we concluded that an instructor at a vocational technical school could reside in a small mobile trailer located on the premises of the school. In addition to his teaching duties, the employee was responsible for maintaining the grounds and providing security for the equipment stored at the school.

However, in Attorney General’s Opinion No. 98-262, this office determined that a fireman and his family could not reside, rent free, in an apartment above a volunteer station. Therein, we determined that that the benefits to be derived by permitting the fireman and his family to reside in the apartment would inure primarily to the fireman and his family. Apparently, there was no real need to have an employee “on duty” within the station, and therefore the benefits which would have accrued to the City by virtue of the living arrangement would have been merely incidental.

Based upon the foregoing, it is our opinion that a fire protection district can exchange the use of living quarters in a firehouse for administrative services to be rendered by an employee or a volunteer, as long as the district has

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Opinion Number 00-345
Mr. Lane A. Carson
Assistant District Attorney
Washington-St. Tammany Parishes
Page -3-

determined that the services the employee or volunteer will provide are necessary to the district, as well as commensurate in value to the rental value of the living quarters. If such is the case, then the arrangement could not, in our opinion, properly be considered to be a ‘donation’. Conversely, if use of the living quarters is worth more than the value of the administrative services to be performed by the employee or volunteer, then the district would be making a prohibited donation in the amount that the rental value exceeds the value of the services.

We trust the foregoing to be of assistance. If this office can be of help in other areas of the law, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours very truly,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: _________
JEANNE-MARIE ZERINGUE BARHAM
Assistant Attorney General
RPI:JMZB:dam

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OPINION NUMBER 00-345
Syllabus

90-A-2 PUBLIC FUNDS & CONTRACTS - Loan, Pledge or Grant

La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 14

Fire protection district can exchange the use of firehouse living quarters for administrative services to be rendered by an employee or a volunteer, as long as district has determined that services the employee or volunteer will provide are necessary, as well as commensurate in value to the rental value of the living quarters. Conversely, if use of the living quarters is worth more than the value of the administrative services to be performed by the employee or volunteer, then the district would be making a prohibited donation in the amount that the rental value exceeds the value of the services.

Mr. Lane A. Carson
Assistant District Attorney
Washington – St. Tammany Parishes
428 E. Boston Street
Covington, Louisiana 70433

Date Received:

Date Released: January 18, 2001

Jeanne-Marie Zeringue Barham
Assistant Attorney General