After Clarks changed from a village to a town, how many aldermen did its board need?

Plain-English summary

The mayor of Clarks reported that the municipality had been reclassified from a village to a town and asked how that affected the board of aldermen. In Opinion 03-0280, the AG concluded that the town had to have five aldermen. The statute quoted in the opinion prescribed three for a village and five for a town.

The AG emphasized the word “shall” in the town provision. Under the construction rule it cited, “shall” was mandatory, so the town could not treat five as an optional target.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2003. 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.

What the opinion meant at issuance

Clarks officials

Once Clarks had been reclassified as a town, the AG applied the town rule of five aldermen. The opinion answered the required board size; it did not describe a process for filling additional seats.

Other municipalities

The opinion quoted the then-current classifications in R.S. 33:341 and board-size rules in R.S. 33:382. Those classifications supplied the reason the village rule ceased to govern Clarks after its reclassification.

Common questions

Q: Could Clarks keep its three-member village board after becoming a town?
A: The AG said no. The statute required five aldermen for a town.

Q: Was the five-alderman figure optional?
A: No. The AG cited R.S. 1:3, under which the word “shall” was mandatory.

Q: Did the opinion explain how the two additional seats would be filled?
A: No. It addressed the number required after reclassification.

Background and statutory framework

R.S. 33:382 set the number of aldermen at three for villages and five for towns. The opinion's footnote quoted R.S. 33:341 on municipal classifications and R.S. 1:3 on how “shall” and “may” were construed. The mayor supplied the fact that Clarks had already become a town.

Citations and references

Statutes quoted or cited: R.S. 33:382; R.S. 1:3; R.S. 33:341.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0280

Original opinion text

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
One American Place
CIVIL DIVISION
301 Main Street, Suite 600
P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGE
TEL.: (225) 342-7013
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL
70804-9005
FAX: (225) 342-2090

July 29, 2003
OPINION 03-0280

      Honorable John Eason                    71       MUNICIPALITIES

Mayor
R.S. 33:382; R.S. 1:3
A village reclassified as a town is required by law to have five members
1714 Hwy 845
serving on the board of aldermen.
P.O. Box 360
Clarks, LA 71415

Dear Mayor Eason:

You advise this office that the Village of Clarks has been reclassified as a town.1 You ask what effect this change will have on the required number of aldermen.

The provisions of R.S. 33:382 are applicable and pertinently provide:

§382. Number of aldermen; election; municipal districts; divisions of the board

A. The number of aldermen in a city shall not be less than five nor more than nine; the number of aldermen in a town shall be five; and the number of aldermen in a village shall be three.

The language of the statute requires that the number of aldermen in a town shall be five. The use of the word "shall" is mandatory, not permissive. See R.S. 1:3.2 Thus the Town of Clarks must now have five members serving on the board of aldermen.

1 R.S. 33:341 defines municipalities and provides:
§ 341. Division into cities, towns and villages Municipal corporations shall be divided into three classes: cities, towns, and villages. Those having five thousand inhabitants and more are cities; those having less than five thousand but more than one thousand inhabitants are towns; and those having one thousand and fewer inhabitants are villages.
2 R.S. 1:3 provides:
§3. Words and phrases; how construed
Words and phrases shall be read with the context and shall be construed according to the common and approved usage of the language. Technical words and phrases, and such others as may have acquired a peculiar and appropriate meaning in the law, shall be construed and understood according to such peculiar and appropriate meaning. The word "shall" is mandatory and the word "may" is permissive.

Page 2

Honorable John Eason
OPINION 03-0280
Page 2

We hope the foregoing is helpful to you. Should you have other questions in which we
may provide assistance, please contact this office.

Ve~, truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

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