Could St. Martinville amend its special charter to increase the mayor's pay?

Plain-English summary

The governor's office asked the AG to review a proposed St. Martinville charter amendment changing the mayor's compensation. In Opinion 03-0310, the AG found the proposed amendment consistent with state and federal law and recommended that the governor approve it, provided no protest had been filed during the statutory thirty-day period.

The proposal increased monthly pay for a full-time mayor in stages and set a lower monthly amount if the mayor chose part-time service. The AG reviewed the ordinance and publication affidavit, then compared the proposal with the special-charter amendment procedure and the Lawrason Act's rule allowing the aldermen to fix the mayor's compensation.

Currency note

This opinion is dated September 6, 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

St. Martinville officials

The AG found the proposed amendment legally consistent and recommended approval if no timely protest occurred. The opinion addressed the proposal's legal compatibility; the quoted statute required subsequent gubernatorial approval and recording for an amendment to take effect.

Municipal electors and governor

Under the procedure quoted in the opinion, a protest by one-tenth of the municipality's electors within thirty days of publication would prevent approval until the amendment was ratified by a majority at an election. The AG made its recommendation conditional on the absence of such a protest.

Common questions

Q: Did the AG approve St. Martinville's proposed mayoral pay terms? A: It found them consistent with applicable law and recommended that the governor approve the amendment if there had been no timely protest.

Q: Could electors force a vote on the amendment? A: The statute quoted by the AG provided that a timely protest by one-tenth of municipal electors would require majority ratification at an election before the governor could approve it.

Q: Did the opinion say the amendment took effect immediately? A: No. The quoted procedure required gubernatorial approval and recording after the required steps.

Background and statutory framework

The AG applied R.S. 33:1181, which set out publication, AG review, gubernatorial approval, protest, election, and recording steps for this class of special-charter amendment. It also quoted LSA-R.S. 33:404.1 on the board of aldermen's authority to fix the mayor's compensation.

Citations and references

Statutes quoted or cited: R.S. 33:1181; LSA-R.S. 33:404.1.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0310

Original opinion text

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

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL
SEP 6 2003
OPINION NUMBER 03-0310

           Kimbedy Wooten Rosenberg                    71-1      MUNICIPALITIES - Special Charters

Deputy Executive Counsel
We find the proposed amendment to the spedal legislative charter of
the City of St. Martinvill~ to be consistent with state general law, as ’
Office of the Governor
required by R.S. 33:1181.
P. O. Box 94004
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9004

Dear Ms. Rosenberg:

We are in receipt of your request for our review and opinion of the proposed amendment to the charter of the City of St. Martinville. The proposed amendment increases the mayor’s salary from Three Thousand Six Hundred Nineteen and 42/100 ($3,619.42) per month to Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00) per month through June 30, 2006 and Four Thousand Three Hundred Seventy-five Dollars ($4,375.00) per month thereafter, payable bi- weekly on his own warrant if the mayor’s position is full-time, meaning at least forty (40) hours each week. If the mayor elects to be part-time, the salary is fixed at Eight Hundred Dollars ($800.00) per month.

The City of St. Martinville has presented the following documentation to your office for our review:

A copy of Ordinance No. 2003-08.
An affidavit of publication of the ordinance, published in the Teche News, a weekly newspaper and the official journal of the parish of St. Martin. The ordinance was published in the July 16th, 23rd, and 30th, 2003 issues.

R.S. 33:1181 provides, in pertinent part:

When a municipality existing prior to July 29, 1898, and having a population of two hundred thousand or less, which has not come under the provisions of Part I of Chapter 2 of this Title, desires to amend its charter, the same may be done in this way: The municipal governing body may prepare, in writing, the desired amendments, have the same published for three weeks in a newspaper published in the municipality .... ; the proposed amendments shall then be submitted to the governor, who shall submit them to the Attomey General for his opinion. If the Attorney General is of the opinion that the proposed amendments are consistent with the constitution and laws of the United States and of this state, including Part I of Chapter 2 of this Title, the Governor

Page 2

Kimberly Wooten Rosenberg
Opinion Number 03-0310
Page -2-

shall approve the proposed amendments. If, within thirty days after publication, one-tenth of the electors of the municipality protest against any proposed amendment, the Governor shall not approve the amendment protested against until it is submitted to and ratified by a majority of the electors of the municipality at an election held within sixty days after the protest has been made.
Amendments, when approved by the Governor, shall be recorded at the expense of the municipality, in the office of the Secretary of State and upon the records of the municipal governing body, and, when so recorded, shall have the force and effect of law.

We have reviewed the proposed amendment and are of the opinion that it is consistent with the constitution and laws of the United States and of this state, including Part I of Chapter 2 of Title 33. More specifically, Part I of Chapter 2 of Title 33, commonly referred to as the Lawrason Act, provides as follows:

The board of aldermen shall by ordinance fix the compensation of the mayor .... The board of aldermen may by ordinance increase or decrease their compensation and the compensation of any nonelected municipal officer and may increase the compensation of other elec{ed officials. However, the board of aldermen shall not reduce the compensation of any elected official during the term for which he is elected.

LSA-R.S. 33:404.1 (emphasis added). Therefore, we find that the proposed charter amendment is in compliance with the constitution and laws of the United States and the State of Louisiana and recommend that the Governor approve the proposed amendment, provided no protest has been filed within the thirty day period provided by law.

Trusting that this opinion sufficiently responds to your request, we remain

Yours very truly,

,RD/F~ IEYOUB

ANGLE ~0~OGERS LAPLACE
Assist~ Attorney General

RPI/ARL;mjb
Cc: Gregory P. Hardy, City Attorney