Can a Louisiana mayor require a council member to co-sign town checks?

Plain-English summary

In 2005, the Louisiana Attorney General concluded that the mayor of Iowa could keep a policy requiring a council member to co-sign municipal checks. The policy was permissible only as the mayor's own requirement: the mayor still had to sign every check, the council member's signature had to be a purely ministerial act with no discretion, and the mayor had to be able to end the requirement at will.

The distinction mattered because the opinion read R.S. 33:404 as placing check-signing authority in the mayor. A council member or other official could not require a second signature, and an ordinance or practice that transferred control of check signing away from the mayor would improperly restrict that authority. The mayor's voluntary second-signature policy, adopted after a clerk's embezzlement, did not have that effect under the stated conditions.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2005. 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.

Common questions

Could a council member co-sign a check alongside the mayor? A: The AG said the mayor could require that second signature if it was purely ministerial. The council member could not use the co-signature to decide whether a check should be issued.

Could the town council require two signatures by ordinance? A: No. The opinion said an ordinance, resolution, or practice that allocated the check-signing function to another officer would restrict the mayor's authority under R.S. 33:404.

Did the second-signature policy remove the mayor's duty to sign? A: No. The mayor still had to sign every check. The additional signature could only supplement the mayor's signature under the conditions the AG described.

Could a later mayor cancel the co-signature requirement? A: The opinion made the mayor's power to revoke the requirement at will one of its express conditions.

Background and statutory framework

Mayor Margo Racca asked whether a council member could co-sign checks used to pay the Town of Iowa's bills. The opinion recounts that a previous mayor adopted a two-signature policy after a town clerk embezzled funds.

The AG quoted the mayoral duty in R.S. 33:404(8): the mayor has authority “To sign warrants drawn on the treasury for money, to require that the municipal clerk attest to such warrants” and to keep a record of them. The opinion distinguished a signature imposed by another official from one required by the mayor. Its conclusion was limited to the latter, with all three conditions stated above.

Citations

• R.S. 33:404 (mayor's duties, powers, and responsibilities as quoted in the opinion).
• Op.Atty.Gen. Nos. 92-174 and 98-469 (earlier opinions the AG cited on the mayor's check-signing authority).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0003

Original opinion text

April 20, 2005
OPINION NUMBER 05-0003

71 MUNICIPALITIES
R.S. 33:40
Mayor may require an additional signature on all checks
Hon. Margo Racca, Mayor
drawn on the treasury, provided: (1) the mayor is still
required to sign all checks, (2) the additional signature
Town of Iowa
required by the mayor must be a purely ministerial act
Post Office Box 1707
and the additional signatory shall have no discretion
Iowa, Louisiana 70647
regarding the signing of checks, and (3) the mayor shall
have the authority to revoke the requirement of a second signature at will.
Dear Mayor Racca,

You have requested an Attorney General’s opinion regarding the signing of checks for a municipality. Specifically you question whether there is any law that would prohibit a council member from co-signing a check with you for the payment of Iowa’s bills. You indicated that in the past a town clerk embezzled funds. The mayor at that time thought it would be prudent to require another person, who was not on the office staff, to review the bills for legitimacy and co-sign the checks.

LSA-R.S. 33:404 sets forth the mandatory duties, powers and responsibilities of the mayor. It provides in pertinent part:

A. The mayor shall have the following powers, duties, and responsibilities:

(8) To sign warrants drawn on the treasury for money, to require that the municipal clerk attest to such warrants, to affix the municipal seal thereto, and to keep an accurate and complete record of all such warrants.
(Emphasis added).

This office previously concluded that R.S. 33:404 vests the power or authority for signing checks solely within the mayor as the executive officer and administrator of the municipality. See Op.Atty.Gen. Nos. 92-174 and 98-469. It is clear that no council member or other official has the authority to require an additional signature on checks drawn on the municipality’s treasury. Any ordinance, resolution or practice allocating the check signing function to another officer or council member is improper, as the requirement of any additional signatures would restrict the mayor’s inherent powers and violate the statute.

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OPINION NUMBER 05-0003
HONORABLE MARGO RACCA
Page - 2 -

In the situation you described, no one is attempting to usurp the mayor’s authority. A previous mayor, in response to the embezzlement of funds by the clerk, instituted a policy which required dual signatures on all checks drawn on the treasury. This policy is still in place, and requires that the second signature be that of a council member.

Please be advised that this office is unaware of, and our research did not reveal, any provision of law which would prohibit the mayor, as executive officer and administrator of the municipality, from requiring an additional signature on all checks drawn on the treasury, provided:

1. The mayor is still required to sign all checks;

2. The additional signature required by the mayor must be a purely ministerial act and the additional signatory, in this case a council member, shall have no discretion regarding the signing of checks; and

3. The mayor shall have the authority to revoke the requirement of a second signature at will.

Trusting this adequately responds to your request, we remain

Yours very truly,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
Attorney General

BY: _______
KENNETH L. ROCHE, III
Assistant Attorney General

CCF, JR/KLR, III/mjb

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OPINION NUMBER 05-0003
HONORABLE MARGO RACCA
Page - 3 -

OPINION NUMBER 05-0003

71 MUNICIPALITIES
R.S. 33:404

Mayor may require an additional signature on all checks drawn on the treasury, provided: (1) the mayor is still required to sign all checks, (2) the additional signature required by the mayor must be a purely ministerial act and the additional signatory shall have no discretion regarding the signing of checks, and (3) the mayor shall have the authority to revoke the requirement of a second signature at will.

Hon. Margo Racca, Mayor
Town of Iowa
Post Office Box 1707
Iowa, Louisiana 70647

DATE RECEIVED:
DATE RELEASED: April 20, 2005

KENNETH L. ROCHE, III,
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL