Do Louisiana fire district board members earn a per diem when too few members attend to hold a meeting?

Plain-English summary

Montegut Fire District No. 6 asked whether board members who showed up for a meeting still earned per diem when too few members attended to make a quorum. In 2005, the Attorney General said no quorum meant no valid meeting and no meeting compensation, even for those who attended.

The AG relied on an earlier opinion's reading of R.S. 33:405(F). A failed meeting could be continued once to an announced date. If that continued meeting had a quorum, the board members could be compensated for it; if it too lacked a quorum, there was again no compensation. The statute, as quoted, did not allow another continuance after that second failure.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2005 under the meeting provision it quoted. Verify current quorum, continuance, and board-compensation rules before making a payment decision.

What this means for you

Fire district boards and chairs

The opinion treated quorum as the deciding fact for a compensable meeting. Mere attendance at a gathering that adjourned for lack of a quorum did not earn per diem.

Payroll officials

The AG distinguished the initial failed gathering from a continued meeting at which a quorum is present. It said a continued gathering that also failed for lack of quorum was not compensable.

Common questions

Can members who arrived on time still be paid if others are absent?

No under the AG's analysis. Without a quorum, it said there was no valid meeting and no compensation due.

What if the board reconvenes later?

The opinion said a meeting that failed for lack of quorum could be continued once. The continued meeting could be compensated if a quorum attended then.

What if the continued meeting also lacks a quorum?

The AG said no compensation was due for that gathering either, and the cited provision allowed only one continuance for a failed meeting.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion quoted an earlier AG interpretation of R.S. 33:405(F), which allowed one continuance when a meeting failed for want of a quorum. It applied the earlier opinion's conclusion that a failed gathering did not constitute a meeting for compensation purposes.

Citations

• R.S. 33:405(F) (continuance after a meeting fails for lack of quorum, as quoted in the opinion).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0179

Original opinion text

July 28, 2005
OPINION 05-0179

90-A – Political Subdivisions
R.S. 33:406

Mr. Byron Eells, III
No compensation is due to
Chairman of the Board,
members of a board of a
Montegut Fire District #6
political subdivision that
adjourns for lack of a quorum.
1106 Highway 55
Montegut, LA 70377

Dear Chairman Eells:

This office is in receipt of your request for an opinion regarding the compensation of members of the governing board of apolitical subdivision that adjourns due to the lack of a quorum. You ask whether under such circumstances the members of the governing board who were in attendance qualify for per diem payments.

We believe your question is answered in Atty. Gen. Op. 96-57 as follows:

We feel the deciding factor for payment is whether there is a quorum or not so as to constitute a meeting. R.S. 33:405(F) provides for a continuance when a meeting “fails for want of a quorum”. We take a meeting that “fails” to be equivalent to no meeting, and therefore, no payment due.

Moreover, R.S. 33:405(F) provides that a meeting that “fails” for want of a quorum may be continued to a date announced at the meeting. Based upon the word “continued”, we would conclude that the next meeting, being a continuance, would be compensated if there is then a quorum. However, as further provided in Paragraph F, if that meeting also fails, it cannot be again continued. The statute clearly states that “a meeting that fails for want of a quorum shall not be continued but once.” Under such circumstances, where following a continuance there was still a failure to have a properly constituted meeting by attendance by a quorum, there would be no compensation.

Accordingly, as stated hereinabove, we must conclude that where there is a lack of a quorum in attendance for a meeting, there is no valid meeting, and no compensation due.

Page 2

Mr. Byron Eells, III
OPINION 05-179
Page -2-

We hope this sufficiently answers your inquiry, but if we can be of further assistance, do not hesitate to contact us.

Very truly yours,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: _______
BARBARA B. RUTLEDGE
Assistant Attorney General

CCF,JR./BBR

Page 3

OPINION 05-0179

90-A - Political Subdivisions
R.S. 33:405

No Compensation is due to members of a board of a
Political subdivision that adjourns for lack of a quorum.

Mr. Byron Eells, III
Chairman of the Board,
Montegut Fire District #6
1105 Highway 55
Montegut, LA 70377

Date Received:
Date Released:July 28, 2005

BARBARA B. RUTLEDGE
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL