Could an Orleans Parish assessor redirect her salary to hire more deputy assessors?

Plain-English summary

Orleans Parish assessor Nancy Marshall asked whether she could keep a campaign pledge to take no salary or benefits and have those amounts used instead to hire deputy assessors. The Louisiana Attorney General said the statutory salary allocation could not be redirected directly to the office's operating costs. Under the provisions it reviewed, the salary and personal expense allowance were paid to the elected assessor as an individual.

The opinion identified a different route: after receiving the salary, the assessor could donate it back to her office, allowing the office to increase its operating budget and hire deputies. The AG cautioned that such a donation would not necessarily eliminate state or federal income-tax obligations. It did not calculate her compensation or decide her tax liability.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2006. 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 Marshall instruct the salary fund to pay deputies instead of her?

No. The AG said the statutory payments were owed directly to each assessor, not to the assessor's office, and could not be redirected that way.

Was there any way to put her salary into the office budget?

The opinion said she could donate the salary after receiving it. That contribution could increase the operating budget for hiring additional deputy assessors.

Would donating her salary avoid income tax?

The AG did not decide her tax liability. It warned that donating the pay back would not necessarily relieve her of state or federal income taxes.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion described Orleans Parish's then-existing board of seven district assessors and its salary and expense fund. La. R.S. 47:1910 directed payments from that fund to individual assessors and covered deputy compensation. La. R.S. 47:1907(B) supplied an assessor's personal expense allowance, while La. R.S. 47:1909 addressed the board's authority. The AG distinguished money paid to an individual from money allocated to the office.

Citations

• La. R.S. 47:1907(B) (personal expense allowance); La. R.S. 47:1909 (board of assessors); La. R.S. 47:1910 (salary and expense fund).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/06-0170

Original opinion text

August 28, 2006
OPINION NUMBER 06-0170

61-Laws-General
R.S. 47:1903 et seq.

Nancy J. Marshall
The statutory salary and expense fund allocated to each
Assessor, Sixth Municipal District assessor for Orleans Parish is paid directly to each assessor, and such allocation cannot be re-directed for the 1300 Perdido Street, Room 4E01 purpose of hiring additional deputy assessors. New Orleans, LA. 70112

Dear Ms. Marshall:

You have requested an opinion of this office on whether, as elected assessor for the Sixth Municipal District, Orleans Parish, you may forego receiving your salary and re- direct those funds to be used for operating costs to hire additional deputy assessors.

According to your request, you ran for Assessor for the Sixth Municipal District, Orleans Parish, and made a campaign pledge that, if elected, you would not take any salary or benefits (i.e., insurance, monies that would have contributed toward retirement, personal and traveling expenses) for your services as assessor. Now elected, you want any salary and benefits due you to be contributed to operating costs to hire additional deputy assessors in your District.

La. R.S. 47:1901(B) provides that “in the parish of Orleans, there shall be seven tax assessors, one from each municipal district.” These seven assessors constitute a board of assessors for the parish. La. R.S. 47:1909. The board of assessors has a president and vice-president, whose offices are filled by two of the seven assessors on a rotating basis. Id. There is a salary and expense fund in the office of the president of the board of assessors for the parish of Orleans from which all salaries and expenditures “shall be paid by warrants or checks drawn by the president of the board of assessors . . . in favor of assessors who are members, upon the salary and expense fund.” R.S. 47:1910.

R.S. 47:1907(A)(1), which addresses the salaries of Orleans Parish assessors, provides that “the assessors of . . . each district in Orleans Parish shall receive an annual compensation, to be paid monthly on their own warrant, based on the applicable population of the . . . respective districts in Orleans Parish.” The current schedule, found in La. R.S. 47:1901, is as follows:

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Opinion Number 06-0170
Nancy J. Marshall
Assessor, Sixth Municipal District
Page - 2 –

Population Compensation
Less than 24,999 $ 60,000
25,000 to 99,999 $ 65,000
100,000 to 299,999 $70,000
300,000 to 399,999 $75,000
400,000 and over $80,000

In addition to his salary, “each individual assessor shall be granted ten percent of his annual compensation as a personal expense allowance provided that the tax receipts of the respective tax recipient bodies shall not be reduced.” La. R.S. 47:1907(B). Both the assessor’s salary and personal expense money is drawn by the president of the board of assessors monthly and issued “monthly to the members of the board of assessors . .
. for the amount allotted to each municipal district and the board of personnel, which shall be drawn against and paid out of the salary and expense fund.” La. R.S. 47:1910. The foregoing statutory provisions clearly state that the salary and expense due each assessor is paid directly to the assessor and not to the office of the assessor.

La. R.S. 47:1903 enumerates the general powers and authority of tax assessors, the Parish of Orleans excepted. This authority includes the authority “to appoint as many deputies as he may require.” La. R.S. 47:1909 constitutes this same authority for the Board of Assessors of Orleans Parish. Also see La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 99-102. Pursuant to La. R.S. 47:1910 the members of the Board of Assessors of Orleans Parish “are authorized to fix the compensation of their deputies and clerical forces and to pay all other expenses, including their own salaries and the salaries of all deputies and clerical assistants . . . from the salary and expense fund.” Thus, the deputies’ salaries must come from the salary and expense fund for the Board of Assessors for the Parish of Orleans.

This office has previously opined that when a salary is payable to the individual instead of to the office, the fees may not be used by the individual to supplement others salaries. See La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 05-0014. The statutes relating to the compensation of the assessors for Orleans Parish clearly provide that the salary of each elected assessor is to be paid to the individual assessor and not the office of the assessor. As such, the salary you receive as assessor for the Sixth Municipal District cannot be re-directed for the purpose of hiring additional deputy assessors.

However, you may choose to donate your salary funds back to your office and which can then be used to increase the operating budget and used to hire additional deputy assessors. We note that donating your salary back to your office will not necessarily relieve you of your obligation to pay state and federal income taxes. La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 05-0014.

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Opinion Number 06-0170
Nancy J. Marshall
Assessor, Sixth Municipal District
Page - 3 –

It is, therefore, the opinion of this office that the statutory salary and expense fund allocated to each assessor for Orleans Parish is paid directly to each assessor and such allocation cannot be re-directed for the purpose of hiring additional deputy assessors.

We trust this adequately responds to your request. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Very truly yours,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: _______
RICHARD L. McGIMSEY
Assistant Attorney General

CCF, JR/RLM/jv

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Opinion Number 06-0170
Nancy J. Marshall
Assessor, Sixth Municipal District
Page - 4 –

OPINION NUMBER 06-0170
Syllabus

61-Laws-General

R.S. 47:1903 et seq.

The statutory salary and expense fund allocated to each assessor for Orleans Parish is paid directly to each assessor, and such allocation cannot be re-directed for the purpose of hiring additional deputy assessors.

Nancy J. Marshall
Assessor, Sixth Municipal District
1300 Perdido Street, Room 4E01
New Orleans, LA. 70112

Date Received:

Date Released: August 28, 2006

Richard L. McGimsey
Assistant Attorney General