How much could Bienville's mayor spend after the village failed to adopt a new general-fund budget?

Plain-English summary

Bienville's mayor said the village's general-fund budget had expired on June 30, 2012 and no replacement had been adopted. The AG concluded that the mayor could not incur general-fund liabilities or authorize spending beyond the statutory temporary authority. Under the Local Government Budget Act, half of the amounts appropriated in the last completed fiscal year were deemed reappropriated for the same objects and purposes. A separate provision permitted spending in an emergency defined by unforeseen destruction or injury to life or property, or an imminent threat of it.

The opinion did not give the mayor a general power to operate without a budget or to redirect the prior year's amounts to new purposes. It addressed the limits on spending while the village lacked an adopted general-fund budget.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2013. 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.

Historical summary

Village mayor

The AG said an adopted budget ordinarily provided authority to incur liabilities and make expenditures. With no new general-fund budget, the mayor's authority came only from the 50% statutory reappropriation for previously specified purposes and the emergency provision.

Village budget officers and council

The opinion quoted the Budget Act's expectation that adoption and implementation of a fiscal-year budget be completed before the end of the preceding year. It did not prescribe a particular route to resolve the village's failure to adopt one.

Common questions

Could the mayor keep spending after the old budget expired?

Only within the temporary statutory authority the AG identified. The mayor could not authorize additional general-fund liabilities or expenditures outside the reappropriation and emergency provisions.

Was half of the old budget available for any village purpose?

No. The quoted statute deemed 50% of the prior appropriation amounts reappropriated for the several objects and purposes specified in the old ordinance or resolution.

What emergency spending did the opinion recognize?

The opinion quoted a provision allowing expenditure for an unforeseen event bringing destruction or injury to life or property, or an imminent threat of that destruction or injury. It did not find that a particular village expense met that definition.

Background and statutory framework

The AG said the Local Government Budget Act applied because Bienville was a political subdivision with a general fund. La. R.S. 39:1309(A) addressed timely budget adoption, and La. R.S. 39:1311(C) made an adopted budget the executive's ordinary spending authority. La. R.S. 39:1312 supplied the temporary 50% reappropriation when the next year's appropriations had not been made. La. R.S. 39:1314 allowed emergency spending.

Citations

• La. R.S. 39:1302(1): political-subdivision definition.
• La. R.S. 39:1309(A) and 39:1311(C): budget adoption and spending authority.
• La. R.S. 39:1312: temporary reappropriation.
• La. R.S. 39:1314: emergency expenditure exception.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/13-0013

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

~tat.e of 1fiouisiana
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
70804-9005
JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

APR 11 2013
OPINION 13-0013
90-A-1 - Public Funds & Contracts
La. RS. 39:1302; La. RS. 39:1309; La. RS. 39:1311; La. RS.
Mayor Wesley Boddie
39:1312; La. RS. 39:1314

Village of Bienville
Since the governing authority of the Village of Bienville has not adopted
P.O. Box 207
a general fund budget, under the Louisiana Local Government Budget
Act, the Mayor has no authority to incur general fund liabilities or
Bienville, LA 71008
authorize expenditures during the fiscal year beyond that authorized by
La. R.S. 39:1312 or La. R.S. 39:1314.

Dear Mayor Boddie:

Your request for an Attorney General's Opinion regarding the Louisiana Local Government Budget Act, La. R.S. 39: 1301, et seq. (the "Budget Act"), has been assigned to me for research and reply.

In your letter, you indicated the following:

The current general fund budget expired on June 30,2012, and the village has been operating pursuant to statutory.authority allowing for expenditures up to 50% of the previous year's budget allowance.

Specifically, you ask for guidance as to what actions should be taken to maintain compliance with the law. You note that the Village of Bienville (the "Village") does not currently have any outstanding bonded indebtedness.

First, we note that the Budget Act applies to the Village, because it is a "political subdivision" under La. R.S. 39:1302(1) and has a- general fund. Under La. R.S.
39: 1309(A). generally, all action necessary to adopt and otherwise finalize and implement the budget for a fiscal year shall be completed before the end of the prior fiscal year. FUither, La. R.S. 39:1311 (C) provides as follows:

The adopted budget and any duly authorized a~endments required by this ~ection.· shall. constitute the authority of the chief executive or administrative officers of the political subdivision to incur liabilities and authori~e expenditures from the respective budgeted funds during the fiscal year.

Page 2

Mayor Wesley Boddie
Opinion 13-0013
Page -2­

Nevertheless, if a political subdivision fails to adopt a budget, La. R.S. 39: 1312 applies and provides the following:

If, at the end of any fiscal year, the appropriations necessary for the support· of the political subdivision for the ensuing fiscal year have not been made, then fifty percent of the amounts appropriated in the appropriation ordinance or resolution for the last completed -fiscal year shall be deemed reappropriated for the several objects and purposes specified in such appropriation ordinance or resolution.

Additionally, La. R.S. 39:1314 provides as follows:

Nothing shall prohibit the expenditure of funds in cases of emergency. For purposes of this Section, "an emergency" means an unforeseen event bringing with it destruction or injury of life or property or the imminent threat of such destruction or injury.

Considering the forgoing statutory authority, it is the opinion of this office that, as chief executive of the Village, the Mayor has no authority to incur general fund liabilities or authorize expenditures during the fiscal year beyond that authorized by La. R.S. 39:1312 or La. R.S. 39:1314.

We trust this adequately responds to your request. However, if our office can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

You rs very tru Iy I

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
Attorney General

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BENJAMIN A. HUXEN II
Assistant Attorney General
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