Who paid West Feliciana Parish library vendors and staff: the police jury or library board?

Plain-English summary

West Feliciana Parish asked whether its police jury or library board handled vendor and payroll payments. The 2013 opinion concluded that the police jury had to pay the library's maintenance costs and expenses monthly after board approval. The AG said West Feliciana was not one of the seventeen parishes for which the legislature had transferred library administration and accounting functions to the board of control.

The opinion distinguished the board's power to operate and administer the library from control of the parish's check-writing and accounting functions. It said the police jury retained general budgetary and fiscal control.

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

Police jury and parish finance staff

The AG applied the general statutory payment rule to West Feliciana because the parish was absent from the special transfer list. The request specifically included vendors and employees.

Library board and employees

The opinion said the board approved expenses and maintenance costs but could not assume the administration and accounting functions reserved by the general rule to the police jury.

Common questions

Could the police jury transfer a lump sum for the board to pay expenses itself?

The opinion quoted an earlier AG opinion saying the police jury could not deposit a lump sum into the board's account for disbursement; the police jury paid after board approval of expenses.

Why did boards in other parishes handle accounting?

The AG identified a statutory list of seventeen parishes whose library boards received transferred administration and accounting functions. West Feliciana was not on the list.

Did the library board still have a role in spending?

Yes. The opinion described board approval of monthly expenses and maintenance costs and its statutory role in operating the library.

Background and statutory framework

The police jury established West Feliciana's library board by ordinance in 2003. The opinion quoted La. R.S. 25:220 on monthly library payments by the governing authority after board approval, then compared the general rule with the parish-specific transfers in La. R.S. 25:215(B). It concluded that the special transfer did not cover West Feliciana.

Citations

• La. R.S. 25:220: monthly library expense payments quoted in the opinion.
• La. R.S. 25:215(B): special transfers to the named parish boards.
• La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 1936-38: cited on payment after board approval.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/13-0027

Original opinion text

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

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
70804-9005
JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
ATIORNEY GENERAL

PR 1 6 2013
OPINION 13-0027

64-1 LIBRARIES
Mr. Michael L. Hughes
La. R.S 25:215
First Assistant District Attorney La. R.S. 25:220
Twentieth Judicial District
La. R.S. 25:215(B)(1)-(17) permits the library board of control in
Post Office Box 338
seventeen parishes to assume the administrative and accounting
functions related to parish library expenses. Because the Board of
Jackson, Louisiana 70748
Control of the West Feliciana Parish Library IS not included among the
seventeen parishes. it must follow the general rule set forth in La. R.S.
25:215(A), which provides that the expensE's and e:osts of maintenance of a public library "shall be paid mO'1thly by the governing authority
Dear Mr. Hughes: establishing the library." i.e.. the West Feliciana Parish Police Jury.

You have requested an opinion of this office regarding whether the West Feliciana Parish Policl:: Jury ("Police Jury") or the Board of Control of the West Feliciana Parish Library ("Board") is responsible for the administrative functions relative to payment of parish library expenses. Such expenses include vendor payments and employee payroll payments.

Pursuant to La. R.S. 25:211, et seq., the Board was established by the Police Jury by ordinance enacted in 2003. The ordinance provides for a Board of Control having all powers authorized by law to be delegated to it by the Police Jury.

At issue is whether La. R.S. 25:220 requires the Police Jury to pay all library expenses, directly to its' vendors and employees or whether the statute allows the Police Jury to provide fund~; to th~ Board in order for the Board to handle the payment of those expenses itsi:';lf. T~:e statute proVides'

The expenses or costs of maintenance of a public library established under this Part, inclUding the salaries of librarian, ·.assistants. and other employees as wei! as all ether incidental expenses; shall be paid monthly by thEi~JlQYero.ing auth91!!Lestablishing the libralY, upon the approval of such t::xpenses and maintenance costs by the board of control of such library. out o( the funds specially budgeted from the general.fund for library purpm,es and. in default thereof, out of the special taxes voted, levied and collec~?d by the govern!ng authority for the library's support and maintenance. The board of control may delegate to the president or one of

Page 2

Michael L. Hughes
Opinion 13-0027
Page -2­

its members the duty of approving such
monthly expenses and
maintenance costs (emphasis added).

Initially, we note that previous attorney general opinions have stated that a library board of control is not a special district or creature of the legislature. Rather, it is an agency of the parish, created by the governing authority of the parish, pursuant to authority granted by the legislature, for the purpose of operating and administering the parish library system on behalf of the police jury. La. Atty. Gen. Op. Nos. 06-0160, 04-0053, 90-339, and 83-766. As such, the police jury retains general budgetary and fiscal control over the library board of control. A library board has limited powers which are clearly set forth in La. RS. 25:215(A), which provides:

The board of control shall meet and organize immediately after their appointment and annually thereafter and elect a president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer, whose duties shall be those customarily exercised by such officers. The board of control shall have authority to establish rules and regulations for its own government and that of the library not inconsistent with law; to elect and employ a librarian, and, upon the recommendation and approval of the latter, to employ assistant librarians and other employees and 'fix their salaries and compensation; provided that no contract of employment shall be made for a longer period than four years nor with any person as head librarian who has not been certified by the State Board of Library Examiners as provided in RS.
25:222. The head librarian may be appointed or elected secretary of the board of control.

As you can see, the Board's powers are very limited and include the adoption of rules and regulations for its own government, the election of a librarian, and the employment of certain employees.

Paragraph (B)(1 )-(17) of La. RS. 25:215 provides that "the administration of and accounting functions" of several parish libraries "are hereby transferred from the ... police jury to the ... parish library board of controL" The parishes which have this special provision are (in the order listed in the statute): S1. John the Baptist, Morehouse, Rapides, Bienville, Sabine, Franklin, West Carroll, Tangipahoa, S1. Tammany, Beauregard, S1. Mary, Allen, DeSoto, Caldwell, Concordia, Vermilion, and Acadia.

Our office has opined that the purpose of La. RS. 25:215(B) is "to alleviate the burden of the police juries in the routine check-writing and accounting functions of library funds legally imposed by RS. 25:220 and to transfer such functions to the respective parish library boards." La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 83-765. As you can see, West Feliciana Parish is not included among the list of parishes for which the legislature has allowed the administrative and accounting functions relating to parish libraries to be "hereby transferred from the ... police jury to the ... parish library board of control."

Page 3

Michael L. Hughes
Opinion 13-0027
Page -3­

Because the legislature has expressly permitted the parish library boards in seventeen parishes to assume the administrative and accounting functions related to parish library expenses and has not included the Board of Control of the West Feliciana Parish Library among the seventeen parishes, it is our opinion that the Board may not assume those functions. Without being included among those parishes excepted from La. 25:215(A) by virtue of (B)(1 )-(17), then the expenses and costs of maintenance of a public library in West Feliciana Parish "shall be paid monthly by the governing authorio/ establishing the library," Le., the West Feliciana Parish Police Jury. La. R.S 25:215(A).

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

Yours very truly,

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
Attorney General

By: U HL Hevv-k
Li ndsey K. nter---=---=--------­
Assistant Attorney General
JDC/LKH/chb

1 In accord is La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 1936-38, p. 932, which stated that the "police jury may not deposit a lump sum to the account of the board of control of the parish library to be disbursed by the board in payment of expenses incurred by the library, but the money may only be paid by the police jury after approval of the various expenses and maintenance costs by the board of control."