Who controls officer pay and spending in a Louisiana town with an elected police chief?

Plain-English summary

Cottonport's mayor asked four questions about an elected police chief's authority over officer pay and department spending. The Attorney General drew a line between the mayor and aldermen's budget authority and the chief's operational authority. The mayor and aldermen set the department budget, including salary funding. The chief supervises personnel and directs ordinary operations within that appropriation, and may recommend pay increases, but cannot unilaterally increase officers' salaries.

The opinion said local ordinances cannot narrow or enlarge the elected chief's statutory and inherent management authority. The chief may allocate appropriated police funds among department needs without a separate notice to aldermen merely because an expense falls outside a budget line item, so long as it remains within the overall budget and follows appropriation procedures. If actual plus projected department spending exceeds the total budget by five percent or more, the chief must notify the governing authority in writing and recommend a response. The mayor and aldermen retain the authority to amend the budget at an open meeting and, according to the opinion, may pursue corrective or judicial action if required budget duties are ignored.

What this means for you

Elected police chiefs

The opinion places personnel supervision and allocation of approved police funds with the chief. It does not give the chief power to raise pay unilaterally or dispense with the statutory written notice and recommendations when the five percent department overage threshold is reached.

Mayors and aldermen

The mayor and board control salary appropriations and budget amendments. The opinion says they cannot use an ordinance to limit the chief's inherent day-to-day management authority, and it treats the chief's allocation of money within the total approved police budget as an operational matter.

Common questions

Q: Can an elected Louisiana police chief raise officers' pay alone?
A: The AG said no. The chief can recommend an increase; the mayor and aldermen control salary appropriations and any needed budget amendment.

Q: Must the chief notify aldermen whenever spending differs from a police budget line item?
A: The opinion says La. R.S. 33:462 imposes no separate notice merely because spending crosses a line item while staying within the overall appropriation. Expenditures still must follow the authorizing appropriation and warrant procedures.

Q: What happens when projected police spending is at least five percent above the budget?
A: The opinion says the chief must give written notice and recommendations to the governing authority. The mayor and aldermen then control the budget amendment process in an open meeting.

Q: Can the town rewrite the chief's operational powers by ordinance?
A: The AG said a local ordinance cannot limit or expand the elected chief's statutory and inherent authority to manage daily police operations.

Background and statutory framework

La. R.S. 33:423 underlies the elected chief's authority to manage police operations. La. R.S. 33:462 requires municipal expenditures under a specific appropriation. La. R.S. 39:1311(E) provides the chief's notice and recommendation duty when police expenditures are projected to exceed the total budget by five percent or more, while La. R.S. 39:1310 concerns the governing authority's budget amendment. The opinion applied these provisions to separate operational choices from budget enactment.

Citations and references

• La. R.S. 33:423, elected chief's law enforcement responsibility.
• La. R.S. 33:462, municipal expenditure appropriations.
• La. R.S. 39:1310 and 39:1311(E), budget amendments and written overage notice.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/24-0109

Original opinion text

STATE OF LOUISIANA
DEPARmIENT OF JUSTICE
OFFICE OF THE Arr0RNEY GENEiL
P0. BOx 94005
BATON ROUGE, LA
70804-9005

Liz MuRR1LL
ATTORNEY GENEiL

October 24, 2024
OPINION 24-0109

77 OFFICERS — Local & Municipal; Selection, Qualifications & Tenure; vacancies

 The Honorable William Scott, Ill            La. R.S. 33:423                   La. R.S. 39:1309

 Mayor, Town of Cottonport                   L                                 L:

Post Office Box 479
Addresses several questions posed by the mayor of the Town of Cottonort r-, ‘
LA 71 327
Cottonport concerning the authority and responsibilities of an elected
chief of police, particularly regarding officer pay, budget amendments, and the involvement of the mayor and board of aldermen in these
Dear Mayor Scott: matters.

You raise several questions concerning the authority and responsibilities of an elected chief of police, particularly regarding officer pay, budget amendments, and the involvement of the mayor and board of aldermen in these matters. We are responding to your inquiries as follows.

Question I : What authority do the mayor and board of aldermen have regarding police officer pay under La. R.S. 33:423 when there is an elected chief of police, and can these duties be expanded by ordinance?

Conclusion: The mayor and board of aldermen in a Lawrason Act municipality have the authority to set the police department’s budget, including setting officer salaries, but they cannot pass ordinances that limit or expand the chief’s statutory and inherent authority to manage the day-to-day operation of the department.

Under La. R.S. 33:423, when there is an elected chief of police, the authority to control and supervise the police department, including personnel matters such as assignments and general oversight, rests primarily with the chief. This includes the inherent authority to manage the day-to-day operations of the department and its personnel. However, the chief’s authority is subject to the municipal budget set by the mayor and board of aldermen. The authority to determine the total budget, including funding for police officers’ salaries, rests with the mayor and board of aldermen.

Our office specifically addressed the question of increasing the salary of police personnel in La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 00-366 where we opined that increasing the salaries of police personnel is a power vested in the mayor and board of aldermen subject to the recommendation of the chief of police. We concluded that the chief of police could not unilaterally increase the salaries of his employees. Rather, he can only recommend salary increases to the mayor and board of aldermen who could, by ordinance, effectuate a salary increase.

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OPINION 24-0109
Honorable William Scott, Ill
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Pursuant to La. R.S. 33:423, the elected chief of police has inherent authority over the day-to-day operations of the police department, including personnel decisions, and this authority cannot be infringed upon or expanded by local ordinance. Louisiana Attorney General Opinion Number 93-666 clarifies that while the mayor and board control the budget, they cannot pass ordinances that limit or expand the chief’s statutory authority.

Question 2: Does a change in officer pay made by an elected police chief, outside the approved budget, qualify as an operational change requiring notice and approval from the board of aldermen under La. R.S. 39:1310?

Conclusion: The elected police chief cannot unilaterally decide to change officer pay outside of the approved budget. Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1310 and 39:1311(E) require that if expenditures, including those related to officer pay, exceed the budget by five percent or more, the chief must provide written notice to the governing authority and make recommendations for responsive action.

As the Town of Cottonport’s code of ordinances do not contain specific provisions or requirements for making budget amendments, we address the issue using the relevant statutory provisions, including La. R.S. 39:1310 and 39:1311(E), which govern budget amendments and the process for handling expenditure overages by municipal departments.

Louisiana Revised Statute 39:1 31 1(E) provides that “the elected chief of police in a municipality shall advise the municipal governing authority in writing when total actual expenditures plus projected expenditures for the remainder of the year within the police department exceed the total budgeted expenditures by five percent or more, and shall make recommendations in writing to the governing authority for responsive action.” Once the governing authority receives this notice the governing authority shall adopt a budget amendment in an open meeting to reflect such change, provided such an amendment does not exceed the total estimated funds available for the fiscal year. La. R.S. 39:1310.

In La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 17-0112, our office stated that “[i]n passing a budget amendment, the governing authority may choose to allocate additional funds to the police department or they may take action to reduce expenditures by the police department.” Our office acknowledged that the chief of police should be given the opportunity to submit input for purposes of the budget amendment and that the chief of police is required by La. R.S. 39: 1 31 1 (E) to make recommendations for responsive action when he concludes that actual and anticipated expenditures would exceed budgeted amounts by more than five percent. Nevertheless, our office concluded that the ultimate authority to adopt and amend the budget is vested exclusively with the mayor and town council.

Based on the statutes and the decisions of this office, the elected police chief cannot unilaterally decide to change officer pay outside of the approved budget.

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OPINION 24-0109
Honorable William Scott, III
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Question 3: Does La. R.S. 33:462 require an elected chief of police to provide notice to the board of aldermen for expenditures outside of a line item but within the overall budget?

Conclusion: La. R.S. 33:462 does not require an elected chief of police to provide notice to the board of aldermen for expenditures outside of a specific line item but within the overall budget. The chief of police has inherent authority to control the day-to-day operations of the department, including the allocation of funds within the department’s budget, as long as the expenditures remain within the total budget appropriated by the mayor and the board of aldermen.

Once the mayor and aldermen have budgeted and appropriated money for the police department, the authority to allocate the expenditure of these funds rests with the elected chief of police. Doyle v. City ofHarahan, 610 So.2d 272, 273 (La. App. 5 Cir. 1992). In La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 86-589, this office addressed the mayors authority to control the expenditures of the police department or use of police department funds. We concluded that the elected chief of police had inherent authority to operate, control, and administer police department property and personnel. However, the police chief’s inherent authority is limited by La. R.S. 33:462 requiring that all expenditures of municipal funds be made pursuant to a specific appropriation authorized by a municipal ordinance, typically, the municipality’s budget ordinance. We observed, “[a]ll warrants drawn on the treasury should express on its face to whom it was issued and for what purpose. The warrant must also cite, by minute book and page, the ordinance authorizing the issuance of the warrant.”

Louisiana Revised Statutes 33:462 does not require an elected chief of police to provide notice to the board of aldermen for expenditures outside of a specific line item but rather, within the overall budget. The elected chief of police has inherent authority to control the day-to-day operations of the police department, including the allocation of police department funds, as long as expenditures are made in accordance with the budget appropriated by the mayor and board of aldermen. As stated in La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 01-216, the board of aldermen cannot impede the expenditure of a valid expense within the appropriated budget.

However, while the chief has discretion within the budget, La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 93-580 clarifies that all expenditures must be made pursuant to a specific appropriation authorized by ordinance, in compliance with La. R.S. 33:462, including adherence to procedures for issuing purchase orders and warrants.

Question 4: If an elected chief of police fails to comply with La. R.S. 39:1311, what authority do the mayor and Board of Aldermen have to fulfill their fiduciary duties in accordance with the statute?

Conclusion: When the elected chief of police fails to comply with La. R.S. 39:1311, the mayor and Board of Aldermen have the authority to amend the budget and ensure proper oversight of municipal funds, fulfilling their fiduciary duties under

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OPINION 24-0109
Honorable William Scott, Ill
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the statute. They can take corrective action through open meetings and judicial remedies as needed.

If an elected chief of police fails to comply wfth La. R.S. 39: 1 31 1 the mayor and the board ,

of aldermen have the authority and responsibility to ensure that expenditures are made in accordance with the law. Under La. R.S. 33:404, the mayor has the authority to oversee the administration of municipal departments, including ensuring that budgetary practices conform to statutory requirements. If the chief fails to provide notice when expenditures exceed the budget by five percent or more, as required by La. R.S. 39:1 31 1(E), the mayor and board of aldermen may take corrective action by amending the budget as outlined in La. R.S. 39:1309.

Additionally, the governing authority is responsible for adopting budget amendments in an open meeting where there is a change in operations that impacts the budget. If the chief of police does not comply with La. R.S. 33:1 31 1 the governing authority may initiate ,

such an amendment process, ensuring that the municipality’s financial obligations are met and fiduciary duties are fulfilled. The refusalto pay an expenditure orfailureto adhere to budgetary protocols could result in further action, including judicial remedies, if necessary. Judicial remedies may include a writ of mandamus, compelling the chief of police to comply with the statutory requirements of La. R.S. 39:1311.

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

With best regards,

LIZ MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:__
A nda M. La roue
Assistant Attorney General

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