Can a New York town board create an official town letterhead and adopt a written policy that controls who can use it and for what purpose?

Subject

Authority of a town board to establish an official town letterhead and to adopt a written policy controlling who may use it and for what purposes.

Source

• Landing page: https://ag.ny.gov/libraries-documents/opinions/opinions-year
• Original PDF: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/I_96-47_pw.pdf

Plain-English summary

Mendon's town attorney asked whether the town board could establish an official letterhead and adopt a policy controlling its use, and also asked the AG to review the specific policy the board was considering. The proposed policy restricted letterhead use to elected officials and chairpersons of appointed boards, limited use to town business (with personal use prohibited), required officials not to create a false impression of speaking for the town, required identification of the source of authority when representing a town position, and required filing of all official correspondence with the town clerk for circulation to other officials.

The AG cleared the policy on every front. The town board's general administrative and legislative authority under Town Law §§ 60(1), 63, and 64(23) is broad enough to cover internal rules of procedure, including how town letterhead is created and used. Local governments also have home rule authority under Municipal Home Rule Law § 10 to enact local laws relating to their property, affairs, and government. The combination supplies clear authority.

Each element of the proposed policy survived review. Restricting letterhead to elected officials and board chairs is a reasonable allocation of resources to those who actually need to communicate town policy. Restricting use to town business is not merely reasonable but is required by N.Y. Const. art. VIII, § 1, the State's gift-and-loan clause, which prohibits using municipal resources for private purposes. The requirement that officials not falsely imply they are speaking for the municipality, and that they identify the source of authority when relaying a town position, was consistent with the underlying principle that only the town board can establish policy. The filing-with-clerk requirement was likewise within the board's authority to manage its own records.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1996. 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

Why does a town need a letterhead policy at all?
Because official letterhead carries weight. A letter on town letterhead signals to recipients that the writer is speaking with the town's authority. Without a policy, individual board members or department heads can send letters that look authoritative but represent only personal views. That confusion can hurt the town's ability to communicate clear positions and can expose the town to legal risk when an official is read as binding the town to a position the board never approved.

Who is the typical user under such a policy?
Elected officials (the supervisor and town board members) and the chairs of appointed boards (planning, zoning, recreation, etc.). The 1996 opinion treated this as the natural set: people who actually need to communicate town positions, distinguishable from staff and rank-and-file board members who can write under their personal names when expressing personal views.

What's the gift-and-loan clause and why does it matter?
N.Y. Const. art. VIII, § 1 prohibits a municipality from giving or loaning its property, money, or credit to private persons or for private purposes. Using town letterhead for personal correspondence (campaign letters, social organization mailings, etc.) would be using town property for private purposes, which the constitution forbids. So a use-only-for-town-business limit is not just a policy choice; it is a constitutional floor.

Can the board ban a board member from using letterhead for political dissent?
The 1996 opinion did not directly address that, but its framework points the way. Letterhead use is for "town business." A board member expressing a personal political opinion or a dissent from a board action is engaged in personal speech, not town business; the proper channel is a press release on personal stationery or another medium. The opinion did note that the policy "does not prevent public officials with letterhead from communicating with the public regarding town business," so a dissenting board member writing about town business should still be able to use letterhead with the appropriate authority disclaimer.

Does filing every official letter with the clerk seem heavy?
It does look administratively heavy in practice. The AG read it as reasonable on the rationale that town correspondence is in the public domain, so its filing and circulation among officials is consistent with the official-records framework. Towns adopting a similar policy should be ready to handle the volume.

Background and statutory framework

Town Law § 60(1) vests the town board with the legislative and administrative powers of the town. Section 63 lets the town board determine its rules of procedure. Section 64(23) gives the board catch-all authority to exercise "any other power and perform any other duty conferred or imposed upon it by law." Together, these provisions supply broad authority for the board to manage the town's internal operations, including the appearance and use of its official communications.

Municipal Home Rule Law § 10 grants towns (and other local governments) the power to adopt and amend local laws relating to their property, affairs, or government. A letterhead policy fits squarely within that grant. The combination of Town Law authority and home rule authority is the standard pattern for the AG's office in clearing local administrative policies of this sort.

N.Y. Const. art. VIII, § 1, the gift-and-loan clause, is one of the older provisions of the State Constitution and remains a powerful constraint on municipal practice. It prohibits "any gift or loan of any money or property to or in aid of any individual, or private corporation or association, or private undertaking." The constitutional principle that municipal resources cannot be used for private purposes runs through dozens of AG opinions about office supplies, vehicles, parking, postage, and the like.

Citations

• Town Law § 60(1) (town board powers)
• Town Law § 63 (rules of procedure)
• Town Law § 64(23) (catch-all authority)
• Municipal Home Rule Law § 10 (local law authority)
• N.Y. Const. art. VIII, § 1 (gift-and-loan clause)

Original opinion text

TOWN LAW §§ 60(1), 63, 64(23).
The town board may establish an official letterhead and a policy for its use by town officials.
December 31, 1996

William P. Fletcher, Esq.
Town Attorney
Town of Mendon
9 Tobey Village Office Park
Pittsford, New York 14534-1749

Informal Opinion
No. 96-47

Dear Mr. Fletcher:
You have inquired whether the town board may establish an official town letterhead and have asked that
we review the elements of a proposed policy for use of that letterhead.
In our view, the town board may establish an official town letterhead and a policy for its use. The town
board is vested with the administrative and legislative powers of the town, may determine the rules of its
own procedure, and may exercise powers that are specifically conferred and additional powers
necessarily implied therefrom. Town Law §§ 60(1), 63, 64(23). Also, towns and other local governments
are authorized to enact local laws relating to their property, affairs or government. Municipal Home Rule
Law § 10. In our view, the town board may utilize this authority to establish the official town letterhead
and the policy for its use.
We believe that the proposed policy you have submitted to the town board is reasonable and does not
deprive any officials of their rights to communicate with constituents. First, you propose that letterhead
be used only by elected officials and the chairpersons of appointed boards, and only for purposes of
town business. We believe it is reasonable to limit use of letterhead to persons in policy-making
positions who have a need to communicate policy to the public. The restriction that letterhead be used
only for town business obviously is appropriate and, in addition, is required by the constitutional
prohibition against the use of resources by local governments for private purposes. NY Const Art VIII §

1. The proposed policy that letterhead may not be used for personal matters also falls into the above
   category.
   The proposed requirements that (1) an official not use town letterhead to create an impression of
   speaking for the municipality when that is not the case, and (2) that an official using town letterhead to
   represent a position taken by the town state his or her source of authority for the representation are
   reasonable. Only the town board can establish policy and it is appropriate that the board determine the
   means by which established policy is communicated to the public. The proposed policy does not prevent
   public officials with letterhead from communicating with the public regarding town business, except as
   noted above. Finally, we believe that the policy reasonably may require the filing of all official
   correspondence with the town clerk, who would then circulate it to all elected and appointed officials.
   Correspondence that relates to town business is in the public domain and, therefore, may also be
   circulated to officials of the municipality.
   We conclude that the town board may establish an official letterhead and a policy for its use by town
   officials.
   The Attorney General renders formal opinions only to officers and departments of State government.
   This perforce is an informal and unofficial expression of the views of this office.
   Very truly yours,

JAMES D. COLE
Assistant Attorney General
in Charge of Opinions