Louisiana Revised Statutes & Codes

La. Rev. Stat. § 33:405 (2026)

Meetings of board of aldermen; notice; quorum; compensation; mayor pro tempore duties

✓ current as of May 2026

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§405. Meetings of board of aldermen; notice; quorum; compensation; mayor pro tempore duties

A.(1) The mayor shall preside at all meetings of the board of aldermen, and in case there is an equal division, he shall give the deciding vote.

(2) The mayor and board of aldermen shall hold not less than one regular meeting in each month on a date and at a place and hour to be fixed by ordinance. The board shall give public notice of the contents of this ordinance pursuant to R.S. 42:19.

(3)(a) The board of aldermen shall select one of its members to be mayor pro tempore. If the mayor is unable to attend a meeting of the board of aldermen, the mayor pro tempore shall preside at the meeting in the absence of the mayor. Any such person shall have all rights and powers granted to the mayor with regard to presiding at any such meeting.

(b) If both the mayor and mayor pro tempore are unable to attend a meeting of the board of aldermen, the board of aldermen may select another alderman to preside at the meeting in the absence of the mayor and mayor pro tempore. Any such person shall have all rights and powers granted to the mayor with regard to presiding at any such meeting.

(4) If the mayor is unable to carry out the duties of the office of the mayor by reason of physical or mental disability, as determined by a licensed physician, the mayor pro tempore shall perform all of the duties of the mayor for the duration of any such disability.

(5) If a vacancy occurs in the office of the mayor, the mayor pro tempore shall perform all the duties of the mayor until such time as the vacancy is filled as otherwise provided by law.

(6) The mayor pro tempore shall have no additional authority to perform the duties of the mayor except as provided in this Subsection or upon the written consent of the mayor.

B. Newly incorporated municipalities may hold their first meeting at such time and place as may be most convenient, but thereafter shall meet regularly at a specified date, place, and hour formally designated by ordinance.

C. Special meetings of the mayor and board of aldermen may be called by the mayor or a majority of the members of the board. The board shall establish by ordinance how notice of special meetings shall be provided to members of the board and the mayor. The notice for a special meeting shall specify the business to be considered at the special meeting. Public notice shall be given as provided in R.S. 42:19. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary and pursuant to Act No. 131 of the 2008 Regular Session of the Legislature, an item which is not on the meeting agenda may be considered by the mayor and the board of alderman only after a unanimous vote of consent by the board and only after announcing the purpose of the item and allowing anyone in the audience to speak on the item.

D.(1) In cases of extraordinary emergency, as defined in R.S. 42:17(A)(5), the mayor or any alderman may call an emergency meeting of the board of aldermen. The members of the board and the mayor shall be notified of the meeting in the most practical manner available, and the purpose of the meeting may be stated in general terms. Notice of the meeting shall be given as provided in R.S. 42:19.

(2) The board may adopt an ordinance at an emergency meeting that it has not previously considered. The ordinance shall specify the nature of the emergency, and a two-thirds vote of members of the board shall be required for its adoption. No emergency ordinance can continue in force for more than sixty days and any emergency ordinance that specifies a longer duration or no duration shall become void sixty days after it becomes effective.

E. A majority of the members of the board of aldermen shall constitute a quorum of the board at any meeting, whether regular, special, or emergency.

F. A meeting, whether regular, special, or emergency, may be continued to another date announced at the meeting with the consent of a majority of the members of the board. A regular, special, or emergency meeting that fails for want of a quorum may be continued to a date announced at the meeting with the consent of the majority of aldermen present or, if only one alderman is present, to the date he announces, but a meeting that fails for want of a quorum shall not be continued but once.

G. All meetings of the board of aldermen shall be subject to the provisions of R.S. 42:11 et seq.

H. Repealed by Acts 1997, No. 309, §2.

Acts 1983, No. 132, §1; Acts 1985, No. 890, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986; Acts 1986, No. 1076, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1987; Acts 1997, No. 309, §§1, 2; Acts 2010, No. 250, §1; Acts 2012, No. 274, §1, eff. May 25, 2012; Acts 2014, No. 38, §1, eff. May 16, 2014.

NOTE: See Acts 1985, No. 890, §3.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 12 cases, 1952–2002 · leading case: City of Pineville v. Am. Fed'n of State, 791 So. 2d 609 (La. 2001).

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City of Pineville v. Am. Fed'n of State, 791 So. 2d 609 (La. 2001). · cites it 9× “R.S. 33:405(A)(1), which provides that "[t]he mayor shall preside at all meetings of the board of aldermen, and in case there is an equal division, he shall give the deciding vote.”

City of Pineville v. Am. Fed'n of State, Cnty. & Mun. Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 3352, 761 So. 2d 47 (La. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 9× “R.S. 33:405 A(l), broke the tie vote and voted in favor of approving the contract.”

State v. Davis, 634 So. 2d 1168 (La. 1994). “LSA-R.S. 33:405 provides that no business except that specified in the notice shall be considered at a special meeting unless approved by two-thirds of the aldermen present.”

Smith v. Town of Cotton Valley, 584 So. 2d 1199 (La. Ct. App. 1991). “The board of aldermen shall also by ordinance have the authority to increase or decrease the compensation of any nonelected municipal officer and to increase the compensation of elected officials except as otherwise provided by R.S. 33:405(G). However, the board of aldermen…”

Hammontree v. Patterson, 356 So. 2d 1077 (La. Ct. App. 1978). · cites it 2× “There is no provision for carrying out the functions of the mayor and board of aider-men in any manner other than through the procedure of regular or special meetings as outlined in LSA-R.S. 33:405. Johnson v. Mayor and City Commission of City of Natchitoches, 129 So.”

Ginn v. Vill. of Bonita, 62 So. 2d 159 (La. Ct. App. 1952). “’ [LSA-R.S. 33:405.] (Italics mine.) The mayor and board of aldermen of Bonita regularly meet but once each month which time is fixed by ordinance as the first Tuesday of the month.”

Bourgere v. Anzelmo, 517 So. 2d 1121 (La. Ct. App. 1987). “The board of aldermen shall also by ordinance have the authority to increase or decrease the compensation of any nonelected municipal officer and to increase the compensation of elected officials except as otherwise provided by R.S. 33:405(G). However, the board of aldermen…”

Lindsey v. Holland, 105 So. 2d 332 (La. Ct. App. 1958). “In paragraphs 9 and 10 of the petition, plaintiffs-appellees set forth certain provisions contained in the Lawrason sAct and more particularly those contained in LSA-R.S. 33:405 concerning special meetings which were allegedly not complied with in the call and holding of the…”

Doise v. Town of Elton, 56 So. 2d 604 (La. Ct. App. 1952). · cites it 2× “The question of whether or not the Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Town of Elton, Louisiana, properly followed the mandatory provisions of LSA-R.S. 33:405. 2. Whether or not the proposed ordinance of annexation, assuming the same to be validly enacted, is invalid as being…”

Scarbrock v. Butler, 572 So. 2d 618 (La. Ct. App. 1990). · cites it 7× “The title of a proposed ordinance, except those specifically authorized by R.S. 33:405(D), shall be published once in the municipality’s official journal.”

Johnson v. Town of Indep., 835 So. 2d 838 (La. Ct. App. 2002). · cites it 3× “The title of a proposed ordinance, except those specifically authorized by R.S. 33:405(D), shall be published once in the municipality’s official *840 journal.”

Ford v. Wycoff, 757 So. 2d 833 (La. Ct. App. 2000). “R.S. 33:405(A)(1). . La.R.S. 33:404(A)(1).”

— La. Rev. Stat. § 33:405(A)(1) — 3 cases

City of Pineville v. Am. Fed'n of State, 791 So. 2d 609 (La. 2001). “R.S. 33:405(A)(1), which provides that "[t]he mayor shall preside at all meetings of the board of aldermen, and in case there is an equal division, he shall give the deciding vote.”

City of Pineville v. Am. Fed'n of State, Cnty. & Mun. Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 3352, 761 So. 2d 47 (La. Ct. App. 2000). “R.S. 33:405 A(l), broke the tie vote and voted in favor of approving the contract.”

Ford v. Wycoff, 757 So. 2d 833 (La. Ct. App. 2000). “R.S. 33:405(A)(1). . La.R.S. 33:404(A)(1).”

— La. Rev. Stat. § 33:405(A)(2) — 1 case

— La. Rev. Stat. § 33:405(D) — 2 cases

Scarbrock v. Butler, 572 So. 2d 618 (La. Ct. App. 1990). “The title of a proposed ordinance, except those specifically authorized by R.S. 33:405(D), shall be published once in the municipality’s official journal.”

Johnson v. Town of Indep., 835 So. 2d 838 (La. Ct. App. 2002). “The title of a proposed ordinance, except those specifically authorized by R.S. 33:405(D), shall be published once in the municipality’s official *840 journal.”

— La. Rev. Stat. § 33:405(E) — 1 case

— La. Rev. Stat. § 33:405(G) — 2 cases

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