Caldwell
BATON ROUGE, La. (Legal Newsline) - Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell says it is illegal for a city to give extra benefits to select current and former officials.
The City of Kenner's executive pay plan, which calls for doing just that, isn't legal, Caldwell said in a written opinion on Wednesday, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
The attorney general's opinion was sought by former Mayor Ed Muniz last year after the newspaper revealed how much the city was spending for the pay plan.
The plan, according to the Times-Picayune, was created by a 1991 memorandum by then-Mayor Aaron Broussard.
In his opinion, Caldwell points to the plan not being put out for public comment and not being voted on by the city council.
"No current or former participant in the executive pay plan and the executive pay plan for elected officials has any vested interested in the additional benefits included in the plans, and no notice is required before the benefits are withdrawn," he wrote.
The plan, Caldwell advised, could not be continued.
In response, Kenner's mayor, Mike Yenni, told the Times-Picayune he was cancelling benefits for current officials and would cut off benefits for 11 former officials.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by e-mail at jessica@legalnewsline.com.