Mississippi Advisory Opinions August 20, 2001: AGO 2001-0474 (August 20, 2001)

Advisory Opinion Text

Thomas G. Wallace, Esq.

City of Columbus

Post Office Box 251

Columbus, Mississippi 39703

Re: Mayor's Veto of Appointment of Municipal Election Commissioners

Dear Mr. Wallace:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your request for an official opinion and has assigned it to me for research and response. You are asking for reconsideration of a 1980 Attorney General opinion issued to Fred Hayslett on August 5, 1990, regarding the veto power of the Mayor of Columbus. Your letter reads, in part, as follows:

The City of Columbus has a special charter. In Section 16, page 18, it states, “...[the mayor] shall have the power to veto or disapprove any ordinance, rule or order adopted by said city council, whenever he may deem the same inconsistent with this act, or against the interest of the city...”

At issue is a recent veto by the mayor of the appointments of five election commissioners voted on by the council at a regular city council meeting. The nominees were voted on after motions and seconds were made. It is the contention of the Mayor that the actions... were against the interest of the City as stated above. He [the Mayor] submits that the appointments referenced were an “order” of the council and are therefore subject to veto.

* * * * *

Initially, our office cannot render official opinions related to past actions. Any opinions issued by this office are prospective in nature only, and cannot serve to validate or invalidate any prior actions of a governing body.

Municipal elections commissioners are municipal officers, and pursuant to Section 20 of Columbus' Special Charter, the “mayor and city council may appoint any.... officers deemed by them necessary for the public welfare...” Section 23-15-221 governs the specific appointment of municipal election commissioners, providing that the “governing authorities” shall make such appointments. Section 4 of the Special Charter of Columbus provides that the “mayor and city council” constitute the governing body of the municipality. However, in Section 16 of the Special Charter, the Mayor is given the power to vote only when there exists a tie in the vote of the council members, in which case the Mayor casts the deciding vote.

The special charter of the City of Columbus provides that the Mayor has the power to veto any “ordinance, rule or order adopted by said city council.” The council members are given the authority to vote on matters such as appointments to offices. In our opinion to Albert Gordon, we stated that a “mayor may veto appointment by the board of a person as police chief, city clerk, city judge, or water superintendent, ” pursuant to Section 21-3-15. MS AG Op., Gordon (September 19, 1997). Although this opinion dealt with a code charter municipality, the provisions of the Columbus special charter appear to be substantially similar to the language contained in Section 21-3-15. Therefore, it is our opinion that the Columbus Special Charter provides the authority for the mayor to veto an appointment by the city council of municipal officers.

If our office may be of further assistance, please advise.

Sincerely,

Mike Moore, Attorney General

Heather P. Wagner, Assistant Attorney General