Mississippi Advisory Opinions August 19, 2011: No. 2011-00308 (August 19, 2011)

No. 2011-00308.

Dear Mr. Tucker:

Attorney General Jim Hood has received your request for an opinion and has assigned it to me for research and response.

You inquire as to whether a municipal employee can sponsor himself/herself for law enforcement training without the approval of the governing authorities. Specifically, you provide the following:

1. Can the police chief or city clerk sponsor herself as a candidate to go to a part time police academy without the mayor and the board of aldermen approving it? City property was used meaning the city was the sponsor. This took place and the city clerk received her certification as a part time police officer before the mayor and some of the board members knew anything about it.

2. Since the clerk received her certification without the mayor and the board approval, does this void her certification?

3. Were there any state laws broken by the city clerk, police chief or board members who knew this was taking place? If so, please provide the section of the code it applies to.

4. If there were no state laws broken do the mayor and the board have any grounds as it pertains to their position as elected officials to excise their authority?

5. Can the city clerk work as a part time or reserve police officer in the city of Verona while hired as the city clerk?

6. Can the city clerk work as a part time or reserve police officer in any other city while hired as the city clerk?

1. Yes, an individual can sponsor himself/herself as a candidate to attend a part-time police academy. However, such individual may not use municipal funds to pay for such training without proper approval of the governing authorities.

2. Failure to obtain approval of the mayor and board of aldermen to receive law enforcement training does not void the individual's certification.

3. In regard to your third question, we have not been provided with sufficient information to respond to this inquiry. Generally-speaking, we direct your attention to Mississippi Code Annotated Sections 21-39-15 and 21-39-17, in the event that municipal funds were used without proper authorization.

4. In regard to your fourth question, we have not been provided with sufficient information to respond to this inquiry.

5. Yes, the city clerk may work as a part-time police officer for the municipality, as well as the city clerk for the same municipality (assuming same has been approved by his/her employer), provided that he/she is not being compensated for both during the same working hours.

6. Yes, the city clerk of one municipality may work as a part-time police officer for another municipality, provided that he/she is fulfilling the requirements of both jobs, has the permission of her supervisors and is not being compensated for both jobs during the same working hours.

An individual no longer has to be employed/sponsored by a public entity in order to attend law enforcement training academies. The individual may sponsor himself/herself. In that case, the individual would be personally responsible for all of the costs related to the law enforcement training. You state in your opinion request that the municipality "was the sponsor" for this individual, which suggests that municipal funds were used. You do not specify what actions on the part of the municipality constitute being a "sponsor." Assuming that municipal funds were used to pay for the subject training of the referenced employee, any issuance of a warrant or check for the purpose of paying for such training must have been properly approved by the governing authorities. Mississippi Code Annotated Sections 21-29-13, 21-39-15 and 21-39-17. MS AG Op., Crider (August 20, 2010); MS AG Op., Crisler (March 24, 2006); MS AG Op., Belk (July 2, 1999). In the event that a warrant or check has been issued without the requisite approval, the clerk, mayor and/or aldermen may be subject to the penalties outlined in Sections 21-39-15 and 21-39-17.

The entity vested with the authority to certify law enforcement officers is the Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training (BLEOST). Any questions concerning whether an individual is certified or not should be directed to BLEOST. It is the opinion of this office that a failure to obtain approval by the governing authorities prior to receiving law enforcement training would not void the certification an individual has received.

We have previously opined that a city clerk may also serve as a part-time police officer in the same municipality. MS AG Op., Schwinn (May 31, 1996). A municipal employee may be employed in two positions by the same municipality, provided that the employee is not being paid for both jobs at the same time. Likewise, a municipal employee may be employed by two different municipalities, so long as he/she is not compensated for both during the same working hours. MS AG Op., Twiford (July 24, 1998); MS AG Op., Harrell (October 25, 1993). However, our opinions did not address any potential conflict of interest questions that may be created by the aforementioned employments, as such should be addressed by the Ethics Commission.

If we may be of further assistance, please advise.

Sincerely,

JIM HOOD, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By:

Leigh Triche Janous

Special Assistant Attorney General