§382. Number of aldermen; election; municipal districts; divisions of the board

A. The number of aldermen in a city shall be not less than five nor more than nine; the number of aldermen in a town shall be five; and the number of aldermen in a village shall be three.

B. If a city has eight or more aldermen, two shall be elected from each district in the city and the remainder shall be elected at large. If a city has seven or fewer aldermen, an equal number of aldermen shall be elected from each district of the city and the remainder shall be elected at large. If a town is divided into districts, one alderman shall be elected from each district and one shall be elected at large. Aldermen in villages shall be elected at large.

C.(1) The board of aldermen of a municipality not divided into districts may by ordinance divide the municipality into districts. Each district shall contain as equal population as possible and the territory in each district shall be contiguous.

(2) The board of aldermen may by ordinance divide the board into divisions, such that aldermen are elected at large but each alderman is elected to a specific division of the board. Such divisions shall be for the sole purpose of nomination and election of aldermen and shall be designated alphabetically. Of the initial aldermen to be elected under the provisions of this Paragraph, the alderman senior in point of continuous service shall preside over Division "A", and the other aldermen of the municipality shall preside over the other designated divisions according to their respective periods of continuous service. If two or more aldermen in a municipality have served continuously for the same length of time, the alderman senior in age shall preside over the division first in alphabetical order. The successor to any alderman in a municipality shall preside over the same division as his predecessor. A candidate for such nomination and election to the office of alderman shall, at the time of filing his declaration as a candidate, designate the one division of the board for which he is a candidate. The electors of the municipality shall elect one alderman from among the candidates for each division of the board.

D. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Section to the contrary, the board of aldermen of any municipality may establish by ordinance that aldermen are to be elected in a manner different from that provided in this Section. Such an ordinance may provide that all aldermen shall be elected at large, that a number of aldermen shall be elected at large and a number from districts in proportion other than that specified in this Section, or that only some of the members of the board shall be elected to particular divisions of the board. However, no ordinance changing the manner in which aldermen are elected shall be adopted within one year of the date of an election for aldermen.

E. Once the boundaries of districts or the divisions of a board have been established by ordinance, such boundaries or divisions shall not be changed for two years from the effective date of the ordinance. The boundaries of a district or the divisions of a board once established may only be changed by a vote of two-thirds of all members of the board. No change in the boundary of a district or the division of a board of aldermen shall be made, however, within one year of the date of an election for aldermen.

F.(1) The board of aldermen of a municipality shall reconsider the boundaries of the districts of that municipality within six months of the official publication of the federal decennial census by the Census Bureau and within six months of any annexation by the municipality. The purpose of any such reconsideration shall be to determine if the boundaries of the districts continue to divide the municipality into districts of nearly equal population.

(2) Notwithstanding any provision of Subsection E of this Section to the contrary, if upon such reconsideration, a board of aldermen determines that unequal apportionment of the municipal population exists, the board shall by ordinance change the boundaries of municipal districts to reflect as nearly as possible an equal apportionment of said population, as further provided in R.S. 33:1371.

G.(1) The boundaries of any election district for a new redistricting or apportionment plan from which members of a municipal governing authority are elected shall contain, to the extent practicable, whole election precincts established by the parish governing authority under R.S. 18:532 or 532.1.

(2) If the municipal governing authority is unable to comply with applicable law regarding redistricting and reapportionment, including adherence to traditional redistricting principles, in the creation of its redistricting or apportionment plan using whole precincts, the municipal governing authority may divide a precinct into portions that are bounded by visible census tabulation boundaries or census tabulation boundaries that are the boundaries of the municipality, as applicable.

(3) The portion of any precinct within the boundary of a municipality which is divided only because it contains incorporated and unincorporated portions shall be considered to be a whole precinct for the purposes of this Subsection.

(4) The municipal governing authority shall make every effort to minimize the number of portions the governing authority divides a precinct into and the number of precincts the governing authority divides into portions.

Amended by Acts 1970, No. 121, §1; Acts 1980, No. 557, §1; Acts 1986, No. 1072, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1987; Acts 1999, No. 326, §1; Acts 2010, No. 824, §3, eff. June 30, 2010.

NOTE: SEE ACTS 1986, NO. 1072, §2.