GONZALES mdash; The Louisiana Attorney General's Office has weighed in on a heated debate between the Gonzales City Council and Mayor Tim Riley over whether he can directly create new city jobs without council approval.The dispute began last summer during a stalemate between Riley and the council o ver his proposed general fund budget. Council members accused him of adding two new positions to the budget mdash; an administrative chief of staff and a secretary for the Department of Public Works mdash; without their approval.nbsp;Riley alleged that their real problem was with the man he hired as Chief of Staff, Wade Petite.nbsp;On May 27, the AG's office granted Riley's request for an expert opinion, saying ultimately the mayor has the authority to create positions within the executive branch of the city's government. However, the AG's office said, the council must approve the spending of public funds for such positions.nbsp;The AG's office said Gonzales City Municipal Code 2:159, which the council cited as evidence that it has the final say on approving new positions, is unenforceable and infringes on the mayor's state-law-given authority to delegate powers.nbsp;Petite told WBRZ on behalf of the mayor's office that they agree with the attorney general's opinion and were confident this would be the result.nbsp;The council passed the 2026-2027 fiscal year budget on May 26. In previous years, city budgets listed a similar job to chief of staff, the chief administrative officer (CAO), who also served as city clerk.nbsp;Permalink| Comments ...read more read less