CLARENCE - The mayor of a Louisiana town is canceling public meetings of city officials in a possible violation of state law.

  

Mayor Tommy Evans of the Village of Clarence informed the three-member board of alderman in a letter Wednesday that all meetings are canceled until further notice.

  

The Shreveport Times reports that the move follows long-running disputes between the mayor and other town officials.

  

The village sewer system doesn't work properly. The village police department has effectively closed, and the mayor has stopped paying the elected police chief while continuing to pay a former officer whom the chief had fired.

  

The head of the Louisiana Municipal Association, John Gallagher, says state law requires cities to meet at least once a month, and mayors don't have the power to cancel those meetings.