Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-1 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 1 / Section 17-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-1
Status: in_force

(1) Every municipality of this state shall be a municipal corporation and shall have power to sue and be sued; to purchase and hold real estate, either within or without the corporate limits, for all proper municipal purposes, including parks, cemeteries, hospitals, schoolhouses, houses of correction, waterworks, electric lights, sewers and other proper municipal purposes; to purchase and hold personal property for all proper municipal purposes; to sell or dispose of personal property or real property owned by it consistent with Section 17-25-25 ; to acquire equipment and machinery by lease-purchase agreement and to pay interest thereon, if contracted, when needed for proper municipal purposes; and to sell and convey any real property owned by it, and make such order respecting the same as may be deemed conducive to the best interest of the municipality, and exercise jurisdiction over the same.

(2)(a) In case any of the real property belonging to a municipality shall cease to be used for municipal purposes, the governing authority of the municipality may sell, convey or lease the same on such terms as the municipal authority may elect. In case of a sale on a credit, the municipality shall charge appropriate interest as contracted and shall have a lien on the same for the purchase money, as against all persons, until paid and may enforce the lien as in such cases provided by law. The deed of conveyance in such cases shall be executed in the name of the municipality by the governing authority of the municipality pursuant to an order entered on the minutes. In any sale or conveyance of real property, the municipality shall retain all mineral rights that it owns, together with the right of ingress and egress to remove same. Except as otherwise provided in this section, before any such lease, deed or conveyance is executed, the governing authority of the municipality shall publish at least once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks, in a public newspaper of the municipality in which the real property is located, or if no newspaper be published as such, then in a newspaper having general circulation therein, the intention to lease or sell, as the case may be, the municipally owned real property and to accept sealed competitive bids for the leasing or sale. The governing authority of the municipality shall thereafter accept bids for the lease or sale and shall award the lease or sale to the highest bidder in the manner provided by law. However, whenever the governing authority of the municipality shall find and determine, by resolution duly and lawfully adopted and spread upon its minutes (i) that any municipally owned real property is no longer needed for municipal or related purposes and is not to be used in the operation of the municipality, (ii) that the sale of such property in the manner otherwise provided by law is not necessary or desirable for the financial welfare of the municipality, and (iii) that the use of such property for the purpose for which it is to be sold, conveyed or leased will promote and foster the development and improvement of the community in which it is located and the civic, social, educational, cultural, moral, economic or industrial welfare thereof, the governing authority of the municipality shall be authorized and empowered, in its discretion, to sell, convey or lease same for any of the purposes set forth herein without having to advertise for and accept competitive bids.

(b) In any case in which a municipality proposes to sell, convey or lease real property under the provisions of this subsection (2) without advertising for and accepting competitive bids, the governing authority may sell, convey or lease the property as follows:

(i) Consideration for the purchase, conveyance or lease of the property shall be not less than the average of the fair market price for such property as determined by at least two (2) professional property appraisers selected by the municipality and approved by the purchaser or lessee. Appraisal fees shall be shared equally by the municipality and the purchaser or lessee;

(ii) The governing authority of a municipality may contract for the professional services of a Mississippi licensed real estate broker to assist the municipality in the marketing and sale or lease of the property, and may provide the broker reasonable compensation for services rendered to be paid from the sale or lease proceeds. The reasonable compensation shall not exceed the usual and customary compensation for similar services within the municipality; or

(iii) The governing authority of a municipality may lease property of less than one thousand five hundred (1,500) square feet to any person or legal entity by having two (2) appraisals establish the fair market value of the lease, and on such other terms and conditions as the parties may agree, such lease being lawfully adopted and spread upon its official minutes.

(3) Whenever the governing authority of the municipality shall find and determine by resolution duly and lawfully adopted and spread upon the minutes that municipally owned real property is not used for municipal purposes and therefore surplus as set forth in subsection (2) of this section:

(a)(i) Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph (a), the governing authority may donate such lands to a bona fide not-for-profit civic or eleemosynary corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Mississippi and granted tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service and may donate such lands and necessary funds related thereto to the public school district in which the land is situated for the purposes set forth herein. Any deed or conveyance executed pursuant hereto shall contain a clause of reverter providing that the bona fide not-for-profit corporation or public school district may hold title to such lands only so long as they are continued to be used for the civic, social, educational, cultural, moral, economic or industrial welfare of the community, and that title shall revert to the municipality in the event of the cessation of such use for a period of two (2) years. In any such deed or conveyance, the municipality shall retain all mineral rights that it owns, together with the right of ingress and egress to remove same;

(ii) If the governing authority of a municipality with a total population of greater than forty thousand (40,000) but not more than forty-two thousand five hundred (42,500) according to the 2010 federal decennial census, donates real property to a bona fide not-for-profit civic or eleemosynary corporation and such civic or eleemosynary corporation commits Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00) to renovate or make capital improvements to the property by an agreement between a certain state institution of higher learning and the civic or eleemosynary corporation, then the clause of reverter required by this paragraph shall provide that title of such real property shall revert 1. to the bona fide not-for-profit civic or eleemosynary corporation, if a certain state institution of higher learning ceases to use the property for the purposes required by this paragraph (a) for donated lands, or 2. to the municipality, if a certain state institution of higher learning ceases to use the property for the purposes required by this paragraph (a) and the not-for-profit civic or eleemosynary corporation or its successor ceases to exist;

(b)(i) The governing authority may donate such lands to a bona fide not-for-profit corporation (such as Habitat for Humanity) which is primarily engaged in the construction of housing for persons who otherwise can afford to live only in substandard housing. In any such deed or conveyance, the municipality shall retain all mineral rights that it owns, together with the right of ingress and egress to remove same;

(ii) In the event the governing authority does not wish to donate title to such lands to the bona fide not-for-profit civic or eleemosynary corporation, but wishes to retain title to the lands, the governing authority may lease the lands to a bona fide not-for-profit corporation described in paragraph (a) or this paragraph (b) for less than fair market value;

(c) The governing authority may donate any municipally owned lot measuring twenty-five (25) feet or less along the frontage line as follows: the governing authority may cause the lot to be divided in half along a line running generally perpendicular to the frontage line and may convey each one-half ( 1 / 2 ) of that lot to the owners of the parcels laterally adjoining the municipally owned lot. All costs associated with a conveyance under this paragraph (c) shall be paid by the person or entity to whom the conveyance is made. In any such deed or instrument of conveyance, the municipality shall retain all mineral rights that it owns, together with the right of ingress and egress to remove same;

(d) Nothing contained in this subsection (3) shall be construed to prohibit, restrict or to prescribe conditions with regard to the authority granted under Section 17-25-3 .

(4) Every municipality shall also be authorized and empowered to loan to private persons or entities, whether organized for profit or nonprofit, funds received from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under an urban development action grant or a community development block grant under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 ( Public Law 93-383 ), as amended, and to charge interest thereon if contracted, provided that no such loan shall include any funds from any revenues other than the funds from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; to make all contracts and do all other acts in relation to the property and affairs of the municipality necessary to the exercise of its governmental, corporate and administrative powers; and to exercise such other or further powers as are otherwise conferred by law.

(5)(a) The governing authority of any municipality may establish an employer-assisted housing program to provide funds to eligible employees to be used toward the purchase of a home. This assistance may be applied toward the down payment, closing costs or any other fees or costs associated with the purchase of a home. The housing assistance may be in the form of a grant, forgivable loan or repayable loan. The governing authority of a municipality may contract with one or more public or private entities to provide assistance in implementing and administering the program and shall adopt rules and regulations regarding the eligibility of a municipality for the program and for the implementation and administration of the program. However, no general funds of a municipality may be used for a grant or loan under the program.

(b) Participation in the program established under this subsection (5) shall be available to any eligible municipal employee as determined by the governing authority of the municipality. Any person who receives financial assistance under the program must purchase a house and reside within certain geographic boundaries as determined by the governing authority of the municipality.

(c) If the assistance authorized under this subsection (5) is structured as a forgivable loan, the participating employee must remain as an employee of the municipality for an agreed upon period of time, as determined by the rules and regulations adopted by the governing authority of the municipality, in order to have the loan forgiven. The forgiveness structure, amount of assistance and repayment terms shall be determined by the governing authority of the municipality.

(6) The governing authority of any municipality may contract with a private attorney or private collection agent or agency to collect any type of delinquent payment owed to the municipality, including, but not limited to, past-due fees, fines and other assessments, or with the district attorney of the circuit court district in which the municipality is located to collect any delinquent fees, fines and other assessments. Any such contract debt may provide for payment contingent upon successful collection efforts or payment based upon a percentage of the delinquent amount collected; however, the entire amount of all delinquent payments collected shall be remitted to the municipality and shall not be reduced by any collection costs or fees. Any private attorney or private collection agent or agency contracting with the municipality under the provisions of this subsection shall give bond or other surety payable to the municipality in such amount as the governing authority of the municipality deems sufficient. Any private attorney with whom the municipality contracts under the provisions of this subsection must be a member in good standing of The Mississippi Bar. Any private collection agent or agency with whom the municipality contracts under the provisions of this subsection must meet all licensing requirements for doing business in the State of Mississippi. Neither the municipality nor any officer or employee of the municipality shall be liable, civilly or criminally, for any wrongful or unlawful act or omission of any person or business with whom the municipality has contracted under the provisions of this subsection. The Mississippi Department of Audit shall establish rules and regulations for use by municipalities in contracting with persons or businesses under the provisions of this subsection. If a municipality uses its own employees to collect any type of delinquent payment owed to the municipality, then from and after July 1, 2000, the municipality may charge an additional fee for collection of the delinquent payment provided the payment has been delinquent for ninety (90) days. The collection fee may not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the delinquent payment if the collection is made within this state and may not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the delinquent payment if the collection is made outside this state. In conducting collection of delinquent payments, the municipality may utilize credit cards or electronic fund transfers. The municipality may pay any service fees for the use of such methods of collection from the collection fee, but not from the delinquent payment. There shall be due to the municipality from any person whose delinquent payment is collected under a contract executed as provided in this subsection an amount, in addition to the delinquent payment, of not to exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the delinquent payment for collections made within this state, and not to exceed fifty percent (50%) of the delinquent payment for collections made outside of this state.

(7) In addition to such authority as is otherwise granted under this section, the governing authority of any municipality may expend funds necessary to maintain and repair, and to purchase liability insurance, tags and decals for, any personal property acquired under the Federal Excess Personal Property Program that is used by the local volunteer fire department.

(8) In addition to the authority to expend matching funds under Section 21-19-65 , the governing authority of any municipality, in its discretion, may expend municipal funds to match any state, federal or private funding for any program administered by the State of Mississippi, the United States government or any nonprofit organization that is exempt under 26 USCS Section 501(c)(3) from paying federal income tax.

(9) The governing authority of any municipality that owns and operates a gas distribution system, as defined in Section 21-27-11(b) , and the governing authority of any public natural gas district are authorized to contract for the purchase of the supply of natural gas for a term of up to ten (10) years with any public nonprofit corporation which is organized under the laws of this state or any other state.

(10) The governing authority of any municipality may perform and exercise any duty, responsibility or function, may enter into agreements and contracts, may provide and deliver any services or assistance, and may receive, expend and administer any grants, gifts, matching funds, loans or other monies, in accordance with and as may be authorized by any federal law, rule or regulation creating, establishing or providing for any program, activity or service. The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed as authorizing any municipality or the governing authority of such municipality to perform any function or activity that is specifically prohibited under the laws of this state or as granting any authority in addition to or in conflict with the provisions of any federal law, rule or regulation.

(11)(a) In addition to such authority as is otherwise granted under this section, the governing authority of a municipality, in its discretion, may sell, lease, donate or otherwise convey property to any person or legal entity without public notice, without having to advertise for and accept competitive bids and without appraisal, with or without consideration, and on such terms and conditions as the parties may agree if the governing authority finds and determines, by resolution duly and lawfully adopted and spread upon its official minutes:

(i) The subject property is real property acquired by the municipality:

1. By reason of a tax sale;

2. Because the property was abandoned or blighted; or

3. In a proceeding to satisfy a municipal lien against the property;

(ii) The subject property is blighted and is located in a blighted area;

(iii) The subject property is not needed for governmental or related purposes and is not to be used in the operation of the municipality;

(iv) That the sale of the property in the manner otherwise provided by law is not necessary or desirable for the financial welfare of the municipality; and

(v) That the use of the property for the purpose for which it is to be conveyed will promote and foster the development and improvement of the community in which it is located or the civic, social, educational, cultural, moral, economic or industrial welfare thereof; the purpose for which the property is conveyed shall be stated.

(b) Any deed or instrument of conveyance executed pursuant to the authority granted under this subsection shall contain a clause of reverter providing that title to the property will revert to the municipality if the person or entity to whom the property is conveyed does not fulfill the purpose for which the property was conveyed and satisfy all conditions imposed on the conveyance within two (2) years of the date of the conveyance.

(c) In any such deed or instrument of conveyance, the municipality shall retain all mineral rights that it owns, together with the right of ingress and egress to remove same.

(12) The governing authority of any municipality may enter into agreements and contracts with any housing authority, as defined in Section 43-33-1 , to provide extra police protection in exchange for the payment of compensation or a fee to the municipality.

(13) The governing authority of any municipality may reimburse the cost of an insured's deductible for an automobile insurance coverage claim if the claim has been paid for damages to the insured's property arising from the negligence of a duly authorized officer, agent, servant, attorney or employee of the municipality in the performance of his or her official duties, and the officer, agent, servant, attorney or employee owning or operating the motor vehicle is protected by immunity under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act, Section 11-46-1 et seq.

(14) The powers conferred by this section shall be in addition and supplemental to the powers conferred by any other law, and nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit, or to prescribe conditions concerning, any practice or practices authorized under any other law.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-251 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 8 / Section 29-251
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-251
Status: in_force

Any municipality which has a population in excess of twenty thousand according to the 1970 federal decennial census and which lies within any Class 1 county touching the Mississippi River, located wholly within the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee District and which has an approximate land area of five hundred seventy square miles, is hereby authorized and empowered, in its discretion, to adopt the following retirement program for policemen and firemen as an alternative to the program established in Sections 21-29-245 through 21-29-249 , and which shall otherwise conform with the provisions of this article.

Any member of said fire and/or police department who has been in, and has received compensation for, fire and/or police department service for twenty years before the filing of an application as hereinafter provided, with the preceding ten years of service being continuous in the city to which application is made, may file a written application for retirement relief. Thereupon, said board of disability and relief shall retire such member from active service without a medical examination of disability and shall order the monthly payment to him from said fund of an amount equal to fifty percent of the average monthly base salary and longevity pay received as salary by him in the six-month period preceding the filing of such application. Thereafter, such payment, to be known as “retirement relief,” shall be made to such retired member for the remainder of his life.

Any member of said fire and/or police department who has been in, and has received compensation for, fire and/or police department service for more than twenty years shall be entitled to, and shall receive, additional retirement relief for the remainder of his life of an amount equal to one and seven-tenths percent of the same average monthly base salary and longevity pay received by such member as salary in the six-month period preceding the filing of such application for each full year of service in excess of twenty years. However, such retired member shall receive the additional retirement relief provided in this paragraph only for each full year of service in excess of twenty years completed after July 1, 1966. No such retired member shall receive such additional retirement relief in excess of sixty-six and two-thirds percent of the same average monthly base salary and longevity pay received as salary by him in the six-month period preceding the filing of such application, excluding such other benefits as may be hereinafter provided.

Any member of said fire and/or police department who (1) has been in, and has received compensation for, fire and/or police department service for a period equal to or greater than five years and less than twenty years, and (2) has been forced to retirement on account of age may file a written application for pro rata retirement relief. Thereupon, said disability and relief board shall retire such member from active service without a medical examination for disability and shall order the monthly payment to him from said fund of an amount equal to two and one-half percent of the average monthly base salary and longevity pay received as salary by him in the six-month period preceding the filing of such application for each full year of active service.

Periods of time in which a member may have been inactive on account of physical or mental disability shall not be excluded in computing the hereinbefore-mentioned time periods, except that such periods of inactivity shall be excluded in computing the aforementioned five-year pro rata eligibility period. Periods of time in which a member may have been absent from such employment on account of active service in the Army or Navy of the United States, the United States Marine Corps or the United States Coast Guard between September 16, 1940, and July 25, 1947, or while as a civil employee engaged by the Army or Navy while serving outside the continental United States shall not be excluded in computing the hereinbefore-mentioned time period except that such periods of inactivity shall be excluded in computing the aforementioned five-year pro rata eligibility period. The discharge or release of such member from such armed forces shall have been under conditions other than dishonorable. Any member who has been retired or is voluntarily retired under this section, or who has received relief or disability benefits under this section, shall be required to report such duties as required by said disability and relief board.

The disability and relief board shall, when a member of the fire and/or police department completes thirty-five years of paid employment or attains the age of sixty, whichever occurs first, retire him from active service and order the payment of such funds as the member is entitled to under the provisions of this section. However, the continued employment of any member who has not completed twenty years of service may be authorized by the governing authority of the municipality on a year-to-year basis until the employee completes twenty years of active service or reaches the age of seventy, whichever occurs first.

Any person receiving retirement relief under the provisions of this section shall no longer be entitled to said relief upon attachment with a paid fire department or police department in another city having a paid retirement relief program for policemen or firemen.

The entitlement, under the particular retirement program in operation prior to the adoption of the alternative retirement program established in this section, of a policeman or fireman thereunder to any benefits or rights thereof shall not be diminished on account of the transition by such municipalities to the alternative retirement program established by this section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-53 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 27 / Section 29-53
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-53
Status: in_force

The General Municipal Employees' Retirement Law and the provisions thereof shall in no way affect the provisions of Sections 21-29-101 through 21-29-151 of this chapter, establishing the firemen's and policemen's disability and relief fund, or the provisions of Article 5 of Chapter 11 of Title 25 of the Mississippi Code of 1972 , concerning the retirement of school teachers.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-9 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 7 / Section 15-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-9
Status: in_force

The mayor shall be active and vigilant in enforcing all laws and ordinances for the government of the municipality, and he shall cause all other officers to be dealt with promptly for any neglect or violation of duty.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-91 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 5 / Section 27-91
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-91
Status: in_force

Whenever used in Sections 21-27-91 to 21-27-103 :

(a) The term “municipality” shall be defined as it is in subdivision (a) of Section 21-27-11 ;

(b) The term “system” shall be defined as including any waterworks system, water supply system, sewage system, sewage disposal system, or any combination thereof, including any combined waterworks and sewage system, consisting of an existing waterworks system or water supply system or both, combined with an existing sewage system or sewage disposal system or both, or consisting of an existing waterworks system or water supply system or both, combined with a sewage system or sewage disposal system or both, to be acquired, or consisting of an existing sewage system or sewage disposal system or both, combined with a waterworks system or water supply system or both, to be acquired, gas producing, generating, transmission or distribution system, or any one or all thereof, electric generating, transmission, or distribution system, garbage disposal system, rubbish disposal system, and incinerators, and all parts and appurtenances thereof.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-133 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 19 / Section 27-133
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-133
Status: in_force

No certificate or permit shall be issued by any municipality to the owner or operator of any motor vehicle owned or operated for hire in any city or town in this state, unless and until such owner or operator shall have filed with, and the same has been approved by, the governing authorities of the municipality, an insurance policy, or certificates of insurance in lieu thereof, issued by some insurance company authorized to transact business in this state, or bond or bonds, to be approved by the said governing authorities of the municipality, in an amount required by an ordinance of said municipality, conditioned to pay any final judgment against said owner or operator for personal injuries or property damages resulting from or arising out of the use, maintenance, or operation of the said motor vehicle. The amount of the insurance policy or bond required under this section on any motor vehicle of any such owner or operator shall in no case be less than ten thousand dollars for the death or injury to any one person, and subject to said limit for one person, twenty thousand dollars total public liability for any one accident and ten thousand dollars for property damage.

The insurance policy or bond, filed with the municipality as required by this section, shall contain a provision or indorsement to the effect that the same shall not be cancelled for any cause by either party thereto unless and until ten days' written notice thereof shall have been given to the said municipality.

In any action, whether in law or in equity, against any owner or operator, operating under the provisions of this section, the insurer, insurance company, or obligor in the policy of insurance or bond given by such owner or operator in compliance with this section, shall not be joined as a party to such suit and shall not be a proper party thereto, except as hereinafter provided.

The insurer, insurance company, or obligor, in any policy of insurance or bond filed in compliance with this section, shall be obligated to pay any final judgment obtained against such owner or operator as herein provided, regardless of the solvency, insolvency, bankruptcy, or receivership, of such owner or operator. In the event that the insured shall abandon his permit and leave the state, a claimant asserting his claim within the provisions of said insurance policy or bond may file suit against the insurer or insurance company or obligor issuing such insurance policy or executing such bond in a court of competent jurisdiction without the necessity of making the insured a party to said suit.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-15 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 17 / Section 17-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-15
Status: in_force

Within the discretion of the governing authorities of any municipality having a population of seventy-five thousand (75,000) or more according to the latest federal decennial census, there may be established a fiscal or financial department and the director thereof shall be invested with the full authority to act in all financial matters for and on behalf of such municipality as the city clerk is now authorized to act in such matters.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-307 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 15 / Section 33-307
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-307
Status: in_force

Before issuing any bonds for any of the purposes enumerated in Section 21-33-301 , the governing authority of the issuing municipality shall adopt a resolution declaring its intention so to do, stating the amount of bonds proposed to be issued and the purpose for which the bonds are to be issued, and the date upon which the aforesaid authority proposes to direct the issuance of such bonds. Such resolution shall be published once a week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper published in such municipality. The first publication of such resolution shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to the date fixed in such resolution for the issuance of the bonds, and the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days prior to such date. If no newspaper be published in such municipality, then such notice shall be given by publishing the resolution for the required time in some newspaper having a general circulation in such municipality and, in addition, by posting a copy of such resolution for at least twenty-one (21) days next preceding the date fixed therein at three (3) public places in such municipality. The publication of the resolution may be made as provided in Section 21-17-19 . If ten percent (10%) of the qualified electors of the municipality, or fifteen hundred (1500), whichever is the lesser, shall file a written protest against the issuance of such bonds on or before the date specified in such resolution, then an election on the question of the bonds shall be called and held as is provided in Section 21-33-309 . Notice of such election shall be signed by the clerk of the municipality and shall be published once a week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper published in such municipality. The first publication of such notice shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to the date fixed for such election, and the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days prior to such date. If no newspaper is published in such municipality, then such notice shall be given by publishing the same for the required time in some newspaper having a general circulation in such municipality and published in the same or an adjoining county and, in addition, by posting a copy of such notice for at least twenty-one (21) days next preceding such election at three (3) public places in such municipality. If no protest be filed, then such bonds may be issued without an election on the question of the issuance thereof, at any time within a period of two (2) years after the date specified in the above-mentioned resolution. However, the governing authority of any municipality in its discretion may nevertheless call an election on such question, in which event it shall not be necessary to publish the resolution declaring its intention to issue such bonds as herein provided.

Under no circumstances shall any municipality exceed the bond limit as set by statute for municipalities.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-317 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 21 / Section 29-317
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-317
Status: in_force

(1)(a) Notwithstanding any provisions of Articles 1, 3 and 5 of this chapter to the contrary, the maximum annual retirement allowance attributable to the employer contributions payable by the system to a member under Article 1, 3 or 5 of this chapter shall be subject to the limitations set forth in Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code and any regulations issued thereunder as applicable to governmental plans as the term is defined under Section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code .

(b) The Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System is authorized to provide by rule or regulation for the payment of benefits as provided under Articles 1, 3 and 5 of this chapter to members or beneficiaries of a municipal employees retirement fund or disability and relief fund at a time and under circumstances not otherwise provided for in this chapter to the extent that the payment is required to maintain the municipal employees retirement fund or disability and relief fund as a qualified retirement plan for purposes of federal income tax laws.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this plan, all distributions from this plan shall conform to the regulations issued under Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code , applicable to governmental plans, as defined in Section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code , including the incidental death benefit provisions of Section 401(a)(9)(G) of the Internal Revenue Code . Further, such regulations shall override any plan provision that is inconsistent with Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code .

(3) The actuarial assumptions used to convert a retirement allowance from the normal form of payment to an optional form of payment shall be an appendix to Article 7 of this chapter and subject to approval by the board of directors based upon certification by the actuary.

(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this plan, the maximum compensation that can be considered for all plan purposes shall not be greater than that allowed under Section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code .

(5) In the event of the termination of one or more of the retirement plans established pursuant to Article 1, 3 or 5 of this chapter, all members of the plan or system as of the date of termination of the system shall be deemed to have a vested right to benefits to the extent and in the same manner that rights would be vested under the laws existing as of the date of termination of the system; however, any member, who because of a termination of the system has not fulfilled the requirements for length of service, shall be entitled to compensation as of the date that such member would otherwise be eligible, with such compensation to be computed on the basis of time actually a member of the service and compensation actually earned during the time a member, in the manner now provided by law.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-205 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 17 / Section 33-205
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-205
Status: in_force

The city utility taxes provided for in Section 21-33-203 shall be collected by the chairman of the state tax commission and shall be accounted for separately from the amount of all other taxes collected for the state and city in said municipality. Said taxes shall be paid to the municipality in which collected, less five per cent thereof which shall be retained by the chairman and paid into a special fund to be expended by the chairman to defray the cost of carrying out the provisions of the City Utility Tax Law. Payments to the municipalities shall be made by the chairman on or before the fifteenth day of the month following the month in which the tax was collected. When so paid, the money may be expended by the municipalities for any purpose now authorized by law.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-261 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 9 / Section 29-261
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-261
Status: in_force

This article shall apply to municipalities whether under private charter or existing and operating under the general statutes of the State of Mississippi.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-13 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 31 / Section 33-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-13
Status: in_force

The clerk, or tax collector, of every municipality shall copy from the roll or schedule filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors by the state tax commission the assessment of private car companies, and he shall determine the amount by taking the number of miles of each railroad over which the cars of any company, traveled through the respective municipalities, and the number of miles of each railroad over which the cars of any such company traveled which lies in any separate, adjacent, annexed territory constituting with a municipality a separate school district. He shall copy the assessed value per mile of each company over any railroad or railroads, operating through such municipality and separate, adjacent, annexed territory, and shall determine the assessment of each company by multiplying the valuation of each company apportioned to each mile of railroad by the number of miles of railroad over which the cars of any such company have traveled lying in such municipality or separate, adjacent, annexed territory. The assessment so determined, plus the value of any other property assessed, shall constitute the assessment of the property of the respective companies within the municipality and in the separate, adjacent, annexed territory constituting a separate school district. All such copies and assessments made as herein provided shall be placed in the hands of the municipal tax collector and be his warrant for the collection of municipal and separate school district taxes.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-1 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 8 / Section 19-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-1
Status: in_force

(1) The municipal governing authorities of any municipality shall have the power to make regulations to secure the general health of the municipality; to prevent, remove, and abate nuisances; to regulate or prohibit the construction of privy vaults and cesspools, and to regulate or suppress those already constructed; to compel and regulate the connection of all property with sewers and drains; to suppress hog pens, slaughterhouses and stockyards, or to regulate the same and prescribe and enforce regulations for cleaning and keeping the same in order; to regulate and prescribe and enforce regulations for the cleaning and keeping in order of warehouses, stables, alleys, yards, private ways, outhouses, and other places where offensive matter is kept or permitted to accumulate; and to compel and regulate the removal of garbage and filth beyond the corporate limits. The municipal governing authorities are further authorized to adopt and enforce regulations governing the disposal of garbage and rubbish in sanitary landfills owned or leased by the municipality, whether located within or outside of the corporate limits of the municipality, to the extent that such regulations are not in conflict with or prohibited by regulations of the Commission on Environmental Quality adopted under Section 17-17-27 .

(2) After December 31, 1992, the governing body of any municipality in the state shall provide for the collection and disposal of garbage and the disposal of rubbish, and for that purpose the governing body shall have the power to:

(a) Establish, operate and maintain a garbage and/or rubbish collection and disposal system or systems;

(b) Acquire property, real or personal, by contract, gift or purchase, necessary or proper for the maintenance and operation of such system;

(c) Make all necessary rules and regulations for the collection and disposal of garbage and/or rubbish not in conflict with or prohibited by rules and regulations of the Commission on Environmental Quality adopted under Section 17-17-27 and, if it so desires, establish, maintain and collect rates, fees and charges for collecting and disposing of such garbage and/or rubbish; and

(d) In its discretion, enter into contracts, in the manner required by law, with individuals, associations or corporations for the establishment, operation and maintenance of a garbage or rubbish disposal system or systems, and/or enter into contracts on such terms as the municipal governing body thinks proper with any other municipality, county or region enabling the municipality to use jointly with such other municipality, county or region any authorized rubbish landfill or permitted sanitary landfill operated by the other municipality, other county or region.

As a necessary incident to such municipal governing authority's power and authority to establish, maintain and collect such rates, fees and charges for collecting and disposing of such garbage and/or rubbish, and as a necessary incident to such municipal governing authority's power and authority to establish, operate and maintain a garbage and/or rubbish disposal system or systems, the municipal governing authority of such municipality shall have the authority to initiate a civil action to recover any delinquent fees and charges for collecting and disposing of such rubbish, and all administrative and legal costs associated with collecting such fees and charges, in the event any person, firm or corporation, including any municipal corporation, shall fail or refuse to pay such fees and charges for collecting and disposing of garbage and/or rubbish; provided that such municipal governing authority may initiate such a civil action to recover such delinquent fees and charges whether or not such municipality has previously entered into a contract with such individual, firm or corporation, relating to the establishment, operation and maintenance of such garbage and/or rubbish disposal system or systems; provided further, that in a civil action to recover such delinquent fees and charges for collecting and disposing of such garbage and/or rubbish, and all administrative and legal costs associated with collecting such fees and charges, the municipality shall in all respects be a proper party to such suit as plaintiff and shall have the power to sue for and recover such unpaid fees and charges, and all administrative and legal costs associated with collecting such fees and charges from any person, firm or corporation, as may fail, refuse or default in the payment of such fees and charges.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-71 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 27 / Section 27-71
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-71
Status: in_force

Whenever the governing authorities of any municipality of more than One Hundred Thousand (100,000) population shall determine to issue bonds under the provisions of Sections 21-27-11 through 21-27-69 , to acquire or improve a system, it shall cause an estimate to be made of the cost of such system or improvement, and the fact that such estimate has been made shall appear in the ordinance authorizing the issuance of such bonds, which ordinance shall set forth a brief description in general terms of the contemplated system or improvement, the estimated life thereof, the said estimated cost thereof, the amount, date, denominations, rate of interest, times and places of payment and other details in connection with the issuance of the bonds, and such covenants and restrictions as may be necessary or desirable to safeguard the interest of the holders of the bonds. Such bonds may be serial or term; redeemable, with or without premium, or nonredeemable; registered or coupon bonds with registration privileges as to either principal and interest, principal only or both. They shall bear interest at a rate to be determined pursuant to the sale of the bonds, and shall be payable at such time or times as shall be prescribed in the ordinance authorizing them. They shall mature at such time or times, not exceeding the said estimated life of the contemplated system or improvement, and in no event exceeding thirty (30) years from their date, and at such place or places as shall be prescribed in the ordinance authorizing their issuance; provided, however, that any bond issue to be awarded and sold to the United States of America or any agency thereof shall mature at such time or times, not to exceed thirty-five (35) years, as shall be prescribed in the ordinance authorizing their issuance. Any provisions of the general laws to the contrary notwithstanding, any bonds and interest coupons issued pursuant to the authority of this section shall possess all the qualities of negotiable instruments. The bonds and the interest coupons shall be executed in such manner and shall be substantially in the form prescribed in the authorizing ordinance. In case any of the officers whose signatures or countersignatures appear on the bonds or interest coupons shall cease to be such officers before delivery of such bonds, such signatures or countersignatures shall nevertheless be valid and sufficient for all purposes the same as if they had remained in office until such delivery. No bond shall bear more than one (1) rate of interest. Each bond shall bear interest from its date to its stated maturity date at the interest rate specified in the bid. All bonds of the same maturity shall bear the same rate of interest from date to maturity. All interest accruing on such bonds so issued shall be payable semiannually or annually, except that the first interest coupon attached to any such bond may be for any period not exceeding one (1) year.

No interest payment shall be evidenced by more than one (1) coupon and neither cancelled nor supplemental coupons shall be permitted. The lowest interest rate specified for any bonds issued shall not be less than seventy percent (70%) of the highest interest rate specified for the same bond issue. Such bonds shall be sold in such manner and upon such terms as the governing authorities of the municipality shall determine, provided that such bonds shall not bear a greater overall maximum interest rate to maturity than that allowed in Section 75-17-103, Mississippi Code of 1972 , and the interest rate on any one (1) interest maturity shall not exceed the maximum interest rate allowed on such bonds. If serial bonds, such bonds shall mature annually, and the first maturity date thereof shall not be more than five (5) years from the date of such bonds. Such bonds shall be legal investments for trustees and other fiduciaries, and for savings banks, trust companies and insurance companies organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi. The bonds and interest coupons shall be exempt from all state, county, municipal and other taxation under the laws of the state of Mississippi. The principal of and interest upon such bonds shall be payable solely from the revenues derived from the operation of the system acquired or improved with proceeds of the sale of such bonds. No bond issued pursuant to this section shall constitute an indebtedness of a municipality within the meaning of any statutory or charter restriction, limitation or provision. It shall be plainly stated on the face of each such bond in substance that the same bond has been issued under the provisions of this section and that the taxing power of the municipality issuing the same is not pledged to the payment of such bond or interest thereon, and that such bond and interest thereon are payable solely from the revenues of the system to acquire or improve which such bond is issued.

Such bonds shall be sold on sealed bids at public sale in the manner provided by Section 31-19-25 . In the event the issuing municipality shall have received a commitment from any agency of the United States of America for the purchase of all or any portion of an issue of such bonds prior to the sale thereof or for financial assistance in providing debt service on such bonds, then, and in such event, said issue or any part thereof may be sold to the United States of America or any agency thereof at private sale. Bonds in the aggregate amount of Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00) for any project may be sold at private sale either to underwriters or investors.

On issues of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00) or more, the governing authorities of a municipality may retain the services of a fiscal advisor to assist in the sale of the bonds hereunder and pay to such fiscal advisor a fee not to exceed the following amount: Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) plus one-quarter of one percent ( 1 / 4 of 1%) of the amount of the issue in excess of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00). No such fiscal advisor shall be eligible to bid for or participate in the underwriting of the bonds for which he acted as advisor.

Before a person can qualify as a fiscal advisor under the terms of this section, he shall have been actively engaged in the banking business, or the business of fiscal counseling for municipalities, or the underwriting of municipal bonds, for a period of five (5) years prior to qualifying under this section. A partnership or corporation may become a fiscal advisor hereunder with the same qualifications. Such person, corporation, or partnership shall have had prior experience as a fiscal advisor or been involved in the underwriting or investing in bonds of the state of Mississippi, or one or more of the subdivisions thereof, and such person, partnership or corporation shall be recognized in the fiscal community as a reputable and qualified fiscal advisor.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-326 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 15 / Section 33-326
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-326
Status: in_force

(1) Any city, town or village that shall have received a binding commitment from the United States of America, or any agency thereof, or the State of Mississippi, or any agency thereof, for a grant or loan may borrow money in anticipation of receipt of funds from such confirmed grant or loan unless prohibited by federal law or by the terms of the agreement concerning such grant or loan and may assign and pledge as security for such interim financing the proceeds of any such grant or loan. The governing authority of the municipality may borrow such money, as hereinbefore provided, from any available fund in the municipal treasury, or from any other source, and such loan shall be repaid in the manner herein provided.

(2) Such interim financing shall be upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon by the issuing entity and the party advancing such interim funds or the purchaser of the obligations evidencing such indebtedness; provided, however, that the principal on any such loan shall be repaid within a reasonable time after receipt of funds from the United States of America, or from the State of Mississippi, or any agency thereof, the anticipation of which gave rise to said interim financing, and provided that the interest rate on such interim financing shall not exceed that allowed in Section 75-17-107, Mississippi Code of 1972 .

(3) In borrowing money under the provisions hereof, it shall not be necessary to publish notice of intention so to do or to secure the consent of the qualified electors, either by election or otherwise. Such borrowing may be authorized by resolution of the governing authority of the issuing entity and may be evidenced by a negotiable note or notes in such form as may be prescribed in such resolution. The indebtedness incurred under this section shall not be considered when computing any limitation of indebtedness of the issuing entity established by law.

(4) Such borrowing, whether or not evidenced by a negotiable note or notes, may be placed or sold at public or private sales for such price and in such manner and from time to time as may be determined by the issuing entity, and the issuing entity may pay all expenses, premiums and commissions which its governing body may deem necessary or advantageous in connection with the issuance thereof.

(5) Such borrowing shall be limited to the sum of: (a) the amount of the confirmed grant or loan; (b) the amount of interest payable on such interim financing; and (c) the reasonable cost of incurring such indebtedness or issuing the note or notes evidencing such indebtedness. All moneys borrowed under the authority of this section shall be secured by and repaid from the grant or loan proceeds, earnings on the investment of the grant or loan proceeds and the proceeds of the interim financing, and from any other proceeds, revenues or earnings received by the issuing entity in connection with such grant or loan or with the interim financing, and may be further secured by and repaid from available revenues of a municipally owned utility.

(6) In the event grant or loan proceeds pledged to the repayment of the interim financing have not been received in time to pay at maturity all or a portion of the principal of and interest on the indebtedness incurred pursuant to this section, the issuing entity may borrow additional moneys pursuant to this section in anticipation of the aforesaid grant or loan proceeds in order to pay at maturity the outstanding principal and interest on the indebtedness previously incurred, provided that the indebtedness originally incurred shall be promptly repaid upon receipt of proceeds of such subsequent borrowing. The issuing entity may enter into agreements with one or more lenders obligating such lenders to provide such additional financing upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon by the issuing entity and the lenders.

(7) The issuing entity borrowing money under the provisions of this section may employ a fiscal adviser under the terms and conditions provided in Section 21-27-45 .

(8) This section, without reference to any other statute, shall be deemed to be full and complete authority for the borrowing of such funds and the issuance of a note or notes to evidence such indebtedness, and shall be construed as an additional and alternative method therefor, and none of the present restrictions, requirements, conditions or limitations of law applicable to the issuance or sale of bonds, notes or other obligations by the issuing entity in this state shall apply to the borrowing of funds under this section, and no proceedings shall be required for the borrowing of such funds other than those provided for and required herein, and all powers necessary to be exercised in order to carry out the provisions of this section are hereby conferred; provided further, that powers herein granted shall refer only to notes issued in anticipation of confirmed grants or loans as provided hereinabove.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-321 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 13 / Section 33-321
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-321
Status: in_force

Whenever there shall be on hand in any bond and interest fund an amount in excess of the amount which will be required for expenditure therefrom within the then next succeeding twelve months, the governing authorities of the municipality may use such excess amount to purchase the outstanding bonds of such municipality which are payable from such fund whenever, in the judgment of the governing authorities, the best interest of the municipality would be served thereby. When such bonds are purchased, they shall be cancelled and retired and shall not thereafter be resold or reissued.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-209 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 19 / Section 33-209
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-209
Status: in_force

Any qualified municipality wishing to discontinue the collection of the city utility tax may do so by an action of the mayor and board of aldermen or other governing authority adopting an ordinance to that effect. Such ordinance shall be effective after the last day of a month and the tax levy shall not apply to sales made on and after said date. A copy of the ordinance shall be furnished to the chairman of the state tax commission at least seven days prior to its effective date.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-31-71 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 9 / Section 31-71
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-31-71
Status: in_force

No person in the classified civil service who shall have been permanently appointed or inducted into civil service under the provisions of Sections 21-31-51 through 21-31-75 shall be removed, suspended, demoted or discharged, or any combination thereof, except for cause, and only upon the written accusation of the appointing power or any citizen or taxpayer, a written statement of which accusation, in general terms, shall be served upon the accused, and a duplicate filed with the commission. The mayor may suspend a member pending the confirmation of the suspension by the regular appointing power, which shall be within three (3) days.

In the absence of extraordinary circumstances or situations, before any such employee may be removed or discharged, he shall be given written notice of the intended termination, which notice shall state the reasons for termination and inform the employee that he has the right to respond in writing to the reasons given for termination within a reasonable time and respond orally before the official charged with the responsibility of making the termination decision. Such official may, in his discretion, provide for a pretermination hearing and examination of witnesses, and if a hearing is to be held, the notice to the employee shall also set the time and place of such hearing. A duplicate of such notice shall be filed with the commission. After the employee has responded or has failed to respond within a reasonable time, the official charged with the responsibility of making the termination decision shall determine the appropriate disciplinary action, and shall notify the employee of his decision in writing at the earliest practicable date.

Where there are extraordinary circumstances or situations which require the immediate discharge or removal of an employee, such employee may be terminated without a pretermination hearing as required by this section, but such employee shall be given written notice of the specific reasons for termination within twenty-four (24) hours after the termination, and shall be given an opportunity for a hearing similar to the pretermination hearing provided in this section within twenty (20) days after the date of termination. For the purposes of this section, extraordinary situations or circumstances include, but are not limited to, circumstances where retention of the employee would result in damage to municipal property, would be detrimental to the interest of municipal government or would result in injury to the employee, to a fellow employee or to the general public.

Any person so removed, suspended, demoted, discharged or combination thereof may, within ten (10) days from the time of such disciplinary action, file with the commission a written demand for an investigation, whereupon the commission shall conduct such investigation. The investigation shall be confined to the determination of the question of whether such disciplinary action was or was not made for political or religious reasons and was or was not made in good faith for cause. After such investigation the commission may, if in its estimation the evidence is conclusive, affirm the disciplinary action, or if it shall find that the disciplinary action was made for political or religious reasons, or was not made in good faith for cause, shall order the immediate reinstatement or reemployment of such person in the office, place, position or employment from which such person was removed, suspended, demoted, discharged or combination thereof, which reinstatement shall, if the commission so provides in its discretion, be retroactive, and entitle such person to pay or compensation from the time of such disciplinary action. The commission upon such investigation may, in lieu of affirming the disciplinary action, modify the order of removal, suspension, demotion, discharge or combination thereof by directing a suspension, without pay, for a given period and subsequent restoration of duty, or by directing a demotion in classification, grade or pay, or by any combination thereof. The findings of the commission shall be certified in writing to the appointing power, and shall be forthwith enforced by such officer.

All investigations made by the commission pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be by public hearing, after reasonable written notice to the accused of the time and place of such hearing, at which hearing the accused shall be afforded an opportunity of appearing in person and by counsel, and presenting his defense. The findings of the commission shall be conclusive and binding unless either the accused or the municipality shall, within thirty (30) days from the date of the entry of such judgment or order on the minutes of the commission and notification to the accused and the municipality, appeal to the circuit court of the county within which the municipality is located. Any appeal of the judgment or order of the commission shall not act as a supersedeas of such judgment or order, but the judgment or order shall remain in effect pending a final determination of the matter on appeal. Such appeal shall be taken by serving the commission and the appellee, within thirty (30) days after the entry of such judgment or order, a written notice of appeal, stating the grounds thereof, and demanding that a certified transcript of the record and of all papers on file in the office of the commission affecting or relating to such judgment or order, be filed by the commission with such court. The commission shall, within thirty (30) days after the filing of such notice, make, certify and file such transcript with such court. The said circuit court shall thereupon proceed to hear and determine such appeal. However, such hearing shall be confined to the determination of whether the judgment or order of removal, discharge, demotion, suspension or combination thereof made by the commission, was or was not made in good faith for cause, and no appeal to such court shall be taken except upon such ground or grounds.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-31-69 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 31 / Section 31-69
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-31-69
Status: in_force

The tenure of everyone holding an office, place, position or employment under the provisions of Sections 21-31-51 through 21-31-75 shall be only during good behavior. Any such person may be removed or discharged, suspended without pay, demoted or reduced in rank, or deprived of vacation privileges or other special privileges, or any combination thereof, for any of the following reasons:

Incompetency, inefficiency or inattention of duty; dishonesty, intemperance, immoral conduct, insubordination, discourteous treatment of the public or a fellow employee; or any other act of omission or commission tending to injure the public service.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-219 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 19 / Section 29-219
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-219
Status: in_force

(1) The Disability and Relief Fund for Firemen and Policemen shall be created and, except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section, maintained by an ad valorem tax levied annually on all property in the municipality, provided the election called for in Section 21-29-203 has authorized the creation of the fund. The levy made, and the deductions from the salaries of members, shall be in an amount sufficient, but not more than the amount necessary, to make the system actuarially sound by July 1, 2000, as certified to the municipality by the board. Such tax shall not be included in the ten percent (10%) limitation on increases under Section 27-39-321 , nor shall any tax increase exceed one-half ( 1 / 2 ) mill per year; however, if any levy to pay debt service on bonds issued under Section 31-25-20 as described in subsection (2) of this section is reduced for any year as a result of payment of the bonds or otherwise, the levy under this subsection (1) for such year may be increased by an amount, in addition to the one-half ( 1 / 2 ) mill otherwise authorized, not to exceed the reduction for such year in the millage levied to pay debt service on the bonds.

(2) In addition to, or in lieu of, the method of funding provided for in subsection (1) of this section, the municipality may fund or assist in funding the retirement system through the use of revenue bonds issued pursuant to Section 31-25-20 . Any tax levied to service the debt on such bonds shall not be included in the ten percent (10%) limitation on increases under Section 27-39-321 .

(3) The fund may be created and maintained by such gifts, donations and bequests as may be made to the fund by any person or corporation, by any appropriation or tax levy, or both, of the municipality, by such sum or sums as the municipality may receive from insurance companies for the benefit of the fund, and by the deduction by the municipality from the salary of each member of the Disability and Relief Fund for Firemen and Policemen of not less than seven percent (7%) nor more than ten percent (10%) of the amount thereof. Any increase to an amount in excess of seven percent (7%) shall be in increments of not more than one percent (1%) per annum. No increase from the deduction of seven percent (7%) shall be made unless the board determines that the avails of the tax levy of three (3) mills, when combined with the avails of the deduction of seven percent (7%), is insufficient to keep the system actuarially sound.

(4) The municipality and the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System may enter into such contracts and agreements as are deemed necessary to implement the provisions of this section, including, but not limited to, contracts and agreements addressing the use, application and investment of proceeds of bonds issued under Section 31-25-20 and earnings thereon and the relative rights and obligations of the municipality and the Public Employees' Retirement System during the period that the bonds are outstanding and thereafter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-325 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 27 / Section 29-325
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-325
Status: in_force

The Public Employees' Retirement System shall make payments of retirement benefits under this chapter to members and to the beneficiaries of those members, by whatever means the board prescribes by regulation to be the most appropriate for the proper and efficient payment of benefits, including, but not limited to, direct deposit to an account with a financial institution that is a participant of the Automated Clearing House designated by the member or beneficiary. The board may provide for alternative means of payment if the member or beneficiary can demonstrate that payment by the prescribed means will cause the member or beneficiary undue hardship.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-118 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 21 / Section 29-118
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-118
Status: in_force

The Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi is hereby authorized to deduct two percent (2%) of all tax levied hereunder and paid into the “disability and relief fund” for firemen and policemen to be transferred to the expense fund of the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi to defray the cost of administering this fund.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-9-17 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 3 / Section 9-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-9-17
Status: in_force

Except as otherwise provided, all candidates for mayor and councilmen, or any of them, to be voted for at any general or special municipal election, shall be nominated by party primary election, and no other name or names shall be placed on the official ballot at such general or special election than those selected in the manner prescribed herein. Such primary election or elections, shall be held not less than ten, nor more than thirty days, preceding the general or special election, and such primary election or elections shall be held and conducted in the manner as near as may be as is provided by law for state and county primary elections.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-9-77 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 1 / Section 9-77
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-9-77
Status: repealed

All laws governing cities heretofore operating under another form of government, which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter respecting the council-manager plan of government, shall apply to and govern such cities respectively when they shall come under the said council-manager plan. All by-laws, ordinances and resolutions lawfully passed and in force in every such city under its former organization shall remain in force until altered or repealed by the council elected under the provisions of this chapter.

The territorial limits of every such city shall remain the same as under its former organization. All rights and property of every description, which were vested in every such city under its former organization, shall vest in the same under the organization contemplated by the council-manager plan of government. No right or liability, either in favor of or against such city, and no suit or prosecution of any kind shall be affected by such change, unless otherwise provided.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-21 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 23 / Section 33-21
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-21
Status: in_force

The assessor shall, in the same manner and at the same time as municipal assessments are made, make an assessment of all taxable property in any added territory, and make the same a part of the assessment roll of the municipal separate school district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-89 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 23 / Section 33-89
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-89
Status: in_force

The governing authorities of any municipality having a population of less than one thousand, according to the last federal census, shall have the power and authority, in their discretion, to assess, levy and collect an additional ad valorem tax on all of the taxable property in such municipality of not exceeding two mills on the dollar for street maintenance, upkeep and construction purposes, and/or an additional ad valorem tax on all of the taxable property in such municipality of not exceeding two mills on the dollar for cemetery improvement, upkeep and maintenance purposes, which said taxes shall be in addition to all other taxes now authorized by law. However, such taxes shall not be levied unless and until the levy thereof has been approved by a majority of the qualified voters of such municipality voting in an election to be held for such purpose, notice of which election shall be given in some newspaper having a general circulation in such municipality not less than twenty nor more than thirty days prior to such election; one publication of such notice shall be sufficient. No consideration for homestead exemption refunds shall be considered in connection with the assessment and levy provided herein.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-209 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 13 / Section 33-209
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-209
Status: in_force

Any qualified municipality wishing to discontinue the collection of the city utility tax may do so by an action of the mayor and board of aldermen or other governing authority adopting an ordinance to that effect. Such ordinance shall be effective after the last day of a month and the tax levy shall not apply to sales made on and after said date. A copy of the ordinance shall be furnished to the chairman of the state tax commission at least seven days prior to its effective date.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-27 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 19 / Section 19-27
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-27
Status: in_force

The governing authorities of municipalities shall have the power to compel owners of property adjacent to walks and ways to erect and maintain railings, safeguards, and barriers along the same in all cases where construction, repair, or other building activities on such premises create a dangerous or hazardous condition, and in all other cases where danger or hazard is created by the act of the property owner.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-51 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 27 / Section 33-51
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-51
Status: in_force

The tax collector shall give to everyone paying taxes a signed receipt, dated, numbered and filled in so as to show by whom, and on what, taxes were paid, and conforming to the requirements of Section 21-33-49 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-5 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 19 / Section 29-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-5
Status: in_force

In every municipality of the State of Mississippi, operating under a commission form of government as of March 31, 1948, and having a population of twenty-one thousand or more, according to the 1940 federal census, and in every municipality bordering on tide water and having a population of more than fifteen thousand, it shall be the duty of the governing body of said municipality to create and maintain a fund known as the “City Employees Retirement Fund,” which shall be maintained for the benefits of certain city employees hereinafter named and which shall be derived, raised and administered in the manner hereinafter provided.

In any municipality coming under the provisions of this article, upon a petition signed by twenty per cent of the qualified electors of such municipality, protesting against the operation of this article and petitioning for an election thereon to determine whether a majority of the qualified electors of such municipality desire for such municipality to come from under the terms of this article, providing such petition is filed with the governing body of such municipality by July 29, 1948, the municipal authorities of such municipality shall call an election by August 28, 1948, after giving notice for three consecutive weeks, as to whether the municipality desires to come from under the provisions of this article. At said election, the ballots used by the qualified electors shall read: “For the Retirement Fund for the City Employees,” “Against the Retirement Fund for the City Employees.” Said election shall be held as such other elections of like nature, and if at such election a majority of those participating thereat shall vote against the retirement fund for the city employees, then this article shall not apply to such municipality. If no petition is filed as above provided, the governing body of said municipality shall by August 28, 1948, pass the required ordinance to begin the operation of said retirement system in accordance with the provisions hereof.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-203 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 15 / Section 33-203
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-203
Status: in_force

In addition to the taxes now or hereafter provided by law, there is hereby levied upon, assessed to and shall be collected from all telephone or communication utilities as defined by Section 77-3-1, Mississippi Code of 1972 and regulated under said Section 77-3-1 , an additional tax of two per cent of the gross amount of revenue made and collected on local business from customers within the corporate limits of any municipality of the State of Mississippi, which qualifies as provided by the City Utility Tax Law. Such public utility shall add to the sales price of its service the amount of any tax due under the provisions of the City Utility Tax Law to the extent that such tax was not included as a part of the cost of furnishing services in the fixing of the rates and charges for such service by the Mississippi Public Service Commission. The tax levied herein shall not apply to the cash receipts collected through coin boxes or other mechanical devices where it is impracticable to render periodic statements and thereby add the tax to the sales price of its service.

Any such public utility which pays any municipality of the State of Mississippi the compensation provided for in municipal franchises or levied and provided for by Section 77-3-17, Mississippi Code of 1972 , shall be exempt from the tax herein imposed and from the provisions of the City Utility Tax Law. In addition, any such public utility which makes payment of the tax imposed herein shall not be required to make payments, if any, which may be required under the terms of said Section 77-3-17 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-9-25 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 8 / Section 9-25
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-9-25
Status: in_force

The first city council elected under the provisions of this chapter shall at its first meeting employ by majority vote of all its members a city manager who shall be the chief administrative officer of the city. The manager shall receive such compensation as the council shall determine, and shall be chosen solely on the basis of his or her experience and administrative qualifications. The manager shall not engage in any other business or profession that conflicts with the duties of the office of city manager so long as such person holds the office of city manager. Before the city manager engages in any other business or profession, the manager shall give notice of such business or profession to the city council. No person elected to the city council shall be eligible for the office of city manager during the term for which the person was elected.

If the office of city manager becomes vacant, the city council shall appoint without delay a new manager or an acting manager to fill the office until a new manager is designated.

In case of the absence or disability of the city manager, the city council may appoint a qualified person to perform the duties of the city manager temporarily.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-41-35 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 37 / Section 41-35
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-41-35
Status: in_force

If any special assessment made pursuant to this chapter or attempted to be made in accordance with or by virtue of the authority conferred in any other law heretofore in force, to defray the whole or any part of the expense of any local improvement, shall be, either in whole or in part, annulled, vacated or set aside by the judgment of any court, or if the governing authorities of a municipality shall be satisfied that such assessment is so irregular or defective that the same cannot be enforced, or if the governing authorities shall have omitted to make such assessment when it might have done so, the governing authorities of the municipality are hereby authorized to take all steps to cause a new assessment for the whole or any part of any improvement, or against any property benefited by any improvement, following as near as may be the provisions of this chapter. In case such second assessment shall likewise be abrogated as above provided, the governing authorities may make other assessments, until a valid assessment shall be made.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-31-7 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 23 / Section 31-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-31-7
Status: in_force

Immediately after the appointment of the civil service commission, the commission shall organize by electing one (1) of its members chairman. The commission shall hold regular meetings at least once each month, and such additional meetings as may be required for the proper discharge of its duties.

The commission shall appoint a secretary and a board of examiners, which board shall consist of the fire chief (or a person designated by the fire chief from the fire department to serve in his absence), the police chief (or a person designated by the police chief from the police department to serve in his absence), and a third member to be named by the commission, all of whom shall serve without compensation. The secretary shall keep the records and preserve all reports made to the commission, and also a record of all examinations held under the direction of the board of examiners, and perform such other duties as the commission may prescribe. The members of the board and the secretary are subject to suspension and discharge in the same manner as the commissioners.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-61 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 5 / Section 27-61
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-61
Status: in_force

The governing authorities of any municipality shall devote all monies of the system derived from any source other than the issuance of bonds for purposes authorized by the laws of the State of Mississippi, to or for the payment of all operating expenses, including such items as are normally required of utilities for sales development; to or for the payment of all bonds and interest on outstanding revenue bonds, if any, of such system; to or for the acquisition and improvement of the system contingencies; to or for the payment of all other obligations incurred in the operation and maintenance of the system and the furnishing of service; and to or for the creation and maintenance of a cash working fund or a surplus fund to be used for replacement, extension of systems and emergencies. The balance of any monies, including but not limited to, any which have heretofore been classified as revenues or surplus of such system, if any, may be used for any lawful, municipal purpose and may be paid to the governing authorities of the municipality for distribution to the various municipal funds or may be disbursed for such purpose by the governing authorities at their direction. The purpose of any allocation or expenditure of money made pursuant to this section shall be spread upon the minutes of the municipal governing authorities.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-31-25 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 27 / Section 31-25
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-31-25
Status: in_force

The fixing of the rate of compensation of every employee coming under the provisions of Sections 21-31-1 through 21-31-27 shall remain vested in those public officials authorized by law to fix the rate of such compensation, and nothing contained in said sections shall infringe upon the power and authority of any such public officials to so fix the rate of such compensation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-321 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 15 / Section 33-321
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-321
Status: in_force

Whenever there shall be on hand in any bond and interest fund an amount in excess of the amount which will be required for expenditure therefrom within the then next succeeding twelve months, the governing authorities of the municipality may use such excess amount to purchase the outstanding bonds of such municipality which are payable from such fund whenever, in the judgment of the governing authorities, the best interest of the municipality would be served thereby. When such bonds are purchased, they shall be cancelled and retired and shall not thereafter be resold or reissued.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-55 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 3 / Section 19-55
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-55
Status: in_force

The council or board of aldermen of any municipality in the state is hereby authorized, in its discretion, to donate a sum not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) to build or aid any post of the American Legion or the chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, any chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, or any post, unit or chapter of any patriotic organization within the county in building a memorial to the veterans of World Wars I and II, and a sum not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) to aid in defraying the cost of the erection of suitable memorials to deceased soldiers, sailors, and marines of the late world wars. Such appropriation may be made even though no provision has been made therefor in the municipal budget.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-125 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 27 / Section 29-125
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-125
Status: in_force

The authority is vested in the board of trustees to invest such part of said fund as may not be immediately required, in investments authorized under Section 25-11-121 with the right to change said investment from time to time, and with the right and duty to convert invested funds into current funds as the same may be needed for the purpose of this article.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-147.nr2 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 17 / Section 29-147.nr2
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-147.nr2
Status: in_force

(1) If any member of a fire or police department dies while a member of the fire or police department, and who has had not less than five (5) years' service with the department, there shall be paid from the firemen's and policemen's disability and relief fund benefits as follows:

(a) For each year's active service, not to exceed a period of twenty (20) years, one-fortieth ( 1 / 40 ) of the average monthly salary or compensation received by the member in the six-month period next preceding his or her death; and

(b) For each full year of active service in excess of twenty (20) years service, an additional payment in a sum equal to one and seven-tenths percent (1- 7 / 10 %) of the same average monthly base salary and longevity pay received by the member in the six-month period next preceding his or her death (provided that no such payment shall exceed sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66- 2 / 3 %) of the average monthly base salary and longevity pay received by a member for the six-month period next preceding his or her death) to the spouse of the deceased member for life for the use of the spouse and the child or children of the deceased member under the age of eighteen (18) years. If the deceased member is not survived by a spouse, but there remains a child or children of the deceased member still under the age of eighteen (18) years, the payments shall be made to a parent or lawful custodian of the child or children without the necessity of appointment as guardian for the benefit of the child or children, so long as the child or children are under the age of eighteen (18) years. After the death of the spouse, all payments to the spouse shall cease, and after the death or attainment of the age of eighteen (18) years of any child or children of the deceased member, all payments to the child or children over eighteen (18) years of age shall cease. If the deceased member is not survived by spouse or child or children under the age of eighteen (18) years, but is survived by a father, mother or an unmarried sister dependent upon him or her, the payments shall continue to be made to the dependent father or mother or both, so long as each lives. If there is no dependent father or mother surviving the deceased member, the payments shall continue to be made to the dependent sister or sisters of the deceased member, or dependent incurable children of the deceased member, so long as the beneficiary or beneficiaries remain unmarried. Upon the death or marriage of any such sisters, all payments shall cease to her. The word “ dependent ” as used in this section shall mean “wholly dependent.”

(2) It is the intention of the Legislature that the benefits authorized by paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section shall be paid to all qualified and eligible spouses whose deceased spouses died before March 27, 1978.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-45-19 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 41 / Section 45-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-45-19
Status: in_force

The cost of a redevelopment project shall be deemed to include the actual cost of the construction or rehabilitation of any part of a project which may be constructed or rehabilitated by a municipality, including architects' and engineers' fees, the purchase price of any real property that may be acquired by a municipality by purchase, all expenses in connection with the authorization, sale and issuance of bonds or other indebtedness to finance such acquisition, and the interest on bonds for a reasonable time prior to construction or rehabilitation, during construction or rehabilitation and for not exceeding one (1) year after completion of the construction or rehabilitation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-1 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 9 / Section 23-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-1
Status: in_force

There shall be a municipal court in all municipalities of this state. Wherever the words “police court” or “police justice” appear in the laws of this state, they shall mean municipal court or municipal judge, respectively.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-25-3 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 5 / Section 25-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-25-3
Status: in_force

(1) The governing authorities of municipalities shall have the power to provide for the prevention and extinguishment of fires, to organize, establish, operate, and maintain fire and hook and ladder companies, to provide for and maintain a fire department and system, and to regulate the same. The governing authorities shall have the power to allow the fire department to attend and help to extinguish a fire outside the city limits.

(2) No fire fighter whose training expenses have been reimbursed to or paid by the political subdivision employing the fire fighter shall leave the employ of the political subdivision for not less than two (2) years after completion of the reimbursed training, unless the reimbursed expenses are paid by the new employer to the political subdivision which reimbursed or paid such expenses. The amount to be paid shall be determined on a pro rata basis based upon when the fire fighter leaves the political subdivision within the two-year period. Defined training expenses are related to minimum standards training, as established by the Mississippi Fire Personnel Minimum Standards and Certification Board which were incurred and include salary, tuition, travel expenses of the employee as well as personnel cost related to the training incurred during the employee's absence.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-31 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 23 / Section 29-31
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-31
Status: in_force

After the expiration of four (4) years from the effective date of an employer's operation under this article, any member who has been an employee of the employer, to whom application is made, for twenty (20) years or more, whether continuous or not, provided the last seven (7) years of which service shall have been continuous, may retire upon his written application to the board setting forth at what time, not less than thirty (30) nor more than ninety (90) days subsequent to the filing thereof, he desires to be retired. The board shall grant him the benefits under Section 21-29-33 to which he is entitled because of the service retirement. It shall be mandatory that any member retire after he attains the age of seventy (70) years.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-39-5 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 39 / Section 39-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-39-5
Status: in_force

The clerk of the municipality shall open and keep a regular set of records, as prescribed by the State Auditor, as the head of the State Department of Audit, or the director thereof, appointed by him, as designated and defined in Title 7, Chapter 7, of the Mississippi Code of 1972, or any office or officers hereafter designated to replace or perform the duties imposed by said chapter, subject always to inspection within office hours by any citizen desiring to inspect the same. Said records shall contain accounts, under headings, corresponding with the several headings of the budget, so that the expenditures under each head may be at once known. Such records shall be paid for out of the general municipal fund, upon the order of the proper municipal authorities. Said clerk shall also mark filed, as of the date of presentation of same, each and every claim against said municipality. He shall number the same in regular consecutive order, shall file and keep the same in like manner, and shall safely preserve the same as records of his office.

Each year's records shall be kept separate and begin with a new number each year, and run in regular order.

In issuing any warrant under order of the governing authorities of the municipality to pay any one of said claims so numbered and kept, said clerk shall enter the number of the claim in the body of the warrant so that the claim may be easily found, and so that possible duplication may be avoided. The governing authorities of the municipality shall designate on each allowance of a claim against the municipality the fund out of which same shall be paid, and to what account the sums shall be charged in said records. Each allowance shall have the number of the claim noted in the minutes of said governing authorities.

For failure to perform any duty herein required, said clerk shall be subject to suit on his bond for any damage which the municipality may sustain by reason of such failure. Such suit, or suits, shall be brought by the city attorney or by any attorney designated and empowered to do so by the proper governing authorities of such municipality.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-21 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 8 / Section 23-21
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-21
Status: in_force

The provisions of Sections 21-23-1 through 21-23-19 shall be applicable to all municipalities of this state whether operating under a code charter, special charter, or the commission form of government, except in cases of conflict between the provisions of said sections and the provisions of the special charter of a municipality, or the law governing the commission form of government, in which cases of conflict the provisions of the special charter or the statutes relative to the commission form of government shall control. The provisions of this chapter are cumulative to other applicable laws of this state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-35 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 27 / Section 29-35
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-35
Status: in_force

Upon application of a member in service of the employer, any member who has become totally and permanently incapacitated for duty as the natural and proximate result of the actual performance of duty of the employer, without wilful negligence on his part, may be retired by the board on a duty disability retirement allowance effective thirty days after the filing of an application in writing with the board. However, the physician or physicians selected by the board to examine the member shall certify that such member is presumably permanently and totally disabled from engaging in any gainful occupation for compensation or profit, that under the facts as to the cause of disability, as certified by the board, the member's disability could have with reasonable probability resulted, in such physician's opinion, and that such member should be retired.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-43-5 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 39 / Section 43-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-43-5
Status: in_force

The governing authority of any participating municipality shall appoint an advisory board consisting of five (5) members who shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority; such board members shall be professional businessmen within the affected area; and such board shall have the sole discretion as to how the revenue derived from the tax is to be used within the scope of the purposes as provided in Section 21-43-1 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-261 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 15 / Section 29-261
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-261
Status: in_force

This article shall apply to municipalities whether under private charter or existing and operating under the general statutes of the State of Mississippi.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-5-3 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 5 / Section 5-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-5-3
Status: in_force

Every city operating under the commission form of government shall be governed by a council, consisting of the mayor and two (2) councilmen (or commissioners), each of whom shall have the right to vote on all questions coming before the council. The terms of office of the governing authorities in every such city, in office at the beginning of the term of office of the mayor and councilmen first elected under the provisions of this chapter shall then immediately cease and terminate. The terms of office of all other officers then in force in such city, whether elected or appointed, shall cease and terminate as soon as the council shall, by resolution, so declare.

The corporate name of every such city shall be “The City of (name of city),” under which name the council shall exercise and perform all the corporate powers, duties and obligations conferred or imposed on it or the members thereof.

Any city having a population of one hundred thousand (100,000) inhabitants according to the last decennial census and at that time governed by the commission form of government, may at any time, upon an election held as hereinafter provided, increase by two (2) the number of councilmen governing such city; provided that in no event shall the number of councilmen (not including the mayor) be increased to exceed ten (10) members. It shall be the duty of the council to call a special election on the question of the increase in the number of councilmen and upon receipt of a petition signed by at least ten percent (10%) of the qualified electors of such city, praying that an election be held to determine whether or not such city should increase by two (2) the number of councilmen under the commission form, and such special election shall be held in such city not less than thirty (30) days, nor more than sixty (60) days, from the date of making such order; but if a general election is to be held in such city within sixty (60) days from the making of such order, then the question of the increase in number of councilmen shall be submitted at such general election, rather than at a special election. Notice of such election shall be given as required by law, and the same shall be held and conducted as other elections in such city. At such election the propositions to be voted on shall be “FOR THE PRESENT NUMBER OF COUNCILMEN” and “FOR AN INCREASE BY TWO (2) IN THE NUMBER OF COUNCILMEN,” and such propositions shall be printed on the ballot and the elector shall vote by placing a cross (X) or check mark (✓) opposite his choice on the proposition. The results of such election shall be certified to the governing authorities of the city by the persons holding such election, and at their next regular meeting the governing authorities shall adjudicate on the minutes of the city whether or not the majority of the votes cast at such election were cast in favor of increasing by two (2) the number of councilmen. If a majority of the votes were so cast in favor of increasing by two (2) the number of councilmen in the commission form of government, then an order shall be entered providing for the election of the two (2) additional councilmen at an election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of June next thereafter. The mayor of the city shall immediately certify to the secretary of state that such city has by election determined to be governed by two (2) additional councilmen in the commission form of government and such certificate shall be recorded in a book kept for that purpose by the secretary of state. If a majority of the votes cast at such election be in favor of retaining the existing number of councilmen, the council shall so adjudicate by an order upon their minutes, and another election submitting the question of the increasing by two (2) the number of councilmen in the commission form of government shall not be held for a period of at least four (4) years thereafter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-20 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 8 / Section 23-20
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-20
Status: in_force

Upon conviction of any person of a misdemeanor in a municipal court of this state, the municipal court judge shall be authorized, in his discretion, to sentence such person to:

(a) A period of time in jail to be served either on weekends only;

(b) Other periods of time during the week wherein such offender may not be engaged in gainful employment; or

(c) A specified number of days in jail with a provision for the release of such offender for the purpose of engaging in gainful employment at such times as the offender is actually gainfully employed, whether self-employed or otherwise.

In addition, the court may, in its discretion, sentence any convicted person to split periods of incarceration; and the court shall not be required to order such offender to serve a sentence of imprisonment all in one period but may suspend the sentence from time to time.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-13 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 17 / Section 19-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-13
Status: in_force

(1) The governing authorities of municipalities shall have the power to establish, alter and change the channels of streams or other water courses, and to bridge the same, whenever so to do will promote the health, comfort and convenience of the inhabitants of such municipality.

(2) The governing authorities of any municipality shall also have the power and authority to incur costs and pay necessary expenses in providing labor, materials and supplies to clean or clear drainage ditches, creeks or channels, whether on public or private property, and to incur costs and pay necessary expenses in providing labor, materials and supplies in order to prevent erosion where such erosion has been caused or will be caused by such drainage ditches, creeks or channels. This paragraph shall not impose any obligation or duty upon the municipality and shall not create any additional rights for the benefit of any owner of public or private property.

(3) No additional taxes shall be imposed for the works authorized under subsections (1) and (2) of this section until the governing authorities shall adopt a resolution declaring its intention to levy the taxes and establishing the amount of the tax levies and the date on which the taxes initially will be levied and collected. This date shall be the first day of a month but not earlier than the first day of the second month from the date of adoption of the resolution. Notice of the proposed tax levies shall be published once each week for at least three (3) weeks in a newspaper having a general circulation in the municipality. The first publication of the notice shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days before the date fixed in the resolution on which the governing authorities propose to levy the taxes, and the last publication of the notice shall be made not more than seven (7) days before that date. If, within the time of giving notice, fifteen percent (15%) or two thousand five hundred (2,500), whichever is less, of the qualified electors of the municipality file a written petition against the levy of the taxes, then the taxes shall not be levied unless authorized by three-fifths ( 3 / 5 ) of the qualified electors of the municipality voting at an election to be called and held for that purpose.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-177 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 17 / Section 27-177
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-177
Status: in_force

Whenever a public agency and a municipality shall have executed a contract under Sections 21-27-161 through 21-27-191 and the payments thereunder are to be made either wholly or partly from the revenues of the public agency's waterworks system, water supply system, treatment facility, sewerage system or sewage disposal system or from both systems or a combination of both systems, the duty is hereby imposed on the public agency to establish and maintain and from time to time to adjust the rates charged by the public agency for the services of such system or systems, to the end that the revenues therefrom together with any taxes levied in support thereof will be sufficient at all times to pay: (a) the expense of operating and maintaining such system; (b) all of the public agency's obligations to the municipality under the contract; and (c) all of the public agency's obligations under and in connection with revenue bonds theretofore issued, or which may be issued thereafter secured by revenues of such system or systems. The contract may require the use of consulting engineers and financial experts to advise the public agency whether and when such rates are to be adjusted.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-29 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 13 / Section 19-29
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-29
Status: in_force

The governing authorities of municipalities shall have the power to regulate the entrances to public halls, churches, and buildings, and the way of ingress and egress to and from the same.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-33 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 15 / Section 29-33
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-33
Status: in_force

Upon retirement from service as provided in Section 21-29-31 a member shall receive a service retirement allowance for the remainder of his life, payable monthly, which allowance shall be a sum equal to fifty percent (50%) of his average monthly salary for the last four (4) years of service immediately prior to retirement; provided, however, that upon retirement from service in any municipality having a commission form of government on March 31, 1948, as provided in Section 21-29-5 and having a separate firemen and policemen retirement system and having a population not in excess of 48,000 according to the 1980 decennial census, which municipality has established a retirement system according to the provisions of this chapter, the service retirement allowance shall be based upon the average monthly salary for the last two (2) years of service immediately prior to retirement. Any member who has been in paid service for longer than twenty (20) years shall be entitled to receive additional payments for life in a sum equal to one and seven-tenths percent (1.7%) of the average monthly salary received by such member in the two-year period next preceding the filing of said application for each full year of service in excess of twenty (20) years' service. However, no retired payment to any member shall exceed sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66- 2 / 3 %) of the average monthly salary received by a member for the four-year or two-year period, as the case may be, next preceding the filing of said application. Periods of time in which a member may have been inactive on account of physical or mental disability shall not be excluded in computing the twenty-year period and the seven-year period hereinbefore mentioned, provided the employee continues to contribute his share to the program based on the average of his last two (2) months' compensation. This contribution shall continue during the total time the employee shall be inactive.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-41-11 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 38 / Section 41-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-41-11
Status: in_force

The governing authorities of such municipality shall have power to pay out of their general fund, or out of any special fund that may be provided for that purpose, such portion of the cost of the proposed improvement as they may deem proper. Interest accrued while an improvement is under construction, and for six (6) months thereafter, together with interest on interim financing authorized by Section 21-41-45 allocable on a pro rata basis to each such improvement, shall be deemed part of the cost thereof. Actual engineering and inspection costs, properly chargeable to any improvement, shall be deemed a part of the cost of the improvement. All costs for the issuance of the bonds hereinafter provided for shall be deemed part of the cost of the improvement.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-21-3 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 15 / Section 21-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-21-3
Status: in_force

The governing authorities of municipalities shall have the power and authority to employ, regulate and support a sufficient police force or night marshals, to define the duties thereof, and to furnish and supply all suitable and necessary equipment therefor.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-43-101 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 43 / Section 43-101
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-43-101
Status: in_force

Sections 21-43-101 through 21-43-133 shall be known and may be cited as the “Business Improvement District Act.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-123 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 21 / Section 29-123
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-123
Status: in_force

All allowances made upon the disability and relief fund for firemen and policemen shall be drawn against the fund by the board of trustees, and shall be issued only upon compliance with the rules and regulations of the board of trustees, or the board of disability and relief appeals.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-27 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 3 / Section 27-27
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-27
Status: in_force

No free service shall be furnished by any such system, or combined system, to any private person, firm, corporation, or association. The municipality may, however, furnish such service, free of charge, to the municipality or any agency or department thereof, to any public school, or to any hospital or benevolent institution located within such municipality, including county, city, and community fairs.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-15 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 8 / Section 27-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-15
Status: in_force

The governing authorities of such municipality shall have the power to remove any member of said commission for inefficiency or incompetency or any other cause, but the governing authority of any municipality which has created a commission under the terms of Section 21-27-13 , shall not have authority to abolish the commission, or to diminish its powers, except by a vote of a majority of the qualified electors of such municipality at a special election, duly called and held for that purpose. However, nothing herein shall limit, alter, impair or in any way change the procedure prescribed for the sale or lease of a public utility system under Section 21-27-33 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-215 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 7 / Section 29-215
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-215
Status: in_force

The commissioner of insurance, the attorney general, and the secretary of state of the State of Mississippi, shall be and are constituted a body to be known as the “board of disability and relief appeals,” with full duty and power to hear, consider and determine all matters brought before it on appeal from decisions of the boards of disability and relief. Determinations by said appeal board shall be final.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-51 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 17 / Section 33-51
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-51
Status: in_force

The tax collector shall give to everyone paying taxes a signed receipt, dated, numbered and filled in so as to show by whom, and on what, taxes were paid, and conforming to the requirements of Section 21-33-49 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-31-63 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 3 / Section 31-63
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-31-63
Status: in_force

Any applicant for a position of any kind under civil service must be a citizen of the United States and an elector of the county in which he resides and must meet only such bona fide occupational residency requirements as may be determined by the civil service commission or the governing authority of the municipality.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-57 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 19 / Section 27-57
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-57
Status: in_force

In the authorizing order or ordinance, the governing authorities of the municipality shall set aside monthly and shall pledge the revenues of the system or combined system, in separate and special funds as follows: (1) operation and maintenance fund; (2) depreciation fund; (3) bond and interest fund; (4) contingent fund. A sufficient amount shall be set aside each year for the retirement of the bonds and interest. Any surplus revenue remaining shall be disposed of by the governing authorities of the municipality as they may determine from time to time for the best interest of the municipality. However, in the segregation into the several funds the governing authorities may prescribe a reasonable excess amount to be placed in the revenue bond and interest fund from time to time during the earlier years of maturity of such bonds so as to thereby provide and produce a cushion fund to meet any possible deficiencies therein in future years. In the event such excess amounts are provided in the earlier years, the same would be available for such purposes. Bonds pursuant to the authority granted in Sections 21-27-23 and 21-27-51 , shall be payable solely from revenues of said project and out of the bond and interest fund.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-8 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 13 / Section 23-8
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-8
Status: in_force

(1)(a) The purpose of bail is to guarantee appearance and a bail bond shall not be forfeited for any other reason.

(b)(i) If a defendant in any criminal case, proceeding or matter fails to appear for any proceeding as ordered by the municipal court, then the court shall order the bail forfeited and a judgment nisi and a bench warrant issued at the time of nonappearance. The clerk of the municipal court shall notify the surety of the forfeiture by writ of scire facias, with a copy of the judgment nisi and bench warrant attached thereto, within ten (10) working days of such order of judgment nisi either by personal service or by certified mail. Failure of the clerk to provide the required notice within ten (10) working days shall constitute prima facie evidence that the order should be set aside.

(ii)1. The judgment nisi shall be returnable for ninety (90) days from the date of issuance. If during that period the defendant appears before the municipal court, or is arrested and surrendered, then the judgment nisi shall be set aside. If the surety produces the defendant or provides to the municipal court reasonable mitigating circumstances upon such showing, then the forfeiture shall not be made final. If the forfeiture is made final, a copy of the final judgment shall be served on the surety within ten (10) working days by either personal service or certified mail.

2. Reasonable mitigating circumstances shall be that the defendant is incarcerated in another jurisdiction; that the defendant is hospitalized under a doctor's care; that the defendant is in a recognized drug rehabilitation program; that the defendant has been placed in a witness protection program, in which case it shall be the duty of any agency placing the defendant into a witness protection program to notify the municipal court and the municipal court to notify the surety; or any other reason justifiable to the municipal court.

(2) If a final judgment is entered against a surety licensed by the Department of Insurance and has not been set aside after ninety (90) days, or later if such time is extended by the municipal court issuing the judgment nisi, then the municipal court shall order the department to revoke the authority of the surety to write bail bonds. The Commissioner of Insurance shall, upon notice of the municipal court, notify the surety within five (5) working days of receipt of the order of revocation. If after ten (10) working days of the notification the revocation order has not been set aside by the municipal court, then the commissioner shall revoke the authority of the surety and all agents of the surety and shall notify the sheriff of every county of such revocation.

(3) If within eighteen (18) months of the date of the final forfeiture the defendant appears for municipal court, is arrested or surrendered to the municipal court, or if the defendant is found to be incarcerated in another jurisdiction and a hold order placed on the defendant, then the amount of bail, less reasonable extradition cost, excluding attorney fees, shall be refunded by the municipal court upon application by the surety.

(4)(a) The municipal judge shall set the amount of bail for persons charged with offenses in municipal court and may approve the bond or recognizance therefor.

(b) The court shall not set the financial conditions of bail solely for the purpose of detaining the defendant. When bail is set, it is presumed that the amount of bail is both necessary to reasonably assure the safety of a victim, witness or the general public and to guarantee the appearance of a defendant as required by the court. The amount of bail is also presumed to be attainable by the defendant. The presumption that bail is attainable by the defendant may be rebutted by the defendant who may file a motion to reduce or set aside the bail requirement with the court due to lack of financial means, which shall also consider the availability of a third-party support system to obtain the defendant's release. The court shall rule on any such motion within forty-eight (48) hours of the filing.

(c) If the defendant or his counsel asserts that the defendant is indigent and cannot afford the amount of bail, the municipal judge shall make a determination of whether the defendant can be released on recognizance, based on the standards enumerated in the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure and any other factors considered relevant by the municipal judge. No misdemeanor defendant shall be incarcerated solely because the defendant cannot afford to post bail; nor shall a misdemeanor defendant be released solely because the defendant cannot afford bail. It is the duty of the municipal judge to ensure that release of the defendant does not jeopardize the community.

(d) The accused may waive an appearance before the judge and execute an appearance bond in an amount determined by the court from the bond guidelines set out in the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure and agree to appear at a specified time and place.

(e) If the municipal judge is unavailable and has not provided a bail schedule or otherwise provided for the setting of bail, it is lawful for any officer or officers designated by order of the municipal judge to take bond, cash, property or recognizance, with or without sureties, in the amount of the minimum bail specified in the bond guidelines set out in the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure, payable to the municipality and conditioned for the appearance of the person on the return day and time of the writ before the court to which the warrant is returnable, or in cases of arrest without a warrant, on the day and time set by the court or officer for arraignment, and there remain from day to day and term to term until discharged.

(f) In circumstances involving an offense against any of the following: (i) a current or former spouse of the accused or child of that person; (ii) a person living as a spouse or who formerly lived as a spouse with the accused or a child of that person; (iii) a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild or someone similarly situated to the accused; (iv) a person who has a current or former dating relationship with the accused; or (v) a person with whom the accused has had a biological or legally adopted child, the municipal judge shall check, or cause to be made a check of the status of the person for whom recognizance or bond is taken before ordering bail in the Mississippi Protection Order Registry authorized under Section 93-21-25 , and the existence of a domestic abuse protection order against the accused shall be considered when determining appropriate bail.

(g) All bonds shall be promptly returned to the court, together with any cash deposited, and be filed and proceeded on by the court in a case of forfeiture. The chief of the municipal police or a police officer or officers designated by order of the municipal judge may approve bonds or recognizances.

(h) All bonds and recognizances in municipal court where the municipal court shall have the jurisdiction to hear and determine the case may be made payable to the municipality and shall have the effect to bind the principal and any sureties on the bond or recognizance until they shall be discharged by due course of law without renewal.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-25-59 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 23 / Section 25-59
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-25-59
Status: in_force

After a water system has been constructed or upgraded pursuant to the provisions of Sections 21-25-51 through 21-25-59 , the municipality which reimbursed or paid a rural water system for the cost of such construction or upgrading shall not be charged with the costs of such construction or upgrade upon its purchase of the water system. The price of such newly constructed or upgraded water system shall be reduced by an amount equal to the costs paid by the municipality to the rural water system for such construction or upgrading of the water system.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-303 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 31 / Section 33-303
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-303
Status: in_force

No municipality shall hereafter issue bonds secured by a pledge of its full faith and credit for the purposes authorized by law in an amount which, when added to the then outstanding bonded indebtedness of such municipality, shall exceed either (a) fifteen percent (15%) of the assessed value of the taxable property within such municipality, according to the last completed assessment for taxation, or (b) ten percent (10%) of the assessment upon which taxes were levied for its fiscal year ending September 30, 1984, whichever is greater. In computing such indebtedness, there may be deducted all bonds or other evidences of indebtedness, heretofore or hereafter issued, for school, water, sewerage systems, gas, and light and power purposes and for the construction of special improvements primarily chargeable to the property benefited, or for the purpose of paying the municipality's proportion of any betterment program, a portion of which is primarily chargeable to the property benefited. However, in no case shall any municipality contract any indebtedness which, when added to all of the outstanding general obligation indebtedness, both bonded and floating, shall exceed either (a) twenty percent (20%) of the assessed value of all taxable property within such municipality according to the last completed assessment for taxation or (b) fifteen percent (15%) of the assessment upon which taxes were levied for its fiscal year ending September 30, 1984, whichever is greater. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to apply to contract obligations in any form heretofore or hereafter incurred by any municipality which are subject to annual appropriations therefor, or to bonds heretofore issued by any municipality for school purposes, or to contract obligations in any form heretofore or hereafter incurred by any municipality which are payable exclusively from the revenues of any municipally owned utility, or to bonds issued by any municipality under the provisions of Sections 57-1-1 through 57-1-51 , or to any special assessment improvement bonds issued by any municipality under the provisions of Sections 21-41-1 through 21-41-53 , or to any indebtedness incurred under Section 55-23-8 , or to any indebtedness incurred through a loan to a municipality under Section 57-75-11(tt) in connection with a project defined in Section 57-75-5(f)(xxvii) .

All bonds issued prior to July 1, 1990, pursuant to this chapter by any municipality for the purpose of the constructing, replacing, renovating or improving wastewater collection and treatment facilities in order to comply with an administrative order of the Mississippi Department of Natural Resources issued pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and amendments thereto, are hereby exempt from the limitation imposed by this section if the governing body of the municipality adopts an order, resolution or ordinance to the effect that the rates paid by the users of such facilities shall be increased to the extent necessary to provide sufficient funds for the payment of the principal of and interest on such bonds as each respectively becomes due and payable as well as the necessary expenses in connection with the operation and maintenance of such facilities.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-31-19 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 15 / Section 31-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-31-19
Status: in_force

The civil service commission shall keep a list of all members of the said police and/or fire department, and formulate methods of determining the relative qualifications of persons seeking employment in either department, and give preference to those having the best qualifications. The commission shall provide that men laid off because of curtailment of expenditures, reduction in force, and like causes, shall be the last man or men, including probationers, that have been appointed to either the fire and/or police departments, until such reductions necessary shall have been accomplished. However, in the event said department shall again be increased in number, those suspended shall be reinstated before any new appointments shall be made.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-215 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 27 / Section 29-215
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-215
Status: in_force

The commissioner of insurance, the attorney general, and the secretary of state of the State of Mississippi, shall be and are constituted a body to be known as the “board of disability and relief appeals,” with full duty and power to hear, consider and determine all matters brought before it on appeal from decisions of the boards of disability and relief. Determinations by said appeal board shall be final.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-41 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 15 / Section 27-41
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-41
Status: in_force

Whenever the governing authorities of any municipality shall determine to issue bonds pursuant to the authority granted in Section 21-27-23 to acquire or improve a system, it shall cause an estimate to be made of the cost of such system or improvement, and the fact that such estimate has been made shall appear in the ordinance authorizing the issuance of such bonds, which ordinance shall set forth a brief description in general terms of the contemplated system or improvement, the estimated life thereof, the said estimated cost thereof, the amount, date, denominations, rate of interest, times and places of payment and other details in connection with the issuance of the bonds, and such covenants and restrictions as may be necessary or desirable to safeguard the interests of the holders of the bonds.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-33 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 15 / Section 19-33
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-33
Status: in_force

The governing authorities of municipalities shall have the power to adopt reasonable ordinances for the regulation of circuses, shows, theaters, bowling alleys, concerts, theatrical exhibitions, skating rinks, pistol or shooting galleries, amusement parks and devices, and other similar things. Said authorities shall have the power and authority to regulate, prohibit, or suppress billiard tables, poolrooms, fortune-tellers, cane or knife racks, and slot machines and other gambling devices within the corporate limits. However, such governing authorities shall not be authorized to regulate, prohibit or suppress any gambling device, machine or equipment that is owned, possessed, controlled, installed, procured, repaired or transported within the corporate limits in accordance with subsection (4) of Section 97-33-7 or Section 75-76-34 . In addition, such governing authorities shall not be authorized to regulate, prohibit or suppress the ownership and display of antique coin machines as defined in Section 27-27-12 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-309 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 25 / Section 33-309
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-309
Status: in_force

The election provided for by Section 21-33-307 shall be held, as far as is practicable, in the same manner as other elections are held in municipalities. At such election, all qualified electors of such municipality may vote. The ballots used at such election shall have printed thereon a brief statement of the amount and purpose of the proposed bond issue and the words “FOR THE BOND ISSUE” and “AGAINST THE BOND ISSUE,” and the voter shall vote by placing a cross (X) or check mark (✓) opposite his choice on the proposition.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-15 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 29 / Section 29-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-15
Status: in_force

The clerk of said employer shall, within thirty (30) days after the effective date of the ordinance of the municipality to be passed as provided in Section 21-29-5 , prepare a statement showing the length of service of employees, prior to effective date of said ordinance, then employed by the employer and the total salaries or wages paid each in cash or warrants during the four (4) years of employment by the employer next before said effective date of said ordinance. Such facts shall, subject to correction after each employee is given ten (10) days within which to check and prove to the board any error therein, be the basis for the board to approve the issuance of prior service certificates and records and to determine the sum each prior service employee electing to come within the retirement system shall deposit in the employees' savings fund. The secretary of the board shall, upon approval of the board, issue to each employee a prior service certificate. The clerk of the employer shall have the duty of keeping all service records and all records on the various funds provided by this article. The clerk shall on or before July 1, 1987, forward all service records and funds to the Public Employees' Retirement System.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-41 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 7 / Section 27-41
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-41
Status: in_force

Whenever the governing authorities of any municipality shall determine to issue bonds pursuant to the authority granted in Section 21-27-23 to acquire or improve a system, it shall cause an estimate to be made of the cost of such system or improvement, and the fact that such estimate has been made shall appear in the ordinance authorizing the issuance of such bonds, which ordinance shall set forth a brief description in general terms of the contemplated system or improvement, the estimated life thereof, the said estimated cost thereof, the amount, date, denominations, rate of interest, times and places of payment and other details in connection with the issuance of the bonds, and such covenants and restrictions as may be necessary or desirable to safeguard the interests of the holders of the bonds.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-211 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 27 / Section 27-211
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-211
Status: in_force

(1) It is unlawful to operate or cause to be operated any wastewater facility or community water system covered under Sections 21-27-201 through 21-27-221 unless the operator of that facility or system holds a current certificate of competency issued by the board or commission, as provided by Sections 21-27-201 through 21-27-221 , in a classification corresponding to the classification of the facility or system. After July 1, 1998, it shall be unlawful to operate or cause to be operated any nontransient, noncommunity water system covered under Sections 21-27-201 through 21-27-221 , unless the operator of that system holds a current certificate of competency issued by the board. If an operator is lost due to illness, death, resignation, discharge or other legitimate cause, the owner or president of the governing board of the facility or system shall immediately notify either the board or commission, as the case may be. The facility or system may continue to operate without a certified operator on an interim basis for a period not to exceed one hundred eighty (180) days, except for good cause shown upon petition to the responsible agency. The board or the commission, as the case may be, may grant, upon petition of the facility or system, an extension of the interim operating period not to exceed an additional one hundred eighty (180) days for good cause shown.

(2) It is unlawful to operate or cause to be operated any commercial nonhazardous solid waste management landfill permitted under Section 49-17-29 unless the operator of that facility holds a current certificate of competency issued by the commission, as provided by Sections 21-27-201 through 21-27-221 . However, in the event of the loss of an operator due to illness, death, resignation, discharge or other legitimate cause, notice shall be immediately given to the commission and the continued operation of the facility without a certified operator may proceed on an interim basis for a period not to exceed one hundred eighty (180) days, except for good cause shown upon petition to the commission.

(3) After June 30, 2005, it is unlawful to operate or cause to be operated any commercial Class I rubbish site, unless the operator of that facility holds a certificate of competency issued by the commission under Sections 21-27-201 through 21-27-221 . However, in the event of the loss of an operator due to illness, death, resignation, discharge or other legitimate cause, notice shall be immediately given to the commission and the continued operation of the facility without a certified operator may proceed on an interim basis for a period not to exceed one hundred eighty (180) days, except for good cause shown upon petition to the commission.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-29 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 8 / Section 33-29
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-29
Status: in_force

Except as otherwise provided in Section 21-33-10 , the governing authorities of every municipality shall, at a regular or special meeting to be held in September or October in each year (unless a different time be fixed by order), receive the assessment rolls of real and personal property from the assessor and shall proceed to change, correct, revise, and equalize said assessments in the same manner and with the same powers as is provided for the equalization of assessments by county boards of supervisors. When the equalization has been completed, the governing authorities shall give ten (10) days' notice of the regular or special meeting at which objections to such assessments will be heard. The Notice shall be given by publication at least one (1) time in a legal newspaper, if there be one published in the municipality, and if no such newspaper be published in the municipality, the notice shall be given by posting written notices thereof in five (5) or more public places in the municipality.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-37 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 17 / Section 19-37
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-37
Status: in_force

The governing authorities of any municipality within this state are hereby authorized and empowered to adopt ordinances in the manner now provided by law to regulate the sale of goods, wares, or merchandise within the corporate limits of such municipality, subject to the provisions hereinafter named.

Such governing body is hereby authorized and empowered to enact an ordinance requiring any person, firm, or corporation desiring to conduct a sale commonly known as bankruptcy, insolvent, liquidation, assignee's, receiver's, trustee's, adjuster's, wholesale, manufacturer's, or closing-out sale, or a sale of goods damaged by fire, smoke, or water, or otherwise, to file with such governing authorities a petition for the privilege of conducting such sale, showing:

(a) the nature of the sale and the length of time required by the petitioner for conducting said sale;

(b) whether or not it is the purpose of said petitioner to replenish his stock of goods, wares, and merchandise during the course of the sale, and to what extent it is proposed to replenish said stock;

(c) the place of sale and approximate value of goods to be sold.

Such governing authorities may provide for a privilege tax in any sum not in excess of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for the privilege of conducting such sale, and may provide that such privilege tax shall be good and valid only for the conduct of a sale of goods in the manner and at the time and place set forth and prescribed in the application for the privilege of conducting such sale.

Nothing in this section, however, shall be construed to authorize and empower municipal governing authorities to enact any ordinances to prevent or to interfere with any sale made by a trustee under a deed of trust or an assignment, or by sheriffs, constables, or other public or court officials, or by any other person or persons acting under the authority and/or direction of any court in the course of official duty, or by any duly licensed bona fide merchant of such municipality conducting a seasonal or special sale ordinarily conducted by merchants, or by any bona fide merchant who is closing out his stock of goods and advertises such sale to that effect, or by a bona fide merchant whose own stock of goods has been damaged by fire, smoke, water, or otherwise, and who advertises as such.

Such municipal governing authorities may, by ordinance, prescribe penalties for the violation of such ordinance and may make such violation of said ordinances punishable in the manner provided by law for the punishment of misdemeanors.

The provisions of this section shall apply to all municipalities of this state, whether operating under the code charter, a special charter, commission form, or other form of government.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-9-55 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 9 / Section 9-55
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-9-55
Status: in_force

If at the beginning of the first term of office of the first city council elected by any city under the provisions of this chapter, the appropriations for the expenditures for the city government for the current fiscal year shall have been made, the council shall have power, by ordinance, to revise, to repeal, or change said appropriations and to make additional appropriations.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-5 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 8 / Section 33-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-5
Status: in_force

The governing authorities of each municipality shall prescribe by order the form of the land assessment roll, adhering to the basic form prescribed by the state tax commission which shall be similar to the form prescribed for and used by county tax assessors for the assessment of municipal lands. When a municipality has added territory, the roll used for the assessment of lands in such added territory shall be generally in the form of the roll used in the assessment of such lands by the county, and be on sheets of the same size.

The land roll shall contain space or columns for the name of the owner, for the name of the subdivision, survey or addition, for block and lot numbers and, if required, for the section, township and range. It shall contain a column to show the value of any buildings, structures or improvements, and separately a column to show the value of the lands, and the total value.

In addition to the columns above specified, the governing authorities may provide columns to show the number of the tax receipt, the amount of ad valorem taxes collected, and the amounts collected for any special improvement or improvements.

Municipalities using accounting machines equipment may adopt such forms as may be required for the use of such equipment, provided that the information required herein is substantially set forth on said forms.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-31-73 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 15 / Section 31-73
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-31-73
Status: in_force

The fixing of the rate of compensation of every employee coming under the provisions of Sections 21-31-51 through 21-31-75 shall remain vested in those public officials authorized by law to fix the rate of such compensation, and nothing contained in said sections shall infringe upon the power and authority of any such public officials to so fix the rate of such compensation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-105 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 3 / Section 29-105
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-105
Status: in_force

The Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi shall have operational and administrative control of the funds created herein.

In each municipality there shall be a board to serve in an advisory capacity to the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System with respect to matters concerning the disability and relief fund. Such board shall consist of five (5) members as follows: two (2) shall be elected by the membership of the police department, two (2) shall be elected by the membership of the fire department; and the mayor or his designee shall be an ex officio member. Retired members of the police department and fire department may participate in elections to choose members of the board, and such retired members are also eligible to serve on the board. The term of elected members shall be for four (4) years, and any vacancy in the elected membership shall be filled in the same manner as the original membership was selected.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-39 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 1 / Section 15-39
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-39
Status: in_force

The provisions of Sections 21-15-3 , 21-15-7 through 21-15-19 , 21-15-23 to 21-15-31 , shall be applicable to all municipalities of this state, whether operating under a code charter, special charter, or the commission form of government, except in cases of conflict between the provisions of such sections and the provisions of the special charter of a municipality, or the law governing the commission form of government, in which cases of conflict the provisions of the special charter or the statutes relative to the commission form of government shall control.

The provisions of Sections 21-15-1 , 21-15-5 , 21-15-33 , shall apply to all municipalities of this state, whether operating under the code charter, a special charter, commission form, or other form of government.

The provisions of Section 21-15-21 , shall apply to all municipalities, whether operating under code charter, special charter, or any commission form of government.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-327 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 19 / Section 33-327
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-327
Status: in_force

No interest-bearing indebtedness shall hereafter be incurred by any municipality, except in the manner hereinabove provided, or as may otherwise be provided by law.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-21-11 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 5 / Section 21-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-21-11
Status: in_force

The governing authorities of any municipality having a population in excess of 140,000 people by virtue of the 1960 census are hereby authorized to purchase insurance coverage to protect members of the police force working under the direction of the municipal authorities, against any suit or claims growing out of any action of such policemen guilty of false arrest, false imprisonment, false or improper service of process, malicious prosecution or any other claim resulting from such officers' performance of official duties.

Such municipal authorities shall have the right to pay, out of the general fund of such municipality any premiums which may become due on the aforesaid insurance policies.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-41-33 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 35 / Section 41-33
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-41-33
Status: in_force

If, after the original assessment shall have been made, a portion of any lot or parcel of land which is assessed in solido, shall have changed ownership so that no one person is the owner of the entire lot or parcel of land so assessed in solido, then any such owner, or other party interested therein, may apply to the municipal authorities for a change or division of the assessment. Such application shall be in writing, filed with the municipal clerk, and the same notice and procedure shall be had thereon as is provided for the redemption of less than the whole when sold for delinquent installments. If the governing authorities are satisfied from their investigation that the land in each instance will be adequate security for the assessment placed thereon, and that the rights of the municipality will be in no wise injuriously affected, they may by appropriate order change or divide the assessments according to the ownership of the land so assessed.

The decision of the governing authorities as to the right to change or divide assessments shall be final. Any aggrieved party shall have the right to appeal as in other cases.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-71 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 33 / Section 33-71
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-71
Status: in_force

When the state, county, or taxing district taxes are paid by a municipality, or where lands are redeemed or purchased by a municipality, as provided in Section 21-33-69 , such lands shall not be exempt from state, county, or other taxing district taxes but shall be liable for such taxes the same as if owned by an individual. It shall be the duty of the tax assessor to assess lands purchased pursuant to the authority granted in Section 29-1-51, Mississippi Code of 1972 , for taxes in the same manner as other lands are assessed and if the taxes are not paid when due, it shall be the duty of the tax collector to sell said land for the delinquent taxes due and unpaid at the time and in the manner provided by law for the sale of lands for delinquent taxes.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-9 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 9 / Section 29-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-9
Status: in_force

The Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi is hereby constituted a board, which shall be known as the Board of the General Retirement System of __________.

The governing body of a municipality may appoint a board of not more than five (5) members who shall be representative of the membership of the retirement system. Such board shall serve in an advisory capacity to the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-11 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 13 / Section 23-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-11
Status: in_force

The clerk of the municipality shall be the clerk of the municipal court, unless the governing authorities shall otherwise elect. The clerk of the court shall attend the sittings of the court in person or by duly appointed deputies, and he shall be under the direction of the municipal judge. The governing authorities may authorize the municipal judge to appoint other municipal employees as deputy clerks of the court to assist the clerk of the court in the conduct of the court's responsibilities or the governing authorities may appoint deputy clerks of the court. The authorization to appoint and/or appointment of deputy clerks of the court shall be entered in the minutes of the municipality. A police officer of the municipality may be the clerk of the court or a deputy clerk of the court. The governing authorities shall provide for the training of court personnel.

The clerk of the court shall keep permanent dockets, upon which all cases shall be entered; said docket shall contain the style of the case and the nature of the charge against an accused, and the names of witnesses for the prosecution and defendant. The clerk of the court shall also keep a minute record in which all orders and judgments shall be entered. One (1) record may serve as both the docket record and minute record. The clerk of the court or deputy clerk of the court shall issue all process from the court, except arrest warrants or process for the seizure of persons and property, and shall administer the collection of all fines, penalties, fees and costs imposed by the court and deposit all collections with the municipal treasurer or equivalent officer. The clerk of the court shall purchase all dockets, minute record, stationery and other supplies for the municipal court, and have the account allowed by the municipal judge; the order allowing the same shall be entered upon the minutes, and the municipal authorities shall pay the same. The clerk of the court and deputy clerks of the court shall have power to take acknowledgments, administer any oaths required by law to be taken by any person, and take affidavits charging any crime against the municipality or state.

When the municipal judge is unavailable, persons charged with the commission of misdemeanor violations within the municipality may be brought before the clerk of the court for initial appearances required by the Mississippi Uniform Criminal Rules of Circuit Court Practice where the clerk of the court has satisfactorily completed a course of training and education on this subject conducted by the Mississippi Judicial College of the University of Mississippi Law Center and the municipal judge has established written guidelines and procedures for the clerk of the court to discharge this function. Such guidelines shall be entered in the minutes of the court and be deemed a public record and made available to defendant or counsel.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-5 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 7 / Section 29-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-5
Status: in_force

In every municipality of the State of Mississippi, operating under a commission form of government as of March 31, 1948, and having a population of twenty-one thousand or more, according to the 1940 federal census, and in every municipality bordering on tide water and having a population of more than fifteen thousand, it shall be the duty of the governing body of said municipality to create and maintain a fund known as the “City Employees Retirement Fund,” which shall be maintained for the benefits of certain city employees hereinafter named and which shall be derived, raised and administered in the manner hereinafter provided.

In any municipality coming under the provisions of this article, upon a petition signed by twenty per cent of the qualified electors of such municipality, protesting against the operation of this article and petitioning for an election thereon to determine whether a majority of the qualified electors of such municipality desire for such municipality to come from under the terms of this article, providing such petition is filed with the governing body of such municipality by July 29, 1948, the municipal authorities of such municipality shall call an election by August 28, 1948, after giving notice for three consecutive weeks, as to whether the municipality desires to come from under the provisions of this article. At said election, the ballots used by the qualified electors shall read: “For the Retirement Fund for the City Employees,” “Against the Retirement Fund for the City Employees.” Said election shall be held as such other elections of like nature, and if at such election a majority of those participating thereat shall vote against the retirement fund for the city employees, then this article shall not apply to such municipality. If no petition is filed as above provided, the governing body of said municipality shall by August 28, 1948, pass the required ordinance to begin the operation of said retirement system in accordance with the provisions hereof.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-191 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 3 / Section 27-191
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-191
Status: in_force

Sections 21-27-161 through 21-27-191 are cumulative of other statutes now or hereafter enacted relating to the issuance of bonds; the collection, transportation, treatment or disposal of wastes; and the design, construction, acquisition or approval of facilities for such purposes, and the municipality may exercise all presently held powers in the furtherance of said sections.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-57 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 9 / Section 33-57
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-57
Status: in_force

The property owner affected by any assessment made under Section 21-33-55 shall have thirty (30) days within which to pay the taxes after the approval of assessment. After the expiration of thirty (30) days, if the taxes shall not have been paid, it shall be the duty of the governing authorities of the municipality to designate a time for sale. Except as otherwise provided in Section 27-41-2 , the sale shall be made according to the law governing the sale of property for taxes, and lists shall be filed as required by law as in other cases of sales for taxes.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-8-7 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 8 / Section 8-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-8-7
Status: in_force

(1) Each municipality operating under the mayor-council form of government shall be governed by an elected council and an elected mayor. Other officers and employees shall be duly appointed pursuant to this chapter, general law or ordinance.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4) of this section, the mayor and council members shall be elected by the voters of the municipality at a regular municipal election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June as provided in Section 21-11-7 , and shall serve for a term of four (4) years beginning on the first day of July next following the election that is not on a weekend.

(3) The terms of the initial mayor and council members shall commence at the expiration of the terms of office of the elected officials of the municipality serving at the time of adoption of the mayor-council form.

(4)(a) The council shall consist of five (5), seven (7) or nine (9) members. In the event there are five (5) council members, the municipality shall be divided into either five (5) or four (4) wards. In the event there are seven (7) council members, the municipality shall be divided into either seven (7), six (6) or five (5) wards. In the event there are nine (9) council members, the municipality shall be divided into seven (7) or nine (9) wards. If the municipality is divided into fewer wards than it has council members, the other council member or members shall be elected from the municipality at large. The total number of council members and the number of council members elected from wards shall be established by the petition or petitions presented pursuant to Section 21-8-3 . One (1) council member shall be elected from each ward by the voters of that ward. Council members elected to represent wards must be residents of their wards for two (2) years as provided in Section 23-15-300 at the time of qualification for election, and any council member who removes the member's residence from the municipality or from the ward from which elected shall vacate that office. However, any candidate for council member who is properly qualified as a candidate under applicable law shall be deemed to be qualified as a candidate in whatever ward the member resides if the ward has changed after the council has redistricted the municipality as provided in paragraph (c)(ii) of this subsection (4), and if the wards have been so changed, any person may qualify as a candidate for council member, by changing the person's residence, not less than fifteen (15) days before the first party primary or special party primary, as the case may be, notwithstanding any other residency or qualification requirements to the contrary.

(b) The council or board existing at the time of the adoption of the mayor-council form of government shall designate the geographical boundaries of the wards within one hundred twenty (120) days after the election in which the mayor-council form of government is selected. In designating the geographical boundaries of the wards, each ward shall contain, as nearly as possible, the population factor obtained by dividing the municipality's population as shown by the most recent decennial census by the number of wards into which the municipality is to be divided.

(c)(i) It shall be the mandatory duty of the council to redistrict the municipality by ordinance, which ordinance may not be vetoed by the mayor, within six (6) months after the official publication by the United States of the population of the municipality as enumerated in each decennial census, and within six (6) months after the effective date of any expansion of municipal boundaries; however, if the publication of the most recent decennial census or effective date of an expansion of the municipal boundaries occurs six (6) months or more before the first party primary of a general municipal election, then the council shall redistrict the municipality by ordinance not less than sixty (60) days before the first party primary.

(ii) If the publication of the most recent decennial census occurs less than six (6) months before the first primary of a general municipal election, the election shall be held with regard to the existing defined wards; reapportioned wards based on the census shall not serve as the basis for representation until the next regularly scheduled election in which council members shall be elected.

(d) If annexation of additional territory into the municipal corporate limits of the municipality occurs less than six (6) months before the first party primary of a general municipal election, the council shall, by ordinance adopted within three (3) days of the effective date of the annexation, assign the annexed territory to an adjacent ward or wards so as to maintain as nearly as possible substantial equality of population between wards; any subsequent redistricting of the municipality by ordinance as required by this chapter shall not serve as the basis for representation until the next regularly scheduled election for municipal council members.

(5) Vacancies occurring in the council shall be filled as provided in Section 23-15-857 .

(6) The mayor shall maintain an office at the city hall. The council members shall not maintain individual offices at the city hall; however, in a municipality having a population of one hundred thousand (100,000) and above according to the latest federal decennial census, council members may have individual offices in the city hall. Clerical work of council members in the performance of the duties of their office shall be performed by municipal employees or at municipal expense, and council members shall be reimbursed for the reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of the duties of their office.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-29 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 1 / Section 33-29
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-29
Status: in_force

Except as otherwise provided in Section 21-33-10 , the governing authorities of every municipality shall, at a regular or special meeting to be held in September or October in each year (unless a different time be fixed by order), receive the assessment rolls of real and personal property from the assessor and shall proceed to change, correct, revise, and equalize said assessments in the same manner and with the same powers as is provided for the equalization of assessments by county boards of supervisors. When the equalization has been completed, the governing authorities shall give ten (10) days' notice of the regular or special meeting at which objections to such assessments will be heard. The Notice shall be given by publication at least one (1) time in a legal newspaper, if there be one published in the municipality, and if no such newspaper be published in the municipality, the notice shall be given by posting written notices thereof in five (5) or more public places in the municipality.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-38-15 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 38 / Section 38-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-38-15
Status: in_force

Whenever the corporate boundaries of a municipality shall be enlarged under this chapter, the municipality shall furnish to the chancery clerk of the county in which the municipality is located a map or plat of the boundaries of the municipality as altered. The map or plat shall be recorded in the official plat book of the county.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-19 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 21 / Section 27-19
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-19
Status: in_force

The commission shall devote all monies, derived from any source other than the issuance of bonds for purposes authorized by the laws of the State of Mississippi, to or for the payment of all operating expenses, including such items as are normally required of utilities for sales development; to or for the payment of all bonds and interest on outstanding revenue bonds, if any, of such systems; to or for the acquisition and improvement of the system contingencies; to or for the payment of all other obligations incurred in the operation and maintenance of the systems and the furnishing of service; to or for the creation and maintenance of a cash working fund or a surplus fund to be used for replacement, extension of systems, and emergencies. The balance of the revenues of said systems, if any, may be used for any other lawful municipal purpose and may be paid to the governing authorities of the municipality for distribution to the various municipal funds, or may be disbursed for said purpose by the said commission at the direction and request of the governing authorities of such municipality.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-329 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 17 / Section 29-329
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-329
Status: in_force

(1) Any municipality that has established a retirement fund or disability and relief fund under the provisions of Article 1, 3 or 5 of this chapter, shall be authorized to adopt a resolution to allow those spouses who are receiving retirement benefits under the provisions of those articles, to continue to receive the spouse retirement benefits for life even if the spouse remarries. The resolution also may provide that surviving spouses of deceased members who received spouse retirement benefits that were terminated upon remarriage may again receive the spouse retirement benefits from and after making application with the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System to reinstate the benefits. Any reinstatement of spouse retirement benefits shall be prospective only from and after the first of the month following the date of application for reinstatement.

(2) The continuation or reinstatement of spouse retirement benefits authorized under this section shall not be continued or reinstated unless all of the following requirements are met:

(a) The municipal retirement fund or disability and relief fund is actuarially sound, as shown by the most recent actuarial study required by Section 21-29-27 , 21-29-119 or 21-29-221 ;

(b) The municipal retirement fund or disability and relief fund will remain actuarially sound if the spouse retirement benefits are continued or reinstated, as shown by a certified statement from the actuarial firm that prepared the most recent actuarial study;

(c) The governing authorities of the municipality adopt a resolution requesting the continuation or reinstatement of the spouse retirement benefits as authorized in this section and transmit the resolution to the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System; and

(d) If applicable, the surviving spouse makes an application to the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System to reinstate the spouse retirement benefits.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-35 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 21 / Section 29-35
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-35
Status: in_force

Upon application of a member in service of the employer, any member who has become totally and permanently incapacitated for duty as the natural and proximate result of the actual performance of duty of the employer, without wilful negligence on his part, may be retired by the board on a duty disability retirement allowance effective thirty days after the filing of an application in writing with the board. However, the physician or physicians selected by the board to examine the member shall certify that such member is presumably permanently and totally disabled from engaging in any gainful occupation for compensation or profit, that under the facts as to the cause of disability, as certified by the board, the member's disability could have with reasonable probability resulted, in such physician's opinion, and that such member should be retired.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-123 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 8 / Section 29-123
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-123
Status: in_force

All allowances made upon the disability and relief fund for firemen and policemen shall be drawn against the fund by the board of trustees, and shall be issued only upon compliance with the rules and regulations of the board of trustees, or the board of disability and relief appeals.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-25 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 8 / Section 19-25
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-25
Status: in_force

(1) Any municipality within the State of Mississippi may, in the discretion of its governing authority, adopt building codes, plumbing codes, electrical codes, gas codes, sanitary codes, or any other codes dealing with general public health, safety or welfare, or a combination of the same, by ordinance, in the manner prescribed in this section. Before any such code shall be adopted, it shall be either printed or typewritten, and it shall be presented in pamphlet form to the governing authority of the municipality at a regular meeting. The ordinance adopting the code shall not set out the code in full, but shall merely identify the same. The vote on passage of the ordinance shall be the same as on any other ordinances. After its adoption, the code shall be certified to by the mayor and clerk of the municipality, and shall be filed as a permanent record in the office of the clerk, who shall not be required to transcribe and record the same in the ordinance book as other ordinances. It shall not be necessary that the ordinance adopting the code or the code itself be published in full, but notice of the adoption of the code shall be given by publication in some newspaper of the municipality for one (1) time, or if there be no such newspaper, by posting at three (3) or more public places within the corporate limits, a notice in substantially the following form:

Notice is given that the city (or town or village) of , on the (give date of ordinance adopting code), adopted (state type of code and other information serving to identify the same) code.

(2) If the governing authority of any municipality adopts or has adopted construction codes which do not have proper provisions to maintain up-to-date amendments, specifications in such codes for cements used in portland cement concrete shall be superseded by nationally recognized specifications referenced in any code adopted by the Mississippi Building Code Council.

(3) All the provisions of this section shall apply to amendments and revisions of the code mentioned in this section. Any code adopted in accordance with this section shall not be in force for one (1) month after its passage, unless the municipal authorities in the ordinance authorize to the contrary. The provisions of this section shall be in addition and supplemental to any existing laws authorizing the adoption, amendment or revision of municipal ordinances or codes.

(4) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, any code adopted by a municipality before or after April 12, 2001, is subject to the provisions of Section 41-26-14(10) .

(5) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, the governing authorities of each municipality in Jackson, Harrison, Hancock, Stone and Pearl River Counties shall enforce the requirements imposed under Section 17-2-1 as provided in such section.

(6) Regardless of whether the governing authority of any municipality adopts or has adopted construction codes, as set forth in this section, each and every governing authority of any municipality shall require permitting as a condition to construction within the municipality's jurisdiction, and any and all such permits shall contain on their faces, in conspicuous print, (a) the contractor's material purchase certificate number to the extent one is furnished by the Department of Revenue pursuant to Section 27-65-21(3) or the contractor's Taxpayer Identification Number as furnished by the Internal Revenue Service, and either a copy of such material purchase certificate furnished by the Department of Revenue pursuant to Section 27-65-21(3) , or a copy of the contractor's W-9, as the case may be, shall be required to be provided to the governing authority of such municipality as part of the contractor's application for such permit, prior to the issuance of such permit, and (b) the contractor's license or certificate of responsibility number as required by either Section 31-3-14 et seq. , 51-5-1 et seq. or 73-59-1 et seq.

(7) The provisions of this section shall apply to all municipalities of this state, whether operating under the code charter, a special charter, commission form, or other form of government.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-325 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 17 / Section 29-325
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-325
Status: in_force

The Public Employees' Retirement System shall make payments of retirement benefits under this chapter to members and to the beneficiaries of those members, by whatever means the board prescribes by regulation to be the most appropriate for the proper and efficient payment of benefits, including, but not limited to, direct deposit to an account with a financial institution that is a participant of the Automated Clearing House designated by the member or beneficiary. The board may provide for alternative means of payment if the member or beneficiary can demonstrate that payment by the prescribed means will cause the member or beneficiary undue hardship.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-8 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 17 / Section 23-8
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-23-8
Status: in_force

(1)(a) The purpose of bail is to guarantee appearance and a bail bond shall not be forfeited for any other reason.

(b)(i) If a defendant in any criminal case, proceeding or matter fails to appear for any proceeding as ordered by the municipal court, then the court shall order the bail forfeited and a judgment nisi and a bench warrant issued at the time of nonappearance. The clerk of the municipal court shall notify the surety of the forfeiture by writ of scire facias, with a copy of the judgment nisi and bench warrant attached thereto, within ten (10) working days of such order of judgment nisi either by personal service or by certified mail. Failure of the clerk to provide the required notice within ten (10) working days shall constitute prima facie evidence that the order should be set aside.

(ii)1. The judgment nisi shall be returnable for ninety (90) days from the date of issuance. If during that period the defendant appears before the municipal court, or is arrested and surrendered, then the judgment nisi shall be set aside. If the surety produces the defendant or provides to the municipal court reasonable mitigating circumstances upon such showing, then the forfeiture shall not be made final. If the forfeiture is made final, a copy of the final judgment shall be served on the surety within ten (10) working days by either personal service or certified mail.

2. Reasonable mitigating circumstances shall be that the defendant is incarcerated in another jurisdiction; that the defendant is hospitalized under a doctor's care; that the defendant is in a recognized drug rehabilitation program; that the defendant has been placed in a witness protection program, in which case it shall be the duty of any agency placing the defendant into a witness protection program to notify the municipal court and the municipal court to notify the surety; or any other reason justifiable to the municipal court.

(2) If a final judgment is entered against a surety licensed by the Department of Insurance and has not been set aside after ninety (90) days, or later if such time is extended by the municipal court issuing the judgment nisi, then the municipal court shall order the department to revoke the authority of the surety to write bail bonds. The Commissioner of Insurance shall, upon notice of the municipal court, notify the surety within five (5) working days of receipt of the order of revocation. If after ten (10) working days of the notification the revocation order has not been set aside by the municipal court, then the commissioner shall revoke the authority of the surety and all agents of the surety and shall notify the sheriff of every county of such revocation.

(3) If within eighteen (18) months of the date of the final forfeiture the defendant appears for municipal court, is arrested or surrendered to the municipal court, or if the defendant is found to be incarcerated in another jurisdiction and a hold order placed on the defendant, then the amount of bail, less reasonable extradition cost, excluding attorney fees, shall be refunded by the municipal court upon application by the surety.

(4)(a) The municipal judge shall set the amount of bail for persons charged with offenses in municipal court and may approve the bond or recognizance therefor.

(b) The court shall not set the financial conditions of bail solely for the purpose of detaining the defendant. When bail is set, it is presumed that the amount of bail is both necessary to reasonably assure the safety of a victim, witness or the general public and to guarantee the appearance of a defendant as required by the court. The amount of bail is also presumed to be attainable by the defendant. The presumption that bail is attainable by the defendant may be rebutted by the defendant who may file a motion to reduce or set aside the bail requirement with the court due to lack of financial means, which shall also consider the availability of a third-party support system to obtain the defendant's release. The court shall rule on any such motion within forty-eight (48) hours of the filing.

(c) If the defendant or his counsel asserts that the defendant is indigent and cannot afford the amount of bail, the municipal judge shall make a determination of whether the defendant can be released on recognizance, based on the standards enumerated in the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure and any other factors considered relevant by the municipal judge. No misdemeanor defendant shall be incarcerated solely because the defendant cannot afford to post bail; nor shall a misdemeanor defendant be released solely because the defendant cannot afford bail. It is the duty of the municipal judge to ensure that release of the defendant does not jeopardize the community.

(d) The accused may waive an appearance before the judge and execute an appearance bond in an amount determined by the court from the bond guidelines set out in the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure and agree to appear at a specified time and place.

(e) If the municipal judge is unavailable and has not provided a bail schedule or otherwise provided for the setting of bail, it is lawful for any officer or officers designated by order of the municipal judge to take bond, cash, property or recognizance, with or without sureties, in the amount of the minimum bail specified in the bond guidelines set out in the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure, payable to the municipality and conditioned for the appearance of the person on the return day and time of the writ before the court to which the warrant is returnable, or in cases of arrest without a warrant, on the day and time set by the court or officer for arraignment, and there remain from day to day and term to term until discharged.

(f) In circumstances involving an offense against any of the following: (i) a current or former spouse of the accused or child of that person; (ii) a person living as a spouse or who formerly lived as a spouse with the accused or a child of that person; (iii) a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild or someone similarly situated to the accused; (iv) a person who has a current or former dating relationship with the accused; or (v) a person with whom the accused has had a biological or legally adopted child, the municipal judge shall check, or cause to be made a check of the status of the person for whom recognizance or bond is taken before ordering bail in the Mississippi Protection Order Registry authorized under Section 93-21-25 , and the existence of a domestic abuse protection order against the accused shall be considered when determining appropriate bail.

(g) All bonds shall be promptly returned to the court, together with any cash deposited, and be filed and proceeded on by the court in a case of forfeiture. The chief of the municipal police or a police officer or officers designated by order of the municipal judge may approve bonds or recognizances.

(h) All bonds and recognizances in municipal court where the municipal court shall have the jurisdiction to hear and determine the case may be made payable to the municipality and shall have the effect to bind the principal and any sureties on the bond or recognizance until they shall be discharged by due course of law without renewal.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-11 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 19 / Section 29-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-11
Status: in_force

The general administration and responsibility for the proper operation of the retirement system and for making effective the provisions of this article are hereby vested in the board, the members of which shall serve without compensation except as otherwise provided by law. The board shall organize and adopt such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary and promptly do such things as may properly be done.

The board shall have, in addition to all others, the following rights, powers and duties:

(a) It shall keep minutes of its proceedings which shall be open to public inspection;

(b) Fix a time for regular meetings and provide for the means of calling special meetings;

(c) A majority of all of the board members present shall constitute a quorum for transaction of the affairs of the board;

(d) To hear, consider and pass upon all applications coming before it and order payments as provided by this article, and the board may hear witnesses and administer oaths, appoint hearing officers and make decisions in all matters properly before said board;

(e) It shall have full power to invest and reinvest the funds of the retirement system under the provisions of Section 25-11-121 . Moreover, said board shall have full power to order the custodian of securities and funds hereafter designated to hold, purchase, sell, assign, transfer and dispose of any of the securities and investments in which any of the funds created herein shall have been invested, as well as the proceeds of said investments and all moneys belonging to said funds. The funds held by the board may be commingled with other Public Employees' Retirement System investments for the most advantageous investments;

(f) It shall annually determine and allow interest on each individual account in the employees' saving fund based on the average percentage of interest earned from investment or deposit of all funds of the retirement system. However, the interest to be credited to such individual accounts shall not exceed one percent (1%) per annum.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-9-3 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 5 / Section 9-3
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-9-3
Status: in_force

The manner of effecting the change in the government of any such city from the form of government under which it is operating to the council-manager plan of government shall be as follows:

One or more petitions, similar in form and substance, addressed to the mayor, praying that an election be held to determine whether or not such city shall abandon its existing form of government and become organized under a council-manager plan of government, signed by at least ten percent (10%) of the qualified electors of such city, shall be filed with the city clerk, who shall within ten (10) days thereafter check the signatures thereto with the registration books of the city and attach thereto his certificate showing the total number of qualified electors in said city, and the total number of signatures to said petitions and deliver the same to the mayor.

If, on the delivery of such petition to the mayor, it shall appear that such petition or petitions have not been signed by the required number of qualified electors of such city, the mayor shall at once certify such fact and immediately return such petition or petitions to the person or persons presenting the same, who may thereafter procure additional signers thereto and again file such petition or petitions with the city clerk, as above provided, as an original petition.

If it shall at any time appear from the certificate of the city clerk that said petition or petitions have been signed by the required number of qualified electors of said city, the mayor shall immediately refer the same to the city council or board and if it shall appear that said petition or petitions are in proper form and have been sufficiently signed by the qualified electors of such city, the council or board shall within five (5) days order and provide for the holding of a special election in such city not less than twenty (20) days nor more than sixty (60) days from the date of making such order, notice of which shall be given, and the same shall be held and conducted as other elections in such city. At such special election the propositions to be voted for shall be: (1) “FOR THE PRESENT FORM OF GOVERNMENT” and “FOR THE COUNCIL-MANAGER PLAN OF GOVERNMENT,” and (2) “FOR COUNCILMEN ELECTED AT LARGE” and “FOR COUNCILMEN ELECTED BY WARDS,” which propositions shall be printed on the official ballot at such election.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-305 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 1 / Section 29-305
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-305
Status: in_force

Each employer shall pick up the member contributions required by Sections 21-29-17 , 21-29-117 and 21-29-219, Mississippi Code of 1972 , for all compensation earned after January 1, 1989, and the contributions so picked up shall be treated as employer contributions in determining tax treatment under the United States Internal Revenue Code and the Mississippi Income Tax Code; however, each employer shall continue to withhold federal and state income taxes based upon such contributions until the Internal Revenue Service or the federal courts rule that, pursuant to Section 414(h) of the United States Internal Revenue Code , these contributions shall not be included as gross income of the member until such time as they are distributed or made available. The employer may pick up these contributions by a reduction in the cash salary of the member, or by an offset against a future salary increase, or by a combination of a reduction in salary and offset against a future salary increase. If member contributions are picked up they shall be treated for all purposes of the General Municipal Employees' Retirement System and Firemen's and Policemen's Disability Relief Funds under Articles 1, 3 and 5 of this chapter in the same manner and to the same extent as member contributions made prior to the date picked up.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-125 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 17 / Section 29-125
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-125
Status: in_force

The authority is vested in the board of trustees to invest such part of said fund as may not be immediately required, in investments authorized under Section 25-11-121 with the right to change said investment from time to time, and with the right and duty to convert invested funds into current funds as the same may be needed for the purpose of this article.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-31-71 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 17 / Section 31-71
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-31-71
Status: in_force

No person in the classified civil service who shall have been permanently appointed or inducted into civil service under the provisions of Sections 21-31-51 through 21-31-75 shall be removed, suspended, demoted or discharged, or any combination thereof, except for cause, and only upon the written accusation of the appointing power or any citizen or taxpayer, a written statement of which accusation, in general terms, shall be served upon the accused, and a duplicate filed with the commission. The mayor may suspend a member pending the confirmation of the suspension by the regular appointing power, which shall be within three (3) days.

In the absence of extraordinary circumstances or situations, before any such employee may be removed or discharged, he shall be given written notice of the intended termination, which notice shall state the reasons for termination and inform the employee that he has the right to respond in writing to the reasons given for termination within a reasonable time and respond orally before the official charged with the responsibility of making the termination decision. Such official may, in his discretion, provide for a pretermination hearing and examination of witnesses, and if a hearing is to be held, the notice to the employee shall also set the time and place of such hearing. A duplicate of such notice shall be filed with the commission. After the employee has responded or has failed to respond within a reasonable time, the official charged with the responsibility of making the termination decision shall determine the appropriate disciplinary action, and shall notify the employee of his decision in writing at the earliest practicable date.

Where there are extraordinary circumstances or situations which require the immediate discharge or removal of an employee, such employee may be terminated without a pretermination hearing as required by this section, but such employee shall be given written notice of the specific reasons for termination within twenty-four (24) hours after the termination, and shall be given an opportunity for a hearing similar to the pretermination hearing provided in this section within twenty (20) days after the date of termination. For the purposes of this section, extraordinary situations or circumstances include, but are not limited to, circumstances where retention of the employee would result in damage to municipal property, would be detrimental to the interest of municipal government or would result in injury to the employee, to a fellow employee or to the general public.

Any person so removed, suspended, demoted, discharged or combination thereof may, within ten (10) days from the time of such disciplinary action, file with the commission a written demand for an investigation, whereupon the commission shall conduct such investigation. The investigation shall be confined to the determination of the question of whether such disciplinary action was or was not made for political or religious reasons and was or was not made in good faith for cause. After such investigation the commission may, if in its estimation the evidence is conclusive, affirm the disciplinary action, or if it shall find that the disciplinary action was made for political or religious reasons, or was not made in good faith for cause, shall order the immediate reinstatement or reemployment of such person in the office, place, position or employment from which such person was removed, suspended, demoted, discharged or combination thereof, which reinstatement shall, if the commission so provides in its discretion, be retroactive, and entitle such person to pay or compensation from the time of such disciplinary action. The commission upon such investigation may, in lieu of affirming the disciplinary action, modify the order of removal, suspension, demotion, discharge or combination thereof by directing a suspension, without pay, for a given period and subsequent restoration of duty, or by directing a demotion in classification, grade or pay, or by any combination thereof. The findings of the commission shall be certified in writing to the appointing power, and shall be forthwith enforced by such officer.

All investigations made by the commission pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be by public hearing, after reasonable written notice to the accused of the time and place of such hearing, at which hearing the accused shall be afforded an opportunity of appearing in person and by counsel, and presenting his defense. The findings of the commission shall be conclusive and binding unless either the accused or the municipality shall, within thirty (30) days from the date of the entry of such judgment or order on the minutes of the commission and notification to the accused and the municipality, appeal to the circuit court of the county within which the municipality is located. Any appeal of the judgment or order of the commission shall not act as a supersedeas of such judgment or order, but the judgment or order shall remain in effect pending a final determination of the matter on appeal. Such appeal shall be taken by serving the commission and the appellee, within thirty (30) days after the entry of such judgment or order, a written notice of appeal, stating the grounds thereof, and demanding that a certified transcript of the record and of all papers on file in the office of the commission affecting or relating to such judgment or order, be filed by the commission with such court. The commission shall, within thirty (30) days after the filing of such notice, make, certify and file such transcript with such court. The said circuit court shall thereupon proceed to hear and determine such appeal. However, such hearing shall be confined to the determination of whether the judgment or order of removal, discharge, demotion, suspension or combination thereof made by the commission, was or was not made in good faith for cause, and no appeal to such court shall be taken except upon such ground or grounds.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-151 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 7 / Section 29-151
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-151
Status: in_force

This article shall apply to municipalities whether under private charter or existing and operating under the general statutes of the State of Mississippi.

This article is supplementary to any laws heretofore passed and the provisions of this article are not applicable to any municipality operating under Article 5 of this chapter. It is the intention of the legislature to make it mandatory on municipalities to enforce the provisions of this article, unless a majority of those voting in an election thereon vote otherwise.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-65 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 17 / Section 27-65
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-65
Status: in_force

If, after the governing authorities of any municipality have issued revenue bonds pursuant to the authority granted in Sections 21-27-23 and 21-27-51 , said governing authorities fail or refuse to carry out their duties with reference to setting aside the trust funds, said officers shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon trial and conviction, shall be removed from office.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-83 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 7 / Section 33-83
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-83
Status: in_force

Any person, firm, or corporation aggrieved by the action of the governing authorities of any municipality under Sections 21-33-1 through 21-33-85 shall have the right of appeal to the circuit court of the county.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-319 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 3 / Section 33-319
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-33-319
Status: in_force

Whenever a balance shall remain of the proceeds of any bond issue after the purpose for which such bonds were issued shall have been accomplished, such balance shall forthwith be transferred to the bond and interest fund applicable to such bond issue.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-177 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 27 / Section 27-177
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-27-177
Status: in_force

Whenever a public agency and a municipality shall have executed a contract under Sections 21-27-161 through 21-27-191 and the payments thereunder are to be made either wholly or partly from the revenues of the public agency's waterworks system, water supply system, treatment facility, sewerage system or sewage disposal system or from both systems or a combination of both systems, the duty is hereby imposed on the public agency to establish and maintain and from time to time to adjust the rates charged by the public agency for the services of such system or systems, to the end that the revenues therefrom together with any taxes levied in support thereof will be sufficient at all times to pay: (a) the expense of operating and maintaining such system; (b) all of the public agency's obligations to the municipality under the contract; and (c) all of the public agency's obligations under and in connection with revenue bonds theretofore issued, or which may be issued thereafter secured by revenues of such system or systems. The contract may require the use of consulting engineers and financial experts to advise the public agency whether and when such rates are to be adjusted.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-25-25 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 7 / Section 25-25
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-25-25
Status: in_force

The governing authorities of any two or more municipalities may, in their discretion, contract to create a consolidated fire district, which shall consist of the whole, or a part, of the territory of such municipalities joining therein. Such contract entered into by the governing authorities of such municipalities shall embrace all of the essential terms, and shall state the amount to be contributed by each participating municipality, and the control and operation of same. An ordinance containing the contract as to control of equipment, supervision of the district, and the amount of money to be contributed by each municipality, shall be passed by the governing authorities of all participating municipalities in the same form and substance. Such ordinance shall be duly published as now required by law, and shall go into effect unless twenty per cent of the qualified electors of one of the participating municipalities shall petition against same and file said petition with the proper clerk on or before the next regular meeting of said governing authorities, to be held not less than fifteen days thereafter. If such petition be duly filed, said governing authorities may either cancel said prior ordinance or order an election on said question. Said ordinance shall go into effect immediately if a majority of the qualified electors voting in said election vote therefor; otherwise, said ordinance shall remain void and of no effect, and no like ordinance shall be passed within four years thereafter.

Such consolidated fire district shall be given a name, and the supervision of protecting said district shall be vested in the governing authorities of the municipality decided upon and stated in the ordinance creating the consolidated fire district. The governing authorities of the municipalities in a consolidated fire district created under the provisions of this section shall have the same powers and duties as the governing authorities in any other fire district.
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-1-17 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 1 / Section 1-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-1-17
Status: in_force

At the time fixed, the chancellor shall proceed to hear all evidence offered in support of said petition, together with all objections, if any, that may be presented touching or bearing upon the question of whether or not the proposed incorporation is reasonable and is required by the public convenience and necessity. The chancellor shall have the power, however, to grant such reasonable continuances as justice may require. If the chancellor finds from the evidence that the proposed incorporation is reasonable and is required by the public convenience and necessity, then he shall enter a decree declaring such municipal corporation to be created as requested in such petition, which decree shall give an accurate description of the territory included in such municipal corporation, shall classify such municipal corporation according to law, and shall set forth the names of the persons which the petitioners desire as officers of such municipality. The chancellor shall have the power, however, in granting any such incorporation to grant same in whole or in part by modifying or decreasing the territory to be included within such municipal corporation. If the chancellor finds from the evidence that the proposed incorporation is not reasonable and is not required by the public necessity and convenience, then a decree shall be entered denying such incorporation. Whenever any municipal corporation shall be created as herein provided, a map or plat of the boundaries of such municipal corporation shall be filed with the chancery clerk and shall be recorded by him in the official plat book of the county. The decree of the chancellor, either creating or denying such incorporation, shall become effective after the passage of ten days from the date of such decree, unless an appeal be taken therefrom as is provided in Section 21-1-21 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-233 — MS Code / Title 21 / Chapter 7 / Section 29-233
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-29-233
Status: in_force

It shall be the duty of the State Tax Commission to collect and to enforce the collection of said tax of one-half of one percent ( 1 / 2 of 1%) upon all premiums paid to insurance companies doing business in said municipality, which said insurance companies have written insurance on rates, said rates having been compiled by taking into consideration the fire department and equipment of said municipality. Upon the State Tax Commission having collected said tax, it shall promptly pay the same to the board of trustees for the benefit of said fund for disability and relief of firemen and policemen.