Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 19 - COUNTIES AND COUNTY OFFICERS (§§ 19-1-1 — 19-31-51) › Chapter 5 - HEALTH, SAFETY AND PUBLIC WELFARE (§§ 19-5-1 — 19-5-371) › WATER, SEWER, GARBAGE DISPOSAL, AND FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICTS (§§ 19-5-151 — 19-5-207) › Section 19-5-171 - Board of commissioners; eligibility; bond; oath; compensation

(1)
Every resident citizen of the county in which is located any district created under Sections
19-5-151
through
19-5-207
, of good reputation, being the owner of land or the conductor of a business situated within the district and being over twenty-five (25) years of age and of sound mind and judgment, shall be eligible to hold the office of commissioner.
(2)
Except as provided in Section
19-5-164(3)
, each person appointed or elected as a commissioner, before entering upon the discharge of the duties of the person's office, shall be required to execute a bond payable to the State of Mississippi in the penal sum of not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) conditioned that the person will faithfully discharge the duties of the office. Each bond shall be approved by the clerk of the board of supervisors and filed with the clerk.
(3)
Each commissioner shall take and subscribe to an oath of office prescribed in Section 268, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, before the clerk of the board of supervisors that the person will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of commissioner, which oath shall also be filed with the clerk and preserved with the official bond.
(4)
Except as provided in subsection (5), the commissioners so appointed or elected and qualified shall be compensated for their services for each meeting of the board of commissioners attended, either regular or special, at a rate to be fixed by the board of supervisors, not to exceed the rate established in Section
25-3-69
for officers of state boards, commissions and agencies, and shall be reimbursed for all expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of their official duties in accordance with Section
25-3-41
. However, in no one (1) calendar year shall any commissioner be compensated for more than twenty-four (24) meetings.
(5)
(a)
The commissioners of the Hancock County Water and Sewer District shall be compensated for their services at a rate up to Eighty-four Dollars ($84.00) per day for each meeting of the board of commissioners attended, either regular or special, and shall be reimbursed for all expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of their official duties in accordance with Section
25-3-41
.
(b)
The commissioners of the Kiln Utility and Fire District of Hancock County shall be compensated for their services at a rate up to Eighty-four Dollars ($84.00) per day for each meeting of the board of commissioners attended, either regular or special, and shall be reimbursed for all expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of their official duties in accordance with Section
25-3-41
.
(c)
The commissioners of the Pearlington Water and Sewer District of Hancock County shall be compensated for their services at a rate up to Eighty-four Dollars ($84.00) per day for each meeting of the board of commissioners attended, either regular or special, and shall be reimbursed for all expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of their official duties in accordance with Section
25-3-41
.
(d)
The commissioners of the Diamondhead Water and Sewer District of Hancock County shall be compensated for their services at a rate up to Eighty-four Dollars ($84.00) per day for each meeting of the board of commissioners attended, either regular or special, and shall be reimbursed for all expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of their official duties in accordance with Section
25-3-41
.
(e)
The commissioners of the Hancock County Solid Waste Authority shall be compensated for their services at a rate up to Eighty-four Dollars ($84.00) per day for each meeting of the board of commissioners attended, either regular or special, and shall be reimbursed for all expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of their official duties in accordance with Section
25-3-41
.
Codes, 1942, § 2998.7-24; Laws, 1972, ch. 536, § 4; Laws, 1999, ch. 304, § 6; Laws, 2002, ch. 580, § 2; Laws, 2008, ch. 454, § 3; Laws, 2009, ch. 453, § 1; Laws, 2009, ch. 467, § 4; Laws, 2011, ch. 902, § 2, eff. 3/30/2011.
Amended by Laws, 2023, ch. 302, HB 37,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2023.