Opinion ID: 1893724
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: This case involves an important public policy issue concerning the ability of a county board of supervisors to be bound contractually with members of the private sector. A county board of supervisors approves the use of county funds collected from its community taxes and used for the betterment of their community. As such, our case precedent requires the entry of an order by the board of supervisors upon their minute book when sitting together for the purpose of making expenditures in order for public funds to be collectible by a party performing services for the board of supervisors. Warren County Port Commission v. Farrell Construction Co., 395 F.2d 901, 903-904 (5th Cir.1968) (a county board of supervisors can contract only by an order on its minutes, ... . Such contracts when so entered upon the minutes may not be varied by parol nor altered by a court of equity). Otherwise, an individual member of the board or agent thereof would be capable of binding the board and expending the public taxpayers' money without the benefit of the consent of the board as a whole which was elected and responsible for such purposes. In sum, the policy of protecting the public's funds for use by and for the public is paramount to other individual rights which may also be involved. In this case, there was a construction contract awarded by the Hinds County Board of Supervisors to Dunn Construction Company for the restoration of and additions to the Hinds County courthouse. The painting portion of this contract was subcontracted to Butler's Commercial Painting Company. Upon discovering a variance in the anticipated needs for restoring a particular wall within the courthouse, the architect for the project instructed Butler to perform extra work which was never approved by an order of the board entered upon its minutes. Butler subsequently requested the money from the board which refused to pay since it had not agreed as a Board to approve said expenditures by an order upon its minutes. As this Court stated in Colle Towing Co., Inc. v. Harrison County, 213 Miss. 442, 57 So.2d 171, 172 (1952), while referring to the order requirement upon a board's minute book, ... public interest requires adherence thereto, notwithstanding the fact that in some instances the rule may work an apparent injustice. Therefore, stare decisis and public policy require this Court to affirm the lower court's granting of the board's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim as it was proper absent such an order duly entered upon the board's minute book.