Corpus

Local emergency grant and loan fund; loans to counties and municipalities; conditions as to loans and their repayment.

Miss. Code Ann. § 27-107-157
in effect
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There is hereby established within the state treasury a special fund to be designated as the “local disaster emergency grant and loan fund.” All sums received or obtained by the commission under the provisions of Sections 27-107-153 through 27-107-167, by appropriation or otherwise, shall be deposited into the fund. All sums approved to be granted or loaned shall be paid upon warrants drawn on the local disaster emergency grant and loan fund, and the state auditor of public accounts shall issue warrants upon requisitions signed by the director and secretary of the commission of budget and accounting. In making grants or loans, the commission is authorized to utilize any of its general powers provided by Chapter 496, Laws of 1962, as amended, appearing as Sections 27-103-1 through 27-103-75, Mississippi Code of 1972. Any loans made to a county or municipality under the provisions of this section are hereby made full faith and credit obligations of such counties and municipalities to the State of Mississippi and binding on the governing bodies obtaining such loans and their successors in office until repaid in full as to principal and interest thereon without regard to existing statutory limitations. The commission shall require a certified copy of a resolution, order or other appropriate excerpts of the official minutes of the governing board or authorities, to be of such general form and content as the commission may deem appropriate, together with application forms for such state loans. All loans made under the provisions of this section shall be evidenced by negotiable promissory notes of the county or municipality to be in such standard form and content of acceptable banking standards, shall mature at such times and bear interest as hereinafter provided, and shall bear the signature of the president or presiding officer and clerk of the board of supervisors and the official seal, or the mayor or presiding officer and city clerk and the official seal. The loans made hereunder shall bear no interest for the first two (2) years from the date of the loan. However, the loans shall bear the following interest rates thereafter: Third yearThree percent (3%) per annum Fourth yearFour percent (4%) per annum Fifth yearFive percent (5%) per annum Sixth year and thereafterSix percent (6%) per annum The governing authorities borrowing money under Sections 27-107-153 through 27-107-167 are hereby authorized and empowered to levy not to exceed two (2) mills on all of the taxable property of the county or municipality at any time after the loan is made, and said levy is hereby designated to repay the loan and it shall not be charged against the existing general laws as to limitations of millage for local governmental purposes. In the event that such loan has not been repaid or arrangements satisfactory to the commission have not been made to repay same within five (5) years from the making of such loan, the commission shall determine that there is a default in the terms of the promissory note, including any interest due thereon, shall enter an order to that effect upon its official minutes and send a certified copy of said order by certified mail, postage prepaid, to the chancery clerk or city clerk, as the case may be. If said default is not satisfied in full on or before the first day of March next following, a local ad valorem tax of two (2) mills or so much thereof as may be required to liquidate the entire indebtedness owed the state within a reasonable number of years as determined by the commission shall be levied by the county or municipality on all the taxable property in said county or city to be collected in the same manner, time and form as the existing local ad valorem tax levies, and shall be paid into the state treasury. Failure or refusal of any county or municipality to levy the tax hereinabove referred to or to otherwise discharge its obligation to the state shall forfeit the right of said county or municipality to receive reimbursement for homestead exemption until such time as its indebtedness has been discharged or arrangements to discharge said indebtedness satisfactorily to the commission have been made. Homestead exemption funds forfeited hereby shall, upon demand by the commission made in writing upon the Mississippi State Tax Commission, be paid to the commission and applied to the discharge of the obligation. The proceeds of all loans shall be used only for public governmental functions, services, payment of emergency indebtedness incurred as a direct result of the excessive rains and floods of the Spring of 1979, and expenditures authorized by general law and for matching federal grants, private gifts and donations, such federal grants, private gifts and donations being hereby authorized to be received and disbursed as public funds. The Commission of Budget and Accounting in determining the total amount of loan to each qualifying political subdivision shall take into consideration the extent and degree of the damage, destruction or loss to public properties and the dollar value thereof, the reasonable expectation of loss of present and future revenues, the destruction and damages to tax-producing real and personal property, and all appropriate economic factors affecting the ability of said political subdivision to provide necessary public functions.