County Government Reorganization Act

Miss. Code Ann. tit. 19, ch. 2
in effect

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-2-1 Short title.

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “County Government Reorganization Act of 1988.”

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-2-3 Creation of countywide system of road administration.

Unless otherwise exempted under the provisions of Section 19-2-5, from and after October 1, 1989, each county in the State of Mississippi shall operate on a countywide system of road administration, there shall be no road districts, separate road districts or special road districts in any county, supervisors districts shall not act as road districts, and the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges in each county shall be on a countywide basis so that (a) the distribution and use of all road and bridge funds available to the county or any district thereof, (b) the planning, construction and maintenance of county roads and bridges, (c) the purchase, ownership and use of all road and bridge equipment, materials and supplies, (d) the employment and use of the road and bridge labor force, and (e) the administration of the county road department shall be on the basis of the needs of the county as a whole, as determined by the board of supervisors, without regard to any district boundaries. Any references in any statute to a road district, separate road district or special road district, or to a supervisors district acting as a road district, shall, as to any county which is required to operate on a countywide system of road administration, be construed to mean the county as a whole, if such construction is possible within the context of the statute; otherwise, any such reference shall have no force or effect with regard to any such county. The State Auditor may, pursuant to a request from a board of supervisors in a resolution duly adopted by the board and spread upon its minutes, provide to the requesting board of supervisors his estimates of the cost to the county of implementing and complying with the County Government Reorganization Act of 1988.

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-2-5 Adoption of countywide system of road administration by election; by resolution; subsequent elections; petition for election to adopt or discontinue system.

In the general election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 1988, an election on the question of operation of the county on a countywide system of road administration shall be held in each county of the state. The ballot in such election shall have printed thereon the question “Do you want to require the county to operate under the countywide system of road administration?” followed thereafter, on separate lines, with the word “YES” and the word “NO” and with appropriate boxes adjacent thereto in which the voters may indicate their preference. The results of the elections held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 1988 concerning the question of operation of the county on a countywide system of road administration as set out in subsection (1) of this section shall be forwarded by each county circuit clerk to the Secretary of State, within fifteen (15) days of such election. The Secretary of State shall certify these election results after subsection (1) of this section has been precleared under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended. If a majority of the qualified electors participating in the election under subsection (1) or (2) of this section vote in favor of requiring the county to operate under the countywide system of road administration, the county shall not be exempt from and shall be subject to the provisions of Section 19-2-3 and all other provisions of law requiring counties to operate under the countywide system of road administration beginning October 1, 1989. If, on the other hand, a majority of the qualified electors participating in the election vote against requiring the county to operate under the countywide system of road administration, the county shall be exempt from the provisions of Section 19-2-3 and all other provisions of law requiring counties to operate under the countywide system of road administration beginning October 1, 1989, and the board of supervisors of that county may construct and maintain the county roads and bridges on a road district or beat system in accordance with any applicable provisions of general law or may, in its discretion and at any time, by resolution duly adopted and entered on its minutes, require the county to operate on the countywide system of road administration in accordance with Section 19-2-3. If in any election held in a county under subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section a majority of the qualified electors participating in the election vote against requiring the county to operate under the countywide system of road administration, then an election on such question may again be held at the November general election in 1990 or at a regularly scheduled November general election in any year thereafter, in any such county in which the board of supervisors has not adopted a resolution as provided in subsection (3) of this section and put into operation the countywide system of road administration in accordance with Section 19-2-3, upon a petition filed with the board of supervisors and signed by at least fifteen percent (15%) or one thousand five hundred (1,500) of the qualified electors of that county, whichever is the lesser, asking for an election to determine whether to require the county to operate under the countywide system of road administration. Upon such petition being filed the board of supervisors shall order an election to be held on the question at the next November general election more than sixty (60) days from the filing of the petition. Nothing in this section shall authorize or permit the calling or holding of any such election in a county more often than once every two (2) years. The question to be presented to the electors at such election shall be in the same manner and form as provided in subsection (1) of this section. If a majority of the qualified electors participating in any such election vote in favor of requiring the county to operate under the countywide system of road administration, then beginning October 1 of the next year following such election, the county shall not be exempt from and shall be subject to the provisions of Section 19-2-3 and all other provisions of law requiring counties to operate under the countywide system of road administration. If, on the other hand, a majority of the qualified electors participating in any such election vote against requiring the county to operate under the countywide system of road administration, the county shall be exempt from the provisions of Section 19-2-3 and all other provisions of law requiring counties to operate under the countywide system of road administration, and the board of supervisors of that county may construct and maintain the county roads and bridges on a road district basis, a beat system or any other system authorized by any applicable provisions of general law, or may, in its discretion and at any time, by resolution duly adopted and entered on its minutes, require the county to operate under the countywide system of road administration in accordance with Section 19-2-3. Once a county begins to operate under the countywide system of road administration in accordance with Section 19-2-3, whether as a result of an election held under this section or as a result of a resolution adopted by the board of supervisors as provided in subsection (3) or subsection (4) of this section, then an election on such question may again be held in any such county at the November general election in 1992 or at a regularly scheduled November general election in any year thereafter at which members of the boards of supervisors and state officials are elected, upon a petition filed with the board of supervisors and signed by at least fifteen percent (15%) or one thousand five hundred (1,500) of the qualified electors of that county, whichever is the lesser, asking for an election to determine whether to require the county to continue to operate under the countywide system of road administration. The question to be presented to the electors at such election shall be in the same manner and form as provided in subsection (1) of this section. If a majority of the qualified electors participating in any such election vote in favor of requiring the county to operate under the countywide system of road administration, then the county shall not be exempt from and shall continue to be subject to the provisions of Section 19-2-3 and all other provisions of law requiring counties to operate under the countywide system of road administration. If, on the other hand, a majority of the qualified electors participating in any such election vote against requiring the county to operate under the countywide system of road administration, then beginning October 1 of the next year following such election, the county shall be exempt from the provisions of Section 19-2-3 and all other provisions of law requiring counties to operate under the countywide system of road administration, and the board of supervisors of that county may construct and maintain the county roads and bridges on a road district basis, a beat system or any other system authorized by any applicable provisions of general law, or may, in its discretion and at any time, by resolution duly adopted and entered on its minutes, require the county to operate under the countywide system of road administration in accordance with Section 19-2-3.

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-2-7 Assets, liabilities and indebtedness of road districts assumed by county after adoption of system; no new obligations to be authorized to districts; “road districts” defined.

Any road district bonds and any other indebtedness and liabilities of a road district which are outstanding on the date of a county’s implementation of a countywide system of road administration, as described in Section 19-2-3, shall become obligations of the county as a whole. Any sum being held in a road district fund to repay principal and interest on such bonds shall be deposited into a special county fund to be used toward amortization of such bonds. If any covenants in any road district bonds require that the bonded indebtedness be retired by a tax levy only upon the property within the road district for which the bonds were issued, the board of supervisors shall retire such bonded indebtedness by a tax levy only upon the property in the part of the county which was within the road district immediately before the date of the county’s implementation of the countywide system of road administration. Any real or personal property of a road district shall become the property of the county in which the district was located immediately before the date of the county’s implementation of the countywide system of road administration. From and after the date on which the board of supervisors receives certification of the results of an election which require that the county operate on a countywide system of road administration, the board of supervisors of the county shall not issue or authorize to be issued any bonds, notes or other obligations for the benefit of a road district unless prior to the date of certification of the election to the board, a declaration of intent to issue such bonds, notes or other obligations has been duly adopted and entered on the minutes of the board of supervisors of the county and the first publication of such declaration of intent has been completed in the manner provided by law. The term “road district” as used in this section shall also include separate road districts, special road districts and supervisors districts acting as road districts.

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-2-9 Countywide personnel administration for county employees; exemption of certain employees.

The board of supervisors of each county which is required to operate on a countywide system of road administration as described in Section 19-2-3 shall adopt and maintain a system of countywide personnel administration for all county employees other than those employees subject to subsection (2) of this section. The personnel system shall be implemented and administered by the county administrator. Such personnel system may include, but not be limited to, policies which address the following: hiring and termination of employees, appeal and grievance procedures, leave and holidays, compensation, job classification, training, performance evaluation and maintenance of records. All employees of the county shall be employees of the county as a whole and not of any particular supervisor district. However, any employee which the county administrator is authorized to employ may be terminated at the will and pleasure of the administrator without requiring approval by the board of supervisors. The board of supervisors of each county shall spread upon its minutes all its actions on personnel matters relating to hiring or termination and such other personnel matters deemed appropriate by the board. The elected officials of any county described in subsection (1) of this section, other than members of the board of supervisors, who are authorized by law to employ shall adopt and maintain a system of personnel administration for their respective employees or shall adopt the system of personnel administration adopted by the board of supervisors. The personnel system adopted and any amendments thereto shall be filed with the board of supervisors.

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-2-11 State Auditor to determine whether counties have implemented countywide system of road administration, central purchasing system, inventory control system, and countywide personnel administration; notice to counties; certificate of noncompliance; penalties; appeals.

It shall be the duty of the State Auditor to examine annually the books, records, accounts and other documents of each county and to perform such investigations as may be necessary to determine (a) if the county has actually adopted and put into operation the practice of constructing and maintaining all of the roads and bridges of the county as a unit, when and as required in Section 19-2-3, with all of the construction and maintenance machinery and other equipment, construction and maintenance funds and other construction and maintenance facilities available to the county for highway use placed under the administration of the county road manager for use in any part of the county regardless of beat lines and to the best interest of the county as a whole, (b) if the county has established and implemented, and is maintaining, a central purchasing system for all equipment, heavy equipment, machinery, supplies, commodities, materials and services as required by Section 31-7-101, (c) if the county has established and implemented, and is maintaining, the inventory control system required by Section 31-7-107, and (d) if the county has adopted and implemented a system of countywide personnel administration as required by Section 19-2-9. If upon his examination the Auditor determines that a county is not in substantial compliance with the requirements described in (a), (b), (c) and (d) above, he shall file a certified written notice with the clerk of the board of supervisors notifying the board of supervisors of his intention to issue a certificate of noncompliance to the State Tax Commission and to the Attorney General thirty (30) days immediately following the date of the filing of such notice unless within such period the county substantially complies with the requirements described in (a), (b), (c) and (d) above. If after thirty (30) days from the giving of the notice the county, in the opinion of the State Auditor, has not substantially complied with the requirements described in (a), (b), (c) and (d) above, the Auditor shall issue his certificate of noncompliance to the board of supervisors, State Tax Commission and the Attorney General. Thereafter, the State Tax Commission shall withhold all allocations and payments to the county that would otherwise be payable under Sections 27-65-75(4), 27-5-101(b)(vi) and 65-33-45, until such time as the Tax Commission and the Attorney General receive from the State Auditor written notice of cancellation of the certificate of noncompliance. However, all of such funds as are withheld from the county during the first ninety (90) days following issuance of a certificate of noncompliance under this subsection shall accrue to the account of that county and shall be subsequently allocated and paid to that county as otherwise provided by law if within such ninety-day period the board of supervisors, the State Tax Commission and the Attorney General receive written notice from the State Auditor of cancellation of the certificate of noncompliance. The State Auditor shall not unreasonably delay the issuance of a written notice of cancellation of a certificate of noncompliance but shall promptly issue a written notice of cancellation of certificate of noncompliance upon an affirmative showing by the county that it has come into substantial compliance. If the State Auditor has not issued a written notice of cancellation of the certificate of noncompliance within ninety (90) days after issuance of a certificate of noncompliance, all such funds as have been withheld and accrued to the county during such period, along with all monthly allocations which accrue but are withheld from the county following such ninety-day period for failure of the county to comply, shall be forfeited and reallocated among all other counties in the state that are eligible for such funds in accordance with the same formula for calculating original allocations among counties. There shall be no administrative appeal from any action of the State Auditor under this subsection in issuing or failing to issue any certificate of noncompliance or notice of cancellation of a certificate of noncompliance; however, if a civil action is filed for and on behalf of any county which is aggrieved by any action of the State Auditor under this section within ninety (90) days after issuance to the county of a certificate of noncompliance, any money as would otherwise be reallocated to other counties under this section shall be held in escrow pending final determination of the civil action.

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-2-12 Notice by State Auditor of supervisor’s noncompliance with provisions of § 19-2-3; initiation of civil proceedings; penalties.

If upon audit, examination or investigation, the State Auditor determines that an individual member of a county board of supervisors is not in substantial compliance with the provisions of law that require the county to operate on a countywide system of road administration, as described in Section 19-2-3, then the State Auditor shall give, by United States Certified Mail, return receipt requested, written notification to the supervisor of such noncompliance. If within thirty (30) days after receipt of the notice, such supervisor, in the opinion of the State Auditor, remains in noncompliance, the Auditor may institute civil proceedings in the chancery court of the county in which the supervisor serves. The court, upon hearing, shall decide the issue and, if it determines that such supervisor is not in substantial compliance, shall order the supervisor to immediately and thereafter comply. Violations of any order of the court shall be punishable as for contempt. In addition, the court, in its discretion, may impose a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) upon the supervisor, for which he shall be liable in his individual capacity, for any such noncompliance that the court determines as intentional or willful. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to prevent the State Auditor, the Attorney General or any other public official, as otherwise authorized by law, from initiating or commencing civil actions or criminal proceedings by or on behalf of the state or any county or political subdivision for the misappropriation or the unlawful use, taking or conversion of public funds or public property.

Miss. Code Ann. § 19-2-13 Inapplicability of certain Code sections to countywide system of road administration.

Sections 65-15-17, 65-17-3, 65-17-5, 65-17-7, 65-17-101, 65-17-103, 65-17-105, 65-17-107, 65-19-1, 65-19-3, 65-19-5, 65-19-7, 65-19-9, 65-19-11, 65-19-13, 65-19-15, 65-19-17, 65-19-19, 65-19-21, 65-19-23, 65-19-25, 65-19-27, 65-19-29, 65-19-31, 65-19-33, 65-19-35, 65-19-37, 65-19-39, 65-19-41, 65-19-43, 65-19-45, 65-19-47, 65-19-49, 65-19-51, 65-19-53, 65-19-55, 65-19-57, 65-19-59, 65-19-61, 65-19-63, 65-19-65, 65-19-67, 65-19-69, 65-19-71, 65-19-73, 65-19-75, 65-19-77, 65-19-79, 65-19-81, 65-19-83, 65-19-85, 65-19-87, 65-21-19 and 65-21-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provide for the creation and procedures of road districts composed in whole or in part of one (1) or more than one (1) supervisors district, for the use of special or general road funds by the boards of supervisors, for defraying the expenses of constructing bridges connecting road districts, for the employment of county road accountants, and for compensation for road commissioners employed by certain counties, shall not be applicable to and shall be of no force or effect with regard to any county which is required to operate on a countywide system of road administration as described in Section 19-2-3.

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