Officers and Records

Miss. Code Ann. tit. 21, ch. 15
in effect

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-1 Term of elected municipal officers.

All officers elected at the general municipal election provided for in Section 23-15-173, shall qualify and enter upon the discharge of their duties on the first day of July after such general election that is not on a weekend, and shall hold their offices for a term of four (4) years and until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-2 Municipalities prohibited from imposing additional requirements on elected officials.

No municipality, including municipalities operating under a charter city, code charter or special charter, shall impose any additional requirements on holding any municipal elective office or receiving compensation for any elective office except as may be provided by law.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-3 Election of officers by governing authorities.

At the first regular meeting of the governing authorities succeeding each regular municipal election, they shall elect the officers to be elected by them and such officers shall take the oath of office.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-5 Repealed.

Repealed by Laws, 1986, ch. 495, § 329, eff from and after January 1, 1987. [Codes, 1892, § 3031; 1906, § 3436; Hemingway’s 1917, § 5996; 1930, § 2598; 1942, § 3374-64; Laws, 1950, ch. 491, § 64; Laws, 1971, ch. 494, § 1]

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-6 Purchase of general liability insurance coverage.

Municipalities are hereby authorized, in the discretion of the governing authorities, to purchase errors and omissions insurance for municipal officials and municipal employees.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-7 Mayor to give information to the governing body.

The mayor shall from time to time communicate, in writing, to the governing body such information and recommend such measures as in his opinion may lead to the improvement of the finances, the police, health, security, ornament, comfort and general prosperity of the municipality.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-9 Mayor to enforce laws and ordinances.

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. § 21-15-11 Mayor to demand exhibit of accounts.

The mayor shall have power, when he deems it proper, to require any officer of the municipality to exhibit his accounts or other papers, and to make report to the governing body, in writing, touching any subject or matter he may require pertaining to his office.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-13 Mayor may call in aid.

The mayor is authorized to call on every male inhabitant of the municipality over twenty-one years of age and under sixty years to aid in enforcing the laws.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-15 Power of mayor to remit and vacate fines, penalties and forfeitures.

The mayor shall have the power to remit fines and forfeitures, and to vacate and annul penalties of all kinds, for offenses against the ordinances of the municipality, by and with the consent of the governing body. However, a fine, forfeiture or penalty shall not be remitted, vacated or annulled unless the reasons therefor be entered on the minutes by the clerk, together with and as a part of the order so doing.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-17 Municipal clerk; duty to keep minute record and municipal seal.

It shall be the duty of the clerk of every municipality within the State of Mississippi to keep a record of permanent construction to be labeled “Municipal Minutes, City (or Town or Village, as the case may be) of_______________ ,” in which he shall record the proceedings and all orders and judgments of the governing authority of said municipality, and to keep the same fully indexed alphabetically, so that all entries on said minutes can be easily found. Said clerk shall likewise record in said minute record all ordinances in full, or in lieu thereof, the title of all ordinances. In either case, however, the ordinances in full shall be recorded in the ordinance record provided for in Section 21-13-13, to be kept by said clerk. In the event only the titles of ordinances are recorded in the minute record, it shall be necessary that the ordinance in full, after the recordation in the ordinance record, be read, verified and subscribed to by the mayor and clerk at the next regular meeting of the governing authority of the municipality. All official actions of the governing authorities of a municipality shall be evidenced only by official entries duly recorded on such minute record. The clerk shall be the custodian of the municipal seal, and each municipality shall adopt and provide a seal.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-19 Municipal clerk; duties as to dockets records.

In addition to the claims docket provided for in Section 21-39-7 the clerk shall keep a record of permanent construction to be styled “Municipal Docket,” upon which he shall enter each subject, other than claims and accounts, to be acted upon by the governing authorities at the next meeting. After each meeting he shall make up such docket for the next regular meeting, and he shall examine the statutes of the state and the ordinances of the municipality to ascertain the subjects required or proper to be acted upon at the following meeting, and shall docket all such matters. He shall keep all such other records as may be provided for by ordinance, and shall file in his office and preserve all records pertaining to the business of the municipality.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-21 Municipal clerk to serve as auditor.

The clerk shall be the auditor of the municipality. He shall keep a record, in which he shall enter and preserve accounts of each particular fund, and the accounts of each municipal officer. The treasurer or depository shall not receive money from any source until the same has been reported to the clerk and audited and a receipt warrant issued therefor. All fines and forfeitures shall be reported by the officer collecting the same immediately after such collection, and be paid into the treasury. The record of the auditor shall be subject to inspection by the taxpayers of the municipality at any time during business hours.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-23 Deputy clerk; oath of office; surety bond.

Every city in the State of Mississippi, whether operating under a code charter, a special charter, or commission form of government, acting through its governing authorities, is hereby authorized and empowered, by resolution or ordinance duly adopted, to appoint one or more deputy city clerks, each of whom shall have all of the power and authority that is vested in the city clerk of such city. Such governing authorities shall have the right to pay such salary to such deputy city clerk, or clerks, as may be fixed in the resolution or ordinance appointing such deputy city clerk, but not exceeding the salary paid to the city clerk. Every deputy city clerk so appointed shall serve at the will and pleasure of said governing authorities and may be removed at any time at the pleasure of such municipal governing authorities, and upon such removal all salaries or fees of such deputy city clerk shall thereupon cease. Every deputy city clerk, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall take and subscribe the same oath required of the city clerk. The appointment of said deputy city clerk, with the certificate of the oath, shall be filed and preserved in the office of the clerk of the governing authorities of such city. Such deputy city clerk shall give bond, with sufficient surety, to be payable, conditioned and approved as provided by law, in an amount to be determined by the governing authority (which shall be not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00)).

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-25 Municipal attorney; appointment and compensation.

The governing authorities may annually appoint an attorney-at-law for the municipality, prescribe his duties and fix his compensation, and/or they may employ counsel to represent the interest of the municipality, should the occasion require. For services and duties which the regular city attorney is not required to perform as a result of his employment as such, and which are not covered by the regular compensation paid him, such municipal attorney may be employed and compensated additionally. In cases where an attorney, whether same be the regular municipal attorney or another, shall be employed in the matter of issuing or refunding of bonds and the drafting of all orders and resolutions in connection therewith, the governing authorities shall have the power to pay reasonable compensation to such attorney, but in no instance shall such compensation so paid exceed one per cent (1%) of the bonds issued or refunded; however, where the regular contract of employment and compensation paid to the municipal attorney covers and includes services in connection with the issuing or refunding of bonds, then such regular municipal attorney shall not be paid additional compensation for such services. Should the services and duties required of a regular municipal attorney at any time during his term of office become greater than that anticipated by the governing authorities at the time of his appointment, the governing authorities, by unanimous vote, and on proper finding, may increase the compensation of such attorney for the remaining portion of his term in such amount as the governing board may find and adjudge to be fair and reasonable to compensate said attorney for his excessive and unanticipated services and duties.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-27 Employment of firm of attorneys.

The municipal authorities of any city or town, in this state, in addition to the authority now conferred upon them by Section 21-15-25, may in their discretion employ a firm of attorneys to represent them as their regular attorneys on the same terms, conditions and compensation as now provided for employment of an attorney as their regular attorney. However, there shall not be an attorney and a firm of attorneys employed at the same time as the regular attorney for such municipal authorities.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-29 Repealed.

Repealed by Laws, 1983, ch. 469, § 10, eff from and after July 1, 1983. [Codes, Hemingway’s 1921 Supp. §§ 6069i, 6069j; 1930, § 2526; 1942, § 3374-96; Laws, 1920, ch. 248; Laws, 1932, ch. 217; Laws, 1950, ch. 491, § 96]

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-31 Compensation of building inspector.

In no case shall the building inspector retain any compensation from his collections, but the full amount of such collections shall be paid into the municipal treasury and his compensation shall thereafter be paid by allowance thereof by the governing authorities of the municipality, and the issuance of warrants, as in other cases.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-33 Municipal minutes.

The minutes of every municipality must be adopted and approved by a majority of all the members of the governing body of the municipality at the next regular meeting or within thirty (30) days of the meeting thereof, whichever occurs first. Upon such approval, said minutes shall have the legal effect of being valid from and after the date of the meeting. The governing body may by ordinance designate that the minutes be approved by the mayor. It shall not be necessary for each ordinance to be signed so long as it appears on the minutes of the municipality, which minutes shall have been signed by the mayor or a majority of the governing body of the municipality and certified by the municipal clerk.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-35 Preservation of essential public records of municipal governments.

The Legislature declares that records containing information essential to the operation of government and to the protection of the rights and interests of persons should be protected against the destructive effect of all forms of disaster, whether fire, flood, storm, earthquake, explosion or other, and whether such occurrence is caused by an act of nature or man, including an enemy of the United States. It is, therefore, necessary to adopt special provisions for the preservation of essential records of municipalities, and this section shall be liberally construed to effect its purposes. However, it is the express intention of this section that the provisions herein contained are not mandatory but are permissive only and shall authorize preservation of records as herein contemplated within the discretion of the governing authorities of the municipalities of the state and in accordance with a records control schedule approved by the Local Government Records Committee as provided in Section 25-60-1. The governing authorities of any municipality within the state, regardless of the form of government under which they operate, are each hereby authorized and empowered in their discretion to make or cause to be made a copy or copies of the records of such municipality, or any portion thereof, deemed by such governing authority to be an essential record necessary to the operation of government in an emergency created by disaster or containing information necessary to protect the rights and interests of persons or to establish and affirm the powers and duties of government in the resumption of operations after the destruction or damage of the original records. Such copies shall be made in accordance with standards established by the Department of Archives and History. The governing authorities of such municipalities are authorized and empowered in their discretion to make and enter into contracts and agreements with any person, firm or corporation to make and prepare such copy or copies of records, and to provide for and enter into contracts concerning the safekeeping and preservation of such copy or copies at points of storage approved by the Local Government Records Committee as required in Section 25-60-1, at a location other than the legally designated or customary location and deposit of the original of such records. In the event that the original record or records shall have been destroyed, any such photographic or photostatic copy or reproduction shall be deemed to be an original record for all purposes and shall be treated as an original record in all courts or administrative agencies for the purpose of its admissibility in evidence. An enlargement or facsimile of such reproduction is likewise admissible in evidence if the original reproduction is in existence and available for inspection under direction of court. The governing authorities of any municipality within the state, regardless of the form of government under which they operate, are authorized and empowered, in their discretion, to appropriate and expend monies out of the available funds of such municipality for the purposes of this section.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-37 Reproduction of municipal records; destruction of originals.

The governing authority of a municipality shall have the power and authority, in its discretion, to destroy or dispose of any records, documents, files or papers which are required by law to be preserved and retained, or which are necessary or desirable to be preserved or retained, after having reproductions made thereof under standards established by the Department of Archives and History and in accordance with a records control schedule approved by the Local Government Records Committee as provided in Section 25-60-1. Any reproductions or copy of any original record or other documents shall be deemed to be the original record for all purposes and shall be admissible as evidence in all courts or administrative agencies. A facsimile, exemplification or certified copy thereof shall, for all purposes set forth herein, be deemed to be a transcript, exemplification or certified copy of the original record. The governing authority of any municipality is hereby authorized to pay all expenses incurred in reproducing such records or other documents and in making provision for the preservation, retention and storage of such reproductions from the general support fund of such municipality. When any of the records or documents of which reproductions are made under the provisions of this section, are declared by law, or are by their nature, confidential and privileged records, then the reproduction thereof shall likewise be deemed to be confidential and privileged to the same extent as the original records or documents. Nothing herein shall be construed to require the keeping and preservation of any records and documents which are not required by law to be kept and preserved, or which it is not desirable or necessary to keep and preserve, and such records and documents may be destroyed or disposed of in accordance with a records control schedule approved by the Local Government Records Committee as provided in Section 25-60-1.

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-38 Surety bond.

Before any person appointed to the position of municipal clerk, city manager, municipal administrator or municipal chief administrative officer enters upon the discharge of his duties, he shall give bond, with sufficient surety, to be payable, conditioned and approved as provided by law, in an amount to be determined by the municipal governing authority (which shall not be less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00)).

Miss. Code Ann. § 21-15-39 Applicability of particular sections.

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. § 21-15-41 Limitations period for serving in interim or hold-over capacity in certain appointed positions; objections by registered voter municipal residents to matters relating to violation of section.

No person shall serve in an interim or hold-over capacity for longer than ninety (90) days in a position that is required by law to be filled by appointment of the governing body of a municipality, or by mayoral appointment with the advice and consent of the council or aldermen. If such position is not filled within ninety (90) days after the expiration of the position’s term, or within ninety (90) days after the date of appointment if an interim appointment, the hold-over service or interim appointment shall terminate and no municipal funds may thereafter be expended to compensate the person serving in the position. Further, any action or vote taken by such person after the ninety-day period shall be invalid and without effect. If a council or board of aldermen rejects, or otherwise fails to confirm, an individual submitted by the mayor for appointment, the mayor may not resubmit or reappoint the same individual for that position during the remainder of the mayor’s current term in office. It is the intent of the Legislature that the provisions of this section shall apply to all appointees serving in a hold-over or interim capacity on July 1, 2018. For such appointees, the limitation period for serving in a hold-over or interim capacity shall be no longer than ninety (90) days from July 1, 2018. Any registered voter who resides in the municipality may file all objections to any matters relating to an alleged violation of this section in the chancery court of the county where the municipality is located. The chancery court is authorized to adjudicate and determine relief as may be proper. The court shall award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to the prevailing party.

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