County Government
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SOS6889 Divider Pages.indd 6 12/10/12 11:32 AM COUNTY GOVERNMENT COUNTY GOVERNMENT County Government, as established in the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, is organized under a five-district Board of Supervisors who have jurisdiction over roads, ferries and bridges; and other duties as required by law. Countywide Offices . 255 County District Offices . .256 Mississippi Counties Map . 258 County Listings and Information . 259 Adams – Franklin . 259 George – Lowndes . 285. Madison – Sunflower . 321 Tallahatchie – Yazoo . 353 Planning and Development Districts . 375 Planning and Development Districts Map . 376 Water Development Districts . 377 Water Development Districts Map . 378 254 COUNTY GOVERNMENT COUNTY GOVERNMENT Organization of Mississippi into county governments began with its establishment as a territory of the United States in 1798 as well as predating its admittance to the Union on December 10, 1817, as the 20th state in the United States. Mississippi’s earliest counties include: Adams (organized in 1798), Amite (1809), Claiborne (1802), Franklin (1809), Greene (1811), Hancock (1812), Jackson (1812), Jefferson (1799 – as “Pickering;” named “Jefferson” in 1802), Lawrence (1814), Marion (1811), Pike (1815), Warren (1809), Washington (1800), Wayne (1809), and Wilkinson (1802). The last county formed within the State’s boundaries was Stone County, established in 1916. County boundaries were changed over time to accommodate the formation of new counties. COUNTYWIDE OFFICES BOARD Attorney and is payable to the appropriate county Qualifications: An attorney qualified to executive committee via the Circuit Clerk. practice law in Mississippi. Duties: The Tax Assessor and/or Collector Duties: The Board Attorney is not an elected may serve in both capacities in all counties. office. This person represents the county’s This official is elected to a four-year term Board of Supervisors by their appointment. and may run for re-election. The Assessor’s role is to maintain the personal, real, and ad CHAncery CLERK valorem tax rolls of the county. The Collector Qualifications: These officers must be is responsible for keeping the records of tax qualified electors of the county in which payments and depositing the money in the election is sought. The qualifying fee is $15 county treasury. and is payable to the appropriate county executive committee via the Circuit Clerk. Coroner Duties: The Chancery Clerk is elected to a Qualifications: The Coroner must be a four-year term and may run for re-election. qualified elector, at least 21 years of age, of The Chancery Clerk is the Clerk of the Board the county in which election is sought. The of Supervisors and of the Chancery Court. qualifying fee is $10 and is payable to the The Clerk is responsible for maintaining the appropriate county executive committee via records of both the Board and the Court. the Circuit Clerk. Duties: The Coroner is elected to a CIrcuIT CLERK four-year term and may run for re-election. Qualifications: These officers must be The Coroner is the chief county medical qualified electors of the county in which examiner and/or county medical examiner election is sought. The qualifying fee is $15. investigator. This official is responsible for Duties: The Circuit Clerk is elected to a issuing declarations of death and performing four-year term and may run for re-election. or reporting results of autopsies in cases The Clerk is the chief officer of the Circuit requiring such action. Court and chief elections officer of the county. The Clerk maintains the voter rolls and assists COUNTY Attorney the Election Commissioners in purging the Qualifications: The County Prosecuting voter rolls, and assists election officials in Attorney must be a qualified elector and a conducting primary and general elections. regular licensed and practicing attorney. The qualifying fee is $15 and is payable to the TAX ASSESSOR AND/OR COLLector appropriate county executive committee via Qualifications: These officers must be the Circuit Clerk. qualified electors of the county in which Duties: The County Prosecuting Attorney election is sought. The qualifying fee is $15 represents the state in all investigations for 255 COUNTY GOVERNMENT felony in Justice Court and County Court and may have added territory; and in all criminal cases appealed to the 4 . Special Municipal Separate School Circuit Court from County Court. The county Districts – municipal separate districts prosecutor may assist the district attorney, which have been reconstituted or present matters to the county grand jury, reorganized with added territory exclusive and in some youth court proceedings. The of any added territory which was part county attorney is elected to a four-year of the municipal separate school district term and may run for re-election. before reorganization; 5 . County School Districts – lie wholly COUNTY Surveyor within a county and are not constituted as Qualifications: The County Surveyor must either form of consolidated or municipal be a registered land surveyor and a qualified district. Superintendents of Education elector of the county in which election is in all districts with the exception of sought. The qualifying fee is $10 and is county districts are appointed. County payable to the appropriate county executive Superintendents of Education are elected committee via the Circuit Clerk. with the exception of Hinds County. Duties: The County Surveyor executes all orders of survey directed to him by any court, SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION all surveys of land within his county at the Qualifications: A Superintendent of request of the owners or proprietors, and to Education must be a qualified elector, the survey, resurvey, measure, and divide land as holder of a valid Class AA Administrator’s requested by the county board of supervisors. certificate issued by the State Department of Education, and not less than four years of SHERIFF classroom and/or administrative experience. Qualifications: The Sheriff must not be Duties: The Miss. Code Ann. (1972) a defaulter to the State or any county or provides for a County Superintendent municipality or to the United States and a of Education to be in each county. The qualified elector. The qualifying fee is $15 Superintendent is elected to a four-year and is payable to the appropriate county term and may seek re-election. The executive committee via the Circuit Clerk. Superintendent of Education is the chief Duties: The Sheriff is the chief law administrative officer of the school district. enforcement officer of the county and is The Superintendent serves as the executive elected to a four-year term. He may run for secretary of the county board of education, re-election. The Sheriff is the chief officer but has no vote in the proceedings before of the Chancery and Circuit Courts and the board and no voice in fixing its policies. maintains the county law library. The Sheriff The Superintendent is the director of all is in charge of the county courthouse, jail, schools in the county outside the municipal and protection of prisoners. separate school districts. TYPES OF SCHOOL DISTRIctS COUNTY DISTRIct OFFICES Mississippi has five different types of CONSTABLE school districts: Qualifications: Constables must be 1 . Consolidated School Districts – lie wholly qualified electors in the county and district within one county, but do not include in which elections are sought. The qualifying municipal separate and county; fee is $10 and is payable to the appropriate 2 . Line Consolidated School Districts – county executive committee via the Circuit embrace territory in two or more Clerk. counties, but do not include municipal Duties: A County Constable shall keep separate districts; and preserve the peace within his county by 3 . Municipal Separate School Districts – aiding and assisting in executing the criminal encompass the boundary of a municipality, laws of the state for the Justice Courts of 256 COUNTY GOVERNMENT his district. Constables shall obey all lawful SUPervISOR orders and execute all judgments for Justice Qualifications: County Supervisors must Courts within this district. be qualified electors of the county and a resident in the district in which election JUSTICE Court CLERK is sought. The qualifying fee is $15 and is Qualifications: The board of supervisors of payable to the appropriate county executive each county shall appoint one (1) person to committee via the Circuit Clerk. serve as Clerk of the Justice Court system. Duties: Supervisors shall have the power Duties: The Clerk shall file and record to adopt, modify, alter, or repeal orders, actions and pleadings, acknowledge affidavits, resolutions, or ordinances in their respective issue warrants in criminal cases, certify and county and district not inconsistent with issue copies of records, documents, and law. In general, Supervisors have jurisdiction pleadings filed in the Justice Court, collect any over roads, ferries, bridges, tax levies, fines or costs required by the Justice Court, courthouses, jails, county-owned real and to issue all processes necessary for the property, appropriation of funds, contractual operation of the Justice Court. powers of municipality as well as other powers expressly authorized by law. JUSTICE Court JUDGE Qualifications: A Justice Court Judge must be a qualified elector, a resident of ELectION COMMISSIONERS the county for two (2) years preceding the Qualifications: A qualified elector of the day of election, a high school graduate, and supervisor district in which election is sought. complete a course of training required by law No fee required. Number of signatures within six (6) months of the beginning of the required: 50. term of office. The qualifying fee is $10 and is Duties: An Election Commissioner’s payable to the appropriate county executive general duties include conducting elections, committee via the Circuit Clerk. certifying election results, and purging Duties: Justice Court Judges shall have civil voter rolls. and criminal jurisdiction of all actions where the principal of the debt, amount of the demand, or the value of the property sought to be recovered shall not exceed $3,500.