§ 21-3-3. Elective officers; certain officers may be appointive

MS Code § 21-3-3 (2019) (N/A)
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The elective officers of all municipalities operating under a code charter shall be the mayor, the aldermen, municipal judge, the marshal or chief of police, the tax collector and the tax assessor. From and after July 1, 2017, the governing authorities of the municipality shall appoint a city or town clerk who shall likewise serve as an officer of the municipality. However, the governing authorities of the municipality shall have the power, by ordinance, to combine the office of clerk or marshal with the office of tax collector and/or tax assessor. Such governing authorities shall have the further power to provide that all or any of such officers, except those of mayor and aldermen, shall be appointive, in which case the marshal or chief of police, the tax collector, the tax assessor, and the city or town clerk, or such of such officers as may be made appointive, shall be appointed by the governing authorities. Any action taken by the governing authorities to make any of such offices appointive shall be by ordinance of such municipality, and no such ordinance shall be adopted within ninety (90) days prior to any regular general election for the election of municipal officers. No such ordinance shall become effective during the term of office of any officer whose office shall be affected thereby. If any such office is made appointive, the person appointed thereto shall hold office at the pleasure of the governing authorities and may be discharged by such governing authorities at any time, either with or without cause, and it shall be discretionary with the governing authorities whether or not to require such person appointed thereto to reside within the corporate limits of the municipality in order to hold such office.