§ 27-107-205. Administrator of certain emergency funds; loans to county, municipalities and school districts

MS Code § 27-107-205 (2019) (N/A)
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(1) The State Fiscal Management Board is hereby made the sole administrator of the funds made available to implement the loan program under Sections 27-107-201 through 27-107-207. It is authorized to utilize any of its general powers in making findings of fact and determinations as to the amount of funds needed by the county, municipality or school district in order to receive federal disaster funds for the purposes of Section 27-107-201. The State Fiscal Management Board shall determine the amount of loans to be made within available funds; however, the aggregate amount of such loans shall not exceed Eight Hundred Thousand Dollars ($800,000.00). All sums approved to be loaned shall be paid upon warrants drawn on the Local Disaster Emergency Grant and Loan Fund No. 3793, issued upon requisitions signed by the State Fiscal Officer.

(2) Any loans made hereunder to a county, municipality and/or school district described in Section 27-107-203 are hereby made full faith and credit obligations of such political subdivisions to the State of Mississippi and binding on the governing authorities obtaining such loans and their successors in office until repaid in full as to principal and interest thereon, without regard to existing statutory limitations.

(3) The State Fiscal Management Board shall require a certified copy of a resolution of the governing authorities desiring a loan, to be of such general form and content as the State Fiscal Management Board may deem appropriate, together with application forms for such loans.

(4) All loans made under this section shall be evidenced by negotiable promissory notes of the county, municipality and/or school district 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 of the governing authorities.

(5) 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:

(6) The governing authorities of the county or municipality therein borrowing money under Sections 27-107-201 through 27-107-207 are hereby authorized and empowered to levy an ad valorem tax on all of the taxable property of the county or municipality, as the case may be, at any time after the loan is made, and said levy is hereby designated to repay only the loan and any interest thereon. If the governing authorities of a school district borrow money under this section the governing authorities of the county or municipality that levies taxes on behalf of the school district shall levy an ad valorem tax on all taxable property of the school district at any time after the loan is made, and said levy is hereby designated to repay the loan and any interest thereon. The levy shall not be included in any limitation on the growth of ad valorem tax receipts.

(7) If the loan has not been repaid or arrangements satisfactory to the State Fiscal Management Board have not been made to repay same within five (5) years from the making of such loan, the State Fiscal Management Board 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 president or presiding officer of the governing authorities. If said default is not satisfied in full within sixty (60) days after receipt of said order, an ad valorem tax as may be required to liquidate the entire indebtedness owed the state within a reasonable number of years as determined by the State Fiscal Management Board shall be levied by the county or municipality as provided in subsection (6) of this section, and shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of the Local Disaster Emergency Grant and Loan Fund. Failure or refusal to discharge the obligation to the state shall forfeit the right of the county, municipality or school district, as the case may be, to receive reimbursement for homestead exemption until such time as its indebtedness has been discharged or arrangements to discharge said indebtedness satisfactorily to the State Fiscal Management Board have been made. Homestead exemption funds forfeited hereby shall, upon demand by the State Fiscal Management Board made in writing upon the Mississippi State Tax Commission, be paid to the State Fiscal Management Board and applied to the discharge of the obligation.

(8) The proceeds of all loans shall be used only for the purposes described in Section 27-107-203.