County Road Officials

Miss. Code Ann. tit. 65, ch. 17
in effect

Miss. Code Ann. § 65-17-1 Establishment of county road department; appointment of county road manager; powers and duties of manager.

This section, relating to the establishment of a county road department, the employment of a county road manager and prescribing the powers and duties of the county road manager, shall not be mandatory in any county which is not required to operate under a countywide system of road administration; provided, however, such county may, by order of the board of supervisors, adopt all or part of the procedures prescribed by this section. The board of supervisors of each county shall establish a county road department. The board of supervisors shall adopt the general policies to be followed in administration of the county road department and shall appoint as administrative head of the county road department a county road manager who shall be educated or experienced in the construction and maintenance of highways, bridges and other facets of county highway responsibilities. Provided, however, that in any county which, on July 1, 1988, employed two (2) county road managers each of whom managed an administrative division of the county for road construction and maintenance, the board of supervisors may continue to employ two (2) county road managers. The county road manager shall not be a member of the board of supervisors. The county road manager, under the policies determined by the board of supervisors and subject to the board’s general supervision and control, shall administer the county road department, superintend the working, construction and maintaining of the public roads and the building of bridges in such county, and carry out the general policies of the board in conformity with the estimates of expenditures fixed in the annual budget as finally adopted by the board or as thereafter revised by appropriate action of the board. All requisitions for the purchase and repair of all equipment, heavy equipment, machinery, supplies, commodities, materials and services for the county road department shall be prepared by the county road manager and submitted to the county department of purchasing for processing in accordance with the central purchasing system. The county road manager shall serve at the will and pleasure of the board of supervisors and may be removed from such position by a majority vote of the board. The county road manager shall receive such compensation, to be paid from the county road and bridge funds, as the board of supervisors shall determine. The county road manager, before entering upon his duties, shall give bond, with sufficient surety, to be payable, conditioned and approved as provided by law, in a penalty in such amount as may be approved by the board of supervisors, but not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00). A county may appoint as county road manager the same person whom it has under the law employed as its county engineer for its state aid road system, provided that such county road manager is being compensated by the county for serving as county road manager and for all duties, if any, that he performs as county engineer by payment of an annual salary and not on the basis of a percentage of the cost of road projects. Nothing shall preclude one (1) person from serving two (2) or more counties as county road manager by agreement between such counties. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require new county personnel to be employed but, to the extent practicable, an existing county employee shall be appointed as the county road manager. The responsibility for construction and maintenance of all “local farm roads” (including bridges) as the same are defined in Sections 65-9-1 and 65-9-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, together with all functions not vested by law in the county state aid engineer in the construction and maintenance of state aid roads shall be vested in the county’s road department. The county road manager each year shall prepare, or shall assist the county administrator (if one has been appointed) in the preparation of, a tentative road budget containing all proposed expenditures for the ensuing fiscal year for construction and maintenance of county roads and bridges and the operation of the county road department. Such tentative road budget shall be submitted to the board of supervisors for incorporation, with such modification as the board may adopt, in the county budget, as prescribed by law. The county road manager shall employ, subject to approval of the board of supervisors, such assistants and employees as may be necessary in conformity with the budget and county policies and procedure with respect to personnel and subject to approval of the board as to salary or other compensation to be paid. He shall have supervision and jurisdiction over personnel and assignments of personnel engaged in the work of the road department. He may purchase, lease or hire such equipment and purchase such materials and supplies as may be necessary for operation of the county road department in conformity with the budget, in accordance with the central purchase system and existing laws and subject to approval of the board as to price or rental. He shall have jurisdiction over the assignment of equipment needed in performance of the work of the county road department. The board of supervisors may, by a majority vote of the entire board, supersede any act of the road manager or change, modify or revoke any act which has been completed by the road manager, provided the change, modification or revocation does not constitute a breach of contract.

Miss. Code Ann. § 65-17-3 Compensation in certain counties.

In any counties lying in two levee districts through which the Yazoo River flows, traversed by U.S. Highway No. 49W and in which Mississippi Highways Nos. 12, 14, and 7 run, the board of supervisors is authorized, in its discretion, to compensate any such road commissioner of said county in an amount not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per month. In any counties bordering on the Pearl River, in which U.S. Highway No. 80 intersects Mississippi Highway No. 18, and having a population in excess of thirty-four thousand in the 1960 federal decennial census, the board of supervisors is authorized, in its discretion, to compensate any such road commissioner of said county in an amount not to exceed Four Hundred Dollars ($400.00) per month.

Miss. Code Ann. § 65-17-5 Duties of commissioner.

It shall be the duty of such commissioner to supervise the construction of such highways and their maintenance after the construction, and to see that the directions for such construction and maintenance are carried out, calling to his assistance, when necessary, the service of a competent civil engineer, which civil engineer shall receive for his services a reasonable compensation to be fixed by the board of supervisors, to be paid out of the funds arising from the proceeds of the sale of such bonds and the levy of such maintenance tax as provided by law.

Miss. Code Ann. § 65-17-7 Commissioner to report to supervisors.

Such highway commissioner shall, from time to time as required by the board of supervisors, report to the board his acts and doings touching his official duties, and all of his acts shall be subject to the approval or rejection of the board of supervisors.

Miss. Code Ann. § 65-17-9 Authority to transfer surplus county road department equipment to another department of county government without reimbursement to road and bridge fund.

Upon a determination by the board of supervisors that (a) equipment of the county road department has ceased to be used for purposes of the road department; and (b) such equipment has been owned by the road department for at least three (3) years; and (c) such equipment may be of use or benefit to another department of county government; and (d) the transfer of the equipment to another department of county government would promote the best interest of county government; and (e) upon the unanimous approval of the board of supervisors, such surplus equipment may be transferred to any other department of county government without the necessity of reimbursement to the road and bridge fund.

Miss. Code Ann. § 65-17-101 Supervisors may elect road accountant.

The board of supervisors may elect a road accountant, whose salary shall be fixed by the board and who shall give bond, with sufficient surety, to be payable, conditioned and approved as provided by law, in a penalty not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00). For the purpose of enabling the road accountant, in counties working their roads and building and repairing bridges on the unit system or countywide basis, to meet weekly payrolls and to pay for same each week or biweekly, the board of supervisors may advance to him at each regular monthly meeting, out of the road and bridge fund of the county, a sum not exceeding fifty percent (50%) of the amount of his bond. Said road accountant shall place said funds in the county depository to his credit as road accountant, to be checked on by him to meet weekly payrolls for labor, and said fund shall be a public fund and shall be secured as other public funds are secured. The road accountant shall report to the next meeting of the board his disposition of said money, including an itemized payroll for same, which payroll must be approved by the board of supervisors before another advance to him may be made. In the event the board finds any discrepancies in said payroll account, he shall be liable on his official bond for same; and the board of supervisors, in such event, shall not make further allowances to him until said discrepancies are corrected. It shall be the duty of the road accountant to pay all labor employed on the road and bridge work of the county, to pay transportation charges on supplies and material used in such road and bridge work, and all bills for repairs. Every three (3) months he shall take an inventory of all the personal property of the county used in said road and bridge work.

Miss. Code Ann. § 65-17-103 Estimates and reports.

The road accountant shall attend all meetings of the board of supervisors, and shall at each regular meeting submit to said board an estimate of the amount of money required to pay the said labor employed on the said road and bridge work, transportation charges, and repair bills. Said board shall examine said estimate and shall set aside for the current month a fund to be known as the “road labor” fund, which sum shall be placed to the credit of the said fund in the county depository, subject to the order of the road accountant; and said road accountant shall use the said fund to pay off the said labor and all freight bills. At each regular meeting of the board of supervisors the road accountant shall make a report to the said board, showing all disbursements by him and proper receipts therefor. The board of supervisors shall carefully audit the said report, and if they shall find any payment or payments or any disbursements so made by the road accountant to be illegal or improper, said board may deduct any and all such payments from the salary of the road accountant, or they may cause suit to be filed on his bond for the recovery of any such sum so illegally or improperly paid out by the road accountant.

Miss. Code Ann. § 65-17-105 Accountant to be purchasing agent.

The road accountant shall be the purchasing agent of the county and, by and with the consent of the board of supervisors, shall purchase all materials, implements, and supplies used in such road and bridge work.

Miss. Code Ann. § 65-17-107 Accountant to submit trial balance.

The road accountant shall keep a complete set of books, showing in detail all receipts and disbursements had or made by him. With every report made by him to the board of supervisors as hereinbefore required, he shall submit a trial balance of the said books, showing in detail all his transactions as such road accountant.

Miss. Code Ann. § 65-17-201 Authority to employ engineer.

[With regard to any county which is required to operate on a countywide system of road administration as described in Section 19-2-3, this section shall read as follows:] The boards of supervisors of the several counties of the State of Mississippi are authorized and empowered at their discretion to employ, as county engineer, a civil engineer or person qualified to perform the duties of a county engineer, and such assistant engineers as may be necessary. On all projects for the construction or reconstruction of a bridge which will cost more than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), or for the construction or reconstruction of roads which will cost more than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) per mile, the employment of an engineer qualified under the chapter on engineers shall be obligatory, whether the work is to be done by contract or otherwise; however, in obligatory cases the employment may be for the particular work rather than for a term.

Miss. Code Ann. § 65-17-203 Duties of engineers.

The duties of the county engineer shall be to prepare all plans and estimates for the construction of bridges and superintend their construction, to make all estimates and plans of work to be done in the construction and maintenance of roads and superintend the work, to go over the report to the board of supervisors what work should be done to properly upkeep and maintain all roads and bridges in the county, and to check over and report to the board of supervisors on all estimates before payment by the board of supervisors of all work done on public roads. The engineer may be required to furnish plans and estimates, and may superintend the construction of any road under the supervision of the state highway commission, if the highway commission may so elect. The purpose of this section is to provide a means whereby the board of supervisors and the highway commission may co-operate in such work, when same can be done, and reduce the expense of construction of any road.

Miss. Code Ann. § 65-17-205 Salary of engineer.

The compensation of the county engineer shall be determined by the board of supervisors of the county employing such engineer. The manner of making such compensation shall be spread annually upon the minutes of the board.

Miss. Code Ann. § 65-17-207 Control of engineer.

The employment and work of such engineer shall be under the control of the board of supervisors.

Miss. Code Ann. § 65-17-209 Repealed.

Repealed by Laws, 1983, ch. 469, § 10, eff from and after July 1, 1983. [Codes, 1942, § 2926-66; Laws, 1962, ch. 255, § 16]

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