Can a Mississippi county let the Red Cross use a county building for free?
Plain-English summary
Yazoo County owns a building that serves part-time as a polling place and is otherwise unused. The American Red Cross had no office space in the county and needed somewhere to meet with residents seeking aid. The Board of Supervisors wanted to let the Red Cross use the building free of charge through a written use agreement. The county's attorney asked the AG whether that was lawful.
The AG said yes, with a cap. Mississippi closely restricts what counties can give to private parties. Section 19-5-93 of the Code is the operative statute, and it lists specific organizations to which counties may donate. Subsection (1) names the American Red Cross specifically and authorizes annual donations "not exceeding One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per million of assessed valuation." The donation can be in cash or in-kind. A 1992 AG opinion (Walters) confirmed that in-kind donations qualify under the same authority.
The use of a county building free of charge is an in-kind donation. The county may make it under § 19-5-93(1), as long as the value of the in-kind contribution (rent value of the building) does not exceed the $100-per-million-assessed-valuation cap. Yazoo County would need to compute its annual cap based on its assessed valuation, value the building's free use at fair-market rent, and make sure the in-kind donation does not blow through the cap.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2020. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Background and statutory framework
Mississippi takes a tight view of public funds going to private hands. Section 95 of the Mississippi Constitution prohibits gifts of public property to private parties unless authorized by law. Section 19-5-93 is one of the legislative authorizations: it enumerates specific charitable, civic, and community organizations to which a county Board of Supervisors may make limited annual donations.
Subsection (1) addresses the Red Cross specifically:
Boards of supervisors of counties of this state are authorized, in their discretion, to donate annually, a sum not exceeding One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per million of assessed valuation to the support of the American Red Cross.
The phrase "$100 per million of assessed valuation" is the per-county cap. Yazoo County's assessed valuation determines its specific dollar limit. A county with $200 million in assessed valuation has a $20,000 annual cap. The cap is annual and resets each year.
The donation can be money or in-kind. MS AG Op., Walters (March 18, 1992), established that in-kind donations are within the statutory authority. The use of a county-owned building free of charge counts as in-kind: the county is foregoing rent that the Red Cross would otherwise have to pay, which is functionally a donation of the rent value.
The practical mechanics:
- Written use agreement. The county and Red Cross sign a use agreement specifying the dates, hours, and conditions of use.
- Valuation. The county determines a fair rental value for the type of use. This becomes the in-kind donation amount.
- Cap compliance. The county verifies that the in-kind donation does not exceed the annual § 19-5-93(1) cap. If the use is part-time and the rental value is modest, this is rarely a binding constraint, but it must be checked.
- Minutes entry. The Board of Supervisors should record the decision on its minutes, including the cap calculation and the agreement terms.
The opinion does not specify these mechanics but they follow from standard county-finance practice. A challenge to the donation would likely focus on whether the value exceeded the cap, whether the agreement properly documented the donation, and whether the recipient was actually a § 19-5-93 enumerated entity. The Red Cross is named in subsection (1), so the entity-eligibility question was easy.
Common questions
Q: How does the county compute the in-kind value of building use?
A: A reasonable approach is to use fair-market rent for similar property. A part-time use agreement (the building is also a polling place during elections) reduces the value. The Board's documented valuation should be defensible against challenge.
Q: Can the county also donate utilities or maintenance?
A: Yes, as long as the total in-kind value (building use plus utilities plus maintenance) stays within the § 19-5-93(1) cap. The cap applies to the aggregate annual donation, not to one category.
Q: What if the building is needed for a polling place during the use period?
A: The use agreement can specify that polling-place use takes priority and the Red Cross use is on an as-needed basis when the building is otherwise unoccupied. That structural precedence does not change the in-kind donation analysis.
Q: Could the county donate cash instead?
A: Yes. § 19-5-93(1) permits monetary donations to the Red Cross subject to the same cap. The choice between cash and in-kind is up to the Board.
Q: Does this rule apply to other organizations the Red Cross-style?
A: Section 19-5-93 lists multiple organizations, each with its own subsection and rules. Some have similar cap structures; others have different rules. The analysis is organization-specific. A donation to a non-listed organization is generally prohibited under the constitutional gift clause.
Citations and references
Statutes:
- Miss. Code Ann. § 19-5-93 (County donations to enumerated charities)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 19-5-93(1) (American Red Cross donations, cap, in-kind authorization)
Prior AG opinions:
- MS AG Op., Walters (March 18, 1992)
Source
- Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
- Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/J.Barbour_January-31-2020-Donation-of-County-Building-for-Use-by-the-American-Red-Cross.pdf
Original opinion text
Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain, the linked PDF is authoritative.
OPINIONS DIVISION
January 31, 2020
Jay Barbour, Esquire
Attorney, Yazoo County Board of Supervisors
Post Office Box 1106
Yazoo City, Mississippi 39194-1106
Re: Donation of County Building for Use by the American Red Cross
Dear Mr. Barbour:
Attorney General Lynn Fitch is in receipt of your opinion request and has assigned it to me for research and reply.
Factual Background
In your letter, you explain that Yazoo County owns a building that is used part-time as a polling place and for other election-related purposes. You explain that during other times, the building is not utilized or occupied. You also state that the American Red Cross does not have office space that it can use to meet with individuals who are seeking goods or services offered by the American Red Cross in Yazoo County. The Board of Supervisors would like to allow the American Red Cross use of the building when performing its duties, without charging a fee, on an as needed basis. Pursuant to our telephone conversation, you further clarified that if permissible, the county will enter into a use agreement with the organization.
Question Presented
May the Yazoo County Board of Supervisors allow the American Red Cross organization to use a county-owned building free of charge when providing goods or services to the citizens of Yazoo County?
Legal Research and Response
The sole authority for counties to grant any donations to private charities is governed by Section 19-5-93 of the Mississippi Code Annotated, which enumerates certain organizations which are authorized recipients for county donations. Specifically, Section 19-5-93(1) provides that a board of supervisors is authorized, in its discretion, to donate annually, a sum not exceeding One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per million of assessed valuation to the support of the American Red Cross. Our office has further opined that such donation can be monetary or in-kind. See MS AG Op., Walters (March 18, 1992).
Thus, it is the opinion of this office that Yazoo County is authorized to enter into a use agreement which will allow an in-kind donation to the American Red Cross for the use of a county building so long as the value of the in-kind contribution does not exceed the annual monetary limit imposed by Section 19-5-93(1).
If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please let us know.
Sincerely,
LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL
By: Avery Mounger Lee
Special Assistant Attorney General