MS 2020-07-W-HalfordJr-June-5-2020-Miss-Code-Ann-Section-25-3-3 June 5, 2020

Can a Mississippi tax assessor still get the $3,500 dual-office bonus if a deputy who works the assessor's office sometimes covers shifts in the tax collector's office?

Short answer: The AG concluded that whether Franklin County's tax assessor/collector maintained 'two full-time offices' under Section 25-3-3(5) was a factual finding for the Board of Supervisors, considering all facts including staffing. If the answer was yes, the additional $3,500 was required.

Disclaimer: This is an official Mississippi Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Mississippi attorney for advice on your specific situation.

Plain-English summary

Franklin County is a small Mississippi county with one judicial district. A single official serves as both Tax Collector and Tax Assessor, and the two roles run as separate operations: different records, different databases, different equipment, kept on a full-time basis in different offices within the same courthouse. Because the county has only a few deputy clerks, the deputies cross-train so they can step in across functions when needed. The county's question for the AG: does the cross-coverage break the assessor's claim to the additional $3,500 statutory bonus that Section 25-3-3(5) provides to assessors and tax collectors in counties "maintaining two (2) full-time offices"?

The AG declined to make the call. The opinion treats the question as a factual one that has to be decided by the Board of Supervisors after weighing the totality of how each office is staffed. The AG also reaffirmed the legal framework: the bonus is available regardless of how many judicial districts the county has, the statute does not specify that the two offices must be in different buildings or counties, and an earlier opinion (MS AG Op., Shaw, December 19, 2008) had already approved the bonus where two full-time, separately staffed offices were maintained inside the same courthouse.

The practical takeaway is procedural. The Board needs to look at the actual staffing pattern, including the cross-training, and reach a documented finding on whether each office is "full-time" in operation. If yes, paying the $3,500 is mandatory ("shall pay"). If no, the bonus is not available.

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.

Common questions

What does Section 25-3-3(5) actually pay for?

It provides two separate $3,500-per-year bonuses for assessors and tax collectors. The first is for counties with two judicial districts. The second is for counties "maintaining two (2) full-time offices," regardless of judicial-district count. Franklin County has one judicial district, so only the second bonus was at stake.

Do the two offices have to be in separate buildings?

No. The statute does not include a location limit. A 2008 AG opinion (Shaw) approved the bonus where the assessor maintained two full-time, separately staffed offices within the same courthouse.

Does cross-training kill the bonus?

Not by itself. The AG specifically left the question to the Board: cross-training is a fact to be weighed, not a disqualification. If, taking everything into account, the Board can find that each office still operates as a separate full-time office, the bonus stands.

Who has to make the finding?

The Board of Supervisors. The AG cannot make factual determinations under Section 7-5-25 (a recurring constraint in AG opinions). The Board's finding should be reflected in its minutes.

If the Board does find that two full-time offices are maintained, is the bonus optional?

No. Section 25-3-3(5) uses the word "shall." If the factual predicate is satisfied, the Board "shall pay" the additional $3,500.

Background and statutory framework

Section 25-3-3(5) provides:

In addition to all other compensation paid to assessors and tax collectors in counties having two (2) judicial districts, the board of supervisors shall pay such assessors and tax collectors an additional Three Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($3,500.00) per year. In addition to all other compensation paid to assessors or tax collectors, in counties maintaining two (2) full-time offices, the board of supervisors shall pay the assessor or tax collector an additional Three Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($3,500.00) per year.

Franklin County had one judicial district, so the operative clause was the "two (2) full-time offices" branch. The AG read the statute's silence on location as deliberate: the bonus turns on whether the offices are full-time and separately operated, not on whether they are in different buildings.

MS AG Op., Shaw (December 19, 2008), had already extended the rule to a courthouse-internal arrangement. Two full-time offices inside the same courthouse, separately staffed, qualified the assessor for the bonus.

The Halford opinion adds the cross-training nuance: cross-trained deputies do not, by their existence, defeat the "full-time" character of either office. The Board must take all facts into consideration, including staffing, and decide.

The opinion is signed by Special Assistant Attorney General Avery Mounger Lee on behalf of Attorney General Lynn Fitch.

Citations

Miss. Code Ann. Section 25-3-3 (county officer compensation)
Miss. Code Ann. Section 25-3-3(5) ($3,500 bonus for two judicial districts or two full-time offices)
MS AG Op., Shaw (December 19, 2008)

Source

Original opinion text

June 5, 2020

W. J. Halford, Jr., Esq.
Attorney for the Franklin County Board of Supervisors
Post Office Box 650
Meadville, Mississippi 39653

Re: Miss. Code Ann. Section 25-3-3

Dear Mr. Halford:

The Office of the Attorney General is in receipt of your request for the issuance of an official opinion.

Question Presented

Is the tax assessor entitled to additional compensation in the amount of Three Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($3,500.00) for maintaining two full-time, "separately-staffed" offices if a deputy, who is assigned to staff the tax assessor's office, also assists, as needed, in the tax collector's office?

Background Facts

Franklin County has one judicial district and one person who serves as both Tax Collector and Tax Assessor. The assessor and collector duties are separate and distinct, requiring different record-keeping duties, different databases, and different equipment. The records and equipment for the assessor's duties are permanently kept separate and apart on a full-time basis in a different office from the records and equipment necessary for the collector's duties.

Franklin County is a small county, employing few deputy clerks. Franklin County deputy clerks are, therefore, cross-trained to work as needed in an area that is not their usual assigned staff position. Such is the case with regard to staffing in the Tax Collector and Tax Assessor's respective offices.

Brief Response

The board of supervisors must take into consideration all the facts including staffing and determine whether the tax assessor/collector maintains a second, full-time office. If the board of supervisors does make such a factual determination, the tax assessor/collector is entitled to additional compensation in the amount of Three Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($3,500.00) in accordance with Miss. Code Ann. Section 25-3-3(5).

Applicable Law and Discussion

Tax assessors and tax collectors are entitled to additional compensation in the amount of Three Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($3,500.00) in counties maintaining two (2) full-time offices, regardless of the number of judicial districts.

Section 25-3-3(5) provides as follows:

In addition to all other compensation paid to assessors and tax collectors in counties having two (2) judicial districts, the board of supervisors shall pay such assessors and tax collectors an additional Three Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($3,500.00) per year. In addition to all other compensation paid to assessors or tax collectors, in counties maintaining two (2) full-time offices, the board of supervisors shall pay the assessor or tax collector an additional Three Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($3,500.00) per year.

Franklin County has one judicial district; thus, the Franklin County Tax Assessor/Collector would only be entitled to additional compensation pursuant to Section 25-3-3(5) if he/she maintains two full-time offices.

The statute does not limit or otherwise provide for the location of "two (2) full-time offices." Based upon this absence of a limitation, this office has previously opined that, the maintenance of two full-time, separately staffed offices within the same courthouse entitled a tax assessor/collector to additional compensation as provided by Section 25-3-3(5). MS AG Op., Shaw (December 19, 2008).

Taking all facts into consideration, including the staffing of each office, the board of supervisors must determine whether the offices maintained by the tax assessor/collector in the Franklin County Courthouse constitute "two full-time offices" within the contemplation of the statute. If the board of supervisors conclude that the tax assessor/collector maintains two full-time offices, then the tax assessor/collector must receive an additional Three Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($3,500.00) in accordance with Section 25-3-3(5).

If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,
LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: /s/ Avery Mounger Lee
Avery Mounger Lee
Special Assistant Attorney General