MS 2020-11-N-Griffin-November-17-2020-Tax-levy-for-support-and-enlargement-of-junior-colleg November 17, 2020

Can a Mississippi county lower its tax levy for the local junior college below last year's level?

Short answer: The AG concluded that under Section 37-29-141, a Mississippi county is not permanently locked into 3 mills for junior college support and 3 mills for enlargement, but it cannot reduce its levy from one year to the next except when requested by the college's trustees or in limited cases following a general property reassessment.

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 AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent.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

Chickasaw County had been levying three mills for junior college support and three mills for enlargement, improvement, and repair (six mills total). The Board wanted to drop the levy to one and one for the upcoming year. The county administrator asked whether Section 37-29-141 permanently locked the higher rate in place or whether the Board had room to bring the levy down.

The AG said the Board was not locked into three mills forever, but Section 37-29-141 does limit how the millage can move. Two rules:

Floor. Section 37-29-141(1) sets a minimum levy: at least one mill for general support of junior and community colleges in the county's taxing district, and at least one mill for enlargement, improvement, and repair. If the county contributes to two college districts, the combined levy across both must still meet those one-mill minimums.

No year-over-year reductions, with two exceptions. "No county shall levy a smaller tax millage for capital improvements and general support of a junior college district than was levied for the previous year, unless requested to make such reduction by the board of trustees of the district." Section 37-29-141(1). The two carve-outs:

The college's board of trustees asks the county to reduce the levy.
The county has had a general reassessment of property to increase county ad valorem tax assessments. In that case, the county may reduce the millage for general support and capital improvements as long as its aggregate budget for junior college purposes is not lower than was paid the previous year. The reduced millage cannot fall below the statutory minimum, and the budgeted amount cannot fall below the previous year's amount (MS AG Op., Newell, May 13, 2011).

So Chickasaw County could legally drop from three to one mill in either of two scenarios: with a request from the trustees, or following a general reassessment that produced enough higher assessed value that one mill in the new year still raised at least as much money as three mills in the old year. Without those, the higher rate had to be maintained.

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 is the minimum junior college levy for a Mississippi county?

One mill for general support, plus one mill for enlargement, improvement, and repair, of junior and community colleges in the county's taxing district. Section 37-29-141(1) is the statute.

Can a county simply lower the levy from one year to the next?

No, unless one of two things happens: the college's board of trustees requests the reduction, or the county has had a general reassessment of property and the new (lower) millage will still produce a budget that is not lower than what was paid the previous year.

What if the county is in two college districts?

The combined levy for both districts has to satisfy the same minimums. The statute treats the floor as cumulative.

What is "general reassessment" for purposes of the carve-out?

A reassessment of property that increases county ad valorem tax assessments. After such a reassessment, the county may reduce the millage for general support and capital improvements as long as the aggregate budget for junior college purposes is not lower than the previous year. The reduction can't drop the levy below the one-and-one minimum.

What is the consequence of trying to reduce without a trustee request or reassessment?

The reduction would be inconsistent with Section 37-29-141(1). Outside the carve-outs, the prior year's levy is the floor.

Background and statutory framework

Section 37-29-141(1) sets the minimum and the no-reduction rule:

No county shall levy a smaller tax millage for capital improvements and general support of a junior college district than was levied for the previous year, unless requested to make such reduction by the board of trustees of the district. When a county has a general reassessment of property to increase the county ad valorem tax assessments, such county may reduce the millage for general support and capital improvements, provided that its aggregate budget for junior college purposes is not lower than was paid the previous year.

The same subsection sets the one-mill minimums for general support and for enlargement, improvement, and repair, and treats the combined levy across two districts as cumulatively subject to those minimums.

MS AG Op., Newell at *1 (May 13, 2011), already articulated both the no-year-over-year-reduction rule (with the trustee-request and reassessment exceptions) and the constraint that a post-reassessment reduction must produce at least as much revenue as the previous year.

The opinion is signed by Special Assistant Attorney General Phil Carter on behalf of Attorney General Lynn Fitch.

Citations

Miss. Code Ann. Section 37-29-141 (junior and community college millage)
Miss. Code Ann. Section 37-29-141(1) (minimum and no-reduction rule)
MS AG Op., Newell at *1 (May 13, 2011)

Source

Original opinion text

November 17, 2020

Mr. Norman Griffin
Chickasaw County Administrator
1 Pinson Square
Houston, Mississippi 38851

Re: Tax levy for support and enlargement of junior college

Dear Mr. Griffin:

The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Background Facts

Chickasaw County (the "County") imposes an annual levy for community and/or junior colleges located within the taxing district of which the County is a member. We understand that the County's most recent levies were three mills for the support of junior/community college(s) located within the taxing district of which the county is a member, and three mills for the enlargement, improvement, and repair of such college(s). According to your request, the County's Board of Supervisors (the "Board") wishes to levy only one mill for support and one mill for enlargement, improvement, and repair.

Question Presented

Does Mississippi Code Annotated Section 37-29-141 permanently bind the Board to annually levying three mills for the support and three mills for enlargement, improvement, and repairs of the local junior college?

Brief Response

No. However, a county may not reduce its levy from one year to the next for general support or the enlargement, improvement, and repair of junior/community colleges, except when requested to do so by the board of trustees of the community or junior college district of which it is a member, or in certain instances in which a county has had a general reassessment of property. MS AG Op., Newell at *1 (May 13, 2011).

Applicable Law and Discussion

A county's annual tax levy must include at least one mill for the support of junior and community colleges located within the taxing district of which the county is a member, and one mill for the enlargement, improvement, and repair of such college(s). Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-141(1). If a county contributes to two junior college districts, the combined levy for both districts shall not be less than the minimums required by Section 37-29-141(1). Id. at § 37-29-141(1).

With respect to decreasing the millage rate for community and junior colleges, the Code provides:

No county shall levy a smaller tax millage for capital improvements and general support of a junior college district than was levied for the previous year, unless requested to make such reduction by the board of trustees of the district. When a county has a general reassessment of property to increase the county ad valorem tax assessments, such county may reduce the millage for general support and capital improvements, provided that its aggregate budget for junior college purposes is not lower than was paid the previous year.

Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-141(1). Accordingly, "[a] county may not reduce its levy from one year to the next, except when requested to do so by the board of trustees of the community or junior college district of which it is a member." MS AG Op., Newell at 1 (May 13, 2011). A county may also reduce the millage rate for general support and capital improvements following a general reassessment of property. Miss. Code Ann. § 37-29-141(1). However, a reduction in the millage rate following a general reappraisal may not result in a levy that is less than the minimum levy specified in Section 37-29-141(1). MS AG Op., Newell at 1 (May 13, 2011). In addition, a reduction in the millage rate in the year following reappraisal must produce an amount of proceeds that is not lower than the amount paid in the previous year. Id.

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/ Phil Carter
Phil Carter
Special Assistant Attorney General