Can a Mississippi county pay for or reimburse a county supervisor's home internet service so they can do county business from home?

Plain-English summary

Clarke County's attorney described a situation where a county supervisor lived in an area without broadband internet. Service was expected to become available soon, and the county wanted to pay for or reimburse the supervisor's hookup and monthly service so the supervisor could conduct county business from home.

The AG said the county can do this, but only with formal findings on the board's minutes that the expense is reasonable and necessary for the supervisor's duties or county business.

The framework is the Mississippi Constitution's prohibition on using public funds for private purposes. The AG cited a 2014 Shepard opinion involving a county coroner and home internet: "A board of supervisors cannot expend public funds to provide internet service to a private home of the county coroner, unless the Board finds, consistent with fact and spread upon the minutes, that such are necessary to the performance of her duties or to conduct public business of the county." The same rule applies to a county supervisor.

Two specific concerns:

1. The board must make the necessary-and-reasonable finding before authorizing payment. Findings entered on the minutes establish the public-purpose justification.

2. The board must ensure public funds do not subsidize personal use. The 2012 Norwood opinion analyzed cell phone reimbursement for county employees and required boards to determine the percentage of business use, with proper documentation.

The duration question: the board can pay for the broadband for as long as the necessary-and-reasonable findings hold, not exceeding the supervisor's time in office. When the supervisor's term ends, the public-purpose justification ends.

The opinion also referred the county to the State Auditor's Technical Assistance Division for guidance on specific payment structures.

What this means for you

For Mississippi county attorneys

Before recommending the county pay for a supervisor's home internet, run the analysis:

1. Necessary for the duties or business: Why does the supervisor need home internet specifically for county business? Is it for emails, document review, video meetings, citizen communications? Document the operational need.

2. Reasonable in cost: What is the cost relative to the benefit? A standard residential broadband package is typically reasonable; a premium gigabit business plan is harder to justify.

3. Personal use safeguards: How will the county verify that public funds are not subsidizing personal Netflix, gaming, etc.? A common approach is to pay a fixed percentage (e.g., 50%) of the bill, with the supervisor responsible for the rest. The board's order should establish the methodology.

4. Documentation: The board's minutes should include the findings. Not "the board approves payment for broadband" but "the board finds that home broadband is necessary for the supervisor's official duties to permit document review, electronic correspondence, and remote meeting attendance during the supervisor's term, and approves payment of [specific amount or percentage] of the supervisor's monthly bill."

For boards of supervisors

A standing policy on broadband and similar communication-cost reimbursement is helpful. The policy should:

• Establish criteria for when the county will pay (e.g., supervisor lacks reliable broadband at official county facilities, supervisor regularly conducts county business from home)
• Specify the methodology for determining the business-vs.-personal split
• Set caps on monthly amounts
• Require documentation (paid bills, periodic recertification of business use)
• Be entered on the minutes when adopted

When applying the policy to a specific supervisor's request:

• Make the case-specific findings on the minutes
• Adopt the payment plan by board order or resolution
• Build in periodic review (annually or after major changes in usage patterns)

For state auditors

Broadband-reimbursement expenditures for supervisors' homes are audit-relevant. Review for:

• Specific board findings on minutes (reasonable and necessary for duties or business)
• Documentation of business-vs.-personal use split
• Cap amounts that align with reasonable cost
• Time-limited authorization (not exceeding term)

If the documentation is missing, this is an audit finding. If the methodology is sloppy (full payment with no personal-use offset), this is also an audit finding.

For county administrators

Build the broadband-reimbursement workflow into your normal expense processing:

• Each supervisor's reimbursement is on the agenda for board approval each month (or per other established cadence)
• Receipt or documentation of the bill is attached
• The percentage or amount aligned with the board's standing policy is calculated
• The reimbursement is entered as a board-approved expense

For taxpayers concerned about supervisor expenses

Public-funds use for personal-residence services is a defensible practice when properly documented and limited. The legal framework prevents abuse: findings, documentation, and limits to actual public purpose. If you observe a county paying for supervisor home internet without those safeguards, that is a sign of possible misuse and an audit-relevant issue.

You can review board minutes (public records) for the specific findings and authorization. If the minutes do not contain the necessary findings, the expenditure may be improperly authorized.

Common questions

Q: Does this rule apply to other employees and officials, not just supervisors?
A: The same general principle applies. The 2014 Shepard opinion was about a county coroner. The 2012 Norwood opinion was about county employees. The reasonable-and-necessary findings requirement is the consistent rule across the categories.

Q: What about cell phones?
A: The 2012 Norwood opinion specifically addressed cell phone reimbursement and found the same framework: board determines the percentage of business use, ensures public funds are not used for personal use, and documents the methodology.

Q: Can the county provide a county-issued device or county-paid service rather than reimburse a personal one?
A: Yes. Some counties prefer to provide a county-issued device (laptop, phone, hotspot) rather than reimburse personal services. This is often cleaner from a public-purpose perspective: the device is county property used for county business. The user must agree to use it for county business and not improperly for personal use.

Q: What if multiple homes in the area would benefit from the broadband infrastructure (the supervisor's home is not the only one)?
A: The 2021 opinion notes this fact. The supervisor's home not being the only beneficiary of the new broadband infrastructure suggests the public-purpose justification is stronger than a private-only benefit. Even so, the county is paying for the supervisor's hookup and monthly service, which is the supervisor's personal benefit.

Q: How does this rule interact with capital infrastructure expenditures (e.g., the county helping fund broadband expansion)?
A: Funding broadband expansion as a public infrastructure project is different from paying a supervisor's personal bill. The expansion benefits all residents and is a recognized public purpose under various Mississippi statutes (the legislature has authorized counties to support broadband). The 2021 Hammack opinion is specifically about paying the supervisor's individual hookup and service.

Q: Can the county cap the amount at a specific dollar figure?
A: Yes. Setting a cap is a reasonable cost-management tool and supports the necessary-and-reasonable framing.

Q: What if the supervisor has no other internet option?
A: That fact strengthens the necessary-and-reasonable justification. The supervisor cannot effectively conduct county business without internet, and the home is the only available location. The board's findings should reflect this.

Q: Does this rule apply to other utilities (electricity, water)?
A: The same constitutional analysis would apply. Public funds for personal-residence utilities require strong public-purpose justification. In practice, paying for a supervisor's residential utilities is harder to justify than internet for remote-work purposes.

Q: What documentation should the supervisor maintain?
A: At minimum, the monthly bill. If the methodology requires showing business use (e.g., for percentage calculation), records of work-related online activities, work hours, etc. The State Auditor's guidance provides specifics.

Q: Can the supervisor receive cash reimbursement, or must payment go directly to the provider?
A: Either approach can work, depending on the board's setup. Direct payment to the provider is cleaner for accounting; reimbursement to the supervisor requires bills as documentation.

Background and statutory framework

Mississippi's Constitution places strict controls on the use of public resources for private purposes. The principle is that public funds must serve a public purpose, with limits tested by reasonable connection to government function.

The reasonable-and-necessary findings framework comes from a long line of AG opinions on similar expenditures. Boards of supervisors have authority to compensate officers and reimburse legitimate expenses, but the public-purpose nexus must be documented.

The 2014 Shepard opinion (county coroner home internet) established the modern framework: minutes, findings, factual basis, ongoing reasonable-and-necessary requirement. The 2012 Norwood opinion (cell phone reimbursement) added the percentage-of-use methodology for mixed-use scenarios.

The 2021 Hammack opinion follows these. It applies the framework to a county supervisor's home broadband, expanding the same analysis. Critical conditions:

1. Findings on the minutes
2. Reasonable and necessary
3. Personal-use safeguards
4. Time-limited (not beyond term in office)

The State Auditor's Technical Assistance Division is the operational resource for boards setting up these reimbursement structures. The AG's role is the legal framework; the State Auditor provides specific guidance on accounting, documentation, and audit-compliance.

The "spread upon the minutes" language is a Mississippi term of art. It means entering the finding in the official board minutes for permanent record. This is the formal documentation that establishes the public-purpose basis for the expenditure.

Citations and references

Statute and constitutional framework:
- Mississippi Constitution prohibition on use of public resources for private purposes (referenced; specific section not pin-cited in opinion)

Prior AG opinions cited:
- MS AG Op., Balch (Feb. 18, 1993), expenditures must be reasonable
- MS AG Op., Custom (Jan. 31, 2014), expenditure reasonableness requirement
- MS AG Op., Norwood (Mar. 12, 2012), cell phone reimbursement for personal-phone county use
- MS AG Op., Shepard (Jan. 10, 2014), board cannot pay for coroner home internet without findings on minutes
- MS AG Op., Shepard (Aug. 7, 2015), Mississippi Constitution places strict controls on public-resource use for private purposes

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/W.Hammack-November-23-2021-Payment-or-Reimbursement-for-Cost-of-Hookup-and-Delivery-of-Broadband-Internet-Service-to-County-Supervisors-Home.pdf

Original opinion text

November 23, 2021

William C. Hammack, Esq.
Attorney, Clarke County Board of Supervisors
1724A 23rd Avenue
Meridian, Mississippi 39301

Re: Payment or Reimbursement for Cost of Hookup and Delivery of Broadband/Internet Service to County Supervisor's Home

Dear Mr. Hammack:

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

Background

According to your request, a member of the Clarke County Board of Supervisors (the "Board") lives in an area that does not currently have broadband/internet service. You state that it is anticipated that in the near future such service will become available and will be a great benefit to the County and the supervisor's availability to communicate about county business. We understand that, after a subsequent conversation with you, the supervisor's home would not be the only home receiving broadband/internet service if service was made available to the area.

Questions Presented

1. May the County pay for or reimburse a supervisor for the cost of hookup and delivery of broadband/internet service to the supervisor's home when and if made available?

2. If the answer to the previous question is "yes," what would be considered a reasonable limit on the period of time during which a reimbursement would be allowed?

Brief Response

1. The County cannot expend public funds to provide broadband/internet service to a private home of a member of the Board of Supervisors, unless the Board finds, consistent with the facts and spread upon the minutes, that such expenses are reasonable and necessary to the performance of the supervisor's duties or to conduct public business of the county.

2. The Board may pay for the supervisor's broadband/internet services for as long as, consistent with the facts and spread upon the minutes, the Board determines such expenses are reasonable and necessary to the performance of the supervisor's duties or to conduct public business of the county, not to exceed the time during which the supervisor is in office.

Applicable Law and Discussion

In response to your first question, "[t]he Mississippi Constitution has placed strict controls on the use of public resources for private purposes." MS AG Op., Shepard at 1 (Aug. 7, 2015). This office previously analyzed whether a county could provide internet service to a coroner's home for her use in conducting investigations, preparing and filing reports, etc., necessary in the performance of her official duties. MS AG Op., Shepard (Jan. 10, 2014). In response, we stated: "A board of supervisors cannot expend public funds to provide internet service to a private home of the county coroner, unless the Board finds, consistent with fact and spread upon the minutes, that such are necessary to the performance of her duties or to conduct public business of the county." Moreover, such use must also be reasonable. MS AG Op., Custom at 1 (Jan. 31, 2014) (citing MS AG Op., Balch at *1 (Feb. 18, 1993)). As with all public expenditures, this expenditure would be subject to review by the State Auditor.

Your request raises the obvious concern of the supervisor using the internet at his home for personal reasons, in addition to use for public business. This office has opined that a board of supervisors may determine the percentage of monthly usage associated with county business for a county employee that uses his personal cell phone in lieu of obtaining a county cell phone, to allow the county employee to be reimbursed for county business. MS AG Op., Norwood at *1 (Mar. 12, 2012). This office did not find any specific prohibition against the reimbursement so long as:

[t]he Board of Supervisors determines, consistent with the facts, that the County will receive a benefit at least equivalent to the amount expended and, by order, resolution or ordinance duly entered on its minutes authorizes such reimbursements and establishes procedures that insure [sic] that public funds are not being spent to reimburse employees or officials for personal use of their cell phones.

Id. The Board must ensure that public funds are not used for the supervisor's personal use of broadband/internet service to his or her home. Id.

According to our conversations with you, your second question asks for how long the Board may pay for the supervisor's broadband services. It is the opinion of this office that the Board may pay for such services for as long as, consistent with the facts and spread upon the minutes, the Board determines such expenses are reasonable and necessary to the performance of the supervisor's duties or to conduct public business of the county, not to exceed the time during which the supervisor is in office.

For guidance regarding specific payments for broadband/internet services, we refer you to the Office of the State Auditor's Technical Assistance Division.

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/ Gregory Alston
Gregory Alston
Special Assistant Attorney General