Can a Mississippi county tax assessor close her office for severe weather without a local emergency declaration?

Plain-English summary

Harrison County's tax assessor asked whether she could independently close her office in a courthouse during a local weather emergency to protect employees, without a board order closing county offices. The AG answered no when the board of supervisors had not declared a local emergency. Mississippi's tax assessor office hours statute tied her office to the hours required of other county offices, and the emergency management law gave the county board or its president authority to proclaim a local emergency.

The opinion drew on an earlier AG letter saying that, once a local emergency was declared, the board could close county offices or give an elected official discretion to close an office if the board found that necessary. The September letter did not say an assessor gained that authority merely by recognizing dangerous weather, nor that a declaration automatically closed her office.

What this means for you

County tax assessors

Under the opinion, severe weather alone did not give an assessor independent authority to close the office while other county offices remained open and no local emergency had been declared.

County supervisors and taxpayers

The AG identified the board and its president as the local emergency declaring authorities. Its reading kept office closure authority with the board, including the choice to delegate a closure decision after a declaration. The ordinary county office hours rule supplied the starting point for public access.

Common questions

Q: Could an assessor close her own office without a board declared emergency? A: No. That was the direct answer to the question presented.

Q: Who may declare a county local emergency under the law cited? A: The opinion identified the board of supervisors or its president.

Q: Does a declaration itself let an assessor close the office? A: The opinion did not say so. It said the board could close county offices or grant the elected official discretion to close an office if the board determined that was necessary.

Background and statutory framework

Section 27-1-25 tied the county tax assessor's office hours to the times other county offices had to be open under section 25-1-99. Section 33-15-17(d) assigned local emergency proclamation authority to county leadership and allowed a governing body to issue protective orders during an emergency. The AG applied those provisions, and the earlier McAdams opinion it quoted, to the assessor's proposed independent weather closure.

Citations

• Section 27-1-25, tax assessor office hours.
• Section 25-1-99, county office business hours.
• Section 33-15-17(d), county local emergency authority.

Subject

Authority to Close Tax Assessors Office in Case of Local Weather Emergency

Recipient

Paula Ladner, Harrison County Tax Assessor

Source

• Index page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/P.-Ladner-September-18-2026-Authority-to-Close-Tax-Assessors-Office-in-Case-of-Local-Weather-Emergency.pdf

Original opinion text

September 18, 2026
Honorable Paula Ladner
Tax Assessor, Harrison County
Post Office Box 462
Gulfport, Mississippi 39502
Re:

Authority to Close Tax Assessor’s Office in Case of Local Weather Emergency

Dear Ms. Ladner:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion. Question Presented May a county tax assessor and/or tax collector, who maintains an office within the county courthouse, independently close his individual office in the event of a local weather emergency and for the safety of his employees so long as it is not during a time frame that requires meeting certain deadlines and where there has not been an order approved by the board of supervisors or board president to close all county offices? Brief Response A county tax assessor does not have the independent authority to close her individual office in the event of a local weather emergency where the board of supervisors has not declared a local emergency. Applicable Law and Discussion Mississippi Code Annotated Section 27-1-25 states that “[t]he office of the [county tax] assessor shall be open for business at all such times as other county offices within the county are required, pursuant to Section 25-1-99 . . . to be open for business and, except when necessarily absent on official business, the assessor, or his deputy, shall remain in the assessor's office during the time the office is open for business.” In turn, Section 25-1-99 states that county offices “shall be open for business on all business days from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except that within the discretion of the board of supervisors of said county, the above county offices may be closed at 12:00 noon one 550 HIGH STREET • SUITE 1200 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39201 POST OFFICE BOX 220 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39205 TELEPHONE (601) 359-3680

Honorable Paula Ladner
September 18, 2026
Page 2
(1) business day of each week, or may be closed all day Saturday of each week, or may be closed at 12:00 noon on Saturday and at 12:00 noon on one (1) additional business day of each week.” As to your question about a local weather emergency and the safety of employees, under Section 33-15-17(d) of the Mississippi Emergency Management Law, only “the president of the board of supervisors of a county or the governing body of a county” may proclaim a local emergency.1 “During a local emergency, the governing body of a political subdivision may promulgate orders and regulations necessary to provide for the protection of life and property, including orders or regulations imposing a curfew within designated boundaries where necessary to preserve the public order and safety.” Miss. Code Ann. § 33-15-17(d). This office has previously opined that “if a local emergency has been declared, the Board [of supervisors] has the authority to close county offices or grant the applicable elected local official discretion to close his office if the Board determines that it is necessary pursuant to the Emergency Management Law.” MS AG Op., McAdams at 2 (Feb. 24, 2022). Where the board of supervisors has not declared a local emergency, a tax assessor does not have the independent authority to close her individual office in the event of extreme weather conditions. See Id. at 2 (opining that “a chancery clerk does not have the independent authority to close his or her individual office in anticipation of extreme weather conditions from a severe natural disaster”). 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/ Kristi D. Kennedy
Kristi D. Kennedy
Special Assistant Attorney General

1

Section 33-15-5(g) defines a “local emergency” as follows:
the duly proclaimed existence of conditions of disaster or extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the territorial limits of a county and/or municipality caused by such conditions as air or water pollution, fire, flood, storm, epidemic, earthquake, hurricane, resource shortages or other natural or man-made conditions, which conditions are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of the political subdivision and require the combined forces of other subdivisions or of the state to combat. 550 HIGH STREET • SUITE 1200 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39201 POST OFFICE BOX 220 • JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39205 TELEPHONE (601) 359-3680