Mississippi Advisory Opinions April 05, 1993: AGO 000000177 (April 5, 1993)

AGO 000000177.

Dear Mr. Harris:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your letter of request and has assigned it to me for research and reply. Your letter states that Pine Belt Regional Solid Waste Author- ity, a regional solid waste authority organized and existing under Miss. Code Ann. Sections 17-17-301 et seq., expects to issue long term debt in the amount of $6,000,000 this summer by way of a revenue bond issue. Unfortunately, Pine Belt is not presently in a position to move the bond issue forward be- cause the information necessary to sell the bonds will not be available for several months. Meanwhile, Pine Belt is re- questing the participating member counties and cities within its service area to assist it in acquiring interim financing to begin acquisition, construction, and equipping of an inte- grated solid waste disposal facility. They need to begin im- mediately in order to meet the October 1993 legislative dead- line concerning existing landfill operations.

Specifically, the proposal is to request the counties and cities to secure the interim financing under authority of Sections 17-17-321 and 17-17-345 by guaranteeing repayment via Section 17-21-51 funds or other available funds in the event Pine Belt is unable to successfully issue the necessary bonds this summer or otherwise defaults.

Since municipal elections are coming up, you wish to clarify whether or not a city governing board may assist Pine Belt in the manner described which will in effect bind a subsequent board term. Specifically you ask:

"If a City adopted the attached resolution, would it be a valid, legally binding obligation of the City, enforceable against the new Mayor and City Council that will take office on July 1, 1993? Or, to ask the question in another way, can the present Mayor and City Council bind a subsequent Mayor and City Council in the manner set forth in the draft of the attached resolution?"

Miss. Code Ann. Section 17-17-321 provides authority for cities and counties to contract with Pine Belt for acquisition, construction, and operation of solid waste management facilities and the provision of services related thereto. Under such agreements the participating counties and cities are obligated, among other things, to make payments which shall be sufficient to enable the authority to meet its expenses, interest and principal payments for its bonds, reserves for debt service, payments for operation and maintenance and renewal and replacements. Under Section 17-17-321, the contract may make these obligations mandatory whether or not the facilities are completed or operating. Furthermore, Section 17-17-321(4) provides:

"Contracts may also provide for payments in the form of contributions to defray the cost of any purpose set forth in the contracts and as advances for any facilities subject to repayment by the authority. A public agency may make such contribution or advances from its general fund, general obligation bond proceeds, or surplus fund or from any monies legally available therefor."

Section 17-17-345 expressly authorizes cities and counties to contract with solid waste authorities ". . . obligating such county, municipality or other political subdivision . . . to make payments to such authority for such [solid waste] management on such terms, provisions and conditions as deemed appropriate . . . for a term not to exceed thirty (30) years..."

It is our opinion that the Mississippi Regional Solid Waste Management Authority Act, specifically the sections noted hereinabove, envision and authorize long term agreements between local government users and the regional solid waste authorities. Therefore, we are of the opinion a Mayor and City Council may, in the exercise of their discretionary authority as set out hereinabove, pledge the avails of funds acquired pursuant to Section 17-21-51 or other available funds to secure interim financing of the Pine Belt Regional Solid Waste Management Authority.

Sincerely yours,

MIKE MOORE, ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:

Samuel W. Keyes, Jr. Assistant Attorney General SWK,Jr/ra