Mississippi Advisory Opinions June 23, 1988: AGO 000008296 (June 23, 1988)

AGO 000008296.

Dear Mr. Bishop:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your letter of request and has assigned it to me for research and reply. A copy of your letter is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. The first question you ask concerns the validity of the election held on November 3, 1987, concerning the implementation of an emergency telephone system in Wayne County.

As a result of our subsequent phone conversations, I understand that this matter has now been resolved. The second question raised by your letter concerns the purposes for which the funds generated by the five percent (5%) tariff as provided by Miss. Code Ann. 19-5-313 (Supp. 1987) may be used.

While the statutes do not expressly itemize the purposes for which such tariff may be utilized, it is the opinion of this office that such tariff should be utilized to "fund the service". Because there is no other statutory revenue source for the operation of the emergency telephone system, it is our opinion that any monies raised by this tariff may be used for any expense connected with the operation of such system. However, pursuant to Section 19-5-313(2), if the proceeds generated by the service charge exceed the amount of monies necessary to "fund the service", the board of supervisors must either:

(1) reduce the service charge rate to an amount adequate to fund the service, or (2) temporarily or permanently suspend the service charge.

Hopefully you will find this responsive to your request.

Should you have any questions or if we may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact this office.

Sincerely,

MIKE MOORE, ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY John H. Emfinger Special Assistant Attorney General

JHE:mfd Enclosure