2016 Mississippi Code
Title 19 - Counties and County Officers
Chapter 31 - Public Improvement Districts
§ 19-31-5. Definitions

As used in this chapter the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(a) "Assessable improvements" means any public improvements and community facilities that the district is empowered to provide in accordance with this chapter.

(b) "Assessment bonds" means special obligations of the district that are payable solely from proceeds of the special assessments levied for an assessable project.

(c) "Board" or "board of directors" means the governing board of the district or, if such board has been abolished, the board, body or commission succeeding to the principal functions thereof or to whom the powers given to the board by this chapter have been given by law.

(d) "Bond" includes certificate, and the provisions that are applicable to bonds are equally applicable to certificates. The term "bond" includes any assessment bond, refunding bond, revenue bond and other such obligation in the nature of a bond as is provided for in this chapter.

(e) "Public improvement district" or "district" means a special district that is created pursuant to this chapter and limited to the performance of those specialized functions authorized by this chapter, the boundaries of which are contained wholly within a single county or two (2) or more contiguous counties; the governing head of which is a body created, organized and constituted and authorized to function specifically as prescribed in this chapter for the delivery of public improvement services; and the formation powers, governing body, operation, duration accountability, requirements for disclosure and termination of which are as required by general law.

(f) "Contribution agreement" means an agreement between a district and a public entity under which the public entity agrees to provide financial or credit support in the form of cash, pledge, guaranty or other enhancement, which agreement must be approved in accordance with Sections 17-13-1 through 17-13-17.

(g) "Cost," when used with reference to any project, includes, but is not limited to:

(i) The expenses of determining the feasibility or practicability of acquisition, construction or reconstruction.

(ii) The cost of surveys, estimates, plans and specifications.

(iii) The cost of improvements.

(iv) Engineering, fiscal and legal expenses and charges.

(v) The cost of all labor, materials, machinery and equipment.

(vi) The cost of all lands, rights, servitudes and franchises acquired.

(vii) Financing charges.

(viii) The creation of initial reserve and debt service funds.

(ix) Working capital.

(x) Interest charges incurred or estimated to be incurred on money borrowed before and during construction and acquisition and for such reasonable period of time after completion of construction or acquisition as the board may determine.

(xi) The cost of issuance of bonds pursuant to this chapter, including advertisements and printing.

(xii) The cost of any election held pursuant to this chapter and all other expenses of issuance of bonds.

(xiii) The discount, if any, on the sale or exchange of bonds.

(xiv) Administrative expenses.

(xv) Such other expenses as may be necessary or incidental to the acquisition, construction or reconstruction of any project or to the financing thereof, or to the development of any lands within the district.

(h) "District manager" means the manager of the district.

(i) "District roads" means highways, streets, roads, alleys, sidewalks, landscaping, storm drains, bridges and thoroughfares of all kinds and descriptions.

(j) "Landowner" means the owner of land, including real property as it appears in the official records of the county, including a trustee, a private corporation or other entity, and an owner of a condominium unit.

(k) "Market value" means the amount in cash, or on terms reasonably equivalent to cash, for which in all probability the property would have sold on the effective date of the appraisal, after a reasonable exposure time on the open competitive market, from a willing and reasonably knowledgeable seller to a willing and reasonably knowledgeable buyer, with neither acting under any compulsion to buy or sell, giving due consideration to all available economic uses of the property at the time of the appraisal. Market value must be determined in accordance with Section 27-35-50 and must conform to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisers Practice.

(l) "Project" means any development, improvement, property, utility, facility, works, enterprise or service undertaken after April 1, 2002, or established under the provisions of this chapter, including, but not limited to, the following:

(i) Water management and control for the lands within the district and connection of some or any of such facilities with roads and bridges;

(ii) Water supply, sewer and wastewater management, reclamation and reuse, or any combination thereof;

(iii) Bridges or culverts that may be needed across any drain, ditch, canal, floodway, holding basin, excavation, public highway, tract, grade, fill or cut and roadways over levees and embankments;

(iv) District roads equal to or exceeding the specifications of the county in which the district roads are located, including street lights and the location of underground utilities;

(v) Parks and facilities for indoor and outdoor recreational, cultural and educational uses, and other tourism related infrastructure and facilities;

(vi) Fire prevention and control, including fire stations, water mains and plugs, fire trucks, and other vehicles and equipment;

(vii) Security, except that the district may not exercise any police power but may contract with the appropriate local governmental agencies for an increased level of such services within the district boundaries;

(viii) Waste collection and disposal;

(ix) Acquisition, construction, repair, renovation, demolition or removal of:

1. Buildings and site improvements (including fixtures);

2. Potable and nonpotable water supply systems;

3. Sewage and waste disposal systems;

4. Storm water drainage and other drainage systems;

5. Airport facilities;

6. Rail lines and rail spurs;

7. Port facilities;

8. Highways, streets and other roadways;

9. Fire suppression and prevention systems;

10. Utility distribution systems, including, but not limited to, water, electricity, natural gas, telephone and other information and telecommunications facilities, whether by wire, fiber or wireless means; however, electrical, natural gas, telephone and telecommunication systems may be constructed, repaired or renovated only for the purpose of completing the project and connecting to existing utility systems. This provision may not be construed to prevent a city, county or natural gas district from supplying utility service that it is authorized to supply in the service area that it is authorized to serve; and

11. Business, industrial and technology parks and the acquisition of land and acquisition or construction of improvements to land connected with any of the preceding purposes;

(x) County purposes authorized by or defined in Sections 17-5-3 and 19-9-1, except Section 19-9-1(f); and

(xi) Municipal purposes authorized by or defined in Sections 17-5-3, 17-17-301 through 17-17-349, 21-27-23 and 21-33-301.

(m) "Public entity" means any governmental agency, county or municipality, which enters into a contribution agreement with a district in accordance with this chapter.

(n) "Qualified voter" means any landowner within the district who is at least eighteen (18) years of age, or the landowner's authorized representative who is at least eighteen (18) years of age. If the landowner of a parcel consists of more than one (1) person or is a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or any association or legal entity organized to conduct business, the majority interest of the landowners of the parcel shall select one (1) person who is at least eighteen (18) years of age to serve as the "qualified voter" for the group.

(o) "Revenue bonds" means obligations of the district that are payable from revenues derived from sources other than ad valorem taxes on real or personal property and that do not pledge the property, credit or general tax revenue of the district.

(p) "Sewer system" means any plant, system, facility or property, and additions, extensions and improvements thereto, useful or necessary in connection with the collection, treatment or disposal of sewage.

(q) "Water management and control facilities" means any lakes, canals, ditches, reservoirs, dams, levees, floodways, pumping stations or any other works, structures or facilities for the conservation, control, development, utilization and disposal of water, and any purposes incidental thereto.

(r) "Water system" means any plant system, facility or property, and additions, extensions, and improvements thereto, useful or necessary in connection with the development of sources, treatment or purification and distribution of water.