Mississippi Code
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-5 (2026)
Powers of governing authorities
✓ current as of July 2026
- (1) The governing authorities of every municipality of this state shall have the care, management and control of the municipal affairs and its property and finances. In addition to those powers granted by specific provisions of general law, the governing authorities of municipalities shall have the power to adopt any orders, resolutions or ordinances with respect to such municipal affairs, property and finances which are not inconsistent with the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, the Mississippi Code of 1972, or any other statute or law of the State of Mississippi, and shall likewise have the power to alter, modify and repeal such orders, resolutions or ordinances. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section, the powers granted to governing authorities of municipalities in this section are complete without the existence of or reference to any specific authority granted in any other statute or law of the State of Mississippi. Unless otherwise provided by law, before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, the aldermen or councilmen of every municipality of this state shall give bond, with sufficient surety, to be payable, conditioned and approved as provided by law, in a penalty equal to five percent (5%) of the sum of all the municipal taxes shown by the assessment rolls and the levies to have been collectible in the municipality for the year immediately preceding the commencement of the term of office of said alderman or councilman; however, such bond shall not exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00). For all municipalities with a population more than two thousand (2,000) according to the latest federal decennial census, the amount of the bond shall not be less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00). Any taxpayer of the municipality may sue on such bond for the use of the municipality, and such taxpayer shall be liable for all costs in case his suit shall fail. No member of the city council or board of aldermen shall be surety for any other such member.
- (2) Unless such actions are specifically authorized by another statute or law of the State of Mississippi, this section shall not authorize the governing authorities of municipalities to (a) levy taxes of any kind or increase the levy of any authorized tax, (b) issue bonds of any kind, (c) change the requirements, practices or procedures for municipal elections or establish any new elective office, (d) change the procedure for annexation of additional territory into the municipal boundaries, (e) change the structure or form of the municipal government, (f) permit the sale, manufacture, distribution, possession or transportation of alcoholic beverages, (g) grant any donation, or (h) without prior legislative approval, regulate, directly or indirectly, the amount of rent charged for leasing private residential property in which the municipality does not have a property interest.
- (3) Nothing in this or any other section shall be construed so as to prevent any municipal governing authority from paying any municipal employee not to exceed double his ordinary rate of pay or awarding any municipal employee not to exceed double his ordinary rate of compensatory time for work performed in his capacity as a municipal employee on legal holidays. The governing authority of any municipality shall enact leave policies to ensure that a public safety employee is paid or granted compensatory time for the same number of holidays for which any other municipal employee is paid.
- (4) The governing authority of any municipality, in its discretion, may expend funds to provide for training and education of newly elected or appointed municipal officials before the beginning of the term of office or employment of such officials. Any expenses incurred for such purposes may be allowed only upon prior approval of the governing authority. Any payments or reimbursements made under the provisions of this subsection may be paid only after presentation to and approval by the governing authority of the municipality.
- (5) The governing authority of any municipality may lease the naming rights to municipal property to a private commercial entity.
Codes, 1892, § 2925; 1906, § 3316; Hemingway's 1917, § 5813; 1930, § 2393; 1942, § 3374-114; Laws, 1950, ch. 491, § 114; Laws, 1985, ch. 487; Laws, 1989, ch. 526, § 1; Laws, 1990, ch. 418, § 1; Laws, 1992, ch. 430 § 1; Laws, 1998, ch. 315, § 1; Laws, 2000, ch. 363, § 2; Laws, 2000, ch. 515, § 2; Laws, 2006, ch. 419, § 1; Laws, 2007, ch. 546, § 2; Laws, 2009, ch. 467, § 11, eff. 7/1/2009.
Amended by Laws, 2016, ch. 327, SB 2799, 1, eff. 7/1/2016.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 25
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1984–2025 · leading case: Carolyn McAdams v. Sheriel F. Perkins, 204 So. 3d 1257 (Miss. 2016).
Carolyn McAdams v. Sheriel F. Perkins, 204 So. 3d 1257 (Miss. 2016). “8 Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-5 (1) (Rev. 2015) (emphasis added).”
Tunica Cnty., Mississippi v. Town of Tunica, Mississippi, 227 So. 3d 1007 (Miss. 2017). “1002 (2004) is in direct contradiction with Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-5 , Mississippi’s “Home Rule” statute.”
Mayor of Ocean Springs v. HOMEBLDRS. ASS'N, 932 So. 2d 44 (Miss. 2006). “Patterson holds, "Miss.Code Ann. § 21-17-5, gives municipalities discretion in managing municipal affairs.”
Falco Lime, Inc. v. Mayor & Aldermen of City of Vicksburg, 836 So. 2d 711 (Miss. 2002). “The manner in which the City attempted to trump the state's authority in this case is not permitted.”
City of Belmont v. Miss. State Tax Comm'n, 860 So. 2d 289 (Miss. 2003). “Miss.Code Ann. § 21-17-5(2) (Rev.2000). This includes the right of the Legislature to determine the amount of sales taxes which will be diverted to the municipalities of this State.”
Biloxi Firefighters Ass'n v. City of Biloxi, 810 So. 2d 589 (Miss. 2002). “Miss.Code Ann. § 21-17-5(1) (2001) provides in pertinent part: The governing authorities of every municipality of this state shall have the care, management and control of the municipal affairs and its property and finances.”
Gerald Emmett Beard v. City of Ridgeland, Mississippi, 245 So. 3d 380 (Miss. 2018). “" Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-5 (1) (Rev. 2015).”
Kenneth M. Crook v. City of Madison, Mississippi, 168 So. 3d 930 (Miss. 2015). “See Miss. Code Ann. 21-17-5(2)(h) (Rev. 2007).”
Jordan v. Smith, 669 So. 2d 752 (Miss. 1996). “Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-5 (1972) ("The governing authorities of every municipality .”
Maynard v. City of Tupelo, 691 So. 2d 385 (Miss. 1997). “Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-5 (1992 rev.), the Home Rule statute, provides that: (1) The governing authorities of every municipality of this state shall have the care, management and control of the municipal affairs and its property and finances.”
Foster v. Edwards, 61 So. 3d 960 (Miss. Ct. App. 2011). “In the complaint filed in circuit court, the Foster Group made the same allegation that it had made in the complaint filed in the chancery court regarding the alleged illegal use of the City’s backhoe, contending that the use of the City’s backhoe to dig private graves…”
Fernwood Books & Video v. City of Jackson, Miss., 601 F. Supp. 1093 (S.D. Miss. 1984). “Section 21-17-5 of the Mississippi Code Annotated grants the municipality the power to “enact ordinances for the purposes provided by law, where same are not repugnant to the laws of the state.”
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-5(1): 3 cases
Biloxi Firefighters Ass'n v. City of Biloxi, 810 So. 2d 589 (Miss. 2002). “Miss.Code Ann. § 21-17-5(1) (2001) provides in pertinent part: The governing authorities of every municipality of this state shall have the care, management and control of the municipal affairs and its property and finances.”
Mayor of Ocean Springs v. HOMEBLDRS. ASS'N, 932 So. 2d 44 (Miss. 2006). “Patterson holds, "Miss.Code Ann. § 21-17-5, gives municipalities discretion in managing municipal affairs.”
Walter Jones v. The City of Canton, Mississippi, 278 So. 3d 1129 (Miss. 2019).
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-5(2): 3 cases
Falco Lime, Inc. v. Mayor & Aldermen of City of Vicksburg, 836 So. 2d 711 (Miss. 2002). “The manner in which the City attempted to trump the state's authority in this case is not permitted.”
City of Belmont v. Miss. State Tax Comm'n, 860 So. 2d 289 (Miss. 2003). “Miss.Code Ann. § 21-17-5(2) (Rev.2000). This includes the right of the Legislature to determine the amount of sales taxes which will be diverted to the municipalities of this State.”
Falco Lime, Inc. v. Mayor & Bd. of Aldermen, No. 1999-CA-01284-SCT (Miss. June 30, 1999).
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-5(2)(g): 2 cases
Foster v. Edwards, 61 So. 3d 960 (Miss. Ct. App. 2011). “In the complaint filed in circuit court, the Foster Group made the same allegation that it had made in the complaint filed in the chancery court regarding the alleged illegal use of the City’s backhoe, contending that the use of the City’s backhoe to dig private graves…”
Patterson v. City of Greenville, 117 So. 3d 630 (Miss. 2013).
Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-5(2)(h): 2 cases
Kenneth M. Crook v. City of Madison, Mississippi, 168 So. 3d 930 (Miss. 2015). “See Miss. Code Ann. 21-17-5(2)(h) (Rev. 2007).”
Kenneth M. Crook v. City of Madison, Mississippi, No. 2013-CT-00081-SCT (Miss. Ct. App. Sept. 30, 2014).
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