Mississippi AG Issues Opinion on District Tax Assessment for Drainage Improvements

The Mississippi Attorney General March 18 issued an opinion allowing the Tuscumbia Water Management District (TWMD) to assess a tax on lands outside its boundaries that benefit from its drainage improvements. The AG, in response to TWMD request for an opinion on whether a tax may be levied upon all benefiting lands within the county or if only lands lying within the existing drainage district may be assessed, opined that: 1) assessments are not limited to lands previously included in the drainage district; and 2) according to Mississippi law, the commissioners can assess taxes on benefiting lands outside the district’s ...