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Legislation introduced in 2009 that sought to increase Homestead Exemptions for people 65 and older would have cost Lincoln County more than $200,000 had the bill passed, said District Four Supervisor Doug Moak.
Surrette theorized the potential millage increase counties might have to enact to cover for lost homestead revenue could be shifted to car tags, thereby increasing costs for those age 65 and older and everyone else, too. Financial gains earned by senior citizens with an increased Homestead Exemption could be wiped out by costly car tags, he said.
"We have to make sure we don't put a burden on counties to where they don't have to increase taxes on everybody, including 65 and older," Surrette said.
Listed second on MAS's legislative priority list is the taxation of Section 42 housing, which the association believes is not being done fairly.
Gray said more and more Mississippians are moving into Section 42 housing - housing built for low-income families - while using county and city services. However, the owners of those properties are not paying an equal amount of property tax.
"The problem is not a housing issue, it's a tax equity issue," he said. "Those properties are not being assessed in a fair and equitable manner. This is money the people can use."
MAS is also working with cellular service providers to close loopholes in the tax system for funding counties' 911 services. As more and more people drop traditional in-house phone lines and go cellular only, no 911 taxes are being collected on pre-paid phones or voice over Internet protocol (VoIPS) phones which use the Internet for connection.
Additionally, anyone who travels out of county to purchase a cell phone has his or her 911 taxes paid to the county where the purchase originated, not the county where the person resides. Also, Mississippi does not meet federal guidelines for collecting 911 taxes, or it could draw down federal grant money to help pay for the system.
"We're trying to find a way to at least start collecting on what we're missing," Gray said.
MAS also opposes the strengthening of Mississippi's One Call System, the 811 number used to verify permission to dig in certain areas. The law is meant to limit the number of accidents or damage that comes with digging into buried utility lines.
MAS is suspicious of added teeth to the existing law, fearing that counties would be held responsible for higher penalties.
"We've had a problem with this because the bill wasn't so much about public safety, it was about fines and fees and collecting money," Gray said. "We're trying to watch out for excessive fines and fees some groups might put out when they see the opportunity to do that."
The one call stance struck a chord with county supervisors, who chimed in about problems caused on district roadsides by erratic and unknown cables and pipes buried in county rights-of-way.
"Sometimes we'll be working the roadsides and look back, and there will be wires everywhere," said District Three Supervisor Nolan Williamson.
Improperly laid and unnoticed utilities are a problem in northwest Lincoln County as well.
"I just have to cut them and keep going," said District Five Supervisor Gary Walker.
Surrette told legislators the greatest concern for MAS in 2010 would be appropriations and bond bills. The association plans to continuing seeking its $20 million annual appropriation for the Local System Bridge Program, approximately $9 million for the justice system and hopes for a permanent revenue source for the Local System Road Program.
Both legislators in attendance were mindful of MAS' needs, but Hyde-Smith forecasted further financial restrictions to state spending next year.
"Five percent cuts across the board, to me, is unreasonable. Some state agencies can't take five, some can take more than five," she said of Gov. Haley Barbour's 5 percent cuts.
