Can Hattiesburg spend city funds to help homeless individuals get the ID documents they need to apply for a job or housing?

Plain-English summary

Hattiesburg employs a Homeless Coordinator who connects homeless individuals with housing and jobs. A common practical problem the Coordinator runs into is that homeless individuals often lack the basic identification documents (birth certificate, state ID, Social Security card) needed to apply for a job or sign a lease. Without these, the cycle continues. Hattiesburg's city attorney asked the AG whether the Coordinator could spend City money to help homeless individuals secure those documents.

The AG's answer is conditionally yes, through Section 21-19-65 of the Mississippi Code. The default rule, Section 21-17-5(2), bars municipalities from spending public money for private purposes without specific statutory authority. But Section 21-19-65 is one of those specific statutory authorizations: a city can use general fund money "to match any other funds for the purpose of supporting social and community service programs." The list of qualifying programs is illustrative, not exhaustive, and includes juvenile residential treatment, halfway houses, prenatal care, child and adult emergency shelters, and similar social-service work.

The Coordinator's program, connecting homeless individuals with documents they need for housing and employment, looks like a "social and community service program" of the kind Section 21-19-65 contemplates. But two conditions have to be satisfied:

1. The City's governing authorities (the council) have to find that the Coordinator's program qualifies as a "social and community service program" under the statute.
2. The City's expenditure must be matched by funds from another source. The City cannot be the sole funder. The matching requirement is the key legal hook that distinguishes a Section 21-19-65 expenditure from a prohibited donation.

The AG cites its 2010 Cook opinion: "[s]uch municipal donation may not constitute the sole source of funds for the program." That case-by-case rule is what makes the matching-funds requirement operative.

What this means for you

City attorneys advising a Mississippi city

The opinion holds that city funds may be used for this purpose only if the governing authorities determine that the Coordinator's work is a "social and community service program" under Section 21-19-65 and that matching funds for the city's contribution exist. It reaffirms the Cook opinion's rule that the municipal contribution cannot be the sole source of funds for the program. The general bar on spending public funds for private purposes without specific statutory authority comes from Section 21-17-5(2).

City Homeless Coordinators and social-services directors

Under the opinion, the question presented (whether the Coordinator may spend city funds to secure documents homeless individuals need to apply for housing or a job) is answered yes, but only on the two conditions above. The opinion treats whether the program qualifies and whether matching funds exist as factual determinations the governing authorities must make, not the AG.

Homeless individuals in a Mississippi municipality

The opinion recognizes that cities may, within the Section 21-19-65 framework, fund help in obtaining the documents needed to apply for housing or jobs. It conditions that authority on the program qualifying as a social and community service program and on matching funds.

Council members and aldermen

The opinion identifies the two findings that must be in place before the spending is authorized: that the program qualifies under Section 21-19-65, and that matching funds exist. It states these determinations are factual and belong to the governing authorities.

Common questions

Q: What counts as "matching funds"?
A: Section 21-19-65 doesn't define a ratio. The AG's 2010 Cook opinion just says the city's contribution can't be the sole source. So in practice, any meaningful non-municipal contribution toward the same program, federal grant, state grant, private donation, partner organization spending: can satisfy the matching requirement.

Q: Can a homeless coordinator program meet Section 21-19-65?
A: This opinion specifically says yes, conditionally. The program "connect[s] homeless individuals and families with resources and long-term housing solutions" and helps them find jobs. That looks like a social and community service program in the same family as adult emergency shelters, which Section 21-19-65 lists. The council still has to make the formal finding.

Q: Could the city pay document fees directly?
A: This opinion does not draw a sharp line between paying the fees as part of program funding versus paying them directly to the agency that issues the document. As long as the expenditure is part of a Section 21-19-65 program with matching funds, paying directly is likely allowed. The structure to avoid is unrestricted payments to individuals as cash or unrestricted reimbursements; those look more like donations.

Q: What about non-citizens or undocumented homeless individuals?
A: This opinion does not address citizenship or immigration status. Section 21-19-65 itself doesn't condition the help on immigration status. Federal law may impose restrictions on certain document types (e.g., the Social Security card), but that's a federal-law question, not a Mississippi-law question.

Q: What if the document costs run higher than expected?
A: The matching-funds requirement is what governs. As long as the program has identified matching funds and the spending stays within the program's scope, cost variability is a budget question for the city, not a legal question.

Q: Can the city donate cash directly to homeless individuals for any purpose?
A: No. Cash donations to private individuals are exactly what Section 21-17-5(2) prohibits. The Section 21-19-65 framework permits structured social-service program spending, not direct unrestricted cash transfers.

Background and statutory framework

Mississippi takes a strict default position: municipalities cannot make donations of public funds to private parties unless a specific statute authorizes it. Section 21-17-5(2) is the source of that default rule. The constitutional underpinning is Article 4, Section 95 of the Mississippi Constitution.

Section 21-19-65 is a meaningful exception. It lets municipalities spend general fund money "to match any other funds for the purpose of supporting social and community service programs." The non-exclusive list (juvenile residential treatment centers, halfway houses, prenatal care, day care, mentally ill and alcoholics halfway houses, child and adult emergency shelters, elderly home health aides) signals the kind of program the legislature had in mind: human-services work that benefits a vulnerable population and is typically run by or in partnership with nonprofits.

The matching-funds requirement is structural. Without it, Section 21-19-65 would let the city spend on anything that could be labeled "social and community service," which would swallow the donation prohibition. The match ensures the city is supplementing, not replacing, other social-services funding streams.

The AG's 2010 Cook opinion locked in the "not the sole source" reading. The 2025 Pope opinion applies it to a new context (homeless coordinator program) but doesn't change the underlying rule. Cities have used Section 21-19-65 for nonprofit emergency shelter support, food banks, day-care subsidies, and now homeless coordinator programs, all on the same legal pattern.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Miss. Code Ann. § 7-5-25 (AG opinion authority)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-5 (donation prohibition)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 21-19-65 (matching funds for social and community service programs)

Prior AG opinions referenced:

• MS AG Op., Cook (Sept. 17, 2010) (Section 21-19-65 requires matching funds; municipal contribution cannot be sole source)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/M.-Pope-December-23-2025-Municipal-Donation-to-City-Homeless-Coordinator.pdf

Original opinion text

December 23, 2025

Moran M. Pope III, Esq.
Attorney, City of Hattiesburg
P.O. Box 17527
Hattiesburg, MS 39404

Re: Municipal Donation to City Homeless Coordinator

Dear Mr. Pope:

The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion.

Background

According to your request, the City of Hattiesburg ("City") employs a Homeless Coordinator ("Coordinator") who works to develop partnerships to connect homeless individuals and families with resources and long-term housing solutions. The Coordinator also works with homeless individuals to help them find jobs. Oftentimes, however, homeless individuals do not have the necessary documents to allow them to get into housing or apply for a job, which perpetuates a cycle where homeless individuals drain the private resources of the community.

Question Presented

May the Coordinator spend City funds to secure documents required for homeless individuals to apply for housing or a job?

Brief Response

City funds may be used for such purpose if the City's governing authorities determine that 1) the Coordinator provides a "social and community service program" as contemplated under Mississippi Code Annotated Section 21-19-65, and 2) there are matching funds for the City's contribution.

Applicable Law and Discussion

You ask whether City funds may be used to secure documents required for homeless individuals to apply for housing or a job. Municipalities are generally prohibited from spending public funds for private purposes without specific statutory authority. Miss. Code Ann. § 21-17-5(2). In this case, Section 21-19-65 could potentially authorize the proposed use of funds:

The governing authorities of any municipality shall have the power to expend monies from the municipal general fund to match any other funds for the purpose of supporting social and community service programs including, but not limited to, juvenile residential treatment centers; juvenile and half-way houses; prenatal care facilities; child day care facilities; mentally ill and alcoholics half-way houses; child and adult emergency shelters; elderly home health aides programs.

As shown, Section 21-19-65 requires the City to have matching funds from another source. In other words, "[s]uch municipal donation may not constitute the sole source of funds for the program." MS AG Op., Cook at *1 (Sept. 17, 2010). That said, if the City's governing authorities determine that 1) the Coordinator provides a "social and community service program" as contemplated under Section 21-19-65, and 2) there are matching funds for the City's contribution, then City funds may be used to secure documents required for homeless individuals to apply for housing or a job. Because such determinations are factual, they cannot be made by this office. Id.; Miss. Code Ann. § 7-5-25 (granting the Attorney General the authority to opine upon prospective matters of Mississippi law only).

If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: /s/ Maggie Kate Bobo
Maggie Kate Bobo
Special Assistant Attorney General