There are several free tools out there that you can use if you are interested in looking up Mississippi Codes or Attorney General Opinions. I learned about these years ago at the University. http://www.michie.com/mississippi/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp=mscode will allow you to search all of the codes to find those that use the terms you are seeking. The trick here, as well as at any site, is to figure out the right search terms for what you are seeking. We all know the law uses terms that we don't often use in everyday life, so you may want to have a look at http://www.nolo.com/dictionary/ to browse terms to find the words you need to plug into a search.
Attorney General opinions are often referred to when the law is not clear on a subject, or the law is even silent on a subject. People from many levels of government and the legal system ask the Attorney General specific questions and the AG's office responds to these. These questions cover protocols for Boards at many levels, including school boards, boards of Supervisors, boards of Alderman, etc. This free site allows you to search those opinions http://government.westlaw.com/msag/. Again, you have to use the terms that would be used in the legal system. You may also search by name, if you are looking for AG opinions sought by your political leaders or the workers involved with the political machine of your area. It is interesting when you type in a mayor's name and you find that they have requested many AG opinions and you can read them all.
Interestingly enough, after the recent Informer post about the volunteer fire department, I just typed in "volunteer fire departments" and found this:
http://weblinks.westlaw.com/result/default.aspx?action=Search&cfid=1&cnt=DOC&db=MS%2DAG&eq=search&fmqv=c&fn=%5Ftop&method=WIN&n=2&origin=Search&query=volunteer+fire+departments&rlt=CLID%5FQRYRLT39481531813276&rltdb=CLID%5FDB6929531813276&rlti=1&rp=%2Fsearch%2Fdefault%2Ewl&rs=WEBL2%2E92&service=Search&sp=msag%2D1000&srch=TRUE&ss=CNT&sskey=CLID%5FSSSA6829531813276&vr=2%2E0
This is a link to a question posed by Mayor Miriam Holder to the AG office about just this subject. Apparently, a volunteer fire department is not subject to the authority of the municipality, though the municipality may enter into a contract to provide the facility, equipment and benefits to the private, not-for-profit fire department provided that the municipality continues to exercise control over its equipment (some of which has apparently disappeared and this was not followed up on).
So it seems a complicated prospect for a city to work with a volunteer fire department rather than operating a fire department that operates as a city department. If citizens and city officials feel that there are issues with the volunteer fire department, there may actually be little that can be done, other than creating a munincipal fire department staffed with city employees. Of course, we know money is tight for most cities and counties right now. But you have to weigh the pros and cons and do cost-benefit analyses to find which system may work best for your situation. I am sure that many homeowners throughout the city of Lumberton worry about fire ratings, homeowner's insurance and losing everything. If they can't get there in time to stop the fire in its infancy, it is already too late to save the structure and its contents. At a certain point, it probably really becomes more about making sure everyone is out of the structure and that it does not spread to surrounding structures or areas. Having lived through a home fire, it would have saved our family so much time, money and grief if the structure would have been allowed to burn rather than having to come back and tear down the remaining structure.
I seem to remember, probably back in the late 80s or early 90s, several homes burned right there on the street and those adjacent to the fire department and they were not responded to in a manner that everyone was happy with. At that time, there was no pattern to who lost homes as far as color either. These things happen and have happened.
However, I think it serves ANY organization that accepts volunteers to be very careful about who they allow to volunteer. You have to make sure these people are dependable, drug-free, well-meaning and have some degree of intelligence. Not all people who want to volunteer SHOULD be allowed to volunteer. Anyone wishing to volunteer could have sinister ulterior motives for wanting to do so. I know many volunteer firefighters from other cities and counties and they are also pillars of their communities and are active in other organizations. They often hold important jobs in the area too. I am not sure that all of the volunteers in this area are like this. I know some of them are intelligent, dedicated and care about the city and its inhabitants. But not all of them.
