Mississippi § 21-1-47 - Proceedings in chancery court.

§ 21-1-47. Proceedings in chancery court.

Upon the filing of such a petition, all of the proceedings of this chapter with regard to proceedings in the chancery court upon petitions for the creation, enlargement, and contraction of municipalities shall apply in like manner thereto. Notice of the filing of such petition and the time for the hearing shall be given in the manner and for the length of time as is required in cases of proceedings for the creation, enlargement, or contraction of a municipality. Any parties to the proceedings aggrieved by the decree of the chancellor may appeal therefrom in the same manner and within the same time as is provided in cases of decrees on petitions involving the creation, enlargement or contraction of a municipal corporation. In all proceedings under this section, however, the municipal corporation involved shall be made a party to such proceedings and shall be served with process in the manner provided by law at least thirty days prior to the date of the hearing. If the chancellor finds from the evidence that the proposed inclusion or exclusion is reasonable and is required by the public convenience and necessity, then he shall enter a decree declaring the territory in question to be included in or excluded from the municipality, as the case may be, which decree shall contain an adjudication of the boundaries of the municipality as altered. In so doing, the chancellor shall have the right and power to modify the proposed enlargement or contraction by decreasing the territory to be included in or excluded from the municipality, as the case may be. If the chancellor shall find from the evidence that the proposed inclusion or exclusion, as the case may be, is unreasonable and is not required by the public convenience and necessity, then he shall enter a decree denying same. In any event, the decree of the chancellor shall become effective after the passage of ten days from the date thereof or, in the event an appeal is taken therefrom, within ten days from the final determination of such appeal. In all cases where territory is included in or excluded from a municipality under the provisions hereof, a certified copy of the decree of the chancellor shall be sent to the Secretary of State and a map or plat of the boundaries of the municipality as altered shall be filed with the chancery clerk, all as provided in Sections 21-1-39 and 21-1-41.