The board of supervisors of any county is hereby empowered to levy ad valorem taxes on taxable property in the respective counties in any one (1) year, as shown by the assessment roll containing assessments of property made as of January 1 of the year, and the assessment of motor vehicles as made according to the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Law of 1958 (Section 27-51-1 et seq.) for all general county purposes, exclusive only of levies for schools at the rate necessary to fund such purposes.

The board of supervisors of any county is further empowered to expend the proceeds of this levy for any purpose authorized for any other levy which the board of supervisors is authorized to make. The board of supervisors may authorize general fund expenditures for road and bridge construction; provided that the expenditures do not exceed thirty percent (30%) of the general fund in any one (1) fiscal year; provided that any general fund expenditures shall be subject to the requirements of Section 65-15-21, Mississippi Code of 1972; and the board may authorize general fund expenditures for school purposes when necessary to meet the minimum local ad valorem tax effort required by Section 37-57-1, Mississippi Code of 1972.

The board of supervisors of any county is further empowered to distribute from the county general fund a portion of the county’s share of payments made by the Tennessee Valley Authority to the state in lieu of taxes (a) to the school districts of said county and (b) for construction on the roads and bridges of said county in an amount which bears the same proportion to the total amount of the county’s share as the millage for the school fund and road and bridge fund bears to the total millage levied by the county. In the event said in lieu payments are expended for capital improvements, said payments shall not be subject to the increase limitations specified in Section 27-39-321 or 37-57-107, Mississippi Code of 1972.