Jackson Jambalaya

Is anybody really surprised ? Hinds county and Jackson are getting just what they deserve for the group of incompitant boobs they keep putting back in charge over and over.

Sounds like the Board is robbing Peter to pay Paul on a regular basis and they have NO intention in putting E9111 in place. I wonder how many other counties are doing this? They need to stop charging people for E911 period!

It would be interested in finding out how much have they collected since they started charging this E911 fee?

I am not really surprised either. Jackson is rapidly becoming New Orleans and Memphis without the charm, if it is not already there.

Robert Graham is an absolute joke. Empty suit. Loves to mug for the TV cams but gets absolutely nothing done beyond spending money Hinds County does not have.

Not surprised those fucking morons do this.

The people of Hinds and Jackson must love having such incompetent governments, since they keep re-electing them.

When you look at how the districts are gerrymandered IGhost you begin to understand which Hinds Countians are the lovers of incompetence. Suffice to say, the only Sup elected without any influence of Jackson voters is the most competent, by far, and the most fiscally sane.

Like Jackson, Hinds is mad rushing right into the shitter.

KF, do you know how much is currently in the E-911 account and how much the upgrade will cost?

Has the fund ever been adequate to pay for the upgrade?

That there is a revenue shortage in these economic times is not surprising. Nor is it surprising that Madison and Rankin benefitted more from the artificial housing boom so as to not experience short falls during that period. Nor do those counties have an infrastructure as ancient as that of Hinds.


I can't tell how much of this is dealing with temporary cash flow shortages (which I would rather have come from shifting between accounts than borrowing from an outside source) or whether there is a budget shortfall that's being hidden by shifting funds or if these funds were badly spent.

If your car breaks down, borrowing the funds to fix it from your child's college fund savings account is smarter than getting fired for not showing up to work and paying interest on an outside loan.

A busted water main is an immediate crisis and money to fix it has to come from someplace.

I don't like that politicians are so interested in re-election that they will not be honest and forthcoming about money issues with the public. But, we want them to fix everything quickly and provide the best without be willing to pay for that which we demand.

I'm glad you, KF, and a few of the above are willing to get to the bottom of the problem instead of just bitching and blaming and name calling.

Doesn't really matter as they've been doing this for ten years. They've been pretty much taking most of the money out of the account every year and spending it on everything else. At some point the excuses wear thin. I'll be posting some stuff today or tomorrow from the State Auditor's office. The State Auditor's office conducted a performance audit several years ago,2007 I think.

I'm going to find out more about this process but right now, this is what has been going on: The account has been sitting nearly empty for nearly half the year every year for ten years now thanks to the mismanagement and malfeasance of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors. One thing to remember: Robert Graham led the charge to stop the State Auditor's performance audit of the county this year. He misrepresented a few things to Marsha Thompson, especially when he knows very well how they divert the money every year.

You'll be thinking about busted water mains when you have a wreck and 911 can't find you or someone breaks into your house and finds you because you had to tell 911 where you were.

I told you how much money is in the account.

Here come the apologists. 10:15's attempt is as lame as they come.

It was approved two years ago. Wonder why Mr. Graham didn't give Marsha a progress report.

Regardless how much money was not spent on what it was collected for, I wonder how many people might have died or otherwise injured because of the lack of enhanced 911

Kingfish is so right about this. The most important issue is that they are billing your phone bill to cover short falls because these genius idiots do not know how to run a business. I think the citizens in the county should demand that the county stop the payments immediately!

How much longer Kingfish are your commenters under this moderation quarantine?

This is but another example when those who claim responsibility for the future of this city just kinda be quiet. CL, and especially (because they are special) JFP, would never touch this, with good reason, they might expose their inability to look at reality sans rose colored glasses.

This is just like the fed's handling of Social Security. Good job!

10:15,
If I may please address a few things, starting with the fact that you are an ignoramous. "If your car breaks down, borrowing the funds to fix it from your child's college fund savings account is smarter than getting fired for not showing up to work and paying interest on an outside loan. Let me get this straight, if your car breaks down, borrow from the fund you have created for your children's education, don't go to work, and pat yourself on the back for not paying interest on an outside loan? I am flabbergasted at the fact that Kingfish allowed you to post your expertise in finance. Why would you not go to work because your car broke down? Why would you not set up an emergency fund before setting up a college fund? Are you not familiar with the term "robbing Peter to pay Paul"? I suggest that you learn a bit about your own finances before making recommendations about how the county spends their money. People and government both must learn to live off of what they have. People must learn to live off of their own earnings, and people must learn to elect leaders who will spend their taxes wisely. I patiently await an intelligent argument of government spending money in an efficient manner.
At what point do you throw the flag on the Board of Supervisors for collecting money for a fund and then showing nothing for their collections? I own rental properties. Should I collect rent and then tell my tenants that I spent their rent on my bullshit? Sorry, but no more housing for you because I spent the money elsewhere. You don't redirect money, period!
I am sickened by this type of ignorance. When times are tough, you have to tighten your belt at all levels.
Do you receive government assistance? If so, I understand your argument. If you pay into the system as I do, then you should be pissed. What you do with your own money (if you make it), is your business, but all levels of government should be held accountable for how they spend our tax money.

This is a disgusting situation. KF, will you list the Board of Supervisors (or provide a map of the districts) so I can write and protest. I think this is worth a demonstration at wherever they meet. There is a total lack of accountability.

Anyone see on WLBT how Robert Graham ducked Marsha today? He only told her the money was always paid back.

I'm sorry Mr. Graham but you are missing the point. The fact that you are playing around with the money every year and mislead reporters who ask about it is what has us stirred up.

Just curious Mr. Graham, why don't you release the results of the performance audit conducted by the State Auditor on the E-911 funds?

Ultimately we have no one to blame for Robert Graham than Roger Davis. Davis ran as woeful a campaign as NE Jackson has seen in some time. When you lose by such a small margin on your home turf it is because you got out-hustled.

Saw the WLBT report. DAMN Kingfish. Outstanding work! Yours w/ WLBT is the model of the next gen partnership between citizen journalists like yourself and the traditional mainstream media. Bottom line, a great job.

6:38 sigh... have to use simplistic examples on a blog and I forget some people are SO literal.
The point was that borrowing from yourself is better than borrowing from someone else or a lender when you have erred in not having sufficient reserves because of an unpredicted short fall ( like our current economic woes). And since you are literal,it's better than paying for temporary transportation (it's too far to walk in my example) when that money could be applied to repairs and paid back over time...a long term financial strategy for a short term cash flow problem.

I write that knowing you'll say
'hitch a ride" but we are discussing county services like broken mains and paying salaries where " hitching" isn't an option.

The county is using these funds in the same way the Feds use Social Security, by the way and have been since 1972 when the fund was so flush it was imagined that it could NEVER be exhausted.

This will probably be too simplistic too but here goes...
I object to using these funds IF sufficient money has been accumulated for the upgrade and that hasn't been done. I do not object to using these funds as long as they are reimbursed IF the total to upgrade hasn't been reached. It is better to use the funds than have those funds sit idle or raise taxes further. Nor would I necessarily object to using excess funds for the same reasons IF the excess was more than needed to maintain the system and were being accumulated for future predicted, major repairs and upgrades and the fund would be reimbursed before those repairs were needed.

The danger is when the practice has no controls and abuse is too easy.

Your rent example is fun but not applicable as it is illegal . What the supervisors did is not . If the amount of rent you collected was insufficient to pay for maintenance and other expenses on your property, you can raise the rent. When government does that, it's called raising your taxes. Yes, you can also cut expenses, but there will be a point at which you are down to basic essential expenses so that if you don't pay them, you risk losing your property. Or, your property can become such a hazard that you are held personally liable .
Unlike with your business where you suffer the cost of mismanagement, the taxpayers,suffer the cost of government mismanagement, not the politicians.

And, I disagreed without being personally insulting.

Let me assure you, we are in the highest tax bracket and have paid IN FULL every year , taking no advantages. We recieved government money only for four years of military service . We will never have to rely on tax money before our demise. We don't hire illegals. We don't buy trinkets that won't increase in value just to show off. We know exactly the perentage waste there is in government each year because we look, but we know MOST of each tax dollar isn't wasted but most of that which is,is political payback that comes off the top and so if we don't pay, it's body armor that won't get bought. Given a choice between supporting Armani and supporting our troops, I pick our troops. Now, I've no doubt confirmed the ignoramous charge for those who want to believe in myths so they can rationalize paying no taxes.

I would really like to know who advocates paying NO taxes. You hear this all the time from people that want to raise taxes and they need to strawman to bring their type of HOPE and CHANGE about. People who actually take a look at the financial wasteland that IS Jackson, know beyond any doubt that MOST of the tax money is NOT going to perform legitimate government services.

This begs the question, why is it, that in the metro, Jackson has the highest taxes, the most crime, the worst city conditions, and the most people fleeing the minute they make enough money to get out?

It is certainly NOT because Jackson is choosing to spend funds on buying body armor.

Is it me or is the story about missing tiles in Madison a diversion?

Paul, there have been websites about how not to pay taxes... there have been stories of people who didn't file at all... I hear bragging in social settings about creative ways people found to reduce their tax liability...where have you been?

By the way, one of the most repeated is buying art and antiques " for the office" and depreciating them and then " buying" them for the house...turning a personal expense into a business deduction is great fun apparently. Then there's the company owning the beach house or hunt club dwelling which also protects it in a divorce but the " business use" of that is a rarity. Remember the story of GE owning Walsh's 5th Avenue apt. and gifting it to him when he retired?

The tax rate is actually lower than it's been in much of the Nation's history and our debt higher , but a campaign issue as long as I can remember is " no new taxes"..." read my lips", remember?

I would suggest there is a rational middle between " no new taxes" and " government can fix everything" that seems to me to be lost in political debate.

I have been for a graduated flat tax for nearly 25 years now but the reason it won't happen is that the more money you make, the more tax loopholes you can find...if you are so inclined.

Anon 7:51, I was unaware that there were ways around paying your property taxes, unless you are a Democrat. Which I am not. Cities do not have income taxes, you know?

I don't understand something...when someone calles 911, why do you have to tell the dispatcher where you live? Don't they have the information that shows up on their fancy little screens? This is, of course, when you call from your land line....does anyone have one anymore?
Now, I do know people abuse 911 (Yes, 911? Yeah, um, I'm at Mcdonald's and they didn't give me my entire order)...but in this day and time and with all of the fancy technology we have available, why is enhanced 911 so taboo? At an earlier meeting in Jackson, we were told to call Commander Watts in Jackson (601 506 7868) to receive a rapid response...but, if I am in danger I am dialing 911. Period. But, why am I being charged for it? Both my land line and my cell phone has a charge for 911. Isn't that a free call? Can't you call it from a payphone (are those still in existence?)....and if you can still make a 911 call....who is charged?
And...what about someone who do not know where they are if they do happen to get the chance to dial 911? What if they are gasping for breath to even make a call? What if their mouth and lungs are flooded with blood and the only hope they have to make it is to call 911.....and they operator asks the address of where they are located.... Really??

If in Hinds County that person is screwed.