Updated with GIS map and tax assessment information.
The Southaven Board of Aldermen voted 4-2 on December 6, 2011 to purchase a ten-acre tract of land from EADS LLC for $1.9 million to construct a Senior Citizen Center. Just one little problem with the transaction- the Mayor's two cousins, Desoto County Chancery Clerk E.A. "Sluggo" Davis and his son, former State Senator Doug Davis, are the sellers. The minutes state:
"Next, Mayor Davis reported on the real estate contract to purchase the 10 acres for the Senior Adult Building and Park Expansion, north of Fire Station 4 on Getwell. The price is $1.95 million dollars. The appraisal came in at $2.6 million dollars. He stated that he recommends that the City go ahead and enter into an agreement to purchase this land. Alderman Guy made the motion to sign the contract to purchase the 10 acres of land. Motion was seconded by Alderman Huling. Mayor Davis opened the floor for discussion. Mayor Davis reported that the contract calls to close the deal sometime mid next year (2012)." Minutes
The minutes are silent on the identity of the seller but the Commercial Appeal reported:
"Aldermen voted 4-2 Tuesday evening to approve a contract to buy 10 acres for $1.9 million from EADS LLC, a Hernando-based limited-liability company of which DeSoto County Chancery Court Clerk W. E. "Sluggo" Davis is an officer/director, according to public records.
Davis is a cousin of Southaven Mayor Greg Davis, but the mayor said by e-mail that he didn't know if his cousin was involved in the company's operation, adding that he felt it wasn't a conflict of interest since the mayor did not vote on the matter." Article
It should be pointed out the Mayor did not recuse himself from the discussion of the purchase but instead recommended the purchase. Longtime readers of this blog know what happened next: The Kingfish checked the land records. Needless to say, the transactions surrounding this particular tract of land contain some troubling details.
W.E. Davis and Alvin Gilless purchased the land on April 26, 2005 from Billy Todd Homes. The warranty deed does not mention the true purchase price but the partners issued a deed of trust to Billy Todd Homes for $200,000 on the same day. The loan was paid off and satisfied two years later. Davis, Gillis, and the other partners transferred the land to EADS, LLC on January 12, 2006. The settlement statement for the transaction will reveal the true purchase price EADS LLC paid for the property. The Desoto Tax Assessor's website states the appraised value of the property is $315,300.
These documents and the Secretary of State's office do not list Doug Davis as a member of EADS LLC. However, a deed showing a transfer of another tract of land from EADS, LLC to W.E. Davis on February 7, 2008 lists five members of the LLC and their signatures: Alvin Gilless, A. Edward Gilless, Angela G. Campbell, W.E. Davis, and Douglas E. Davis (the former Senator). The deed states each one is a "member". The former Senator did not mention any ownership or connection to EADS LLC in his statement of economic interest he is required to file with the Ethics Commission each year he was in office. Failure to list such ownership, if it indeed exists, is punishable by a $10,000 fine.
Editorial Comment: That was the news, now for the opinion. The media, the State Auditor, and even the FBI are apparently no deterrence to this out of control Mayor. It is simply mind-boggling Mayor Davis would even think of completing this transaction after the disgrace he brought to the City of Southaven and himself. At a minimum, the Mayor should have recused himself from any discussion of purchasing land from his cousins. Unfortunately for Southaven residents, Mr. Davis's moral compass disappeared in Canada as he repeatedly proves himself unfit for office.
Then there is the transaction itself. Odds are EADS LLC purchased the land for $200,000. However, in the middle of a real estate bust, the Davis family expects us to believe the land somehow appreciated up to 1,000% in five years. Yes, there is an appraisal for $2.6 million but appraisals are not exactly hard to manipulate- if one is so inclined. It is also a little unusual for the assessed value to be 16% of the sales price or 12% of the appraised value.
What is more troubling is not one single member of the Board of Alderman thought there was anything wrong with purchasing land from the Mayor's cousins nor did they ask to see the settlement statement when EADS LLC or the original partners purchased the land. Apparently it is too much to ask for the city attorney to perform an actual title search.
The Auditor and FBI should expand their investigation from sex toys and gay sex shops to sweetheart land deals with family members as the corruption of Mayor Greg Davis is unfortunately not an isolated gene in the Davis family. As a chancery clerk and former senator, the other Davis's are certainly familiar with terms such as "conflict of interest" and appearance of impropriety". One can only imagine how many other landmines the Davis family has set for Southaven.
Davis listed as member of LLC:
Sale of land to Davis & Gilless from Billy Todd Homes in 2005
Deed of trust for $200,000
Transfer of 10 acre tract from partners to EADS LLC
Friday, January 20, 2012
Sweetheart deals in Southaven? (UPDATED)
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40 comments:
Blatant, arrogant, dirty and perhaps criminal!
Hasn't former Senator Doug Davis been nominated to serve as Banking Commissioner by Governor Phil Bryant?
BTW, Thanks for being the best investigative reporter in the state!
It's just politics. Chill!
Just politics??? Didn't former Madison County Supervisor David Richardson go to jail for this type of obscene profiteering while serving as an elected official???
Didn't Angel Campbell work as a senior policy advisor to former Senator Lott? These arrogant crooks make hardworking taxpayers like me sick!
11:30. - once again, it's just politics. Don't act surprised. This will likely get investigated and perhaps justice will be had because of what Davis has done unrelated to this incident. But this is nothing more than business as usual that is routine in the world of politics, greed and corruption. It's why people want to be public servants so the public can serve them.
You have some true democrats and some true republicans, but for the most part it's all about bidness!
"Chill"? Are you implying people shouldn't care or be concerned because this kind of corruption happens everywhere?
Evil prevails when good men stand aside and do nothing.
Attitudes like yours are why are this country sucks as much as it does.
11:07. Yes, the word is Bryant wants Doug Davis as Banking Comissioner, although his highest level of experience is as an Assistant Vice President for First Security Bank in Batesville. He has no executive officer experience, which is a purported prerequisite for the appointment to this $150,000 per year job. Nobody in the banking community knows him. It appears he will be ganining his notoriety via a different path.
The price paid for the land some years ago lacks all relevance. This may be a crooked deal (and it may not) but the fact that the value of the land may have changed doesn't make it so.
Doug Davis problems are about to mount. Davis was a Senator for 7 years and NEVER disclosed on his Ethics Report that he was indeed an owner of EADS, LLC. That will spell trouble for him in the months to come.
The FBI is reportedly investigating the bogus "appraisal" on the land transaction. If it was bogus, expect Doug Davis to be investigated for his role in the sale. Problems are all in the family on this one.
11:30, while agree with you that this should not be viewed as "just politics", I would note that David Richardson did not receive jail time as part of his sentence. And of course, his alleged unindicted co-conspirator received no penalty at all.
KF, are the state auditor and FBI going to look the other way on this? Have you spoken to the auditor?
It's another K.F. scoop.
But isn't it just like shooting fish in a barrel when you know what to look for? I know how much time it takes to chase it all down, but dayum reporters get a clue. This one smelled like there might be something to check out from the start.
Good work BTW.
msbusiness.com/2012/01/chamber-says-it-reimbursed-davis-for-expenses/
"Southaven taxpayers may end up paying as much as $4 million for a fire station built through an unusual no-bid contract negotiated by Mayor Greg Davis.
General obligation bonds were issued for the station that has been open nearly 2 1/2 years, yet the city doesn't own it."
www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/jan/19/davis-stipend-stopped/
"A $145,000 annual salary already makes Southaven Mayor Greg Davis one of the highest-paid public officials in Mississippi, but the city also has been paying the mayor a little-known $35,000-a-year stipend for supervising water and sewer operations.
Mayor Pro Tem Greg Guy moved swiftly Wednesday to ax that stipend after The Commercial Appeal obtained Davis' pay statements revealing the stipend and other city payments that steered more than $187,000 into Davis' pockets last year."
msbusiness.com/2012/01/chamber-says-it-reimbursed-davis-for-expenses/
"Officials with the Southaven Chamber of Commerce say it reimbursed Mayor Greg Davis for expenses through his account with the organization.
The Commercial Appeals reports how much Davis has been reimbursed over the years is unknown. The newspaper says it has filed a records request with the chamber. Chamber officials say no questions have been raised about the expenses."
One other thing to check into.
Guy must have a lot of friends.
www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/southaven-alderman-deliver-mayor's-receipts-to-auditors-mfo-20111221
"...Davis is trying to pay off 170-thousand dollars which the state says he spent on trips, dinners, clothes and other personal items.
So far, he's paid back about 96-thousand dollars, all of which was donated by Southaven citizens"
Let's have a round of applause for all the civic minded citizens of Southaven. Helping out the Mayor in his time of need and public embarrassment.
Hepin him git bak to bidness.
Frankly the research on this took less than an hour.
Lease to own Firehouse.
Mayor paid for running the sewer plant.
Mayor reimbursed by the Chamber of Commerce for expenses.
Where you might ask?
Where else?
This guy gets a little slimier every day. I guess being gay is the best thing he has going for him.
Any chance that any of the folks who profited from the sale to the city helped the mayor pay the near $100K?
Now that would be interesting.
Additional information recently reported concerning Southaven.
1. "'Hefty' deposit sealed deal for Southaven firehouse
City paid $500,000 to secure land."
Go to
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/jan/19/hefty-deposit-sealed-deal/
for some of the details on this rather unusual real estate deal. The city pays half a mil up front for a security deposit? A year before moving in?
2. "Southaven Mayor Making More Money than City Knew"
Go to
http://www.abc24.com/news/local/story/Southaven-Mayor-Making-More-Money-than-City-Knew/sn2vxfhzsUycoccc3XWQtw.cspx
When the story starts: "Southaven Mayor Greg Davis is making more money than anyone in the city thought he was. That includes the Board of Aldermen, and they're the ones who set the mayor's pay." And that's not counting an additional $35,000 per year drawn from the Water and Sewer Dept, which reportedly:" He told alderman it was approved by city lawyers, but alderman just found out it's illegal.
"We got an attorney's general opinion that that's not legal, that we can't do that," Guy says."
#3 "Southaven Chamber also paid Mayor Greg Davis' credit card bills"
Read at
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/jan/12/inquiry-reveals-more-davis-bills/
for the details on $48,000 from the Chamber to the mayor in just a single year. "Chamber executive director Ginger Adams said the organization will seek legal advice before releasing any records. The details of just who has requested these records are at the link. Very interesting.
IT'S JUST POLITICS! I STAND BY THAT STATEMENT. I DIDNT SAY IT WAS RIGHT,MNOR DO I CONDONE IT, BUT I AIN'T SURPRISED AT ALL. POLITICS, POWER AND GREED RUN THIS STATE AND WE ALL FOOT THE BILL!
If people only knew this person that did the appraisal
I am told there are several builders and developers that are worried when their names will come up and the bright light put in their eyes.I am also told that these things that are out in the public are only the tip of the iceberg.More to come soon .
11:01 am - Do you know who did the appraisal? It will be interesting to find out. (if we ever do find out) Wonder what pull the appraiser has at the state level? A common residential appraiser is not qualified and it had to be a Certified General Appraiser. Hmmmmm, it will be interesting.
Has it been reported that the Chamber of Commerce and the city share the same address?
How about that the Chamber seems to be financed in part by grants from local governments?
Review of 990's and the city budget didn't reveal exactly what the circle jerk was costing local taxpayers even at the initial level.
There just might be some more examples of public private partnership ripe to be revealed.
"Operation Rescue" (fundraising to help the mayor make his repayment problems all go away) doesn't appear to be the MS nonprofit registered under that name.
I'm afraid to go to sleep.
What a surprise. not picked up by Y'all, Magnolia, Supertalk, or Majority. Well, when you're going to be Phil Bryant's nominee for Banking Commissioner that is not a surprise.
I don't know much about the particulars of this parcel. However, in an area where the growth is so explosive like Flowood, Madison, or Southhaven, it would not be unheard of for a piece of land to appreciate in value by that much. Lots of things enter into the equation--what was built on nearby property, etc. Like I said, I don't know the particulars of this parcel. But, I don't think you can just assume the value is bogus.
Good point. Now why didn't they reassess like they were supposed to? Has not been assessed since 2006 according to the tax records.
Do Bryant's campaign finance reports show any donations from the Davis gang? Any kinds of ties that might sour Bryant against his appointee?
I have no idea what triggers a property being re-appraised for tax purposes.
No surprise that Supertalk didn't pick it up. Gallo has always been a suckup to Doug Davis. They would NEVER cover a story like this. Gallo is like a weed that blows to the direction of the owner's wind and the owner bows to the dictates of a few politicians. And it's a royal frolic in the hot tub when Gallo gets on air with Y'all Politics and they get to soapin' each other's back while we change stations. The world needs tools like Gallo. I reckon.
Did they buy a site for Fire Station #5?
Has the city been asked straight out for an itemized list of financial and in kind support provided to the Chamber of Commerce in recent years?
Could they or would they answer, but it ought to be asked.
10:34 am - The cycle is 4 years and the state tax commission requires an update of assessed values every 4 years. Most of the time they do 25% per year and by year 4 the entire county has been re-assessed or updated. The parcel in question certainly should have been updated within the past 6 years. Something is fishy.
Shadowfax
You are getting better or someone else is posting?
I was going to say, I've heard that analysis before.
As a real estate attorney in the metro area i have a few thoughts.
First, a deed of trust does not give any indication of value. I have closed on many transactions where the deed of trust is for a fraction of the purchase price. Often LLC's are putting large sums down because of 1041 exchanges and for other tax reasons. Second, the assessed value as someone else here correctly noted, is not an appropriate indicator. It is usually a fraction of the true value. Third, it is VERY difficult to obtain a fraudulent appraisal these days. The standards have changed substantially, and if anything, those of us in the business have seen them become way to "deflated." Nothing in this transaction causes me any alarm from a dollar value standpoint.
First of all, I made it quite clear we did NOT know what the purchase price was. I said the Deed of Trust could be an indicator but it is simply for an amount borrowed and you know that is what I wrote. You did read the whole post, didn't you? I flat out said we would need the settlement statement to know what the sales price was. I also said the same thing about assessed value HOWEVER 12 or 16% is ridiculously low and you know that as well.
As for your comments about appraisals, you are wrong. period. The reason why the appraisals are hard to manipulate today is because the LENDERS scrutinize them more heavily. However, there is no lender in this case- just a buyer, the city. First of all, who did the appraisal? Should've been the city, NOT the sellers. Second, if the appraisal was done by the sellers, I would toss it. Period. Too much of a conflict of interest and there are enough of those in this deal already.
Try again.
KF is correct. Can't wait to see who the appraiser is. It will come out eventually.
As a 50+ year resident of Desoto County I find it amusing that I get more truth out of Jackson about my local politicians than I do from our local press. Keep up the good work down there!
Don't be so easy on these guys. This has been going on a long time. I am glad it finally come to light.
The problem with our country today is the disregard of the truth, disregard of public office, disregard of the oath they take of office. Even a bigger problem is the people that supports this kind of BS, looks the other way and says they should really stay in office. I say PLEASE, lets fire them all...
A good friend of mine told me one day when I went in business for myself Quote,"If it ever runs thru your mind 'Is this right or wrong' walk away because it is probably wrong"
Sluggo is a manipulator of the office he heads for his own well being. If you only knew the number of times his name shows up on deeds (or thru one of his corporations).
Thank You, You are one of the more intelligent voters. God Bless for speaking your mind....
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