Put Airwave and the Hinds County Supervisors together and what do you get? Fireworks. Hinds County Supervisor Peggy Hobson-Calhoun charged fellow Supervisor Robert Graham with firing Emergency Operations Center Director Jimmie Lewis for raising questions about solvency of the E911 fund at the regular meeting yesterday.
Airwave LLC has a $4.2 million contract for six years with Hinds County to maintain the county radio system. The Board of Supervisors awarded the contract to Airwave in 2008 even though the company did not exist until 2009. Hinds County currently pays Airwave $64,169 every month under the terms of the contract. The county pays Airwave an additional $30,000 per quarter under a separate contract for maintenance of the radio towers. The company was hired on motions by Supervisor Robert Graham. The company is owned by Stacy Stowers.
The Airwave sparring began yesterday during a part of the agenda that is usually pretty boring- the payment of claims. The board did not approve the monthly payment to Airwave at the previous meeting. Supervisors Kenneth Stokes and Robert Graham voted to pay the claim while Supervisors Phil Fisher and Peggy Hobson-Calhoun voted to deny payment. Supervisor Doug Anderson was absent.
Then the fun started. Supervisor Robert Graham said he was not going to declare the motion failed since Supervisor Doug Anderson said he wanted to vote via telephone. He attempted to withdraw the motion. After some debate over procedure, Mr. Graham said he would bring up the matter for a vote later in the meeting when Mr. Anderson could participate (The second half of the first video gets rather colorful.).
Mr. Stokes then took issue with the matter of separating payments to Airwave to from the rest of the claims docket (Second video) Mr. Stokes said the board was "singling out black companies and not paying them. It sends a message we are not fair to black companies trying to do business with the county." Mrs. Hobson-Calhoun said she had voted against black companies, I have voted against white companies. I vote for what I think is in the best interest of Hinds County taxpayers." She said she requested for some time proof they were actually performing any work under the contracts from Airwave and Airwave had not provided any information.
Mr. Graham told Mr. Stowers to address the board, stating "I don't like for anyone to be attacked without allowing an individual an opportunity to speak." Mr. Stowers responded to Mrs. Hobson-Calhoun's charge that he was not certified to work on Motorola equipment. Mr. Stowers said "What is certified? It goes back to the saying they've been doing for years and years that minority people are not certified to do anything." Mr. Stowers said there was equipment that needed to be repaired but the company could not pay for the repair unless the county made the payment. Ms. Hobson-Calhoun said "I am just as black as anyone else" and she had not been given the records she requested. The board later voted to pay the claim 3-2 after Supervisor Anderson was contacted via telephone.
However, these were the preliminaries. EOC Interim Director Joey Perkins told the board the E911 fund was scheduled to run out of money in March 2014 (Third clip. Earlier post). Mrs. Hobson-Calhoun said Jimmie Lewis raised this issue. Mr. Fisher said it "presented the issue of using the fund to make payroll in the later months."
Mrs. Hobson-Calhoun said Mr. Lewis made the board aware of this problem and was going to "recommend to this board" when he submitted his budget to "terminate the contract with Airwave" and use them on an as-needed basis. She said "he met considerable opposition". Mr. Graham cut her off and said "that is the reason he is not here Ms. Calhoun." He said "I am not going to sit up here and let this continue any further like this." Mr. Graham then turned his back to her and started signing documents as she continued to speak. She said the E911 fund did not have the money to pay its expenses and "it was imperative" the board start addressing the issue.
Earlier Airwave posts
BOS refuses to bid out Airwave contract
Hinds paid $2.2 million to Airwave since 2008
WLBT shines light on Airwave and Hinds
Hinds did not advertise for bids on Airwave
Hinds awarded $4 million contract to Airwave
Brown: Stowers & Hargrove stole from his company
Not so fast, Robert Graham
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Supervisor says Jimmie Lewis fired over Airwave
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16 comments:
Using Stowers' logic in the 2nd video anyone should be able to do neurosurgery, without any education or board licensure, as long as they have the skills and abilities.
Which about sums up his own illegal hiring by the HindsSups under the false aegis of a professional services contract.
As long as State Auditor Pickering allows the graft and corruption to continue unaddressed in Hinds County government Hinds Countians only need remember two words.
BEND OVER
Heard "Auditor" Pickering on his favorite megaphone - Supertalk - yesterday bragging about all the clerks and secretaries he had found that had absconded with a few thousand dollars. Other than the Mayor up north, he didn't name any serious public "elected" official he has tagged. His avoidance of this corruption in Hinds County - hiding behind the skirt in his office - shows where his political arrows are aimed. Anywhere away from something that might be controversial.
Millions misspent; illegal contracts; but it attacks the good-ole-boy system of county government. Its time for Pickering to grow some and do his job.
Hey Pickering....are you paying attention????
You can be replaced. Keep it up and you will be.
You have the power to actually do something about corruption in this state and you only go after the low hanging (and low priority) fruit. Man up and do your freakin' job.
Why would Pickering protect Hinds County? No one there votes for him and never will.
In my experience, the way this has worked is if an individual or company presents themselves as being competent to work on, repair and maintain equipment, they would be expected to provide the contracting entity (or agency) with an appropriate letter of authorization from the manufacturer or provider of the equipment. And the letter would state that the company wishing to contract is certified or fully capable of trouble-shooting, maintaining and repairing their equipment and has completed training sufficient to that end.
Without that, I can't see how the county could have proceeded.
John Doe saying "I can do this work and my people have sufficient training to keep this equipment in good operating order", is useless without certification from a 'higher authority' attesting to that ability. Additionally, letters testamentary from other customers who have experience with the bidder would be required. It just makes no sense that it could have been done differently, particularly in a case (like this) where the company in question didn't even exist and had no prior experience or certification. It would be plumb damned stupid for any business to contract with another without verification that they could perform.
Providing a letterhead or oral assurance that "I'm black, I know Robert Graham, we can do this and I'm here to help the county" is worthless and that seems to be what we have here.
The whole thing stinks and smacks of corruption. And I agree that Pickering seems more comfortable with going after clerks who are pocketing chump-change since he apparently knows how to look at a set of books and spot manipulation or suspicious transactions. That might be fine if he were auditing the books of the neighborhood association.
I expect Commissioner Epps to become real familiar with Robert Graham in the next two years or less.
In one of those videos Graham tells Calhoun that he, Graham, is an "expert" on the HindsCo radio system.
Just as he's spent his life misleading people in Mississippi and nationwide that he was a sworn officer, a Lieutenant no less, on the Jackson Police Department.
Am I missing something here. I keep on hearing about minority contracts and black in the same sentence. Last time I looked, Hinds County had to be majority black.
You think these are the only supervisors that hand out nice no-bid contracts? Its a way of life in Madison. Start looking around the state.
Now suppose you want to run for office and have to worry about the supervisors around the state.
Sure KF ... but is there ANY county in Mississippi dropping the million dollar contract coins for radio system maintenance like the police impersonator is dropping on his Airwave buttnuggets? Have you received a whiff about even one?
All I want to know is why are these things only illegal, corrupt, or stinks when blacks are the beneficiaries? I'm am not endorsing shady dealings of any kind but it seems strange to me that there is only outrage when blacks are reaping the benefits. What about all the years when the good ole boys were getting rich off of these kind of deals and blacks couldn't even sit at the table?
To my black brothers and sisters, you should not do tit for tat or evil for evil. Just because they did it, doesn't mean you should. And to my white brothers and sisters, don't be so quick to criticize, judge and cast stones. We all should stand together against ALL corruption regardless of color.
All I want to know is why are these things only illegal, corrupt, or stinks when blacks are the beneficiaries? I'm am not endorsing shady dealings of any kind but it seems strange to me that there is only outrage when blacks are reaping the benefits. What about all the years when the good ole boys were getting rich off of these kind of deals and blacks couldn't even sit at the table?
To my black brothers and sisters, you should not do tit for tat or evil for evil. Just because they did it, doesn't mean you should. And to my white brothers and sisters, don't be so quick to criticize, judge and cast stones. We all should stand together against ALL corruption regardless of color.
We all should stand together against ALL corruption regardless of color.
We are. Show us where we're not.
10:57,
Welcome to Jackson Jambalaya. You are obviously new to these parts or else you would remember the shit storm KF started in Madison County with Warnock and Co.
I seem to remember Pickering punting on that deal, too...after he took a small whiff and decided there was nothing to see here, move along.
Pickering doesn't want to look into the good-ole-boy system of the boards of supervisors. Doesn't matter if it is black or white. (Or maybe, even when it is as clear as black and white!) Clerks and a few thousand dollars gets him on the radio to talk about what he has done. Why not? Follows in the footsteps of his predecessor - which is exactly what he has in mind.
Pickering has been handed enough material to choke a cow on this and other deals and consistently comes up with excuses - none of which hold water - as to why he doesn't "have jurisdiction". Maybe he's too busy chasing the janitor who stole an air-conditioner.
Don't misunderstand - want him chasing those folks too. But its time for him to quit hiding from the big boys while waiting for another good opening where he can get an easy promotion.
Lisa Shoemaker, tell us why the auditor will not investigate?
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