Jackson Jambalaya

Jackson Jambalaya attempted to learn how much the Parkway East Public Improvement District paid in professional services fees when it sold $27,770,000 in bonds in 2005. Parkway East attorney Bob Montgomery replied the district did not have any records showing how much was paid.

State law allows professional service fees up to 2% of the total amount of the bond sale. Such fees are lucrative and usually awarded to friends of the government issuing the bonds. There are no bid requirements for these services. JJ filed a public records request asking for the fees. JJ requested:

"The invoices or records of fees paid for professional services include these fees and professional services:

Issuer ,Issuer counsel, bond counsel, trustee, trustee counsel fee, rating agency fee, financial adviser fee, paying agent, other attorney's fees, underwriters fees, and underwriter's counsel fees."

Keep in mind the public improvement district is a public body and is created by acts of the legislature and county. Mr. Montgomery replied on September 20:

"I do not have the fee information which you requested on September 11, 2012 letter in regard to Parkway East. However, I asked the original bond counsel, engineer, and trustee of the bond issue to search their records.

When and if I hear from them, I will make their information available to you."

The fees are also not listed on the website of the Department of Finance and Administration. DFA issues an annual report that states the public sales of bonds in Mississippi and lists the professional service fees for each sale. Nice way for taxpayers to see what their governments are paying and to whom they are paying the nice fees associated with bond transactions. The 2005 report does not list Parkway East thus precluding anyone from learning how much the PID paid in transaction fees. However, the following 2005 issues provide a range of what the fees should be:

$21 million for Belk project: $207,649
$25,128,008 for Juniper Capital project: $337,070
$29,530,000 for Desoto County Convention Center: $439,209

2% of $27,770,000 is $555,400 is probably the maximum amount allowed by law. Nice change if you happen to be Butler Snow, Hancock Bank, and whoever else Parkway East chose to work on the sale if the fees were close to the limit.

Editorial Comment: That was the news, this is the opinion.  Such a rejection is nothing short of a poke in the eye of the taxpayers.  The taxpayers are forced to pay millions of dollars in bond payments for Parkway East and Parkway South yet Parkway East claims it has no records of paying what were likely hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees when they sold the bonds.  The same bonds the taxpayers are forced to cover thanks to the Madison County Board of Supervisors.   It strains credibility to expect Parkway East would not have on file these records or that is not able to obtain them. The Board should not make any more payments on behalf of these PIDs unless the taxpayers are given all details of these transactions.  However, do not expect such leadership from this board as its quite clear where their interests lie.