The Sun-Herald uncovered some rather interesting spending at the Department of Marine Resources in today's edition:
"Public records the Sun Herald has reviewed from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources reveal hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on outdoor gear, recreational boats, fishing shirts with embroidered logos and other promotional items, seafood, conferences and event sponsorships.
The agency has also racked up five-figure monthly credit card bills.
The DMR turned over the records only after the Sun Herald filed a lawsuit, with DMR attorneys agreeing just before a Chancery Court hearing in January the newspaper was entitled to them under the state Public Records Act.
The DMR has given the Sun Herald only the computerized portion of the records. The rest are in paper format, boxed up and in the custody of the State Auditor's Office. The auditor's office and FBI are investigating spending at the DMR under former Executive Director Bill Walker, who has been fired.....
In May, the DMR employees charged $55,106 to the Visa card. The Sun Herald was unable to review details for most of the credit-card spending. Receipts and other details are paper records, either associated with projects the Sun Herald has not requested or in the auditor's custody.
Public Relations Director Susan Perkins said the agency has 93 procurement cards that charge expenses to the Visa account, 40 of them assigned to Marine Patrol officers who each have a $600 annual uniform allowance.
Perkins said spending is tightly controlled, with a $500 limit for most employees who use the other 53 cards available for various programs and projects. However, the limit is waived in some cases. The Sun Herald found numerous individual charges of more than $1,000.
The DMR also spends hundreds at a time at seafood shops, submitting receipts kept in the appropriate "project" file. The newspaper was able to view detailed receipts only for the "projects" its records request covered.
For example, on eight occasions in April and May, the agency spent a total of $2,874 at Desporte & Sons Seafood on what the receipts said was "bait used for sampling." The agency collects samples of fish at artificial reefs. DMR has also spent thousands of dollars at Desporte's, Quality Seafood and Crystal Seas Seafood on food for conferences and promotions.
In November 2009, the DMR spent $73,255.69 to overhaul two engines on a fishing boat the DMR leased. Though the DMR continues to lease the 42-foot Californian, ownership was transferred in March 2010 from an Ocean Springs charity to a nonprofit foundation Bill Walker directs.
The expense was only one of many the DMR has borne for the Californian and another boat leased from the foundation, the Topaz. The Sun Herald has documented via DMR records a total of $1.4 million in spending on the boats. The DMR's leases on the boats will expire in June.
In November 2010, Bill Walker signed a purchase order that paid a London company $27,500 to produce and broadcast a short film featuring the DMR for a national science, policy and environment conference in Washington.
The DMR also spent big on shirts. In May 2009, the agency bought 100 embroidered fishing shirts, at a cost of $3,800, "to promote saltwater sport fishing." It was one of many examples of spending on embroidered shirts and other promotional items, including T-shirts, golf towels and key chains." Rest of the story
But Danny Guice doesn't think anything needs to be changed. Right.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
DMR spends & all we get is a lil ole t-shirt
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13 comments:
Everybody knows you buy expensive seafood in order to 'test bait'. Classic case of a guy who believes himself to be above review, beyond the need for oversight and unanswerable to the public.
But his neighbors say he 'kept his yard neat and waved frequently'.
The taxpayers do not even get one of the $38.00 shirts.Those were more than likley passed out to the friends,family and politicians from across the state who participated in the DMR fishing trips on the boats leased from the former Director William Walker.All at the expense of the taxpayers.This is going to be far reaching and already includes Jackson thru the MsDEQ sending at least $30,000 to William Walkers private foundation,some of which was passed out as campaign contibutions to people from the Govenor on down to county supervisors.With the USDOJ,FBI,OIG and Ms.State Auditors keeping the hotels full down here this one is going to explode soon folks.And we have not even gotten to the big money that changed hands from the DMR,DEQ and certain oil spill cleanup contractors thru no bid contracts worth millions.To think all of that did not require pay to play would be naive
KF, what the hell is your last 'dig' at Guice based on? Using the SH article as the basis on the problem - (which any media source is questionable, but since you are assuming it as totally accurate, you must do so with their other articles) - the "next story" in the SH discusses Guice's concerns over spending, missing funds, and other changes:
Interim DMR director looking for $4 million in overspending on projects
Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2013/02/16/4473371/interim-dmr-director-looking-for.html#storylink=botnext#storylink=cpy
Coverage of DMR problems interesting, but to take snide strikes at Guice when the next SH article outlines changes he is making is out of line.
I am referring to comments made in a past article several weeks ago.
Now that it is hitting the fan, he is changing his tune. Shocker.
Danny Guice is a old politician trying to get to the state retirement promised land.He has no qualifications to even work at the MsDMR much less be its Director.He is constantly making contradictory statements that do not even make sense.While he may be a nice guy he is in the wrong place at the wrong time.And do not forget he was placed in his present position by the William Walker the now digraced former director.He will not help resolve the problems because his abilities to comprehend them are very limited.He needs to step out of the way so this mess can be untangled and those found to be involved in the fraud and theft of public money can be prosecuted.He will only delay the inevitable.
What's the matter KF? Didn't realize I put anything in my earlier commetns that would be offensive. Only commented on 8:51's comments about Guice not necessarily being Walker's pick but put there to open up a space on the Parole Board for the honorable Steven Pickett.
Don't see it. Sometimes they don't appear. I don't known if he was Walker's pick or not. I can see why you think that. Not sure if its true, but I understand where you are coming from.
Let me clear this up.William Walker choose and hired Danny Guice as Deputy Director at the MsDMR about 6 weeks prior to being fired.As reported,together they visited Gov.Phil Bryant an advised him of the decision.Danny Guice then resigned from the Ms.Parole Board an took the DMR position.According to employees at the DMR William Walker stopped coming to the DMR office a couple of weeks after Guice started working there.The CMR Board that is supposed to oversee the DMR did not interact in the hiring by Walker.Danny Guice is probably a good honest man.If you attended the CMR meetings and watch him like I have you could only come to one conclusion.He is not the man for the job.His statements to the Sunherald just reinforce this.
Damn, now I'm really mad. A few years back I was doing a Katrina recovery project at GCRL and got invited to a GCRL/DMR fish fry. I'm mad because I didn't get my t-shirt. But it is amazing how well "test bait" fries up after you roll it in
Zatarain's Fish Fri mix.
Shouldn't all state agencies be under the "audit" magnifying glass? Accountability and transparency across the board; then come up with some common sense solutions to inefficient government spending. (Just a Daydreaming Taxpayer)
DMR needs to be moved to the Landmark building. The famous businessman turned academic Bill Brister can churn out a study to show how it makes sense by tomorrow. Moving DMR will save Mississippi millions of dollars. Its a no-brainer.
Now that is funny.No seagulls or saltwater up there.The building is not the problem,its the occupants.A group of oil spill people have controlled DMR since the spill.They have allowed these contractors to dictate who gets the money by controlling who gets the no bid contracts.Millions at stake with the new Restore money coming and this same group wants to continue the control for their own financial benifit.All of the taxpayers throughout the state should be outraged.
Guice & family are handling a lot of BP claims in downtown Ocean Springs. Walker and his son are a disgrace, to think they almost ran the City of OS is scary. They've avoided the law for long enough in true gulf coast fashion.
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