Jackson Jambalaya

Are you going again this year - wonder if the committee will ask Fitch some more tough questions?

If you paid for the Medicaid budget document below, you were fleeced! That one was submitted in 2011, and was the budget request for the current (2013) fiscal year.

IF there were bright fiscal conservatives in our legislature instead od demogogues,the first thing they would be doing is demanding zero based budgeting.

And, they'd bother to know what that is.

Every year agencies go on a spending spree at the end of their fiscal year to spend all their budget so they can justify asking for more for "new" positions and programs.
A real fiscal conservative understands it's not how much you spend but spending efficiently and effectively and not wasting money.
Most of our legislators don't even understand what they are looking at when they look at a budget.
Nor do they even know that money gets shifted around between agencies.

To understand, legislators would have to learn how to do their jobs( actually know how government works) rather than glad hand and pontificate.

The voters are angry about government spending but have little notion of how things got so bad and how bureaucracies grow like topsy. So voters just ask to cut taxes and spending .

As a result, it's like cutting home spending by cutting your clothing allowance and your child's medicine needs the same percentage.

Oniine?

It is embarrassing, with our so called new day in the legislature with Gunn and Reeves leading, that our legislature can't but agency budgets on its web site. Frankly, this is ten years overdue.

We on the Coast want the Ms.Legislature to tell the DMR "HELL NO" to their request for more money to waste on contracts with friends like Frontier Gulf Coast thru Horne. They have yet to show the public any work product that this group produced under this agreement. Most down here think it was a payback to the owners of GCF for helping the current director get the appointment by Gov.Bryant. Also the DMR and the Ms.Auditor both signed off on an agreement to let previous Director Bill Walker and others walk away from a repayment demand of over $1,000,000. for misuse of taxpayer's money. Why Pickering would do this is just bizarre. He will chase down somebody like former municipal court clerk Jessica Bates from Utica for $1,552.99 but allows this group to get out of the balance of the $1,074,519.97 demand without paying any money out of pocket. Do your job Mr.Auditor and get this money back for the DMR so the taxpayers do not have to come up with more to be wasted on this friends and family program that has been going on at this agency for some time.

Well DPS will ask for more mainly for the trooper school. The last school was a windfall for them. They purchased 100 cars and equipment for the new troopers but only had 40 to 50 to graduate. Will do exactly the same this time around because its a way to increase the budget but hide it in trooper school.

Maybe the budget committee will hold the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation to the fire, considering $30,000+ was just spent sending 17 executive members and staff members to a conference in New York.

I thought the money this agency received was to help the people of Mississippi, not to pay for employee's to "vacation" and call it work.

This agency spent over a million dollars in 2012 on "travel" expenses and seem to be following the same path in 2013.

The director of this agency, Butch McMillian and deputy director, Shelia Browning should be relieved of their positions immediately.

This agency is and has been known for abuse of funds for several years and our legislator's have been aware of this.

The people of Mississippi deserve better. Mississippians need to demand a change, starting at the top.

Shame on you Mr. McMillian and Ms. Browning. You are both an embarrassment to this state.

Amen! The MDRS is at the top of corrupt agencies in Mississippi. Shame on you all. Maybe when the "executives" are at all the "necessary" conferences and conventions, they might want to work instead of getting drunk, laughing at the people who depend on these funds and make fools of their spouses late at night.
That's where our tax money goes.
The budget committee should allow money for condoms too.

Thank you!!! At least somebody tells it like it is. Screw MDRS. Until they clean house, it's going to be more of the same.

McMillian and Browning are the biggest liars and abusers of their positions.

What favors are they doing for our disaster of a legislator to keep thier "executive" positions.