PEER stated in a letter to Representative Cecil Brown (D-Geritol) that the Port of Gulfport Restoration Program has created only a few jobs after HUD granted permission to the Mississippi Development Authority to redirect $600 million of Hurricane Katrina-related housing relief funds towards the restoration and repair of the Port of Gulfport. MDA claimed the transfer would create 2,586 jobs "created or retained". The port had 2,058 jobs prior to Hurricane Katrina. However, there is PEER states that such is not the case:
According to MDA's latest QPR (Quarterly Performance Report), which documents performance from April 1, 2014, through June 30, 2014, the agency reports that the PGRP has created a total of five of the required 1,300 jobs, one joo f which is held by a low- or moderate- income person. MDA also reports that the program retained 814 jobs of the requires 1,286 jobs, one job of which is retained by a low- or moderate income person.
The letter states that HUD could pursue a variety of remedies, including repayment of funds, if it determines the state did not comply with the terms of the grant. HUD said in February that the state could only document a less than 200 of over 2000 jobs it claimed were created at the port by the grant.
8 comments:
This was predictable, and indeed predicted. Corporate welfare at work.
Crony Capitalism as its best (worst).
"Corporate welfare"??? What kind of idiot are you? To use tax dollars to rebuild a state-owned facility is "corporate" welfare? Under your theory, the rebuilding of the bridges across the bays would be another example of "corporate welfare".
Another Haley Barbour fiasco.
This is 600 million of the money Thad brought to help missippi folks who lost their homes to Katrina. There is already over 3 million gone?? Wonder where that went.
Just a reminder that over $6 BILLION.....yep With a "B"...Billion, has been spent on infrastructure, bridges, marinas, downtown streetscape projects, sidewalks, tax subsidized CDBG housing, apartments, Section 8 housing, etc on the Coast. You folks North of the Coast can complain all you want. You took our gaming revenue and got a whole bunch of new roads all over the state to a bunch of po'dunk towns back in the 90's. I mean how many ways can you drive to Starkville???. Leave the Port of Gulfport alone. New Orleans and Mobile spend $500-600 million every 10 years. We are competing and will compete. And if you can't find a cheap place to live on the Coast right now or can't find a job....you just don't want to work or expect free rent. Go Gulfport!
PEER probably got it right this time and it looks like we didn't get our money's worth on that spending - which should shock no one.
However, I think its important to point out that PEER is a bunch of hacks who play the role of attack dog on whatever project they get assigned. They have never issued a report that wasn't critical and the reports are usually written by one of their folks that has never actually run anything. If the "audit" is just "I read in a book that you should be doing X,Y,Z but I've never worked for anyone besides PEER", then the reports will be as useless as they are.
I get it. PEER is just a bunch of hacks and 25,000, er, 50,000 new jobs have actually materialized at the Port.
No wonder the GOP establishment is fully invested in teaching Common Core math.
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