Jackson Jambalaya

Michael Thomas is top notch. Rick Hill, on the other hand, is historical baggage and part of the problem.

Yes, cut unproductive employees first and foremost. Then, how about start collecting water/sewer fees from EVERY SINGLE HOME, or shut it OFF. That should just about do it. No consulting fee necessary for that info. You're welcome

Nowhere is it mentioned to start actually reading water meters, to start billing and collecting for actual water usage and to file civil lawsuits against the thousands of documented water thieves discovered during the new water meter installation.

All the proof you need about the serious nature of these recommendations:

5. Use solar energy and electric cars.

Oil is hitting a modern low and isn't rising any time soon. Yea lets go purchase a bunch of electronic cars for 50k each. Sheesh. The other ideas are fine and probably didn't need a hired consultant to figure them out.

There isn't enough time remaining in this fiscal year for any of the suggestions, however worthy, to get implemented and pay enough dividends to plug this massive budget shortfall.

C'mon, health insurance is budgeted below the premium amount? This is ineptitude of the highest order.

The short term problems are only going to get fixed by layoffs, a massive property tax increase or both. Yet layoffs aren't even on the table and per the consultant the City wants to end the existing furloughs and avoid future ones.

This whole consultant garbage is the due diligence show for the crowd that created the problems. Which path of least resistance do you think the elected Jackson brain trust will take?

Bend over NEJackson because the few of you still paying property taxes are about to get some more of your wealth redistributed by the abject failures pretending to be good stewards in City Hall.

ROFLMAO
Consultants' report (pg 8) recommends starting
yet another, but this time "aggressive",
"buy local in Jackson" program.
LOL LOL LOL
You can't make this stuff up! LOL

Someone should follow the city leaders and write a book documenting the death if the city as it ocurs

The city doesn't want to actually start using the accurate water readings. In the first year of installations of the new meters, residents were billed with the occasional read. In January of 2015 those readings were set back to zero due to a "glitch" in the billing system. This created an artificially high read for February-March bills because a given resident was billed for all of the water they have already paid for since the installation of the new meter.

So, estimations were still being used and January 2016 rolls around and those estimations from the artificially high readings from the previous year are replicated.

There are customers with over a 3,000ccf difference between what their current estimated reading show and whats on their actual meters. There are likely some with a much higher difference, depending upon when their new meter was installed.

they could have read this blog and gotten the same results. should we hire a consultant to prove that?

Is this the same Michael Thomas that worked for JPS? If so, he's a moron.

Electric cars. This is like a comic book. The same people who messed up the budget are the ones who are going to straighten it out. Gets funnier every day. Except for those few tax payers left in Jackson. I feel sorry for them.

Would someone please enter unannounced into the sign shop, print shop, fire garage,municipal garage,small engine shop. No work being done. State auditor finds private car repairs routinely done at fire garage, ringleader promoted promoted to superintendent. Bogus overtime. Giving Rick hill a check now?

The dilemma is this:

How can you continue on payroll the thousands of black cronies, daughters of friends and supporters employed as 'project coordinators' while refusing to control payroll costs and hoping the problem will diminish?

How can the city continue to pay the PERS pro-ratum for the thousands of employees who pull half-duty but are earning full retirement?

How can Yarber keep the thousands on payroll leftover from prior administrations while continuing to add to the payroll all those who put him in office while, at the same time, claiming he's controlling payroll costs?

How can the city continue to provide free services to those who steal services but are protected by certain city councilmen and are untouchable?

How can the city afford to pay double the deficit in contracts and 'studies' and expect that the monetary suck-hole will reduce itself over time?

How can the money spent on mail-order bow-ties be expected to reduce the taxes lost by businesses that have moved out of town?

How much will the city donate in-kind to the upcoming black rodeo and why?

5:24, you know you are a racist. Asking questions like that is a sure sign.

How much was paid for these simplistic, obvious recommendations? Getting this done, sans electric vehicles, would take a miracle. And it's not enough. Can we add:

1. Don't borrow money to pay for a study.
2. Sue Siemens.
3. Have a true, objective review of the one cent sales tax revenue. And since we've waited this long, don't spend a dime until a new administration/emergency manager (yeah, I know) or whatever. Don't want to piss more money away.

Laughable. And people wonder why some are pondering a state takeover.

Freezing open positions has been a bad idea since first done.
It's laziness in government.
What happens is that essential positions don't get filled and efficiency suffers while departments with too many employees who don't have enough to do keep meandering.
Most of the time, hiring consultants is lazy as well and usually ends up with a plan that is not implemented or is cherry picked. Call in the Else School of Management. The faculty and students could assess the problems in city government better than a private company who knows their future contracts depend on making those who hired them happy. Millsaps has an interest in Jackson doing well.

NOTHNG can be done to save Jackson. Too little too late and past the point of return several years ago.

my suggestions:
1. Cut garbage collection to once a week. Waste Management furnishes large cans.
2. Streamline JPS and see if they can do with less taxes. The last bond issue was handled poorly. The administration seems very top-heavy. Do this after the next Federal election. Things might just change. Utilize City Bus Routes for school children to save JPS money.
3. Hire enough workers to fill potholes everyday, all day, and do it right.
4. Close the Planetarium except for special events.
5. Delay the East End of Capitol Street
6. Establish Truck Routs and Load Limits within the City. Establish roads off limits to large Trucks.
7. Crack down on 18 wheeler parking and 18 wheeler tractor parking. Maybe establish a for-profit secure parking lot for 18 wheelers. They damage our streets!!!
8. Have 2 people devoted to securing grants from every source possible.
9. Continue to update mapping with GIS so that every job will not have to re-establish GIS.
10. Closer controls on night-time HVAC systems.
11. Return some upkeep to Parks and Recreation.
12. Require stricter enforcement on grass cutting and upkeep of vacant properties. Like whoever pays the taxes must bear the cost of upkeep or forfiet property. Called Enterprise Fund.
12. Water revenue goes into improving water system and retiring bonds. Sewer system revenue goes into sewer bond retirement and system improvements. Called Enterprise Fund.
13. Look at CDBG Funds for possible cuts to allow putting money into streets/drainage.
14. LED Lighting everywhere.
15. Continue clearing and selling vacant lots, even for $250.00 each. This creates a tax payer instead of a tax burden. Save money by not requiring concrete driveways, steps and sidewalks be demolished on these lots. Trade lots for work.


Could probably come up with 100 more, but I don't have the time.

Look into nepotism and do not allow more than a certain number of immediate family to work for city. ie: 1 or 2 firemen and no one else. 1 husband and wife, no brothers and sisters. 1 policeman and 1 fireman. It is amazing how many families all work for the City and it is the cause of many rumors and hard feelings and bad morale. Not to mention making some totally immuned to being fired.

Agree with 9:02 PM as to suing Siemens. Do not agree with delaying road and drainage work from 1% sales tax. Stop studies except when no other alternative is possible. Include feasibility studies in contracts for individual jobs. Stop Project Management and utilize accountability computer programs. One specialized person handling all of this type of computer accountability would save millions of un-necessary dollars being spent on project management. If you are hiring a professional to design and supervise a project, that profession should be capable of project management and also has professional liability insurance. Project Management is a layer of expense totally not needed. Bring the EPA consent decree in house and save millions. Competent people can be hired but the current pay scale won't allow for this.

May 16, 2016 at 11:20 AM = Only treats symptoms

You cannot save much without cutting personnel, but you can save some.

All future CDBG funds should be used for road and streets improvements and this could serve as the required federal match on DOT road projects. CDBG can legally match other federal funds. Jackson has made this a social give away program and nothing gets built. Jackson is worst managed town in the country.

The sooner we get Melvin Priester to replace Yarber in the next election, the better so at last we can address our problems.

12:19, replacing anyone will not make any difference. It is a mindset of the city. The only difference when one mayor is replaced by another mayor is the new mayor will replace all of the friends, family of the old mayor with family, friends of the new mayor.
You will still have unqualified people working for the city. You will still have employees of the city stealing from the city.

Hundred-passenger city busses ply the rubbled city streets with one or two passengers.
Should be replaced with jitneys or uber. Save millions.