Jackson Jambalaya

If the idiot Republicans running the state legislature (and the state) can do it, why not let the Americans of African Descent do it?

Mississippi is swirling in the bowl, folks.

King fish I notice you keep posting negative topics about the city of Jackson, but I haven't seen a topic on the child left in car by white Madison county woman?????? If this happened in Jackson by a black woman, YOU and your racist posters would be all over it.. INTERESTING!!!!!!!!

There doesn't seem to be a problem with them spending the money. Now explaining what they spent the money for seems to be very entertaining. I can believe they would rather the people not know how or where the money was spent.

How do you behead a closed door?

@1:37 - you are an idiot. The Republicans (and/or the Democrats) running the state legislature - and the state as you note - can not do it and they don't. What Stamps is suggesting - in the sense of unity - is illegal. And all the unity he is looking at is among a couple of his council members and those that are looking at next year's municipal elections.

What Stamps wants to hide is how they have pissed away the $200 million dollars of tax dollars from those of us that live in Jackson spending it in areas to benefit their buddies and allies while the city falls apart.

Granted, there will be no answers come out if they have the discussion in public, as required. But at least we can get some comic relief from watching our council/mayor make fools of themselves.

Higher discussion? Explain better? I'm for transparency? Confidence in government?

Really? Do you people actually buy this shit?

Kapt

@7:02

1:37 idiot here. I guess you were unaware...more of the controversial financial stuff the Legislature did in the last few days was done by a handfull of Republicans meeting in secret in both houses. If you can read, there's an excellent column in the Clarion-Ledger by Rep. Baria off the Coast explaining just how the Legislature is operating under the enlightened new SuperMajority of brain dead Republicans. They are worse than the Jsckson City Council. Dig it up. Learn things.

I wasn't aware of the race of the people in Madison County whose child died in the car.

It's difficult to talk about, mention, discuss or consider Jackson's debacles without considering race since 99% of its leadership is black and 87% of its residents are black.

Do we pretend race isn't a factor or do we just refuse to discuss Jackson? Choose which.

4:42 am The majority of the legislature is white and they miscalculated by $56 million and passed a $400+ million tax cut and put us in danger of losing federal funding . Then they apparently learned nothing from Magnolia Venture and the meat packing plant fiascos.
Ridgeland is white and just got the attention of the Wall Street Journal.
The majority of the Pearl city council whose bond rating just dropped because of bad decisions is white.
Our elected officials get by with this kind of stuff because we look at it as black/white and us/them when we should be united in insisting on good government.
If they know you will vote for them just because they are white and a Republican or black and a Democrat, they don't have to do a good job.
Race isn't a factor. The factors are incompetence and corruption and our failure to entertain the notion that character and brains aren't determined by skin pigmentation.
Corrupt and incompetent people can join either political party and show up at church for show as well.
Our State's 40% black population didn't earn us the ranking as the most corrupt State in the Union.

Can someone please explain how Jackson could afford to build the "Parkway" to Jackson State (it is very pretty), and change Capital Street to one-way (useless change), and now Jackson cannot afford to patch potholes? How many millions were spent on the new roadways that could have been done without; while potholes continue to grow...?

The child's death in Madison was a terrible tragedy for her and for her family and I have no idea why anyone would post regarding this on a discussion about the budget hearings. Race is not a factor in any child's death and should not be to any Christian.

Stamps wants to be Mayor badly and just can't get it right. He is a comedy of errors and needs to just represent his Ward. It is sort of like whatever he wakes up thinking must be a great idea.

No hearings about the taxpayer dollar, regardless of the body, should be behind closed doors, let alone beheaded ones. Our glorious State, run by Rankin County, has taken control of the Airport, has taken control of the !% tax via a "commission", and would like to take more out of the hands of black leadership. Many are watching this 1% Commission for indications of corruption. Many will be watching the bottom line of the newly State ordanined Airport Board for the same indications of corruption. Just wish our Jackson media would oversee better.

The parkway to Jackson State was designed over 25 years ago. Capitol Street was underway during the Melton Administration. Go figure why it has to be like it is, but its ours and we may as well accept it. Just hope that the east end isn't going to be so cumbersome.

The pothole situation is awful. We need to redo several intersections and about 50' adjoining them ASAP. The desire to completely redo the water and sewer underneath the roads before repaving is noble, but our cars just won't last that long and neither will our school buses. Economic Development cannot happen as well as

Both Republicans and Democrats prefer having controversial discussions behind closed doors. Both feel is it is their money and not the people's money. Greed by elected officials is an all time high by both Republicans and Democrats

@11:44 - idiot again. If you take what Rep David Baria (D-Hancock) reports as fact when it is printed by the Clarion Ledger, you have just proven you are entitled to the description. David Baria loved the way the legislature ran when the Dems (including him) were in control and McCoy was Speaker. What he doesn't like is being on the back bench with little imput - somewhere that is probably exactly where he belongs.

Legislative appropriations conference committees have always had to work over the last weekend pounding out the final budget - btw, that's why it has been traditionally called "conference weekend" - and conference committee meetings, including all bills not just appropriations, are generally held in an adhoc manner. I don't disagree that the final appropriation bills were hammered out by a few members of the committee - but I would say that has been the process for decades. The difference is that the final bills have to come to the floor of both houses, get discussed on the floor by anyone.

The difference with Stamps argument about going into Executive Session is that it is about the spending process, not the appropriations process. The legislature has not spent money it doesn't have. Quite the opposite - the budgeted within what they expected to have NEXT YEAR. Stamps wants to talk in secret about what they spent LAST YEAR that they didn't have the authority to do. See the difference? Appropriating the authority to spend and spending without the authority. If the state doesn't collect as much as they expect to over the next several months, the state will cut the agency budgets ahead of time, just as they have this year. What the Mayor did was keep on spending, not telling even the Council and when it is made public, they want to 'talk about it' in secret.

@7:29. As said above, the difference in the state's $56 million addition/subtraction error and the city's spending is apples and asphalt. The legislative budgeting error was less than 1% of the budget - something that over the next 12 months will probably work itself out on its own. If not, the state does have properly funded reserve funds to cover the amount.

The state's budget/appropriation process requires hundreds of separate legislative bills (thank you 1890 Constitution requirement). And with the restructuring of agency budgets to eliminate special fund agencies determining the actual amount in some of the special funds creates a 1% error in what they are planning to spend.

What the city did was spend money over and above the budget, out of the reserve, without telling even the council. This despite the requirement that the reserve fund not drop below a minimum $7.5 million. It is now down to approximately $1.5 million. That is an 80% intrustion into the city's reserve funds and practically eliminating the fund which will certainly lead to a further downgrading of the city's financial rating.

Your other herrings that you try to drag across the path are obviously very red. They have nothing to do with the subject. For every city, county, etc that you want to name on one side there is an equal and opposite situation on the other. This issue, despite your effort to make it so, is not black and white (leadership, that is). The issue is that the current Jackson leadership team cannot live within its budget and makes no effort to face up to the problems even while they are running over them. The state, despite your attempt to draw them into the discussion as an example, dealt with their spending (and taxing) issues straight on.

Thanks for playing though. We will have a very nice party gift for you as you leave.

@2:09 None of what you say justifies the way the Republicans did their jobs this year. If you are happy with that kind of government, then I understand where you are coming from and what kind of person you are. It's OK for the dumbass Republicans to act like Stamps wants the Jxn City Council to act, BUT Stamps is somehow wrong for wanting to govern the way the dumbass Republicans govern. It has nothing to do with the budget or amount of money...it has to do with attitude. Defend them all you want, we should want better. We deserve the crap we've got.

I am a Republican and I am ashamed and embarrassed by this last legislative session. Bryant, Reeves and Gunn should resign from their positions. They are a sorry bunch.

I am a Republican...

So you vote Republican, right?