Time stands still at Canton Municipal Utilities as the company paid old legal fees for CMU Commissioners even though the statute of limitations for paying invoices had expired.
This edition of As CMU Turns began in 2013 when Canton Alderman Les Penn moved at a Board of Aldermen meeting to remove CMU Commissioners Landers Cheeks, Cleotha Williams, Shoney Harris, and L.C. Slaughter. The fired Commissioners sued the city of Canton in Madison County Circuit Court and lost. Judge William Chapman ruled in 2015 that the removal was not arbitrary and capricious but was supported by evidence that the Aldermen had legitimate concerns about the operation of the public utility.
Cheeks and his merry band of rejects also sued for an injunction in Madison County Circuit Court in a separate lawsuit. The court denied the petition for an injunction. The losers didn't take no for an answer but appealed to the Court of Appeals, lost, and appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court where they lost again. It is now time to read a JJ-issued program so as to keep all the players straight.
Attorneys Ellis Turnage and Adrienne Wooten represented the deposed Commissioners in the first lawsuit. Ed Blackmon and Ellis Turnage represented the plaintiffs in the petition for the injunction. Adrienne Wooten represented Landres Cheeks as well. They lost every round in court.
However, the CMU board approved paying the legal fees of these commissioners even though CMU was not a party to the lawsuits and the commissioners were private citizens when the lawsuits were filed. The judge did not award attorney's fees to the plaintiffs since they lost. However, the CMU Board of Commissioners voted to pay the claims docket at the March 7, 2017 and March 21 meetings that included payments of $85,662 to attorneys Ellis Turnage, Adrienne Wooten, and Tamekia Goliday.* CMU issued the checks on the same day as the approval of the claims docket. Ms. Wooten and Ms. Goliday submitted invoices for work performed in 2013. Mr. Turnage billed for work from 2013 to 2015. It should be noted that Commissioners Slaughter and Williams voted on paying the claims docket even though it included payments to their personal attorneys who represented them in the Canton lawsuits. However, this is Canton where laws and ethics are suspended.
One would be forgiven for questioning the payment of these old invoices as ironically the Madison County Board of Supervisors avoided paying former County Engineer Rudolph Warnock old invoices because he waited too long to submit them to the Board. Article The Attorney General ruled in a 2016 opinion issued to the city of Southaven:
When the applicable statute of limitations has run, a municipality may not pay invoices even when the invoices were timely submitted.The opinion cites Section 15-1-49 of the Mississippi Code in support:
The invoices state that most of the billed work was performed in 2013. Ms. Wooten's invoice that her work was last performed on July 31, 2013 while Ms. Goliday's invoice states was last performed on July 12, 2013. Mr. Turnage billed for 231 hours but 97 hours were billed after March 7, 2014 so the payment for those hours fell within the three-year statute of limitations although 134 hours were billed after the statute of limitations expired.
(1) All actions for which no other period of limitation is prescribed shall be commenced within three (3) years next after the cause of such action accrued, and not after.
*Here are the invoiced amounts:
Wooten: $11,550
Goliday: $4,120
Turnage: $69,992
61 comments:
Not surprising here. These clowns in Canton have destroyed my hometown. When I left for the military 5 years ago Canton was my hometown. I come home to higher utility bills, higher crime, elected officials determined to destroy Canton. Where are the leaders we elected to protect us? Where is the Law? Does anyone even care? Time to elect a new Auditor!
Shameful........ nothing left to say.
Nothing to see here Stacey Pickering keep moving..............
Using tax payer money to pay personal bills??? That don't sound legal. Is that Legal?
WHO CARES IF THEY BANKRUPT CANTON. Then all of those good people from Canton will flood Madison County School System. But hey who cares its Canton. Hey the state can always take over Canton. lol
bill need paying. who else was going to pay them hard working liars i mean lawyers.
FBI where are you when your needed? Coffee break is over, get to work.
Oh no they didn't. Lisa Ross who was the attorney after Barbara Blackmon was fired said the bills were not legal. Mike Espy who took over from Lisa Ross said the bills were not legal. Blackmons get Mike Espy fired and all of a sudden these bills are legal. Hello FBI? Hello Auditor? Hello WLBT? Hello WAPT? Hello Clarion Ledger? Hello WJTV? oh thats right Kingfish is the only one working these days. The rest of you are asleep. Thank you Kingfish for your hard work.
Your welcome from us folks in Lake Caroline. We don't mind paying illegal bills all while you jack up our utility bills. Thank you, may i have another.
Now Kingfish you know Barbara Blackmon is off limits! She is Jim Hood campaign manager. You in trouble now!
and just think when CMU can get another price increase thru for services at PSC your rates go up again.
Watch out Lake Caroline, Panther Creek and other areas!
Wasn't Babs a hoot on her long ago TV show? Both the English translator and the closed captioning operator couldn't understand a damn thing she was saying.
When will Gluckstadt annex Canton and fix this mess?
Blackmon’s welcome another investigation or lawsuit. Mo money mo money.
Hey if you can get the taxpayers to pay for your private bills get after it. Stacey damn sure won’t do sh**!
The Blackmons have close ties to those Commissioners. As long as the Blackmons are involved Hood won’t touch it. Guest won’t do anything either.
Damn! Why is the Clarion Ledger not covering this? Why is 3 on your side covering this?
I’m pissed! I barely make enough money to pay my bills keeping my kids safe Nd food on the table and this is how CMU spends my money!
This is outright wrong!
Those people should be made to pay that money back.
Kingfish who is the Mayor? Surely the Mayor is going to ask for an Audit investigation?
We should all call 601-576-2800 and demand the State Auditor investigate!
I live in Canton and do not like what I’m seeing and reading. DA Guest if your reading this and you want my families vote for Congress do your job as DA and bring these people to justice! This town needs you!
@11:37am No that is NOT legal!
This Lanny Slaughter and Cleotha Williams owe the people of Canton some money! I expect it to be paid back. As a tax payer and a voter in Canton I expect the DA, State Auditor and FBI to resolve issues like this.
Welcome to Canton “City of Lights". Name should be "City of Theives"
Is it at all possible that CMU, before the statute of limitations ran, acknowledged these debts, thus starting a new limitations period?
WOW! That’s a bold move Barbara, with the bad hair. You got some explaining to do.
Nissan pay attention! Your utility bills is about to go up.
Nissan pay attention! Your utility bills is about to go up.
Bill Dees your missing the point. The bills are private and don’t belong to the taxpayers!
Lanny Slaughter was chairman of Madison County Economic Development Authorities when Warnock got the $1.2M airport project! Slaughter is s dirty crook!
So the Blackmons represented Slaughter and Williams when they were private citizens. Slaughter and Williams didn’t pay. Slaughter and Williams get appointed to CMU board and then put their private legal bills on the cities claims docket. Am I getting this right Kingfish?
Crooks get smarter everyday. I wonder how many private car notes or home mortgages CMU has run through the claims docket?
@2:09pm. Nissan is paying attention!!!!
Stacey oh Stacey?? Where are you?
Kingfish what does term limits have to do with “Private Bills”. That’s irrelevant!
This is all Rudy’s fault!
@3:00pm. You nailed it! You win the prize for the day! Term limits don’t apply!!!! For you investigators who are a little slow 3pm is correct.
If the DA does not address this then he should withdraw from the race for Congress. Just that simple.
Ironically, half the people in Lake Caroline and most of the residents of Panther Creek (and soon to be all of the annexed areas of Gluckstadt) are sighing and saying, "What the hell; I can send my kids to private school", yet they don't even realize the implications of being inside the City of Lights - Who will they choose for their municipal utilities and their police patrols and their city officials. Answer: They HAVE no choice.
I may buy in Panther Creek when prices drop to $75,000. Nice fishing holes.
Canton isn't going to win their annexation bid.
A few things:
1. Canton's annexation bid will succeed in some format. But they won't get everything they want. I think Canton loses in the Gluckstadt area.
2. CMU is headed down the wrong path quickly.
3. I'm sure Bear Creek would love to have Lake Caroline. They seem like a well run and stable organization. I saw in the paper they won top water company in the state several years in a row. I have been their customer since 2016 and I've been pleased.
4. CMU employees get PERS retirement. So they are a government agency in some respect. So I would think the state auditor would have some jurisdiction.
5. I don't think Michael Guest can do anything unless there is a crime. Not sure if this qualifies.
6. Surely Rudy is hiding in the bushes somewhere.
7. Is Kenny Wayne Jones still on suspension?
Is that Noble boy still on the CMU board, you know, the one who worked for the insurance company that took insurance coverage premiums for tornado insurance that was not passed on to an insurance company???????
Where the hell is the FBI ? Oh I forgot they are worried about Russia inferring when this crap is going on in broad daylight right under their noses!! But hey, it's just the taxpayers hard earned money.
It appears that following is true: 1.) The Blackmons sacraficed Kenny Wayne Jones (scapegoat) for their own gain and or to take some of the heat off all these invoices; 2.) Kenny Wayne Jones approved all the invoices, 3.) Ellis Turnage, and Adrienne Harper Wooten checks are made payable to their law offices repsectfully, if something were to go down, while Tamekia Goliday (gopher) had her check remitted to her personally, which will later easier incrimante her; 3.) Blackmons are billing CMU like crazy can anyone get us a copy of the meetings, which these charges were authorized?; 4.) Rudy was barred from getting his invoices paid guess he missed the train; and 5.) It bothers me to see these crooks rob a city blind for the newest model BMW or Benz!
5:20...Surprise Surprise, Gomer. Part of Lake Caroline and all of Panther Creek are already in Canton and their assholes tighten up when they see black cops riding through, slowly, patrolling the pineapples and Canada geese.
So, you see, Gomer, Canton already has some plush slices of the pie, not to mention Nissan. And if Gluckstadt can't get its act together, Canton will slide all the way down to Deerfield.
@10:29. That is wrong. Panther Creek is not in Canton. It is in the county. CMU does have the water certificate, but it is not in the city limits.
CMU serves Panther-Snob-Creek with water and part of PC has CMU electric service. Listings for homes for sale in PC state "Canton, MS" in the on line ads. It's confusing.
10:29 - you are the Gomer! Lake Caroline and Panther Creek have CMU water. They pay taxes for Canton School District. But they are NOT in City of Canton. There are no Canton cops riding through their neighborhoods. And they don't have a problem with MCSO deputies riding through the neighborhoods (black or white or any other color). Get a life loser!
@8:46 and @7:00 are correct. City Limits is one thing. School District lines are another thing. Utility certificate boundaries are yet a third thing. They are 3 different things and don't follow the same boundaries. @10:29 is wrong because Canton policemen have no jurisdiction in Caroline or Panther Creek because they are not in the City of Canton.
Our young leaders don’t stand a chance in Canton when we have 70 year old men like Cleotha Williams and Lanny Slaughter teaching them how to lead! Crooks can’t lead our youth in the right direction! And where is Mayor Triuly?
Let’s all understand one thing: Ed & Barbara Blackmon are running Canton and CONTROL the CMU and City Checkbook! If they want to buy their groceries at Fresh Market with the city checkbook they will and damn anyone to challenge them. So if the CMU board paid those legal bills it’s because the Blackmons told them to pay them!
@6:14pm. Everyone in canton knows the Blackmon’s are in charge. They are also dishonest people. Proof: they us Ed Blackmon’s mothers address in canton for their elections. Putting his deceased mothers home address on their qualifying papers. All the while living in a compound comprised of two homes connected by a bridge. Yes they are con artists. Watch my right hand while my left one picks your pocket.
9:23 is correct. Pineapples are no respecters of boundaries. And most of you are unaware that The Parkway was named for Algonquin J. Calhoun.
Barbara told CMU to pay those bills.
@9:05pm Barbara Blackmon? Is that the State Senator I voted for? You mean the one that lives on West North Street in Canton? Surely not.........
@1:49 Barbara Blackmon don't live on West North Street in Canton. She and Ed live on Madison Edward Drive in Jackson. Thats their decoy house in Canton. All us good folks in Canton know this.
@2:05pm Senator Barbara Blackmon is not living in the district she represents? That sounds like it needs to be investigated. Wake up Delbert. Somebody wake up Delbert.
With a Republican House, Republican Senate and a Republican Governor, now would not be a good time for The Blackmon’s to be violating residency laws. But hey who’s pushing the issue.
Barbara Blackmon has had a good run over the last year, BUT she has pissed off some people that have more money and influence and have nothing better to do than wreck her train. Orange is the new Black!!
Looks like Barbara needs to hire a good lawyer!
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