Jackson Jambalaya

Does this mean that the Mayor was right about this all the time? And, if she was then folks in that town may need to go back and check to she what else she was suggesting but getting criticized for...

Mayor was right all along...

Way to go mayor!

Old "news." This was in the local bird cage liner at least a week ago. Slipped through the cracks?

I wonder where it came from? Probably wont hear that side of the story.

You seem to forget that the present Mayor Beecham had a claim against her own bond that was paid for things she did as soon as she got in office. Her bond was cancelled after the bond company paid her claim. She is not exactly innocent herself.

So I guess the Mayor is prepared to reimburse the bonding company for the money she “misspent” and was “repaid?”

CHECKMATE RACISTS!

The truth shall set you free

Don't expect one single apology from the JJ bigots that make anonymous comments.

Why do the 2 black city council members vote against the black mayor all of the time?.

"Why do the 2 black city council members vote against the black mayor all of the time?. "

Everybody loves the power and the color green.

Toms

Can a mayor be a mayor when they are unable to get bonded? Just curious. I also would like to know where the money to pay that back came from. Most bonds for public officials cap at roughly $50k or less. I don't think the good people of the board(both black and white for those screaming racists) have the means to come up with that kind of money.

@1:06AM are you familiar with minstrel shows? Did you ever read Uncle Tom's Cabin? Were you born yesterday?

@12:23
Checkmate your self... who are you Tom head? You idiot. How is this a race issue when the blacks on the council also oppose her? Was this mayor the one that campaigned with and supported Micheal Guest?

The mayor may have been right about the drug seizure funds being used to support town operations, but she WAS DEAD WRONG to let her supporters suggest people pocketed the money or gained individually from the money. The previous and current administrations used the funds to keep the town afloat. While the money wasn't spent on law enforcement, IT WAS SPENT ON PELAHATCHIE.

I personally think it was a disservice that these bonds had to pay out to replenish the funds. It would be different if the money was frivolously spent or embezzled... it wasn't... it kept the water on and the bills paid for that small town to stay afloat. Now, they are borrowing money from the bank versus using the drug fund money that's sitting there.

I noticed she announced she wants to build a police station with the recovered drug fund money. Is that her choice? Does she get to make that call?

By law the drug money can only be used for the police department and not general fund. It can be used for police cars vests, training etc. If not then each town would pursue the money to put in their general fund.
Yes, the bond company will go after the board members for the money they paid on their behalf. Now whether they get paid back is another matter.

The money was not suppose to be put in the general fund. Only for police items.

I wonder if they'll use the money for a DUI task force and alcohol impairment education. If so, her husband might not have fallen victim to the sauce and gotten himself a DUI.

@230, fine, we get that. But why paint the board and former mayor as crooks when the money was used 100% for the town? She came in there on a mission to point this out and make everyone think they were a bunch of racists crooks and now everyone is laughing at her.

@2:30- I completely understand the misappropriation. My issue is she repeatedly inferred and allowed her supporters to repeatedly misstate that the money was embezzled and/or used for personal gain. I think that was tacky and unnecessary.

I feel bad for the board. The previous mayor STILL argues they did nothing wrong. I'm not sure what language he uses to support his beliefs, but at the end of the day the money was spent on the citizens. The board just followed his lead. Their biggest sin was being sheepish in their actions.

At the end of the day, it seem wasteful to force re-payment on money that wasn't technically "wasted."

I don’t know who they were at the time finds were misdirected but if they were consulted (and okayed) I would think the attorney and CPA for the town would have some liability.

@2:14
I get your point. However, you SHOULD NOT mismanage government funding. The FEDS don’t play!

The Mayor is the hero in this.

After defending the President, these guys have figured it ok to defend wrong doing. What happened to our Missippi values

@6:31- I’d never be in a position to mismanage government funds because I’d never work for the government.

The reality is, based on the previous mayor’s statements, the board didn’t believe they were mismanaging funds. They were using money in the town’s accounts to pay the town’s bills. The town lost no money. Now, these bond companies have had to produce cash to essentially reimburse an account that paid town bills. It’s just stupid!

I’m curious to see the outcome of the mayor’s lawsuit. She’s wasted so much energy and so many resources. To me, the waste is the real crime. I have zero patience for government bullshit.

2:14 - what was the money spent on?

Was this like the Zoo money being spent on salaries and lobbyists?

@10:25- It’s my understanding the funds were moved on the ledger to the general fund to cover monthly expenditures that were approved in the board meetings. The town doesn’t sustain enough revenue to cover its debts and expenses. They literally began their current fiscal year borrowing big bucks until the annual property tax revenue started rolling in. They are still robbing Peter to pay Paul. It’s actually stupid that a town like Pelahatchie has drug seizure funds just sitting there while they can’t meet their daily financial obligations without borrowing. And, all this negative publicity has done ZERO to encourage growth. AND, Pelahatchie is nothing like Jackson or the Zoo... thank goodness!!

The worst part is while they are broke and borrowing, their fearless leader is demanding upwards of $60k for her work. It’s mind-boggling!!

Amazing how so many commenters don't care about the law, and that it's ok to break the law as long as the reason is appropriate to you.

If the city doesn't have enough money to run itself, that situation needs to be dealt with. Not by breaking the law and using seizure funds to pay for general obligations. That's the behavior that almost put Beth Poff into prison.

@9:40- It's not that we don't care about the law, it's that the law in this instance is stupid. A small town, unable to fiscally keep afloat, has a large amount of seizure money sitting in the bank. ALL MONIES SPENT WERE USED TO PAY TOWN BILLS TO CONTINUE ESSENTIAL SERVICES AND TOWN BUSINESS. Now, bonds have been called in and insurance companies have replenished funds. The town just received a buttload of free cash over a technicality. You know who ultimately pays when insurance policies are abused?? CONSUMERS!!

Realistically, the PD didn't obtain that cash itself, but received it as part of a task force. (A much needed task force in my opinion.) I personally don't understand the insistence that the funds be used only for law enforcement in a place like Pelahatchie.

The ZOO misappropriation doesn't compare to this seizure money. The ZOO received taxpayer dollars for a specific purpose. This seizure money was taken from a criminal in the act of a crime.

And, yes, you're correct, the town is broke and the mayor should care about that. Instead, she's suing for a large payout.

10:21 --- IN YOUR OPINION these funds were spent on appropriate expenses.

I haven't been able to check your anonymous status, but I would bet that you are not in a position to determine what is 'appropriate' or 'legal'.

This is not someone dealing with his/her personal business or household operation. This deals with government dollars (supposedly taken at the time legally in a forfeiture operation) and as such are ONLY able to be spent on specific purposes.

A similar situation would be the city taking money from the water/sewer enterprise fund and paying City Hall salaries. It would be 'city money' that was being used, but the money was received for a specific special fund purpose and cannot be transferred because somebody thought it would be a good idea.

You can rant and rave about this being a 'stupid law' but that doesn't change the second word of your definition: A LAW. Frankly, the law was passed for good reason - to keep this kind of stuff from happening, so that cities wouldn't go about their willy-nilly Civil Asset Forfeiture thefts for the purpose of running the city.

If the town cannot pay its bills it should do what the rest of us individuals do - cut their expenses or raise their income. That would be "legally" raise their income. Its called "taxes".

It appears to this non-Pelahatchie resident that doesn't really give a damn about the situation that the former city leaders decided it would be much more popular to not raise the citizens property taxes but instead to stop some alleged drug dealers on their little section of the interstate and take all their property - and turn them free to continue on their way.

The whole concept of Civil Asset Forfeiture which is where these misspent funds were garnered has been determined to be illegal in and of itself, effectively putting a stop to this questionable process. (I have absolutely no problem with stopping the drug dealers, and taking their property --- if and when they have been arrested, tried and convicted in a court of law. But the idea of stopping them, taking their cash and anything else of value, and turning them loose to continue on their merry way with no trial or conviction smacks of exactly what it is: rouge law enforcement looking for ways to buy more goodies for themselves.)

@4:41- I don’t have to have a law degree to derive a “personal opinion” about where the money was spent. All monthly expenditures have to be approved for payment in the board meetings. The expenses are recorded in the minutes. The info is public record. Where the money was spent is not based on my opinion at all.

As far as the money being government dollars, it may be held by the government but it wasn’t obtained through or supported via tax collection. I agree with you that the seized assets should only be retained if there’s a conviction. No conviction... give it back. Honestly, I’d rather see the seized money support the prison system, where the criminal lands, versus the town’s account.

My biggest beef with this entire stupid situation is that the insurance/bond industry suffered losses when the only action was the town’s bills/expenses were paid. The money wasn’t embezzled or frivolously spent. The mayor claims to have this incredible grasp of accounting, but is suing her broke town. All she wants to do is demand personal raises, more employees, and stomp her feet when she can’t hold social events. The whole situation demonstrates ignorance and is ridiculous.