Friday, March 19, 2021

Lumumba Lies to New York Times

Mayor says state does not pay Jackson water bills. 

Bedeviled by water problems, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba just could not pass up a chance to smear state government in the New York Times.  There is just one problem.  Nothing he said was true.  The New York Times published a story on Jackson's water crisis on March 12. The article included this little quote from the Mayor:


 Its troubles also mirror those of another capital city, Washington, D.C., where large numbers of government properties pay no property tax. Mr. Lumumba said the city “provides water for the state of Mississippi, but we don’t get paid for the water we provide to them. If we simply charged the state like any other customer, we’d be in a lot better position.” Article.

Unfortunately, the Mayor's assertion does not square with the facts (Regular readers know what is coming.).  

JJ submitted public records requests to various state agencies for copies of their water/sewer payments to the city of Jackson.  The state of Mississippi does indeed pay for its water and sewer services- when it actually gets a bill.  The state has paid several hundred thousand dollars in water/sewer bills since June 2020.   

The Department of Finance and Administration reported the Capitol Complex alone paid $205,477 since June 2020.  The records are posted below. Some major water/sewer payments Capitol Complex buildings are: 

Sillers Building: $30,062

Woolfolk: $34,683

Archives & History:  $95,966

Robert E. Lee:  $10,592

Governor's Mansion: $6,809.

The payments would have been much higher but for government shutdowns.  For example, the Sillers Building paid over $7,000 per month during normal operations.  However, limited operations resulted in bills less than half of the normal payment.  

The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce paid Jackson  $47,035 for water/sewer services since  August 2019.*  The payments include: 

Museum: $3,309

Fair Commission (Fairgrounds, Colisuem, Trademart): $40,005

Old Trademart: $2,113

MSDAC (Jefferson Street): $1,608 (9 bills since August 2019) 

The Coliseum, Trademart, and museum reduced their operations during the pandemic.  The bill is undoubtedly higher in normal times. 

It is a safe bet the state has probably paid Jackson between $500,000 and $1 million in FY 2021 for water/sewer services.   JJ submitted similar requests to other state agencies and will post the records when they become available. 

It is not clear which math the Mayor uses, but $259,321 does not equal 0, even under Common Core math.  

Kingfish note: Simply put, the Mayor did not just lie but he boldly, brazenly, and blatantly lied and did so on a national scale.  And that, my friends, is the bottom line.

Posted below is a partial key of the addresses listed in the records.

550 High Street: Sillers Building

501 N. West Street: Woolfolk

213 N. Jefferson Street: William Winter/Archives & History

301 North Lamar Street: MDOC

700 North State Street: MDEQ

401 Mississippi Street: Secretary of State

100 S. South State Street: Old Capitol Museum 

666 North Street: North Street Complex

North President Street: Capitol

610 N. West Street: Sillers Annex

239 Lamar Street: Robert E. Lee Building

* Jackson and MDAC dispute the amount of money owed.  MDAC argues a good portion of water is used for feeding animals instead of using the sewer service.

 

57 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does anyone ever call him on his BS besides Kingfish? How do you ask for State help and lie about them in the same month? Good grief, no wonder no one wants to help Jackson. They have elected an idiot and he proves that repeatedly.

Sam Brookes said...

As to "White flight" the flight is Middle Class flight, both Black and White, because Jackson has some of the worst public schools in the state and also because of the crime in Jackson."Lying Lumumba" as Councilman Kenneth I. Stokes calls him has done nothing to address these problems.

Anonymous said...

The NY Times won’t care. The truth doesn’t fit the story.

Anonymous said...

And no one in the media will call him out in this. Not a one

Anonymous said...

Alright so he is officially on the record as a filthy liar.
Add it to the list of characteristics of this charlatan.

Anonymous said...

The liberal way. Lie for impact, and watch the wreck as you walk away.

What difference, at this point, does it make?

Anonymous said...

Isn't it just as likely that the Mayor had no idea that jackhole received multiple payments from the State and state agencies for water/sewer. In other words, instead of being a garden variety progressive liars, he's just a straight up dumbass willing to say whatever has to be said in the moment to make himself look like the victim? Victimhood is big business these days.

Anonymous said...

The service of water is a money maker and should require no help. In most cities water is the revenue producer that funds other activities. The State should not lift a finger to help Jackson. Give Jackson a billion dollars and when it is gone the water will still not work properly.

Anonymous said...

..But in his early morning re election commercials on TV his wife says he talks in his sleep about new ways to improve Jackson..."

Anonymous said...

The mayor maintains two personas, the Local for Jackson, and the National for San Francisco, New York, etc. In effect he has two constituencies and he tries to pander to both. Things get difficult when both get the same message. Facts get in the way, especially on the local level because those problems cannot be explained away. And if the New Yorkers and San Fran crowd actually have to reveal the truth it will expose one of their progressive wonder-boys as just another failure. Sigh.

Anonymous said...

The Bloviator strike again.

Anonymous said...

Oh KF, you know you are a racist for pointing out something as mundane as FACTS when they go against a POC ("person of color" - I had to look that one up about 3 weeks ago!). Shame, Shame, Shame.

Anonymous said...

So who is going to contact the NYT to see if they care about reporting the truth? I'll give it a try.

Shazam said...

"Victimhood is big business these days." Best quote I have heard in a while.

Anonymous said...

LaDumba knows he's a sure shot to get re-elected and no longer gives a shit about truth and credibility, just says what sounds good in the moment to build his case for mo' money from Uncle Joe.

Anonymous said...

Shouldn’t some of the blame go to the author(s) of the “journalists” at the NYT who should’ve researched and confirmed the Mayors dubious claims?

Anonymous said...

You need to provide those documents to the New York Times and demand a correction and that the Mayor lied!

Anonymous said...

See page 5a Thursday 3/18/2021 Northside Sun

https://cdn.flipsnack.com/widget/v2/widget.html?hash=u54zsflcjl

Anonymous said...

Have I ever lied about you being a bitch, Jamie? Because I say it often.

Anonymous said...

Shouldn’t some of the blame go to the author(s) of the “journalists” at the NYT who should’ve researched and confirmed the Mayors dubious claims?

Can someone please explain to me what sort of f'ed up logic this is?

Anonymous said...

If, you think the NYT has a care about the correct story, your naïveté has no bounds.

Anonymous said...

Great reporting. How does someone forward to the NY Times?

Anonymous said...

George Costanza: "Jerry, just remember, it's not a lie if you believe it."

Anonymous said...

NY Times lies all the time. Serves them right for interviewing him in the first place.

Kingfish said...

Melvin, you can post under your name. (1142)

Anonymous said...

Utility providers don't give away free stuff (when done correctly). They always bill all users. So everyone knew that the governor's mansion, MDOT building, etc. weren't getting free water, electricity, etc.

The exception to the rule is that it is possible that a utility doesn't bill itself. So maybe Jackson wouldn't send a water bill to a CITY building. Because then you would just be writing a check to yourself (although you might want to do it to transfer funds from the city building budget to the water/sewer fund). But certainly a city isn't going to let another entity get away for free (the state, a school district, etc.)

JT said...

So he talks in his sleep about ways to improve Jackson? One has to wonder what brain dead morons would fall for that. Probably a lot his awesome supporters. Come on folks, always remember the Democratic manifesto (You never let a good crisis go to waste). It’s the reason there’s a person in the White House that can’t even stand on his own two feet.

Since when has the mayor ever let facts get in the way of a good selling point. Especially when the selling point is him. The great dragon slayer taking on the evil white government to free his subjects from tyranny. He has in fact become quite the manure spreader with his time in office. Soon, yes soon the run for governor.... then the president. The typical democrat, an expert shit salesman with a mouth full of samples. And his followers must love the taste as well.

Anonymous said...

Politicians lie all the time. The media prefers to sustain a good story if uncovering the truth might hurt the quality of the story. Trump perfected this process, but lying politicians is the second oldest profession. And, all politicians lie (whites, blacks, men, women, Dem, Rep, etc.). There really are not surprises in this story - politician tells a whopper and media bites because it makes a great story as is without any fact checking.

Anonymous said...

So what if it's not very true. It's Mississippi and everybody knows he must be under attack from the racist state government, so a little white lie is no big deal. Right, New Yorkers?

Did I say white lie? Sorry.

Anonymous said...

Did the Times ask the mayor about dope boys and dope?

Anonymous said...

12:28 The media sustains the story and ignores the facts IF the story fits the narrative they favor. Politicians do lie but they are called out when they lie to the WRONG people. Even Mr. Trump. The mayor must have recognized birds of his feather when he told his lie to the New York Times.

Anonymous said...

@ 12:10 -
"But certainly a city isn't going to let another entity get away for free (the state, a school district, etc.)"

I worked for 35 years as an engineer with water/sewer projects in Mississippi, exclusively with public works providers and the state and federal governments, and reviewed hundreds of actual Mississippi city/town water/sewer ordinances. I can tell you that your statement is not true. It is pretty common for cities to intentionally exempt SOME other non-federal government facilities and some nonprofits from water/sewer bills. In some cases these users never had a meter installed, because the city decided not to buy a meter for a user who they had already decided to exempt from billing (meters are useful for purposes other than billing).

I'm not saying what they should do, or what is legal, just what the history is.

Anonymous said...

Pretty much everything in the NYT is a lie. It should be called Pravda USA.

Anonymous said...

With respect to this business of the Mayor calling many in State government racist on one hand and asking for hand outs on the other finally caused a light to come on.
This Mayor, like many of his constituents, feel that they are ENTITLED to state aid, no matter what they say about the hand that feeds them.

Anonymous said...

Victimhood ain't just big business - it's big politics. IF you dare to even lovingly correct the incorrect, assert a fact, point out reality, etc. you are loudly deemed an oppressor. So, anytime someone who disagrees with the prevailing victimhood narrative is blasted as hateful.

The second parents (of all stripes) stopped disciplining their children back in to their place (around 1990), is the second this crap started. They went from "Pick you battles" to "It's just never worth it. Let's be friends." It's the most hateful thing a parent can do.

Now it's all just one big tantrum that has brought the country to it's knees - all because millions of "parents" wanted to be popular, and didn't have the moral rectitude to do their job...."You can't make me!" is now that Left's battle cry. "You're hateful! You're racist! You don't love me! You don't really care about me!"

It's all the same shit.

Anonymous said...

Have I ever lied about you being a bitch, Jamie? Because I say it often.

Quote left by Melvin C. Robinson, City of Jackson employee.

Anonymous said...

The Jackson - & Mississippi - news media are about as useful as my 69 year-old pecker.

Anonymous said...

While he is wrong on the water bills, he should have mentioned all the government buildings that don't pay property taxes.

However, he and anyone associated with the water department billing should be fired. I understand there was probably a big mess caused by the Siemens fiasco, but they have had plenty of time to do something about getting bills out the door.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, KF for calling him out on his lies! He should be held accountable.
And that answer sure sounds better than, “The City has serious issues and I’m in over my head as to how to begin to address them.”
Send money and we’ll study the issue!

Anonymous said...

Perhaps the State of Mississippi should stop paying for water in Jackson, MS.

This so called "mayor" is a proven liar. I'm sure if auditors dig a little bit they will prove him a thief too.

I sent an email to C.J. LeMaster asking him to investigate and report on this story. We shall see.

Anonymous said...

@1:31 I believe you. But they shouldn’t do it. It’s a violation of most SRF or USDA loan agreements. And it’s bad business.

Anonymous said...

Lumumba as Mayor with a national audience sure feels like a real life “The Emperor has no clothes” situation.

Anonymous said...

@5:19

"While he is wrong on the water bills, he should have mentioned all the government buildings that don't pay property taxes.
"
Are you saying that the fact government buildings don't pay property taxes is something new? I don't think so!

Anonymous said...

@ 5:58 - and EPA grants. But the devil's in the details. They can (could) have different classes of users, some of which get favorable status. But an honest audit might make them pay their actual cost of services.

But FWIW, the SRF program regs. stipulate only "User Charge System - The system by which the loan recipient charges users of the water system rates that produce adequate revenues required for operation, maintenance, replacement of major equipment, retirement of existing debt and repayment of the DWSIRLF loan for the project and must identify the dedicated source of funds, the basis of payment, and user charges for each user class."

If memory serves, old EPA regs. (pre-1984-ish) which governed the EPA and state SRF wastewater funding programs had specific language about paying for actual use, but current regs. and those for the state drinking water SRF (a much newer program) do not have that language.

Anonymous said...

Radical Guy is saying radical things.

Four more years!

Anonymous said...

1:31 - What you've suggested is not legal. In fact it would be just as illegal as a municipality exempting members of a fire department from paying for their residential water. This practice was stopped years ago when it was found to be illegal.

If a city, any city, is straight-piping water (or any other utility service), it is guilty of fraud and Shad needs to hear about it.

If you found that in your rounds, you were, at the very least, negligent for not reporting it. And, at the very most, you were complicit.

Antard "you know" Ladumbass said...

You can't fix stupid, but you can numb it with a 2x4.

StarRider said...

"There is another class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays…I am afraid that there is a certain class of race-problem solvers who don’t want the patient to get well, because as long as the disease holds out they have not only an easy means of making a living, but also an easy medium through which to make themselves prominent before the public." Booker T. Washington

Anonymous said...

This is 1:31. I didn't say it was legal. Go back and read - here's what I said: "I'm not saying what they should do, or what is legal, just what the history is."

It's public information in municipal ordinances, which went to public notice. No "reporting" required, and everyone knows about it. Of course we didn't have Shad back then.

One might want to check the AG opinions on this one.

Anonymous said...

This is 1:31 again.

Mississippi Code 21-27-27 (municipal utilities) states:

"Free service.

No free service shall be furnished by any such system, or combined system, to any private person, firm, corporation, or association. The municipality may, however, furnish such service, free of charge, to the municipality or any agency or department thereof, to any public school, or to any hospital or benevolent institution located within such municipality, including county, city, and community fairs."

Notice it says "may," meaning it is legal to do so. It does not state "shall," meaning the city is not required to provide free water to the state.

Kingfish said...

New York Times follow up or make a correction? Not likely. Such is the state of its newsroom that it is more likely to come after me.

Anonymous said...

March 19 at 2:33pm-Bravo.

How can parents be shocked?

Kids have been raised to avoid all adversity. They develop no coping mechanisms because they were shielded them from all problem solving in the name of "protecting them".

Most have never had a job or had to balance a checking account and they simply demand more money for gas when the new car they were given runs out.

There is a whole generation that expects to be told they are the best at everything they attempt because that is what equality means to them.

Conservative parents have created little socialism fans that expect handouts and demand luxuries in life that they do nothing to earn, yet they are shocked at the outcome.

Anonymous said...

Lieing Lumumba

Anonymous said...

For many years the Jackson water billing department had some personal accounts with a 'special' notation on them, meaning that they weren't to be billed. Evidently a practice that had been started some administrations back where council members (and I'm sure a few others) could provide the notation, supposedly for older and disabled but it also included the 'friends and family club'. During the transferring over to the Seimens system (another matter altogether) these were discovered and questioned ----- but of course nobody wanted to fess up and claim the notations. If it hadn't been for some of the longtime employees at the counter that collected bills from in person payments this would not have been discovered.

But what the heck; that was back when they were really trying to fix the billing system and get bills to everybody. Didn't take long for those same folks to probably have a stranded bill and they could go right back to using those extra dollars for a trip to the nail salon or to upgrade their cell service.

Anonymous said...

A long time ago in a past lifetime, I was a cub reporter and wrote a fact-based article that clashed with the narrative that a conservative higher-up believed was true. After we talked it through, my article was published.

I think that's the way it's supposed to work. We have to keep each other honest, which is what KF did here.

It's human nature to think we know what's really going on. In my opinion, what has changed is the willingness to allow information to flow which conflicts with one's personal beliefs, and the ability to reconsider what we think we already know. That takes a level of maturity that we don't currently seem to be growing into.

Kingfish said...

Just go check out the backgrounds of the reporters on the story.

Anonymous said...

I looked them up. Ms. Fentress is based on Jackson, so she really has no excuse for not fact-checking Lumumba's BS. They both paid nothing more than lip service to the ongoing billing debacle with a single sentence, written in the past tense:

"More recently, Jackson was plagued by a faulty billing system that failed to charge some customers and accidentally sent others statements totaling thousands of dollars."

My question is, where were the editors?? Both writers clearly carried baggage to the story, based on the excerpts below from their bios. It used to be the editors' responsibility to reign in writers' agendas.

Ellen Ann Fentress:

"I write about Deep South politics and culture, looking for how big truths pulse in individual life stories. Privilege, whiteness, women, French and food are all topics I think about. I like to spot the currents submerged beneath a subject, including the way the South’s past permeates its present.

Richard Fausset:

"Richard Fausset is a correspondent based in Atlanta. He mainly writes about the American South, focusing on politics, culture, race, poverty and criminal justice."

-11:50



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