Jackson Jambalaya

U.S. District Judge Keith Ball set bond at $25,000 each for defendants Chris Epps and Cecil McCrory.  A grand jury indicted the pair in August for 49 counts of various charges, although the indictment was sealed until today.  The charges are listed in the press release posted below. Mr. Epps resigned his position as MDOC Commissioner yesterday while Mr. McCrory resigned his position on the Rankin County School Board earlier this week.  The scene in the courtroom was surreal as one of the most powerful men in state government stood as a defendant at the mercy of a judge. Both men appeared in suits as they were not in custody. 

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Bad Boy Senator John Hohrn was apparently a very bad boy when he was arrested for a DUI several weeks ago according to a copy of the police report of his arrest on November 14.* Mr. Horhn's bad boy self was on full display that night as he pulled the "do you know who I am card", threatened the police officers, repeatedly told them he led a crime fighting summit that night, and made sure they knew he knew the chief.

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The State Auditor issued the following press release. The actual indictment is posted below. Attorney William Gunn filed an entry of appearance for Scott Walker.  A hearing will be held on November 8 at 10:00 AM before Magistrate Robert. Walker.

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Note: In light of recent events concerning the Farish Street project, JJ decided to repost this story from June 2012. It should be noted these funds were spent before David Watkins became involved with the project. JJ also learned a major bank in Jackson loaned $6 million to someone to "do something" about the shotgun houses on Farish Street. Needless to say, the money never was spent on its intended use. This loan also took place before Mr. Watkins became involved with the project.Here is the original post. It has been moved forward and the comments are intact.


Note: Cathead wrote this post. Cathead is a new contributing writer for JJ.

Despite spending in excess of $21 million for more than twenty years, the prospects of transforming Farish Street into an oasis of bright lights, great food and memorable music have begun to lose their luster.

The whole story as to why Farish Street stands as a sad, neglected spectacle in the heart of the city will never be completely known as the only easily accessible record of the Farish Street revitalization effort is in the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH).

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Judge Kidd granted the injunction against the open carry law as being "unconstitutionally vague". The injunction is in place until the legislature "reviews, amends, or clarifies HB2." The court said it:

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Check out how Afa and Sika played when they appointed replacement supervisors for Districts 2 and 4 to the Hinds County Board of Supervisors in this video.  The two pulled the item from the agenda and moved it up to the beginning of the meeting.  The agenda is posted below.  What you see in the video took place right after the public hearing section on the agenda. All you need to see is the first two minutes of the video.

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The Clarion-Ledger reported on the Madison Mayor's race yesterday. The Queen v. The Bagboy. Consider this the open thread to comment on the race you have all been waiting for. I'm sure it will get heated so be nice. If the curse words get out of hand or the comment is slanderous, it's not getting approved. Unfounded accusations probably will not pass muster. There are plenty of issues in this race to discuss without getting stupid. Here are some choice passages from the story:

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Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney announced the federal government rejected the Mississippi health insurance exchange created by the his department. Mr. Chaney said he was "sorely disappointed" in the decision and that it would give Washington total control of health insurance regulation in Mississippi. The Commissioner said "we have given our best efforts to protect the state of Mississippi."

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This correspondent filed a public records request with the Department of Public Safety for the following information last week:

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 Update: Spoke to MDE and was told they can not suspend the licenses until there is a conviction.

A federal indictment states Mississippi teachers participated in a scheme to obtain teacher certifications using false identification.  The U.S. Attorney indicted Clarence Mumford, Jr. of Memphis and twelve other defendants for allegedly taking the Praxis exam for teachers in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee. The indictment charges the defendants with sixty counts ranging from conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and Social Security fraud, aggravated identity theft, to fraud in connection with identification documents.

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Here is an example of the pressure that was put on Vicki Slater, a Madison attorney who is also chairwoman of the Mississippi Association for Justice (trial lawyers group),  to drop out of the race against Republican Congressman Gregg Harper.  A prominent local attorney involved in Democrat Party politics urged her in this email to drop out of the race.  Needless to say, she apparently followed his advice.  What was interesting was he urged her to drop out to help Earle Banks in his race against Chief Justice Bill Waller.  Read for yourself. Its actually pretty good reading and I don't mean that in a bad way.

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Collection of all posts on PERS

The annual PERS actuarial report states the funding level for the Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System fell to 58% at the end of the 2012 fiscal year. PERS has been under scrutiny for several years as the funding level fell over several years even though contributions from employees and employers were increased. What is even more troubling is the deficit between contributions and payments to retirees jumped to $641,704,000. PERS earned a return on investments of only 0.6%. PERS investments are $19.8 billion.

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The dreaded and feared Certificate of Need law appeared at the Mississippi Supreme Court this week. This time the victim is UMC:

"JACKSON — The Mississippi Supreme Court has refused to reconsider its ruling that the University of Mississippi Medical Center must follow the state's certificate-of-need law.

The court today denied requests to revisit its June ruling.

Mississippi's CON law limits where hospitals can locate and expand and what services they can provide.

The court ruled UMMC, as a competitor in the hospital marketplace, must abide by the same CON laws as the other 100-plus hospitals in Mississippi. However, the court said state health officials can determine when UMMC must do so.

UMMC said it was not subject to the CON law. St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital, Health Management Associates and Mississippi Baptist Medical Center took the view that the laws apply to UMMC as to all hospitals."

Perhaps its time to get signatures and put abolishing the CON law on the ballot.

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It was never a good sign on Dallas when Lieutenant Harry McSwain appeared on the scene as it usually meant J.R. have someone threatened or arrested. Hinds County Constable Jerry Moore is quickly acquiring the same reputation as in August he arrested Hinds County Republican Party Chairman Pete Perry.

The Hinds County Election Commission met in August to discuss the redistricting of Election Commissioner districts for the November Election. Supervisor Robert Graham was pressuring the commission to approve them as quickly as possible. Two precincts over 90% black were added to the district while one that was almost evenly divided between blacks and whites was removed.

The arrest warrant stemmed from an incident at a June meeting of the Election Commission. Hinds County resident Ineva May-Pittman addressed the commission (A JJ video of Ms. Pittman is posted below from a meeting of the Board of Supervisors.). At some point an argument ensured between Ms. Pittman and Commissioner Connie Cochran. Mr. Perry was sitting between the two individuals. Ms. Pittman alleged in charges filed against Mr. Perry that he “interrupted her public presentation and that he called her a “bad” word.) Mr. Perry said his warrant stated the charge was "general assault". It is important to note there have been no allegations of physical contact.

Mr. Perry told JJ the August meeting began 45 minutes late. He said shortly after it began, Mr. Graham entered the meeting with Constable Moore in tow. Constable Moore announced he had a warrant for Mr. Perry's arrest. Mr. Perry said the constable would not allow him to finish the meeting but instead took him into custody. Constable Moore promptly took him to Judge Sutton's courtroom where Mr. Perry sat for over 2 1/2 hours until Judge Sutton allowed him to post bail. The meeting was over when Mr. Perry was finally allowed to leave custody.

This is not the first time Mr. Graham or Constable Moore have been accused of abusing the legal process. Attorney Dennis Sweet alleged the constable illegally kicked open the door to a home and took a child from a grandmother in the Vance case in federal court. Hinds County resident alleged Mr. Graham used a Hinds County Deputy to have him removed from the Tougaloo precinct last year on election day even though he was a poll worker.

Mr. Perry reported the incident on my radio show two weeks ago. He discusses it at the end of the show at 41:00.

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Amy McCullough writes in Bigger Pie Forum:

In his recent press release U.S. Senator Roger Wicker contradicts himself. He says it's bad for the Democratic Obama administration to give taxpayer dollars to private companies' experimental energy projects, but it's OK when Republicans in Mississippi do the same thing....

"Picking winners and losers" means giving American tax dollars to private, companies for energy experiments, like the solar company Solyndra, which received more than $500 million in federal money before going bankrupt.

Mississippi -- which is run by Republicans -- has been committing quite a lot of its taxpayer dollars to private companies' experimental projects...." Read the rest of the post

Bigger Pie Forum has purchased distribution rights on Jackson Jambalaya

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Southern Company CEO Tom Fanning spoke to Mississippians last Thursday at Gov. Bryant's Energy Summit. He made many effective arguments for the Kemper plant -- except for the one that matters: Cheap electric bills for those Mississippians who have to pay for the plant.



Halfway through minute 12 of the video Fanning begins to talk about Kemper. He says...."Rest of the article at Bigger Pie Forum

This post is paid content.

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The Mississippi Prepaid College Tuition Savings program issued its annual actuarial report several weeks ago. The report states the program's funding level fell to 76.8% in 2012 from 83.3% in 2011. The MPACT Board of Directors voted unanimously in August to suspend new registrations pending the outcome of a financial audit. Post reporting suspension It must be pointed out when reading the report the projections assume no further participants are enrolled in the program and thus does not include their future payments.

MPACT's investments yielded a rate of return of only 0.6% for the twelve-month period ending on June 30, 2012. The S&P 500 fell 0.45% in the same period while the Russell 2000 decreased 0.05%. The Dow remained virtually unchanged. The stock markets plunged in August 2011 and spent the rest of the 52-week period recovering. Treasurer Lynn Fitch told the Joint Legislative Budget Committee two weeks ago MPACT's investments averaged a rate of return of only 4.8% since its inception, a far cry from the assumed rate of return of 7.8%.

Then-Treasurer Tate Reeves told JJ in 2010 the asset allocations for MPACT were equities (62.1%), bonds (27.7%), cash equivalents which include short-term treasuries (7.4%), and real estate (2.8%). It is not known what the current asset allocations are. 2010 post on MPACT.

The problem facing MPACT is the current rate of return is below the 8.6% tuition inflation rate for state universities. There were 22,293 participants in the program in 2012. The funding level was at or above 100% funded from 1997 to 2000. The funding level dipped to 76.1% in 2002 after the recession but recovered to a funding level of 95.2% in 2007 only to fall again to a low of 72.9% in 2009 after the meltdown of 2008.

Actuary Mike Brister calculated the costs of closing down the program and refunding the money in a September 7, 2012 letter to program director Claire Whittington:

"As requested we have prepared a valuation of the MPACT Program under MS. Code Sec. 37-155-25. We assumed all contracts with a “Projected Maturity Date” before 2018 would have tuition payments made by MPACT as due. All other contracts would receive a refund of amounts paid in with interest. This amount, $107,782,980, was determined by Intuition. The following compares the results for the Program without change (Current Program) and the Program under Sec. 37-155-25 (Closed Program)."

Mr. Brister estimated it will cost $107,782,980 to refund contributions to participants. The deficit from paying tuition and refunds against current assets would fall to $63,765,887.

Facts from the June 30, 2012 Actuarial Valuation and Report:

Deficit: $94.4 million (p.2)
2012 Funding level: 76.8% (p.1)
2011 Funding level: 83.3% (p.1)
Return on Assets: 0.6% (p.1)
Increase in average tuition for 4-yr colleges: 8.6% (p.1)
Assumed rate of return: 7.8% (p.1)
Assumed annual tuition increase: 6.5% for 4-yr colleges (p.1)
Participants in 2012: 22,293 (p.1)
Participants in 2011: 21,218 (p.1)
Market Value of Assets: $265,125,878 (p.2)
Present Value of Contract Liabilities: $407,454,351 (p.2)
Contributions: $47.9 million (p.3)
Rate of return required to satisfy all future benefits/expenses: 12.22% (p.7)
Projected year for assets to be fully depleted: 2025
Percentage of 4-yr contracts by Big 3: 83%
Percentage of 4-yr contracts by JSU: 11%
Percentage of 4-yr contracts by the rest: 16%

Note: One observation I've made for years. The MPACT board of directors meets several times a year. There is no mention anywhere on the MPACT or Treasurer's website of the meetings or when they are held. Nothing like secret playbooks. Looks like I'll have to harass them every two weeks.

Post covering 2010 hearing including more charts and reports.

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Jackson Jambalaya attempted to learn how much the Parkway East Public Improvement District paid in professional services fees when it sold $27,770,000 in bonds in 2005. Parkway East attorney Bob Montgomery replied the district did not have any records showing how much was paid.

State law allows professional service fees up to 2% of the total amount of the bond sale. Such fees are lucrative and usually awarded to friends of the government issuing the bonds. There are no bid requirements for these services. JJ filed a public records request asking for the fees. JJ requested:

"The invoices or records of fees paid for professional services include these fees and professional services:

Issuer ,Issuer counsel, bond counsel, trustee, trustee counsel fee, rating agency fee, financial adviser fee, paying agent, other attorney's fees, underwriters fees, and underwriter's counsel fees."

Keep in mind the public improvement district is a public body and is created by acts of the legislature and county. Mr. Montgomery replied on September 20:

"I do not have the fee information which you requested on September 11, 2012 letter in regard to Parkway East. However, I asked the original bond counsel, engineer, and trustee of the bond issue to search their records.

When and if I hear from them, I will make their information available to you."

The fees are also not listed on the website of the Department of Finance and Administration. DFA issues an annual report that states the public sales of bonds in Mississippi and lists the professional service fees for each sale. Nice way for taxpayers to see what their governments are paying and to whom they are paying the nice fees associated with bond transactions. The 2005 report does not list Parkway East thus precluding anyone from learning how much the PID paid in transaction fees. However, the following 2005 issues provide a range of what the fees should be:

$21 million for Belk project: $207,649
$25,128,008 for Juniper Capital project: $337,070
$29,530,000 for Desoto County Convention Center: $439,209

2% of $27,770,000 is $555,400 is probably the maximum amount allowed by law. Nice change if you happen to be Butler Snow, Hancock Bank, and whoever else Parkway East chose to work on the sale if the fees were close to the limit.

Editorial Comment: That was the news, this is the opinion.  Such a rejection is nothing short of a poke in the eye of the taxpayers.  The taxpayers are forced to pay millions of dollars in bond payments for Parkway East and Parkway South yet Parkway East claims it has no records of paying what were likely hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees when they sold the bonds.  The same bonds the taxpayers are forced to cover thanks to the Madison County Board of Supervisors.   It strains credibility to expect Parkway East would not have on file these records or that is not able to obtain them. The Board should not make any more payments on behalf of these PIDs unless the taxpayers are given all details of these transactions.  However, do not expect such leadership from this board as its quite clear where their interests lie.

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The Madison County Board of Supervisors approved yet another no-bid contract* at the June 4 meeting. This time it was an annual $72,000 lobbying contract with Butler Snow. Board President John Bell Crosby placed the contract on the agenda for discussion tonight although he voted to award the contract in June. (Page 5 of minutes). Gerald Steen moved to approve the contract and Ronnie Lott seconded the motion. The vote to hire Butler Snow was unanimous. The county announced the "partnership" in an online newsletter:

"Madison County Administrator David Overby announced today a new partnership between the Madison County Economic Development Authority (MCEDA), Butler Snow Law Firm, and Madison County, focusing on creating and retaining jobs in the county. MCEDA and the Madison County Board of Supervisors will each pay half the contract amount.

This collaborative initiative is about jobs, recruiting future companies and assisting current ones in Madison County. With its rapid growth in population, Madison County must use the best resources available to focus on economic development. The increase in population directly correlates to the need to bring businesses to the county. Butler Snow will work with public officials in and outside the Capitol to maximize the process of pointing companies who are interested in locating to Mississippi directly to Madison County.

Butler Snow will bridge the gap between the state's economic development efforts and the partnership of MCEDA and Madison County. This initiative was passed on June 4 at the Madison County Board of Supervisors meeting, and the contract will be effective October 1, 2012."

That was the news, now for the opinion. Once again, the Madison County Board of Supervisors awarded a contract without seeking bids from interested parties. No request for proposals was published or approved by the board. Supervisor Steen simply made a motion to hire Butler Snow and presto, they were hired. However, Section 19-3-69 of the Mississippi Code has a few things to say about so-called "professional services contracts":




"The board of supervisors of each county may, in its discretion, contract with certain professionals when the board determines that such professional services are necessary and in the best interest of the county.

The board of supervisors shall spread upon its minutes its finding that the professional services are necessary and in the best interest of the county. The contract for professional services shall be approved by the attorney for the board of supervisors and made a part of the minutes."

The professional must be either an attorney, doctor, realtor, CPA, architect, surveyor, appraiser,auctioneer, or engineer. The law states " A professional within the meaning of this section shall be limited to.." The board can thus hire these individuals without requesting competitive bids for the service sought. The individual obtaining the no-bid contract must possess a valid state license for one of those professions.

Some will say Butler Snow is a law firm and is this exempt from bidding and it is true the county will pay only half the contract amount while MCEDA pays the other half. However, the board packet for the meeting contains the contract from Butler Snow and it specifically states the contract is not for legal services (See page 20) the services provided to the county:

"are services which may be performed by non-lawyers and that, as appropriate, Firm will provide such services through non-lawyers such as Sidney P. Allen, Jr., Caroline W. Sims, or Charles V. Williams, or through attorneys who are part of the firm's government relations team.....

the company many have the need for legal services which can be performed only by attorneys and legal staff. Such legal services are not contemplated by or covered by this agreement. Rather, the company may choose to have firm provide such legal services or may choose to retain other attorneys for that purposes. The Company agrees that any such services it chooses to ask firm to provide will be covered under a separate engagement agreement between the company and firm..."

In other words, Butler Snow made it clear in its own engagement letter it was not providing legal services to the county and if it were to do so, the county would have to make a separate agreement with the firm. While lobbying contracts are legal, awarding them to non-lawyers without bidding them out is not under Section 19-3-69. Unfortunately for the taxpayers of Madison County, their government is more interested in awarding fat contracts to friends and raising taxes than protecting their wallets. Of course, this is what they voted for last year so perhaps this is indeed what they desire.

*County awards no-bid contract for public relations and marketing services.

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The Madison County Homeowners Association issued a statement opposing a proposed property tax increase in Madison County:

The supervisors aren't stupid and know what public reaction will be to a tax increase. The question is why are they proposing the increase? Is there really a shortfall? Is it creating a phony issue so John Bell Crosby can vote against it and use it in his attempt to become Mayor of Madison? Or is the board taking advantage of the proposed tax increases by Hinds and Rankin Counties and implementing their own? Is there a need for a tax increase after the county spent money on no-bid contracts and picking up the tab for projects such as Parkway East? Time will tell. Earlier post on proposed tax increase. Here is the published announcement:

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