Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba wants to raise property taxes for the third time since he became Mayor in 2017. WLBT reported:
The Lumumba administration is proposing a 2-mill property tax increase as part of its 2022 budget to cover pay raises for police, firefighters, and dispatchers.
Chief of Staff Safiya Omari gave an overview of the city’s proposed 2022 fiscal year budget on Monday. The proposal included raising pay for first-responders, as well as implementing new youth programming through Human and Cultural Services and the Parks and Recreation departments.
“We would increase the rate by two mills or three mills. That depends on how inclusive you want the employee raises to be,” Omari said. “This (the 2-mill increase) envisions raises for police, firemen, dispatchers, and communication. If you want it (raises) to be city-wide, we’d have to advertise for three mills.”....
Among other things, the proposed increase would allow the city to raise JPD corporals from $37,000 to $41,000 a year. Meanwhile, salaries for communications and dispatch officials would have pay increased to $15 an hour...
The mayor and chief of staff discussed several budget challenges as well, including continued shortfalls in the water/sewer revenue collections, as well as an expected increase in the city’s debt service payments, which is expected to kick in next year.
So far, this year, the Water/Sewer Billing Administration has brought in about $34 million through water billing collections, or about 13 percent less than it did through the same time last year, Omari said.
Kingfish note: Dump $4 million on a failing zoo. Borrow $5 million for the planetarium. Ban the cut off of garbage/water/sewer services and surprise, Jackson loses even more money on what should be money makers. Mayor's solution? Raise taxes on the highest-taxed residents in Mississippi while businesses and residents flee to the burbs.
55 comments:
White flight 2.0 in 3....2....1
UNBELIEVABLE!!!! What an idiot. Ch0ke-me....listen up mane! You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip. Jackson is losing population, and asking the few brave ones left to pay more...naw, mane. Get creative....like only pay for needs, not wants. Shut down all unnecessary crap this city funds, and only provide the basic necessities. Once that is fulfilled, then you can go out and buy a zoo, planetarium, convention center, etc.etc.etc.
It’s just a perception of high taxes
These folks should be SO ANGRY about this lunacy. I have said it before , the purpose of government is protection, streets, and water and these people have absolutely none of that. The idea of “organic growth” by improving what is there is not even discussed , it’s just tax tax tax. I was appalled yesterday at a significant garbage increase with the proposal of LESS service. It’s crazy and enough is enough. I hope next election the residents get a better candidate than this guy.
I don't mind paying taxes if the money is efficiently spent for things that are necessary (schools, road, etc.). The problem is inefficiency and waste. Jackson needs to show that they can be proper stewards of the funding they have before they get another penny. With proper management, they might find that they have plenty as it is.
Go back and look at the list of campaign donors KF posted a week or so ago. Those are the people enabling him to do this. He wont collect water bills, hell won't send out bills to the largest customers in his city. Wastes money on BS projects, including the zoo that is located in a war zone. Doesn't say a peep about the murders on the streets, and now wants to raise taxes 2-3 mills? Those people and businesses that are listed on the campaign donor list are the ones you should be mad at. If you want true change you have to tell them to their face and quit doing business with them, and tell them why. You think the mass exodus from Jackson has been bad, wait until they pass this, and raise your garbage collections while he's at it.
### Metro Ad Valorem Millage Rates (2019-2020) ###
Jackson = 72.03 mils (Antard’s Assume-the-Position Belhaven CID rate)
Jackson = 71.03 mils (Belhaven’s ‘MORE Virgi’ CID rate)
Jackson = 69.03 mils (Belhaven 'freedom-loving' CID rate)
Jackson = 66.03 mils (Lumumba’s ‘I’m-Mayor-You-Are-Not’ rate)
Jackson = 65.03 mils (Yammeralot’s ‘Now-You-See-It-Now-You-Don’t’ rate)
Jackson = 63.03 mils
Canton = 56.32 mils
Edwards = 47.0 mils
Clinton = 41.49 mils
Bolton = 36.3 mils
Flora = 34.5 mils
Byram = 34.1 mils
---> Current AVERAGE = 33.74 mils <---
Brandon = 33.0 mils
Raymond = 30.72 mils
Madison = 28.8 mils
Florence = 28.4 mils
Terry = 27.85 mils
Pearl = 27.5 mils
Raymond = 25.62 mils
Ridgeland = 20.03 mils
Flowood = 20.0 mils
Richland = 19.0 mils
* excludes County & School District
If Jackson Academy wasn't located where it is, there wouldn't be any white folks left in Jackson.
As valorum (property) taxes are based on the appraised value of property. If the appraisal values of all property in Jackson continue to decline, then he doesn’t really have a choice to keep revenue at the same levels. But it becomes a snowball effect and self-destructing. High value properties leave city due to crime, lower value properties/businesses move in, more crime, housing goes to sh*t, more businesses leave, have to raise taxes for more police protection to try to reduce crime, majority of populace that remains doesn’t care, judges give blessings, need more cash to fund police and mayor’s campaign contributors kickbacks, crime soars, productive population continues to flee, property values plummet, revenue plummets, city circles the drain, etc.
Someone go ahead and give it the final flush.
Turn off the lights when you leave.
Why would sensible people pay 3 times the Madison Ridgeland tax rates to live in one of the highest murder rate cities in the USA where you can’t drive on the streets, can’t drink the water, have to send your children to private schools? Property values are plummeting. I moved 25 years ago to one of the suburbs and have not regretted it for a second, not to mention the increase in property values.
Isn't white flight his father's dream come true in a way? New Afrika? Also, why are the feds/audit not investigating? Seems like a little pay to play somewhere...then the temper tantrum yesterday bc the city counsel didn't approve his waste treatment contract? Mainly bc they didn't have enough time to read through the proposal which the delay was his fault, but like the previous commenter, the contract calls for more cost with less service.
the ppl of jackson will continue to vote him into office until the feds have to step in...but isn't that what he/the ppl want, more federal assistance without doing their part?
I still live in Jackson, and have held on long enough. It is time to move when I cannot sit in my backyard at night without hearing gunshots, literally every night. All the defenders are welcome to address this, and I will listen, but only as long as the response is of substance and not the typical race baiting, give him a chance, he's doing his best with the resources given BS
"The never ending story" There is absolutely no incentive for anyone to stay in Jackson, move there, or start or keep a business there.
If the appraisal values of all property in Jackson continue to decline ...
HindsCo Tax Assessor is NOT reducing true and assessed values. Period.
Wow Baby Chok has some gall. Totally screwed everything up for four years now wants raise. Watch the money see if it goes for first responders or Mayor and handlers.
8:15 AM
If only. My idiot brother in law is looking to move from NE Jackson to Belhaven.
@ 8:34
You're correct to an extent. The only other drawing card for the NE Jackson crowd is the absolute horror people in Mississippi feel if they have to drive an extra 5 minutes anywhere.
One day JA will no longer exist. The student numbers will decline to the point that they can't stay in business. Then, JPS will gladly step in to take Whiteys last stand in Jackson.
Post Espy's pay gambit, who wants to wager that Lumumba will effort to increase his own salary?
Kingfish, I find the title of this blog post to be offensive seeing as how you’re trying to depict the Mayor of Jackson.
The fact that you’re a white man makes it that much more offensive.
You disgust me.
What are Human and Cultural Services?
It's called "cooperative economics" and it's emphasis is on building the community rather than protecting individual wealth. Yes, it's all socialist bullshit but it will sound better than admitting the whole thing is falling apart and never had a chance. The fact that Antar did not leave for San Francisco, NY, or Seattle years ago is merely testament to his egotistical desire to elevate the family name. It is also Jackson's latest curse.
Chokwe’s ALSO looking to raise the pay for public servants—the same public servants that you pick up the phone and call when you need assistance. So what if it means paying a higher tax. Pay it.
Take that Eastovers, Belhaveners and Fondrenites-
Drink the kool-aid:
"There is no realistic down side [to the Belhaven CID], beyond a modest increase in annual property taxes within the district. In exchange, we expect that property values will be significantly enhanced together with quality of life. Greater Belhaven is a historic and thriving area. Like many urban neighborhoods, Greater Belhaven has challenges that cannot always be met by city services. The ability to locally assess and voluntarily supplement city services to improve security, cleanliness, beautification and long-range planning is critical to the protection of property values and the vibrancy of Greater Belhaven."
This Jackson resident's solution? For Sale sign in the yard will literally be going up by the end of the week.
I'm fine with tax increases if the City were not actively doing everything it could do to attract new businesses and retain current businesses. Instead it does the opposite.
8:15. not just white flight anymore… it’s a huge middle class of every color getting out now…
Remember that Eastover and NE Jackson couldn't even be bothered to vote in the mayoral race. I don't see them protesting at city hall either. Madison may have its pineapples, but financial cuckholdry has to be the fetish de jour in NE Jackson.
The people in Jackson are the ones who elected the mayor. They are also the ones who will have to pay the taxes. They are the people who cannot drink the water, have sewage running down the street, they hare the people who have to dodge bullets continually, and cannot drive on the streets.
If that is what they want that is what they should have. If you do not like it why do you continue to live or have a business in Jackson?
"implementing new youth programming through Human and Cultural Services"
That's an unfortunate choice of words, coming from Safiya Omari.
How many peoples actually own houses in Jacktown as opposed to renting them?
So, the slum landlords will pass this tax increase down to the renters and the renters will pass this to HUD. And you my Tax paying friends will pay more federal taxes while the Rich & Poor laugh their A**es off!
Anyone left in Jackson after all this time should get screwed. To stay with all that is known is beyond stupid. Plus most do not pay anything so the very few that pay really get shafted. Get out while you are still alive!
9:37 Further proof that liberalism is a mental disorder.
I was born and raised in Jackson. I loved growing up there. It was a great city at that time. When I got married and went to buy my first house, I couldn't afford anything outside the city. However, it became clear to me that things were changing, changing fast, and the goal was to get out as soon as we could. That was 20+ years ago, and it's one of the best decisions we ever made. For the life of me (pun somewhat intended), I will never understand the need / desire to live in a city where, literally, everything is working against you: Bad water, bad roads, bad schools, high taxes, SUPER high crime, etc., etc., etc. Granted, if you're too old to move, then I completely understand.....but for anyone who CAN move, staying put is just beyond my comprehension (irrespective of the nice trees and old architecture and convenience. My family member's lives are more important to me (and them) than that)
8:18 stole my thunder. Darn it.
Chuckus has put hisself in a catch-22 suckle jerk. One withered gray socialist teat dries up faster than the next one fills up but the boy is hongry for that thin gray milk right now! He demands a few more nipples to leech onto.
His voting base are those who pay no city fees for free water, free sewer and free garbage pickup and others who are also afro-marxists happy for the boy mayor to prostrate himself begging for State and Federal pity-pay.
Meanwhile, all the full warm wholesome taxable teats are deserting Chuckus, Bumpus and Dumpus for America beyond the city limits and chalk outlines of Jackson.
@11:04am - Yeah that’s not how HUD works chief.
@9:53am - Thanks for stopping by Antard.
If you live in Madison county / Flora and you drive into town for work 5 days a week:
1) 1.2 hours in a car a day or 288 hours a year;
2) If you bill/collect $125 an hour that’s $36,000 you lose annually. (Most on this commute it’s more like $250 plus an hour)
And the only town in that list worth living in is the city of Madison…sorta. A demented paranoid schizophrenic mayor, fewer restaurants and a BOS equal to the Jackson City Council! Go to Canton and watch that money get burnt up by the BOS. Add to that public schools on the serious decline because…..everyone wants a good education for free….well here come the dregs of society people.
Jackson can be awful…silly…violent….but being home poolside in 6-8 minutes or going home for lunch so I can have a nooner with my wife? Grab a quick shower and head back to work? That’s living.
Y’all have forgotten about life while you are in the middle of living it.
Thank God I work from home outside of Jackson. About the most I drive is from the house to the gym 4 days a week.
"I can have a nooner with my wife"
I've never heard that as a sales pitch from any Jackson/Hinds
Real Estate agent.
@2:16
Until the day you come home for that nooner to find your home invaded, ransacked, and discover the remains of your loved ones.
“ Jackson can be awful…silly…violent….but being home poolside in 6-8 minutes or going home for lunch so I can have a nooner with my wife? Grab a quick shower and head back to work? That’s living.”
—————————
This guy bragging about living in a city where he can’t drink the water, abysmal public schools, bums on every street corner, crime through the roof, litter everywhere, high taxes, and pot holes with trees growing in them. All for the joy of living a little closer to work. I’m so jealous!
So says the financial guru as he shells out $800 to &1200 per car tag.
Must have been educated in Jackson's failing school system. All your so called ciphering is invalidated by the 4, 6 and 10 PM news every day. You're only fooling yourself with that BS drivel......
If you gave me a house in Jackson, I'd burn it down to avoid taxes.
While I can not speak to all personal property, it is a well known fact that the Hinds County Tax Collector's office has adjusted appraised values for rental property owners and other for years. Jackson's tax rate is to high, but if fat cats quit asking for favorable appraisals and tax base was fairly valued that would be a good start.
Who are all these masses of people who work in Jackson and commute from the burbs?
I am sure they exist, but all of my friends who left NE Jxn also have employers that were smart enough to leave.
I have a 7 minute commute and also go home for lunch.
I also have running water, low crime, decent public schools, and very affordable taxes.
Plus water that is reliable...and drinkable.
He does have me beat on the nooners though, so that's something.
And good for you 2:16. I hope you enjoy your home just as I do.
C'est la Vie.
I have lived in the same house I grew up in since 1974. The last few years I have been itching to leave this rotten home town of mine but could not leave because I was caring for my widowed father. He passed away one month ago and I cannot wait to get out of here for Madison or Rankin Counties. My home town has become a s**t town and I'm heading out. Last taxpayer out make sure you close the gates to keep the animals in...
Typical Democratic answer to a problem. They think throwing money at a problem will fix it. Tax base in Jackson left town in the past several years and are still leaving.
@ 9:53 am:
Poor pitiful thing need mama's skirt to dry oppressed victim tears?
Punk mayor deliberately trashes Jackson, destroys public and private property, prefers socialist failure, earns all the derision he gets.
My water is perfect.
My kids school is over and paid for.
My taxes aren’t that bad.
My streets just got repaved.
I have security fencing and private guards engaged.
I have quick access to all roads and am close to my office.
I have the best restaurants in the state as well as some nice grocery stores.
If y’all love where you live half as much as you hate a happy Jacksonian y’all should be ecstatic 24 hours a day!
Go live your life! Quit hating. It gets so much easier when you do.
5:22 presents an oxymoron scenario
Joke’s on you 2:16. Some of us burb’ites can be poolside, eating lunch, getting a nooner and making $125-250 an hour while doing it. Enjoy living 1995 on repeat tho.
I suspect that the ones who voted for him either don't pay taxes or live in homes with no value so this raise won't affect them - will affect us stupid white people who Don't want to leave our once beloved Hometown
Do not go to ER
It is full of unvaccinated people ….mostly rankin county people
Fat smokers who really get hit by this virus.
You’d think fat smokers would be the first vaccinated but….guess not.
2:16 Hey nooner guy,
I understand your attempt to justify remaining in town. Your loss of billable hours argument is just silly. Mobile phones and cars with phone speakers make commute time also billable hour time. The daily loss of value in a north east Jackson property will greatly out pace any loss of billable hours at work. My best advice to any of the remaining tax payers in north east Jackson is to sell immediately and get out. Don’t go down with the ship. Your loss in home value and loss of personal safety is at risk. Any by the way….. you can have a nooner in Madison too
7:07 AM
I see you started your commute from Flora to downtown Jackson. You got to your office at 8:15 AM due to a wreck on the stack. Your secretary is stuck and late too. Clerks all late due to wreck. Lost time exponentially. That word is a big word for an office. Everyone losing time due to travel…..not recoverable with a car phone or an iPad.
Now for nooner I leave my office and drive 6 minutes to my gated house. My wife meets me with some wine sometimes and we may or may not have sex by the pool. I take a shower and change having exercised and get back to my office in 60 minutes or so….I’ll stay a while after 5:30 to make up the time and be home by 5:45.
For you to have a nooner….you have to leave at 11:30 and return maybe by 1:30….prob 2 pm. Maybe you just stay home. Then maybe you don’t get to do it much either….who knows.
I’m happy with my paid for home and vibrant life which I get to experience by living where I do.
I hope you get to enjoy life as well…you only get this once.
Happy driving 300 hours a year….3000 hours a decade…..6000 hours in two decades….that’s almost a lifetime isn’t it?
9:39
You have no clue. Keep living the dream. Enjoy your property as it loses value each day. Keep your head on a swivel when you venture out of your home. Watch out for armed men jumping your gate to your home/neighborhood. Goodness…. You can fix stupid.
3:48 pm
“You can fix stupid”
I’ll just let that sit there.
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