The incompetence of the Lumumba administration was on full display yet again today as Jackson officials admitted the city did not spend $700,000 the City Council appropriated a year ago for pothole repair. You read that correctly. The city is always complaining it has no money to do anything yet when it is given the money, it does nothing as usual. Watch for yourself.
The City Council resumed budget hearings this morning. City Councilman Aaron Banks said the City Council allocated $100,000 for pothole repair in each ward a year ago. "The $700,000 just sat there a whole fiscal year and ain't been used," said Mr. Banks.
Don't worry, however, the city has a plan. Chief Administrative Officer Louis Wright did his best impression of a bump on a log as he said "We do have a plan in terms of potholes." The CAO said the city would look at 311 reports of potholes and identify needed repairs. "I know it's not been done, but we have plans in place to implement it," said Mr. Wright. However, Mr. Wright's made all bureaucrats proud everywhere as he tried to dodge responsibility by - wait for it - blaming JXN Water.
Yup, Mr. Wright said JXN Water caused many potholes and thus was responsible for fixing them.
The bureaucratic sidestep did not mollify the City Council as members continued to take Mr. Wright to task. "I hate to pile on but people have been complaining about these potholes every fricking day. We've been sitting on top of this money and now we have a plan. They wanted action a year ago," said Councilman Vernon Hartley. "If you are not taking these priorities serious, then what are we doing?" ask Mr. Hartley as he continued to blast the administration. "I don't want to hear we have a plan. I want to hear dates. I want to hear this is what's going to happen," concluded the Councilman.
"I hear ya, Councilman, we understand that," answered Mr. Wright.
Kingfish note: They have a plan? Where have we heard this before? There was a plan for the library system but the city managed to let several libraries literally fall apart. There was a plan for the zoo but instead it shut down for a year and now struggles to survive. There was a plan for Smith-Wills but the city gave away $400,000 through incompetence and laziness. The Lumumba Administration might pass planning but completely flunks execution.
44 comments:
A deep, independent forensic audit is sorely needed. How does $700,000 either disappear or sit somewhere on an unidentified shelf? It doesn't. Somebody has either pilfered it or has plans to pilfer it. Any guesses?
Kenneth Stokes keeps telling it! Chockwe is not only negligent, he is a criminal!
If you spend it then you can't steal it, right?
There are homes for sale in the city of Madison.
I think the Dental Lobby is probably behind this. Since these huge potholes not only snap car suspension components but loosen fillings.
Bigger problem, in my mind, is why are the Councilpersons provided so little financial information that they couldn't have recognized during the actual fiscal year that these monies were not being spent?
There won't be a plan until Mayor Cheap Fake has figured out how to siphon off some of the money to his cadre.
How much of that $700k went to the Rukia criminal enterprise?
that money gone!
Richard’s Disposal may need to get into pot hole repair
They just sayin the money wasn't spent!
But until the auditors prove it's really there then only a fool would assume anything but that the money GONE!
Gone like The Dock at the REZ!
Louis Wright's stupid claim in trying to blame this on JxnWater is not surprising - his tenure as the "acting" Director of Public Works has been nothing but a joke.
JxnWater does not create potholes, they create utility cuts. And the City keeps Utility Cuts in a different category than potholes, but of course Wright wouldn't know that because he doesn't know s**t from shinola about anything in the Public Works Department.
And, JxnWater is repairing their utility cuts, unlike what the city did when they ran (or whatever verb better fits their having operational control over) the water/sewer enterprise. JxnWater has been repairing their utility cuts within a month of creating them where the city did not repair utility cuts for over seven years.
Nice try Mr. Wright - but you Peter Principled out when you were over at Entergy; having you as the Mayor's go-boy as CAO was bad enough, but you couldnt do much damage there. Lumumba's using you to fill the fact that he can't hire or keep a director of Public Works does nothing but show that both are incompetent at management.
What ever happened to those expensive pothole patching trucks?
The Council members are also negligent in this matter. They should be out in their ward enough to know long before now that little was being done about the potholes. It makes you wonder if they do any follow up on the issues on which they are contacted by the residents of their ward.
Victoria's Secret is in on it too! There are signs, when approaching a potholed street, that caution: Remove dentures and tighten bra straps.
Boy 8:30, you need to be giver the smart person of the year award. Giving that contract to Richard would assure the support of the guy considered by the mayor to be the best person in city government (himself). At least he would be happy, and (we are not going to say it) a lot richer if Richard received that money. Brillant idea and I commend you for having the bravery to state it! Bravo! Bravo! Excellent-o!
Use the money to pay Rukia’s property taxes
They need to get a truckload of hot asphalt and drive it to a different street every day - Channel 3 could post the schedule. When it was in your neighborhood you could get a free wheelbarrow of asphalt and go fill the hole in frpnt of your house, then stomp it down. One hole fixed, and one happy do it yourself road repair person! In Belhaven and Fondren, they could establish community improvement committees and send twenty folks out to fill the 6 feet deep holes the Mayor smiles when he hears exist on some streets in those parts of town. The local businesses on Mill Street could sneak over to west Jackson and steal batches of asphalt for their potholes, because 1000 truck loads would barely make a dent on their street. The flood of repairs would take Jackson right to the top of the mostest and bestest streets in the south.
The Lubumba put is still working for Madison homeowners. Stay invested my friends, more downside action expected from Jackson leadership.
Meanwhile the Mayor is out galivanting in Banff, Canada and Puerto Rico spouting off his bullsh!t to any socialist/liberal/progressive who is delusional enough to listen to it. At the same time, disregarding his constituents back home. When I say Lumumba is all about Lumumba, this is what I am talking about. He doesn't care about this city or it's people, even the ones who vote for him. He wants to get on the national stage and the City of Jackson is what he is using to get there.
Jackson IS a pothole.
Try to enter a 311 request. Doesn't work. I called in an overgrown yard complaint and they told me that system hasn't been working for a long time.
When Jackson can't fix something, they claim it's because they have no money. Yet when you give them money to fix something, they still can't fix anything. Honestly, do you think the mayor of Madison, Ridgeland, Brandon, etc. would tolerate this type of incompetence from city staff? Lumumba is an idiot.
8:19, I don’t live in Jackson or Madison, but the infantile chest thumping about how Jackson’s decline is benefitting Madison is getting very tiresome. Until you can come up with a more original thought, please stay away from the keyboard.
9:08 don't give Butch too much credit. He managed to micro-manage the police and fire dept and run off some good employees.
We plan to do nothing.
Bumble just called, he said it’s all just a perception of unfilled potholes, incompetence and corruption. Move along.
Ja ckson must be p[aced ln receivership!
Jackson must be placed ln receivership!
Every day I think the leaders in Jackson cannot get dumber or more useless and by gosh, that is one area in which they succeed.
9:56 PM you are absolutely right. Councilman Aaron Banks don’t you live in your ward? Didn’t you realize the pot holes were not being fixed in your ward? Now don’t come to a meeting acting like you were unaware! Maybe your ward doesn’t need the $100,000 allocated for your ward to fix the potholes especially if you travel in your ward or do you really live else where there are no potholes!!!
Where is the public works director, maybe we can get an answer. Naw he’d get fired!
$700,000? A fella could have a pretty good time in Paris (Vegas) with that kind of money. Right?
9:15 p.m.: You asked about the pothole patching machines. Harvey Johnson sold them all. The city used to own about a dozen of the Dura Patcher injection-type road repair machines that could repair potholes and fill alligator cracks in road surfaces. It was the flagship product of Bob Gilchrist's Duraco construction and heavy equipment company. Of course, it took trained technicians to run them.
When Harvey came into office, he fired all the technicians, sold the machines, and the city went back to shoveling asphalt off the back of trucks. I guess he thought he could offer a lot of low-wage, low-skill jobs that way. But you see what it brought us.
"Mr. President, I have a plan. . . "
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hETHHRJGv0
At 6:08 in this clip.
Dr. Strangelove: or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb. 1964. Dir: Stanley Kubrick. With Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Slim Pickens, James Earl Jones, Sterling Hayden.
Don't forget about the JA student who will killed due to an accident caused by a pothole right before graduation . . . That suit must not have been enough to REMIND them of their role in government.
“Mr. Wright said JXN Water caused many potholes and thus was responsible for fixing them.” I saw that coming from a mile away. He works for Lumumba, which means he gets his marching orders from Lumumba and does his bidding. That means do nothing and blame JXNWater for everything. When Uncle Sam and the U.S. Cavalry came to the rescue of the citizens of Jackson, they were forced to kick Lumumba’s sorry, lazy ass to the curb because he fought tooth and nail to hold on to his contract-steering grift. It’s appalling that his mayor’s salary couldn’t be reduced accordingly. I guarantee he doesn’t lose a moment’s sleep over getting full pay for doing nothing.
As for 311, I’m shocked that anyone bothers to call it. It’s supposed to be an action line. The COJ doesn’t do action.
$700,000 laying around and no one knows what it’s for and does anything about it
I’m betting there has been enough overspending of other budget items to eat up that $700k.
Someone actually has to get off their ass and do the work and there's your problem.
Again, where is our magical pothole fixing machine that cost hundreds of thousdands of dollars?
1:11 - that wasn't caused by a pothole but rather a improperly installed manhole cover and ring. I believe it was done by the paving contractor.
Good Lord. this is not rocket science. No "plan" needs to be developed The Public Works director said they have 8-10 people who are responsible for doing this. So, fill up 4 trucks with asphalt, put two men in each truck, then assign them a ward to drive through, and then drive up and down every single street. If you see a pothole, stop and fill it. Take a map with you so you can mark which streets haven been done and which need to be done. If you see a hole that is actually a cut in the street done by JXN Water while replacing or repairing a water line, make a note of it, pick up the phone and call JXN Waer to make sure it's on their list to fix, and then move on to the next pothole. It IS that simple. I just requires effort and someone to finally get off their ass and go do it. But noooooo, the City of Jackson has to think about it for over a year and do nothing. Mayor, are you ever going to realize that you have hired or appointed a bunch of people who have no idea what they're doing and finally hire someone who does ? This all reflects on you and is just one more on a long list of constant failures by the City. If you truly love this City as you claim and want it to succeed, please please please do not run again. Let someone else try. They can't do any worse.
Uh oh. Time for Shad to arrest some old ladies in the boonies
September 5, 2024 at 4:29 PM
Perhaps you should use your limited cognition to READ. 11:16 AM had the answer: Harvey Johnson sold them.
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