Jackson Free Press

When Frank Melton first became Jackson's mayor, he walked into a virtual black forest of uncertainty. The city had been facing a steady flight of residents to bedroom communities for decades, followed by the departure of many businesses looking to keep their target customers within convenient reach, costing the city of Jackson thousands of dollars in property taxes and sales taxes.

With a steadily shrinking source of income, Melton's fiscal team was forced to make ends meet by pushing through a round of position closures mixed with a quick tax hike of one mill. The mill increase, which amounts to an annual property tax hike of $5 for a $50,000 home or $10 for a $100,000 home, would generate an extra $1 million to be used for enhancing public safety, according to wording in the transmittal letter for the Aug. 12 budget proposal.

Melton defended the tax increase in an Aug. 15 statement submitted to the council, arguing that tighter controls on vehicle and gasoline use and unfilled vacant positions were "not enough, however, to accomplish the goals you set for me in the recent election."

Within hours of submitting the budget, however, Melton backtracked on it, arguing that the city government could operate more effectively and efficiently. Contradicting his budget from the day before, Melton sent council members a note asking them to look at cutting $1 million from the budget rather than raising taxes for the equivalent amount.

"...instead of an increase in taxes are there opportunities to cut $1 million from operating expenses?" Melton asked.

What followed was quite possibly the most feverish work Chief Financial Officer Peyton Prospere and his co-workers have dedicated to any city budget.

A Numbers Game

"The first budget was submitted to us with a tax increase and fee increase, and I assume that budget was submitted to us because it was what the administration saw that the city needed," said Ward 7 Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon, the council's longest serving member, who said she still had some serious concerns about the city's financial situation. "But before that budget could be worked on or approved that budget was withdrawn, so it was never really deliberated on by the council." Barrett-Simon described the council as "on pause" regarding budget matters.

The original budget proposal with the tax increase called for general fund operations of $116,052,396, or 28.2 percent of the entire budget. The second budget, submitted weeks later, called for a general fund operations budget of $115,598,424, or 28.1 percent. Another difference represented in the budget overview was a solid-waste price tag of $10,598,527, or 2.6 percent, verses the updated price of $11,444,527, or 2.8 percent of the second budget proposal.

Fund sources in the two budgets differed in that an Applied Fund Balance-Capital Funds was driven down from 36 percent in the first budget to 35 percent in the second. Other revenue sources such as admissions, licenses and permits, and fines and forfeitures were driven down from $40,905,049, or 10 percent, to 40,017,683, or 9.7 percent.

Barrett-Simon said there was no question that the budget year was going to be strained based upon the original assumptions of Melton's budget team.

"Obviously the administration saw areas where we do not have adequate resources and that we need to look at our fees and revenue strings and I don't believe we've really done that yet," she said. "So I think there is absolutely no question that this is going to be a very tight budget year for the city, and I go back to what was presented to the council initially. I just don't think that first budget was presented to us without a lot of thought and examination of our fiscal situation."

Ward 5 Councilman Charles Tillman, who is head of the budget committee, said the budget came in a little short of financial expectations after the first scheduled three-month update, but added that, so far, he can still sleep at night.

"When your tax base dwindles on you, you don't have the luxury of a budget with a lot of extra money," Tillman said. "When you have that type of budget, you have to watch it. The budget was a little low and (Hurricane) Katrina could have been a part of that, but we're hoping the sales tax for the holiday shopping will perk it up, and then comes the property taxes early next year. Hopefully, we'll get a boost soon."

Hey, Mayor, What About Us?

In an effort to cut costs, many vacant staff positions have been left unfilled and some city positions, such as the city's Crime Prevention Unit, have been dissolved on short notice. Employees near the bottom of city administration say they have not gotten raises and don't expect any.

"None of the nuts-and-bolts guys have gotten any raises at all as far as my knowledge. We haven't gotten anything at all," said Michael Gerald, a parts specialist in the city's municipal garage division.

"But I was under the impression that Mayor Melton said in his campaign that we would all get a raise. We thought we were going to get a raise of some kind, even a little token raise to offset the price of gas or something. We understand he's just coming in, has to read the books and understand what's really there and all, but we were under the impression that we would get at least something, you know?"

Peyton Prospere did not return calls Friday to determine whether or not any raises were planned for lower-tier city employees.

Other employees, like one unnamed source in city services, said they feel more expendable under the new administration.

"I don't know whether it's personal grudges or that there's less money to work with, but I hear that it's real easy to make enemies in the new administration, and it don't help you to speak out against (Melton)," said the source, who refused to offer a name out of concern for his job. "I don't think the last fellow really cared about what you said about him, so long as you did your work—you could cuss him all you want. He didn't care. I think that's all different now. It just seems that some things have changed."

Raises for the Chiefs

Meanwhile, some people in higher places inside the city's administration are considerably more comfortable.

During the last administration, Police Chief Robert Moore was the second highest-paid employee on the city payroll, making $113,000—one step beneath the mayor's own annual wage of $120,000 after the council voted to raise council and mayoral salaries. Today at least 10 people in the city administration make more than $70,000.

According to information submitted to the JFP two weeks after we submitted an official open-records request with the city, Chief Financial Officer Peyton Prospere and Chief Administrative Officer Robert Walker each make $85,358. Sarah O'Reilly-Evans, who is head of the city's legal department, breaks the $100,000 mark with her $113,000 income.

New Police Chief Shirlene Anderson, who was Melton's deputy director at the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, makes $114,321. Public relations head Carolyn Redd—who moved to Jackson to help manage Melton's campaign and is the sister of his wife who lives in Texas—makes $73,816. The director of public affairs in the last administration made under $60,000.

The salary for attorney Dale Danks (who is Melton's private attorney, as well as the attorney for the people of Byram in that community's annexation lawsuit against the city of Jackson) was not available through open records because he is working on a contractual basis, the city told the JFP.

Economic-development wizard Jimmy Heidel is another contracted employee working with the city's planning and development department. Heidel's contract costs the city a whopping $150,000, plus an additional $25,000 for expenses for a combined total of $175,000.

As we go to press, the city has not provided salary figures for Melton's Republican opponent Rick Whitlow, who is now the head of inter-government affairs, and is rumored to make around $90,000 a year. Whitlow refused to say how much he makes, saying the JFP should file a written request. Public records had already omitted Whitlow's salary in a written request from the JFP, however. The JFPhas also not been provided the salaries of Director of Constituent Services Goldie Revies and Personnel Director Jackie Mack, both of whom redirected inquiries to the city clerk's office. Both previously worked with Melton at WLBT.

One new employee to enter the fold may be Dr. Jayne Sargent, who will consult for the city's Human and Cultural Services Department for $80,000, plus $5,000 for travel and expenses now that Pat Fordice has resigned her position as director of that department. Sargent was a prominent supporter of Melton's campaign.

Like Heidel, Sargent, if approved by the council, does not want her official retirement status to change while she is paid by the city. She says she retired from Jackson Public Schools in 2003. "No, I'm not coming out of retirement. That's why Frank tried to get me approved as a consultant," she said Monday.

Melton told the council that pay increases for the city's legal division would save the city thousands of dollars in legal fees paid to lost lawsuits, arguing that better pay would bring better lawyers. He has used the same argument to defend the pay for other high-level employees.

Ward 2 Councilman Leslie McLemore said the higher pay for some individuals is beginning to raise questions, especially in light of the pay going into contracted work.

"I would love to see Dr. Sargent confirmed over that division. She's qualified to do everything she says she can do, but hiring contracted work instead of appointing positions is sort of skirting the law," McLemore said. "This is really not what this should be about. We should be confirming department heads. We should be confirming a fire chief. This notion of contracting celebrity persons to head departments is not the way to run a city.

Previous Comments

ID

79199

Comment

Good series, Mr. Lynch. I mentioned Ms. Sargent's confirmation in another blog before this one appeared, and I reiterate that while I think Frank has made several smart selections for City positions, his method of ramming certain appointments as high-paid consultants rather than as bonified City department heads is a bit unsettling, almost as if he would rather have public battles with the City Council over his appointments rather than meet privately and iron out grievances behind the scenes, which could have resulted in equally qualified selections that don't stink of cronyism. He seems to lack the desire to govern by committee, choosing instead to follow his pattern of making sweeping statements, promises and generalizations w/o considering the legal or political implications or fallout. While I continue to wish "Da Mayor" well, I continue to hope his political learning curve begins to level out in the coming months.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2005-11-30T16:44:29-06:00

ID

79200

Comment

I interned at city hall this summer, so i suppose i was listed as a city employee. I remember receiving, via mail, a letter from the Melton campaign directed to all city employees promising a raise and more support in a Melton Administration. but hell he promised everything to everybody and i guess u can do that if no one (clarion ledger, wlbt, wapt, wjtv) ask how are u gonna keep these promises

Author

jd

Date

2005-12-01T13:06:53-06:00

ID

79201

Comment

DO YOU HAVE THAT LETTER, Jay? Or, does anyone you know. If so, fax to: 601.510.9019. You also make a good point. I've seen people on here say that, well, this is just what politicians do (whether lie, make false promises, etc.). I don't get that at all. You could have said in the 1960s, well, this (forced segregation) is just what Mississippi does. Or slavery back in the 1800s. Does that make it right?!? Hell, no. And you're right, Jay: The media are at fault if they do not ask hard questions and hold elected officials to what they promise. Pure and simple.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-12-01T13:19:51-06:00

ID

79202

Comment

This entire series thus for has been riveting! Great job Mr. Lynch! Even if I were to assume all of the individuals mentioned within the piece are worth their salaries, I can not fathom how most of these salaries were approved! Learning exactly what it cost Jacksonians to acquire the perceived best and brightest is interesting to say the least, considering a few City Council meetings back, Melton, upon being made aware by Sheriff Mcmillin that Jackson owed the county money, replied that the city was broke.

Author

K RHODES

Date

2005-12-01T14:02:13-06:00

ID

79203

Comment

I got that letter too. I certainly have not recieved a raise yet.

Author

Justin

Date

2005-12-01T22:36:33-06:00

ID

79204

Comment

sorry, i'm sure i threw it away after reading it. i'll ask around to see if anybody i know kept their's

Author

jd

Date

2005-12-02T13:32:52-06:00

ID

79205

Comment

"Mr. Lynch" is being interviewed today at 5 p.m. on WAPT about his Honeymoon series. Be sure to tune in.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-12-02T14:43:59-06:00

ID

79206

Comment

I also see that WAPT is doing on online poll about whether Mr. Melton has the "right plan to fight crime." At this moment, 51 percent think that he does.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2005-12-02T15:10:29-06:00

ID

79207

Comment

Ms. Ladd, I failed to see your post about Mr. Lynch's WAPT interview in time so I missed it, but how did it go? Was it "fair and balanced"? I tend to watch their newscasts more often than the other 2.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2005-12-05T10:00:41-06:00