Jackson Free Press

Administration Department Director Rick Hill told City Council today that possible solutions to the city's $3.4 million shortfall include increasing water and sewer fees, refinancing the city's debt, tapping the city's $7.4 million budget reserve fund, making cuts in city payroll and reducing funding to the city's golf courses.

The city council met today for the first time this week regarding the city budget. It will meet again at 10 a.m. each day for the rest of the week as it hammers out a means to fill the shortfall.

"Right now I think the council is more partial to the idea of refinancing the debt and the possibility of a tax swap," said budget committee chairman Marshand Crisler. "The senior citizens aren't trying to see a fee increase on their water and sewer, and the general population is not about to bless another tax increase. We'll follow the people's will in this."

The council must approve a budget by the end of September.

Previous Comments

ID

95245

Comment

The will of the people is to see a line item budget, and a full accounting of where our money is being spent before you do anything. That 3 page memo for '08's Budget is crap! Does our City even follow MS Code? Is a full budget available for review in the Clerks office during working hours? Updated monthly?

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-09-04T19:05:27-06:00

ID

95246

Comment

Copy of the letter I sent to Mr. Crisler today. I have a BIG problem with any increase in taxes and any decrease in the piss-poor services we already receive! Mr. Crisler, My name is Xxxxx Xxxxxx and I am one of your constituents. I read in today's paper that there is a possibility of a tax increase or a decrease in city services to make up for the $3.9 million dollar shortfall. Please find another way to come up with the money. The people of Jackson have been taxed to death (we recently saw an increase) and have been dealing with substandard service from the city for years. I don't think the citizens should have to pay for Melton's foolishness with the City's money. We have several of his cronies on staff, getting paid GOOD money, for doing nothing. Can we justify a position for Higginbothom (sp) and Stephanie Parker Weaver? And does Melton really needs bodyguards? Why not start cutting jobs there? I, for one, refuse to pay additional money to continue to drive on raggedy streets. There is a vacant lot next to my house. I have been living there for 10 years and have had to complain for months each year just to get it cut. I have not called this year and the grass is as tall as my house. How can you justify picking on A-1 Pallet, but can't do simple upkeep on the other properties all over the city that need attention? Please vote against any tax increase on the citizens. Thank you,

Author

honey2me

Date

2007-09-04T21:15:49-06:00

ID

95247

Comment

Mr. Crisler isn't the problem here honey. He said above that the City was leaning towards going with the loan over raising fees and taxes. Melton gets what he wants. We'll be paying for this for a long time, so I don't think Melton is really worried about Jackson's youth per say. Don't count on all that development revenue until it actually is finished. The elite are going to be really lonely in Jackson soon.

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-09-04T21:37:59-06:00

ID

95248

Comment

pikersam I fully agree. If I presented a budget in the same format to my boss, I would be handed a pink slip.

Author

nai-bu tokai

Date

2007-09-05T00:03:12-06:00

ID

95249

Comment

§ 21-35-29. Duties of state auditor. The state auditor, as the head of the state department of audit, or the director thereof, appointed by him, as designated and defined in Title 7, Chapter 7 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, or any office or officers hereafter designated to replace or perform the duties imposed by said chapter, is hereby empowered, and it is made his duty, to make such rules, regulations and classifications, and prescribe such forms as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, to define what expenditures shall be chargeable to each budget account, and to establish such accounting and cost systems as may be necessary to provide accurate budget information. Sources: Codes, 1942, § 9121-13; Laws, 1950, ch. 497, § 13, eff from and after August 31, 1950. pikersam, As for your question of Ms code. This is the only thing I could find in our antiquated 1972 Code. Seems to me, It's time to bring in the state auditor. Our judicial system is awry. As I stated in my last post, we need to know were the money is being spent! If we are going to pay former drug dealers and accused murderers that our MAYOR has been friends with since they were kids, maybe we should all read this article http://people.howstuffworks.com/yakuza.htm

Author

nai-bu tokai

Date

2007-09-05T00:40:08-06:00

ID

95250

Comment

I manage 1 program. For this small allocation, I am required to submit an annual line item budget detailing the amount and description for every allocation, along with a summary of the previous year's expenditures. 3 Pages??? plzzzz. How does the chain of command work? Apparently Mr. Hill only has the information from the Mayor's office to work with. Where does the buck stop? Who has the ultimate responsibility for developing the budget? Is it Uncle Frank - well no wonder.

Author

lanier77

Date

2007-09-05T08:01:40-06:00

ID

95251

Comment

I can't believe that the Council sat around for two years and watched melton make a fool out of the citizens of Jackson. They should have nipped that crap with melton as soon as it started. He had to tear up a property and have his "kids" beat up a business owner in handcuffs before he was asked to take the Mobile Command Unit back to the Police Department; otherwise, he would still be cruising to the tune of $1,000/day. When the docket came in for a quarter of a million dollars, unsubstantiated for Temp Service payments, melton should have been told, "NO." Instead, McLemore said that he just didn't want the City to look bad because it didn't pay it's bills. He and others who voted to sign made a serious error and now just look at who is looking bad. You can't borrow your way out of debt. At some point you must pay the piper. melton said on the evening news that he was not a finance man. My only comment was, NO SHI! Is this the man who told the citizens of Jackson that he could do more in 8 minutes than Johnson could do in eight years? Did he not know that the mayor has to have at least a clue about the financial workings of the City. How does he run his home? Isn't it interesting that this man of so much "pseudo-wealth" did not surrender his salary; yet, he worked for the MBN "free." he has admitted that he does not like being mayor, so, let's get a petition and ask for a resignation. We need to cut our losses.

Author

justjess

Date

2007-09-05T09:46:53-06:00

ID

95252

Comment

Frank lives in Disneyland. Maybe he thought that if he waved his magic little wand, that everything he wanted to see done would get done, legal process be damned (and he proved that by tearing up the Ridgeway Street house and violating the terms of his probation). I guess nobody told him that there are no such things as magic wands and that being mayor would be over his head.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2007-09-05T10:06:18-06:00

ID

95253

Comment

Did y'all see the footage on the news last night when he said three times I think: "I'm not a financial guy. I'm not a financial guy. I'm not a financial guy." No sh!t. And does everyone remember all the Melonheads that claimed it would be good for Jackson because he had run WLBT so well? Of course, they hadn't their homework on that, either. I suppose that hiring an FBI agent for $140,000 a year to be your glorified bodyguard right when he was ordered to investigate you and then anointing him your No. 2 man at WLBT is good business, eh? I've said repeatedly that everything people need, and needed, to know about how Melton was going to run Jackson was right there in his record, in the archives, in his past. And he has followed his own roadmap to a tee.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-09-05T10:19:09-06:00

ID

95254

Comment

ladd, my comment was the same as yours in an earlier blog. How could this community be so uninformed? One lady said to me, "If the things you all say about the mayor were true, the FBI would have him in jail." They just don't get it!

Author

justjess

Date

2007-09-05T10:25:30-06:00

ID

95255

Comment

How could this community be so uninformed? One word: media. Or two: bad media. People don't know what isn't reported. Melton was over one of the most powerful media outlets in town for years and virtually controlled the media narrative. He still does in many ways and in pockets. (Like the Clarion's Metro-State desk.) This, folks, is why media literacy is so important. Without good information, people cannot make good decisions. Blame the media. Melton himself is not their fault, but his ascent into some sort of glorified folk hero is their fault. So is not reporting vital information about him during the campaign (or Smith, for that matter).

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-09-05T10:29:57-06:00

ID

95256

Comment

Has anyone thought about starting a countdown clock for when Frank Melton's term of office ends? Just a thought. I don't know how many more days of his administration I can stand. They can't balance the 2007 budget and there's still no sign of the 2006 financial statements.

Author

R Hugh Keading

Date

2007-09-05T11:31:44-06:00

ID

95257

Comment

Who knows when it will end? If the FBI indicts him, there will be months of him trying to beat the charges. Danks will rake in more dough, probably, and the work of the city will be sidelined once again thanks to a sideshow by Melton. Reading your post, R. Hugh, I was reminded of my frustration shortly before the election in 2005. I went back and found that editor's note I wrote then. Here are some parts I hadn't read in a while that really augured for what we're going through now: This came to an ugly head last week. I was asked by the Jackson Association of Neighborhoods to moderate their candidate forum at the Medical Mall. I would ask no questions, and it wasn’t a debate. I was to enforce the clock, basically. Two days before the event, the Melton folks started complaining about me as a reason that he didn’t want to participate. Then Melton himself called me at 4 p.m. the day of the event to say he was, indeed, participating after telling JAN two hours before he wasn’t. First, though, I asked him if we could finally sit down and talk. His response: “You’ve kind of taken a tone of trying to divide this community.” How? I asked him. Because I printed that he said he wasn’t really a Democrat, he said, adding, “I said I don’t like either party.” I told him that I had printed that part, too. “Well, I don’t read any of that, anyway.” My response? “Mr. Melton, with all due respect, if your campaign is going to slander my reputation on your behalf, shouldn’t you read what I’ve written? Is that fair to me and my paper?” Then, he said: “I have no animosity toward you. I agree with you. The problem is that we have some middle people kind of keeping us apart. I understand, you understand. It’s unfair to you, unfair to me. People are doing things I don’t know about.” That night, when he walked into the forum room—Hickingbottom was already there lodging whatever complaint he could think of—Melton was flanked by angry supporters looking like they came to pick a fight. He walked up to the table; I tried to shake his hand. He wouldn’t look at me as he limply pressed my hand. Minutes later, he walked out, saying that he could not “sit next to a convicted felon” (James Covington who was sitting in for Johnson until he got there). Melton supporters then stood in the hall and tried to shout down the forum, and then they put out releases saying they were being “set up,” although Melton knew the mayor was sending a stand-in for the start of the forum. We went on without him, with the candidates answering questions about crime, neighborhoods, economic development and human relations. Meantime, we still know few specifics about what Melton actually plans to do as mayor, other than some amorphous pledge to “fight crime” and use union money to employ young people to rebuild houses (maybe a great idea). He, in fact, is dividing the city by attacking vital downtown efforts that will bring money back into the city—that can be used to help rebuild inner-city neighborhoods. He doesn’t seem to notice that a lot of Jacksonians of various ages and races—including our core readership—are sick of the negativity, the sensationalist media coverage and politicians trying to tear down everything we’re working so hard to build. I am disappointed in the Melton that I’ve been allowed to know. I’m aware of his folk-hero past, but today’s candidate has, to date, shown no “leadership” skills whatsoever. He cannot control the worst political campaign I’ve ever seen, and seems to be surrounded by loose cannons who are terrified for him to open his mouth and, reportedly, cannot even get along with each other. This does not indicate that he can run a city, except perhaps into the ground or into expensive legal trouble. Neither does the fact that he allowed a silly sideshow to show immense disrespect for a group of hard-working neighborhood association people who form the core voting constituency of this city: the swing voters he needs to add to his core white Republican North Jackson base. (emphasized added today)

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-09-05T11:43:24-06:00

ID

95258

Comment

City Council: Desperately Seeking Money again?

Author

laughter

Date

2007-09-05T12:06:47-06:00

ID

95259

Comment

I had to pause when I read this part: This does not indicate that he can run a city, except perhaps into the ground or into expensive legal trouble. You may not have said as much, but you warned us. Wow.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2007-09-05T15:09:21-06:00

ID

95260

Comment

In this point it should be pointed out Frank has certainly kept one promise to the city "in 8 minutes I can do more than Harvey did in 8 years." To be fair true. Pick one of several eight minutes In one span he gathered a gang, incited them to destroy a house, ended up getting arrested, going to trial, cost the city well over a hundred thousand dollars to defend him and his gang. - not once did Harvey accomplish ANY of those things in eight years He also managed to get dragged in front of the AG and get a warning about impersonating a police officer, then took a gun to MC lawschool, St. Andrew's Church and kept impersonating a police officer. He got arrested, plead out and got put on probabation. - not once did Harvey accomplish ANY of those things in eight years. He also got charged with violating parole, faked a heart attack, hid a St. Dominicks for several days (I am sure on city insurance), got picked up by the sheriff and spent a little time in jail. - AGAIN not ONCE did Harvey accomplish any of those things in eight years. Insane yes, but not a liar (in this one since) AGamma627

Author

AGamm627

Date

2007-09-05T18:29:17-06:00

ID

95261

Comment

Truthwatch? Is the City Council Responsible for the Budget Crisis? Is it due to their inept leadership? Or is it the Mayor's fault? The first claim seems to be the "fact" that Larry on the radio is trying to push. Of course it all goes to Marshand Crisler because, you know, his one vote is so much stronger then the votes of Bluntson, Tillman, Stokes and Allen (yes, you helped make this mess as Weill has only been on the job a few weeks.) Let's see, Peyton Prosper quit. Did the Council make him? Can the Council go into City offices and get the paperwork and information asked of Larry this morning? Or are they dependent on the mayor to approve those request? Someone may need to study up on MS Code and Local Code. 4) The authority of the council is otherwise legislative and is executed by a vote within a legally called meeting. No member of the council shall give orders to any employee or subordinate of a municipality other than the council member's personal staff. The council shall deal with the municipal departments and personnel solely through the mayor.

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-09-06T07:55:58-06:00

ID

95262

Comment

Agamma627, You nailed that one. LOL! ...and I join your chorus, "No, not one - No, not one." (Eight min. that is)

Author

justjess

Date

2007-09-06T10:56:57-06:00