"Car 54 Where Are You?

Are you too young to remember this TV sitcom? It was about a police car...number 54...to be exact. Dispatch was always trying to find it. On to Tunica County Government.

This past summer, one of our members called the County Administrator’s office to get a list of the vehicles owned by Tunica County. We were very specific about what we were asking to see. We did not want to see a list of the Sheriff’s Department vehicles. We just wanted a listing of all other vehicles.

Now wouldn’t you think this information would be readily available? Yeah, we did too.

It took awhile but finally the list was ready. Right away we noticed discrepancies in the listings for the Recreation Department. You know the big black bus sitting in the Recreation Center parking lot? Not listed. The 25 Passenger Vans? We think there are three and only one was listed. Listed were two Crown Victorias. We think this number is correct but we are questioning who is driving them and why? There is a Ford Pickup Truck listed. Who is driving this vehicle? The Ford Expedition is listed and we are supposing this is used to transport children for various athletic events. Next, is a 1994 Chevrolet Pickup Truck. Don’t have any other information on this vehicle. Recently, we’ve seen a white van around town. This van is not on the list and is sporting the Recreation Department logo and E & D Transportation. (“E & D” stands for elderly and disabled.) Here again, this vehicle is not on the list. There is a new Meals-on-Wheels van that was donated by Harrah’s and this vehicle does not appear on any department list.

After receiving and reviewing this first list, the Transparency Committee immediately sent a list back to the County Administrator asking for corrections. We even provided a list of what we thought was closer to correct. Then we waited, and waited, and waited.

On 15 Sep 2010, we sent a Freedom of Information letter and we waited some more. We had a face-to-face with the County Administrator on 4 Oct 2010 and then sent a follow-up email. Finally, a response!!! We could pick-up a corrected list on the afternoon of 8 Oct 2010. Yea!!!

Went to pick-up the list and we were told the Chancery Clerk is working on it. The Chancery Clerk? Okay, so we’re not totally unreasonable. We’ll play this game for a bit longer. Starting Tue, 12 Oct 2010, we will give the County Administrator/Chancery Clerk 14 more business days to come-up with the list. At 2 p.m. on Fri, 29 Oct 2010, we went to the Chancery Clerks 0ffice to receive this corrected report. The report wasn't ready.