1. Oct 2012 Freedom of Information: Tunica National

On 9 Nov 2012, the Transparency Committee sent the following Freedom of Information (FOI) letter requesting the amount of the expenses paid by Tunica County in Oct 2012 for Tunica National..

DELIVERED Via Email 9 Nov 2012

Dear Mr. Dulaney:

Pursuant to the state open records law, MS Code Sections 25-61-1 to 25-61-17, I write to request a total sum of the Oct 2012 expenses paid by Tunica County for Tunica National. This amount would be over and above the $39,583.33 showing in the Oct claims.

It is provided by the MS open records law that a response is expect within fourteen (14) business days (MS Code Section 25-61-5(1)).

If you choose to deny this request, please provide a written explanation for the denial including a reference to the specific statutory exemption(s) upon which you rely.

Please be advised that I am prepared to pursue whatever legal remedy necessary to obtain access to the requested records. I would note that willful violation of the open records law can result in a fine of up to $100 and all reasonable litigation expenses (MS Code Section 25-61-15).

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Barbara R. Tuchel

Cc: Clifton Johnson
       Robert Tuchel

On 13 Nov 2012, our the Transparency Committee received the following information:

Andy,

The following is a list of expenses for Tunica National for the month of October 2012:

Salary $ 7,593.24
Ret. Match $ 1,082.80
SS Match $ 559.66
Insurance $ 620.00
Telephone $ 88.20
Utilities $ 14,491.44
Advertising $ 185.44
Serv. Agreements $ 600.00
Appropriations $ 39,583.33
Furniture & Equip. $ 4,681.00

Total Expenses $ 69,485.11

Also on 9 Nov 2012, the Transparency Committee sent the following FOI letter to Tunica County Public Projects, Inc./Tunica National.

DELIVERED Via US Mail

9 Nov 2012

Nolan Canon, President
Tunica County Public Projects, Inc.
PO Box 1453
Tunica, MS 38676

Dear Mr. Canon:

Pursuant to the state open records law, MS Code Sections 25-61-1 to 25-61-17, I write to request a total sum of the Oct 2012 income and expenses of Tunica County Public Projects, Inc. This amount would be over and above and should not include the $39,583.33 received from Tunica County.

It is provided by the MS open records law that a response is expect within fourteen (14) business days (MS Code Section 25-61-5(1)).

If you choose to deny this request, please provide a written explanation for the denial including a reference to the specific statutory exemption(s) upon which you rely.

Please be advised that I am prepared to pursue whatever legal remedy necessary to obtain access to the requested records. I would note that willful violation of the open records law can result in a fine of up to $100 and all reasonable litigation expenses (MS Code Section 25-61-15).

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,
Barbara R. Tuchel

Cc: Robert Tuchel

On 5 Dec 2012, the Transparency Committee received a letter in response to the above FOI letter:

Ms. Barbara Tuchel
P.O. Box 1076
Tunica, MS   38676

Re: November 9, 2012 letter

Dear Ms. Tuchel:

We are in receipt of the letter dated November 9, 2012.  However, we do not believe that we are subject to the laws as cited in your letter as we are not a public entity.

To clarify this, I am writing the appropriate official in Jackson to request an opinion.  If we are subject to this law, we will certainly respond.

Sincerely,

TUNICA COUNTY PUBLIC PROJECTS, INC.

By Nolen Canon, President

So, in a nutshell it looks like former Boards of Supervisors created Tunica County Public Projects, Inc. as a means of keeping income and expenses under cover?  Hmmm, maybe the current Board of Supervisors needs to consider cutting TCPP's funding until they tell the public what their monthly income and expenses are.

Freedom of Information for Tunica County Employees

On 8 Nov 2012, the Transparency Committee sent the following FOI letter to County Administrator Clifton Johnson through the Board of Supervisors' attorney.

DELIVERED Via Email to: Attorney Andy Dulaney 8 Nov 2012


8 Nov 2012

Clifton Johnson
County Administrator
Tunica, MS 38676

Dear Mr. Johnson:

Pursuant to the state open records law, MS Code Sections 25-61-1 to 25-61-17, I write to request that a list of all persons employed by Tunica County as of 1 Oct 2012 be made available to the public by placing a copy of this listing in the Oct 2012 minutes of the Board of Supervisors of Tunica County, MS. If it is not possible to place this request in the Oct 2012 minutes, please place the requested records in the Nov 2012 Tunica County Board of Supervisors’ Minutes. This list would include the name of each employee, the department to which each employee is assigned and the corresponding salary for this employee for the period covering 1 Oct 2011 through 30 Sep 2012. This request is being made on behalf of the Citizens of Tunica County and their right to know.

It is provided by the MS open records law that a response is expect within fourteen (14) business days (MS Code Section 25-61-5(1)). This is not necessary if you will just make the above request available to the public as stated.

If you choose to deny this request, please provide a written explanation for the denial including a reference to the specific statutory exemption(s) upon which you rely.

Please be advised that I am prepared to pursue whatever legal remedy necessary to obtain access to the requested records. I would note that willful violation of the open records law can result in a fine of up to $100 and all reasonable litigation expenses (MS Code Section 25-61-15).

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Barbara R. Tuchel

cc. Andy Dulaney
Robert Tuchel

On 13 Nov 2012, the Transparency Committee received the following response from Andy Dulaney.

I have this request. Certainly you can request and received a list of the county’s employees and their salaries.

As to the issue to include that information in the requested format in the Board’s minutes, I think that is a Board decision outside of the public records act.

If you would like this list, let us know and we can get it.

Thanks,
Andy

On various occasions, the Transparency Committee has spoken with Clifton Johnson about this annual inclusion.  It is my understanding that the Board of Supervisors decided to only include this listing when raises are involved.  We can not find this decision in the public records.

Additionally, the Transparency Committee has found more then one error in the listings we do have.  When we found these errors, we reported them to the County Administrator and were never given confirmation that the records were corrected.

The Transparency Committee will go to the Board of Supervisors on 14 Dec 2012 and request this information be included in their records as of 1 Oct each year.

Good news.  We made our presentation tonight at the Board of Supervisors' Meeting and the Board voted to make this information a part of their minutes each January.  Making this listing a part of their minutes will put this information in the Public Records and therefore available for all to see.

Thanks to the Board of Supervisors for taking this action.

Independent Audit Request

15 Oct 2012

Hand Delivered to the Tunica County Board of Supervisors at their 5p Meeting

This letter is being written to request an independent audit of each and every department, commission, facility and component unit attached to or established by the Tunica County Board of Supervisors.

Recently, the Tunica County Board of Supervisors voted to levy a tax increase on its residents. At your Public Hearing prior to voting on this tax increase, the public voiced their concern over the debt inherited by this Board of Supervisors as well as the past decisions made to spend the monies of the residents of Tunica County.
We have reviewed the last two Audited Financial Statements and Special Reports contracted for with Williams, Pitts and Beard, LLC and have found certain entities were not audited by Williams, Pitts and Beard, LLC. As stated in the above Report, these would be “the financial statements of Tunica County Airport Commission, Tunica County Public Projects, Inc., Tunica County Tourism Commission, and Tunica County Utility District.” These Component Units were audited by other auditors and submitted to Williams, Pitts and Beard, LLC. Specifically, we are asking for an independent audit as stated in the opening paragraph. One audit, one report.

Overwhelmingly, the voters of Tunica County chose to replace three members of the former Board of Supervisors. Along with this fresh start, we the undersigned organizations are making this request for an independent audit to know exactly the state of our finances. By fulfilling this request, the Tunica County Board of Supervisors will establish a path forward for our County.

Barbara R. Tuchel
Tunicans for Transparency in Government

Mark E. Hudson, President
Tunica County NAACP Branch

Robert Hall, President
Concerned Citizens for a Better Tunica County

Vision or Transparency?

Note: This letter was sent to both newspapers this morning.

This letter is being written in response to the “On the Doorstep” column that appeared in the 21 Sep 2012 issue of the Tunica Times.

While agreement can be made about most of the article, one paragraph jumped out at me and I have another opinion about the following statement: “Unlike others, I don’t fault former county officials for trying to make Tunica County better, for trying to give our people amenities that they had never had, for dreaming that Tunica County could reach beyond its ‘poorest county in the nation’ reputation.”

When I talk about former county officials and what they left behind, I’m not talking about their vision. I’m talking about their transparency.

Since 2008, the Transparency Committee has spent untold hours just trying to make sense of why so many government business transactions were set-up the way they were. For instance, why is the Battle Arena a 501c3? Why do we need a Healthcare Authority to run our Clinics? Why are there so many “commissions” standing in the way of the public’s right to know? Why, why, why? And why, when we started to ask questions did our former government officials act like we were an intrusion into their private business?

And as for the economy both nationally and locally, we should have known. We just weren’t paying attention. We trusted our elected officials and they let us down. Nationally, we had two wars that were not “on the books”; two tax cuts that were not paid for; and a Medicare prescription bill that was not paid for.

Let’s look at the facts. The first national tax cut was passed in Jun of 2001. Then 9-11 happened. The second tax cut was in May of 2003. We invaded Iraq on 19 Mar 2003. When has the United States of America simultaneously cut taxes and fought a war? Isn’t this sort of what happened here in Tunica County? When we had money flowing in from gaming revenues, why did we borrow so much money?

This is just a very short list of “whys”. It isn’t about the vision; it’s about the transparency. Ultimately, it is the people’s fault for not paying closer attention and the government’s fault for not being more open to our questions.

Board of Supervisors' Meeting 17 Sep 2012

All was not lost…

At the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting on 17 Sep 2012, the Board voted to approve the 2012-2013 Budget and an ad valorem increase of 15.77%.

There were some budget changes from the original presentation. One of these changes was an increase to the budget for an Animal Control Officer and a vehicle. Thank you to the Board of Supervisors for this.

I do disagree with the Board in comparing what is budgeted for Health Care to what is budgeted for the Tunica Humane Society. We need both.  I for one would not do what the volunteers at the THS have done and are doing. These volunteers saw a need in Tunica County and they provided it.

It is my understanding that the Supervisors have received many nasty letters and phone calls about this budget item. There is no excuse for this behavior. This is not the way to bring together the citizens of this County for the communal good.

What is being asked of the Supervisors is to take another look at the Road Department budget for monies needed for the Tunica Humane Society. This no kill shelter is good for our community and we need it much more then we need those 2 snow plows.

Here it is...What are we going to do about it?

This is the MS Code covering the tax increase being talked about in Tunica County.  We need as many eyes as possible reading and understanding this.  In addition to MS Code 27-39-321 printed below, we need to read MS Code (27-39-305); (27-39-320); (27-39-329).  Within each of these codes you will find additional references.  It's quite a lot of reading.  Look these up and study them by Googling MS Code.

§ 27-39-321. Limitation on increases of property taxes; special ad valorem tax to cover shortfalls

(1) With respect to ad valorem taxes levied for each fiscal year, no political subdivision may levy ad valorem taxes in any fiscal year which would render in total receipts from all levies an amount more than the receipts from that source during any one (1) of the immediately preceding three (3) fiscal years, as determined by the levying governing authority, plus, at the option of the taxing authority, an increase not to exceed ten percent (10%) of such receipts. The additional revenue from the ad valorem tax on any newly constructed properties or any existing properties added to the tax rolls or any properties previously exempt, which were not assessed in the next preceding year and cost incurred and paid in the next preceding year in connection with reappraisal may be excluded from the ten percent (10%) increase limitation set forth herein. Taxes levied for school district purposes under any statute and taxes levied for the maintenance and/or construction of roads and bridges under Section 27-39-305 shall be excluded from the ten percent (10%) increase limitation set forth herein. Taxes levied for payment of principal of and interest on general obligation bonds issued heretofore or hereafter shall be excluded from the ten percent (10%) increase limitation set forth herein. Any additional millage levied to fund any new program mandated by the Legislature shall be excluded from the limitation for the first year of the levy and included within such limitation in any year thereafter. The limitation imposed under this paragraph shall not apply to those mandatory levies enumerated in Sections 27-39-320 and 27-39-329.

Hamp needs anger management

He did it again.  This morning at the Board of Supervisors' Meeting, Sheriff Hamp started yelling at the Board of Supervisors because the Board decided that the three new employees he had already hired would not be placed on the County payroll because the Sheriff was over his budget.

Apparently, Hamp doesn't have a good grasp of what he can spend and what he can't.   The Sheriff's budget this year under department 200 is $6,358,375.11 and from what the County Administrator stated, Hamp is over his budget.  And...Hamp didn't think he had to come back to the Board and ask to increase his budget?  He thought he could just spend it and not be questioned?

Go back and read the 15 Aug 2012 entry on this blog.  From memory, I think this posting has Hamp saying he has never come back to the Board for more money.  No kidding.  Apparently, Supervisor Burnett thinks if gas, etc. goes up, we need to just automatically give the Sheriff more money.  How long has this guy been a Supervisor? 

And so, just why didn't Board President Dunn tell Hamp he was out of order?  Citizens aren't allowed to act like that so why can the Sheriff?  President Dunn, this is a Board of Supervisors' Meeting.  Please tell the Sheriff to take a seat with the rest of us and shut his mouth. 

Where have you been?

The Public Hearing on the 2012-2013 Tunica County Budget brought lots of folks to the Courthouse last Thu, 30 Aug 2012. Most likely it was the advertised tax increase of 15.83%.


First, I must say, I don't think the amount of this increase is legal. I do believe our taxes may not be increased more then 3-5% per year...don't have confirmation on that yet. What I do know is that I have heard this 3-5% come out of Clifton Johnson's mouth at previous meetings.

And that's the point...where have you all been? A very few of us have been faithfully attending the Board of Supervisors' Meetings. We've been digging up information, sending letters, writing reports and making requests. Has this threat of a huge increase in your taxes moved you to action?

This debt has been piling on at an accelerated rate since the former Board of Supervisors agreed to approve the Schultz and GreenTech Projects. What have these projects done for the citizens of our County? During the approval process we asked if provisions were being made to "hire Tunicans first." Clifton Johnson told us if you can read and write and pass a drug test, you could get a job at these plants. Really?

This year our debt service for all projects was projected to be $3.417M and next year's projected debt service is being budgeted at $4.580M. Not exactly what you were told at the meeting is it?

And the Sheriff's budget: Why is it going up $350K?

And the Health Insurance: Why is it going up $200K? Did you think we would forget about this one Clifton?

And Adolescent Offenders: Why is it going up $73K? Anybody looking at what they are spending on food?

And Garbage and Solid Waste: Why is it going up $70K?

And then there is Tunica RiverPark and Tunica National: Together these two facilities are being budgeted to cost Tunicans about $2M with zero revenue coming back to the County. That's the facts.

Now to the emotions tied to these projects. I understand some folks in Tunica want to keep these facilities open. So, how do you intend to pay for them? What do you suggest if you don't want them closed? We can't afford them. We can at least agree on that. Personally, I don't want to pay a tax increase to keep facilities open that don't have a prayer of turning a profit or even breaking even.

And why was Tunica National built in the first place? Looks to me like Tunica National was built so the new subdivision behind it could be advertised as “Golf Course Living.” If the developers want it, let them pay for it. That’s my idea, what’s yours?

One final thought, please don't blame the new members of the Board of Supervisors for the mess they were left. These new Supervisors didn't vote for these plants and projects. The last Board of Supervisors couldn't even come to an agreement on redistricting and they made the conscious decision to pass that work onto this new Board too. You can rightfully blame Dunn, Burnett and Johnson for this mess but not Nickson, Daley or Phillis Williams.

It's time for the truth...

Just can't let the lies about "you didn't build that" continue.  The GOP is taking out-of -context what President Obama said in Jul 2012 when he was talking about ...well read it for yourself.  We will all be better off and our Country will be better off if we find the truth in what we hear and read and not rely on politicians or talking head.  Here it is:

"If you've been successful, you didn't get there on your own. You didn't get there on your own. I'm always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there.

If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business -- you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn't get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet.

         The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative,
         but also because we do things together."
        

More from the Board of Supervisors' Meeting 15 Aug 2012

Next subject:  Redistricting.

Supervisor Dunn presented a company to help plan how Tunica County was going to come into compliance with the 2010 Census.

Supervisor Burnett said something about Dunn contacting this company without first getting permission from the rest of the BOS.  Are you kidding me?  Burnett you served on the former Board of Supervisors and you all elected to save this piece of business for the new Board.  What have you done to help move this County forward?  Did you do any research or make any presentations? 

The answer is no.  You do nothing but take-up space at the Board of Supervisors' table.  When you don't get your way, you raise your voice.  You are not earning the money Tunica County is paying you.

Still Asking...Why is MS a Red State?

And...reason #3 not to vote for the Romney/Ryan ticket.


It happened in March 2012.  On 13 Mar 2012 Romney was quoted as saying: "Planned Parenthood.  We're going to get rid of that."

On 20 Mar 2012, President Obama was quoted as saying: "If you truly care about families, you shouldn't play politics with a woman's health."

Remember all of the outcry about defunding Planned Parenthood?  Some of those voices came from MS.

To recap:

1. Paul Ryan is the lead dog for Personhood legislation and MS voted against Personhood.
2. Paul Ryan voted against the "Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act."
3. Mitt Romney has said he is "going to get rid of " Planned Parenthood.

So, why would MS support the Romney/Ryan ticket?

Board of Supervisors' Meeting: 15 Aug 2012 The Sheriff's Spending Habits

Apparently, Sheriff Hamp doesn't think he should be questioned by the Board of Supervisors as to whether his new hires are replacements or new employees.  Sheriff Hamp also doesn't like to be questioned about whether he is or is not within his budget.  In response to Supervior Dunn's questions, Hamp was heard to say something about not coming to the Board of Supervisors for more money since he has been the Sheriff of Tunica County.

Oh please.  Hamp, were you ever over budget?  I think I recall one of the former Supervisors asking you about this when referring to overtime for your staff.  Do this ring a bell Hamp?

How about this:  Technically, Emergency Management/Homeland Security (Dept 280) and the Sheriff's Department (200) are separate departments.  The water is muddied by the fact that the head of Emergency Management/Homeland Security is also your Chief Deputy.

So, let's deal in some facts:

Go back to Nov 2011.  Within the claims of Nov 2011 the Sheriff 's Department submitted two separate claims totalling $11,710.19.

Claim: 11316
Vendor: 3304 Gold Strike Casino
Invoice: 278-A
Date Paid: 30 Nov 2011
Fund-Dept-Objective: 001-200-476 (the 200 is the Dept. code for the Sheriff)
Description: Meals and Lodging
Amount: $5,738.94

Claim: 11316
Vendor: 3304 Gold Strike Casino
Invoice: 278A
Date Paid: 30 Nov 2011
Fund-Dept-Objective: 001-200-476 (the 200 is the Dept. code for the Sheriff)
Description: Meals and Lodging
Amount: $5,971.25

So, the Transparency Committee looked into this through the the MS State Auditor's office.  And this is what was found:

We were told by the State Auditor's Office that the County Administrator told the SAO these expenses were covered by 2 Homeland Security Grants; one in Jun 2011 and one in Aug 2011.  So, Hamp who gave you permission to spend Homeland Security Grant money and why was it charged to your account?

What makes me even more uncomfortable is that this money was spent in an election month at the Gold Strike Casino for meals and lodging.

Again...why is MS a Red State...

And...reason #2 not to vote for the Romney/Ryan ticket. 

Paul Ryan voted against the "Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act".  So, he doesn't think women should be paid fairly?

To recap:

1. Paul Ryan is the lead dog for Personhood legislation and MS voted against Personhood.
2. Paul Ryan voted against the "Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act."

So, why is MS considered a Red State?

How can MS be a "Red State" in 2012

Vacation is over....time to get back to work.

With the announcement of Paul Ryan as the Republican candidate for Vice-President, how in the world can MS vote Republican?

MS turned down the "Personhood" law in the last election and Paul Ryan is the national lead dog supporting "Personhood" legislation. 

Since MS turned down the "Personhood" law, why would we turn around and vote to put into office someone who supports what we have already said we don't want?

Beat 2 Supevisor....Absent

For the last several months, the Beat 2 Supervisor has stepped out of the room during the reading of the claims.  Actually, so has the County Administrator.

Other then the obvious "I don't care scenario" what could possibly be the reason? 

Here's another idea: On the Public Records claims docket where the Beat 2 Supervisor would sign his name you will find the word "Absent". 

Why is he stepping out of the room to be recorded as "Absent"?

Why doesn't he want to sign the docket?

Okay, so I left something out

It has been brought to my attention that I left something important out of "The Sheriff's Behavior" posting to this blog.

One of the things the Sheriff was heard to say at the meeting was said to Mr. Nickson's back as he (Mr. Nickson) was leaving the room.  It was something about it being unlawful for Mr. Nickson to leave the meeting.  Okay, so I heard it too and didn't include it in the previous posting.  Sorry!!!! 

We all know this can't possibly be true.  Anyone is free to leave this meeting at anytime.  We know this because the Supervisor from Beat #2 has left the meeting during the first meetings in May and Jun 2012 and nothing was done or said about his actions.

So, thank you so very much for bringing my oversight to my attention.   Along with your complaint, you have provided me with yet another opportunity to remind YOU of  my Supervisor's absence during the reading of the claims this past May and Jun.  Any other complaints? Bring it on.

The Sheriff's Behavior

Tonight, the Tunica County Sheriff had an appointment at the Board of Supervisors' Meeting at 5:05p.  As soon as the meeting started and before he was called by the President of the Board, Sheriff Hamp left the Board of Supervisors' table and left the court room...slamming the door behind him.

Sheriff Hamp then re-entered the court room, placed his notebook on the podium and moved to stand infront of the Board of Supervisors.  While one of the Supervisors was talking, our Sheriff interrupted the Supervisor who was speaking.  The President of the Board told the Sheriff his appointment was at 5:05p and to please wait until he was called.

When the Sheriff was recognized he turned to the audience and started spouting all of this stuff that didn't make any sense and at least one accusation that was not true.  The Sheriff intimated that we did not have insurance coverage at the present time.  That is not true.  Tunica County paid $66,972.79 to Cigna Healthcare in the claims dated 31 May 2012.  Therefore, employees are and have been covered.

As a citizen of Tunica County I did not appreciate how the Sheriff behaved during this meeting.  IMHO if the Sheriff or any officer loses his or her temper so quickly, he or she does not need to be carrying a gun.

After the meeting the Sheriff refused to talk with me.  Apparently, Sheriff Hamp is not a fan of the criticism I have sent his way lately.  Tough.

Tonight Sheriff Hamp made a big deal about the Tunica County Board of Supervisors not being the boss of him.  Well, okay.  Stop sitting at their table during Board of Supervisor Meetings.

I will say one positive thing to Sheriff Hamp.  Thank you for not doing your "all rise" routine before the meeting.

Useful research

This is the report we delivered to the Board of Supervisors this evening.  More about the meeting in the next post.

29 Jun 2012 Board of Supervisors' Meeting


Preface to report:

I. 15 Jun 2012 Board of Supervisors’ Meeting

a. There was a motion on the table with a second that was not dealt with by the President of the Board. Neither Bob nor I have a written record of the content of the motion and the parties involved. Mr. Dulaney did you make a note of this motion? Maybe there is a way to correct this action?

b. We have many questions surrounding the discussion of insurance for Tunica County Employees. Some of these questions are as follows:

i. Why didn’t the County Administrator give the Cigna proposal for the renewal of Tunica County’s medical insurance to all of our elected Supervisors?

ii. Was there the expectation that this policy would just roll over without the consent of the Board of Supervisors?

iii. Did the County Administrator think this expense was not going to be laid on the minutes of the Tunica County Board of Supervisors?

iv. Who is the insurance agent of record for the Cigna policy?

v. Who is getting the commission on this policy?

The answers to all of these questions pale in light of our investigation to find the truth in a statements made by Supervisor Cedric Burnett. We are referring to the statement that was said here in the Board of Supervisor’s Meeting and reported in the Tunica Times. Burnett is quoted as saying to Nick Floyd of Nick Floyd and Associates: “Humphreys County said going with you was the worst decision they ever made.”

We called Humphreys County to verify Burnett’s statement. The above statement is false and we have a letter from the Humphreys County Chancery Clerk stating this is not true. (A copy of the emailed letter is attached to this report.)

Wednesday, June 27, 2012 10:18 AM

From: "Lawrence Browder" chanceryclerk1996@yahoo.com

To: "Tuchelsgal@bellsouth.net" Tuchelsgal@bellsouth.net

Dear Mrs. Tuchel,

Nick Floyd and Associates served Humphreys County Court House for the years of 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. During that time we were very pleased with the service they provided and the reason for discontinuing the insurance policy had nothing to do with the excellent service they provided.

Sincerely,

Humphreys Co. Chancery Clerk, Lawrence D. Browder

As you can imagine, this turn of events caused us to think about what else might not be true. In addition to Humphreys County, we contacted Jefferson County, Washington County, MS ICS, Indianola Community Action and Delta Mental Health Center. We found each of the entities we contacted to be very pleased with Nick Floyd and Associates and all were thrilled with the amount of money that was being returned to them through their various Bridge Plans.

All of this information is contained in this report so we won’t take up time talking about each conversation. We will be listing this information on our blog so that Tunica County Employees and other interested parties can look up the comments and make their own phone calls should they choose to do so.

Bob and I have no financial interest in Nick Floyd and Associates but we do have a huge interest in Tunica County. We still don’t understand why one of our Supervisors would use his position at the Table to trash a man’s business by uttering statements such as “Humphreys County said going with you was the worst decision they ever made.” Mr. Burnett you owe Nick Floyd an apology.

II. Humphreys County:
A. Chancery Clerk
1. Lawrence Browden: 601-247-1740; c: 601-836-7772
2. Secretary: Chervon
3. Sending letter via email

III. Jefferson County:
A. Comptroller:
1. Linda White: 601-786-3420
2. Policy in place for 5 years.
3. About 145 participants in government and about 250 participants in their nursing home facility
4. Very pleased, very happy
5. Seminar to explain benefits
6. Saved Jefferson County money

B. Supervisor:
1. Curtis Gray: 601-670-3516
2. L/M 26 Jun 2012

C. Supervisor:
1. Trent Hudson: 601-786-1726
2. NFA has returned about 1M to Jefferson County
3. Couldn't be happier.
4. Talked with Dunn at the coast
5. Dinner with Sonny and Rev
6. Phillis called Trent a couple of weeks ago.

IV. Washington County:
A. Washington County Health Center: Greenville
1. Terry Jones: 662-820-0142
2. 3 years with NFA
3. Blue Cross with the Bridge
4. About 200 participants
5. Plan is saving them money
6. Very happy with the plan

V. MS ICS:
A. Louise McClinton: 662-231-01117
1. 2 years with NFA
2. Blue Cross with Bridge
3. Started with 435 participants
4. Through word of mouth from participants ICS has moved to around 500 participants
5. Money has been returned to ICS
6. "Wonderful for our company"; very pleased.

VI. Indianola:
A. Community Action Committee
1. Executive Director: Louise Bradford: 662-207-0903
2. 102+ participants
3. Great experience for them
4. Asked for James Dunn’s phone number and indicated she would call him with a personal recommendation.

VII. Holly Springs:
A. Mayor's Office
1. Ms. McDonald: 662-252-4652
2. Ms. McDonald attending MML Conference; will return 2 Jul 2012
3. Spoke to Deputy City Clerk Maddie Richmon
a. Policy started in Feb 2012
b. About 100 people participating

VIII. Delta Mental Health Center of Washington County, MS
A. Nonie Davis: 662-334-2891 ext. 115
1. 3 years with NFA
2. 200+ participants
3. Very good and saving them money

The Deductible

Following a reading of the policy material and the proposal to Tunica County authored by Nick Floyd & Associates, I have a solid understanding of their costs and specifically the deductible.

The discussion has centered on the deductible for the Humana PPO policy. There is a $5,000 deductible for that policy. The question causing so much disruption is who is paying for that deductible.

The Medical Bridge Advantage Program will lower the deductible for the employee to $500. The $4,500 difference in the deductible is covered by the Medical Bridge Advantage Program (MBAP). The County will pay one premium to Humana for Employee Benefit Services. The premium that is paid by the County for the MBAP, the $4500, is put into a reserve account that will be used to pay claims.

Each claim will be processed twice; once thru Humana and then again thru Electronic Billing Services (EBS). The employee will have Dental, Vision, Short Term Disability, Cancer and Accident Disability Coverage.  Additionally, each employee will have $50,000 in life insurance with $5,000 for his or her spouse and $2,000 for each child.  The employee would normally have to pay for these benefits themselves through their current cafeteria plan and would be charged according to their age. The benefits being offered by NFA have one set rate for all ages.

The Accident Disability and Cancer coverage would pay money directly to the employees and if the employee leaves their employment with Tunica County, they will have the option to keep these policies. The Accident Disability policy also covers the employee on or off the job and will pay in addition to any Workers’ Comp they may receive.

The matter to be considered is which plan, Cigna or Humana, provides the best coverage. I do not have the Cigna plan. It is my understanding that the County Administrator does have the Cigna proposal and has had this information since April. I can find no Insurance Agent of Record or I would have contacted the agent myself.

That being said, the material provided by Nick Floyd and Associates shows Humana having superior coverage at a lower or equal cost to the employee than does Cigna.

Now that the employee issues are settled, that leaves one question, “What is the cost to Tunica County? The Premium fees are not in my materials.

Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in Nick Floyd and Associates nor is my family covered through the group policy held by Tunica County for their employees.

What is still disturbing is all of the commotion about this issue and why wasn’t the Cigna proposal given to the Supervisors by the County Administrator.

Bob Tuchel
Tunicans for Transparency in Government

“Something is rotten in Denmark”

This business with the County medical insurance is most disturbing. This is so crazy it is hard to know where to begin. This is some of what I’ve learned by attending the Board of Supervisors’ Meetings.


For the past 6 or 7 years Tunica County’s medical insurance has been carried by Cigna. The County’s policy runs from 1 Jun to 31 May of each year. Apparently, the County Administrator received an update from Cigna sometime in Apr 2012 but he did not share this information with the Board of Supervisors. What was he thinking?

During this period of time, another insurance company made a presentation at a Board of Supervisors’ meeting and if I understand this correctly, the new company offered more benefits to Tunica County employees at a reduced rate to the County.

Now, this is where it gets interesting. At the first Jun meeting of the Board of Supervisors, representatives of both insurance companies were present. What I found very upsetting was a statement made by the woman from Cigna. She told everyone present that 1.) She needed an answer today as to whether Tunica County was going to renew the contract with her company and 2.) Cigna was holding and not paying all claims submitted to them from providers of medical benefits to Tunica County employees. What? Excuse me but this policy is paid monthly by our government and the Jun premium has been paid. How dare you come into our County and threaten non-payment of medical claims when your company has been paid for this service.

At the above meeting, the Board of Supervisors decided to continue discussion of the County’s medical insurance until the 15 Jun 2012 meeting.

In between these two meetings, more then a few Tunica County employees were given information that was either false or misleading. Who did this and why would they do this? To me, the answer became obvious at the 15 Jun 2012 meeting.

At the 15 Jun 2012 Board of Supervisors’ meeting the room was packed. Was the attendance staged or did the attendees come of their own free will. Who knows?

What I saw was disgusting on the part of the Beat 2 Supervisor. This Supervisor can’t be bothered with other issues like paying the claims. Don’t take my word for it. Go read the Public Records and you will find “Absent” on the line that would have contained his signature had he cared enough to stay in the room for the discussion. So why was the Beat 2 Supervisor so upset about the medical insurance? Something is missing from this picture. Why would anyone be so upset if other Supervisors are trying to save the County money and give employees more benefits? As William Shakespeare said, “Something is rotten in Denmark.”

And here’s another thing I didn’t like. The same woman from Cigna was sitting right next to me during the 15 Jun 2012 meeting. While the representative of the other company was taking her turn addressing the Board of Supervisors, this woman was bouncing around in her seat and swinging her head around to look behind her. I don’t think she realized her long hair was hitting me in the face each time she did this.

When the meeting was over, I turned to this woman and said I was a resident of Tunica County and I wished she would act more professionally when attending our meetings. You know what she did? She jumped up and said OMG I’m being harassed and found a deputy to complain to while continuing to back out of the Board Room. What a joke! Something is really rotten in Tunica.  We need to know just what it is.

Report on the Election Commission

At this evening's Board of Supervisors' Meeting, 15 Jun 2012, the Transparency Committee again reported on the Election Commission.  These are our findings:

A. Meetings are not being posted as required by the MS Open Meetings Act.  Tunica County employs a full-time Public Information Officer. If the Election Commission cannot find the time to comply with the Open Meetings Act, why can't the Public Information Officer be assign this task? Come to think of it, why isn't the Public Information Officer publishing all meetings of public entities?“

B. Jun 2012: No meeting was held because the Courthouse was locked.  And this isn't the first time this has happened.  For this year alone, the Election Commission has been locked out of the Courthouse in Feb and Jun 2012.

C. A meeting couldn't be held anyway as only 2 Commissioners showed up and there had to be 3 of the 5 Commissioners for a quorum.  What is the deal with the Tunica County Election Commission? Why don't you have a quorum at so many of your meetings?

D. There has been no transcription help offered as requested by the Board of Supervisors on 13 Apr 2012.  From the Secretary of State's website, we learned that “they (the Election Commission) act as a group, through their minutes, which should be filed with the circuit clerk of the county." Conclusion: At the 13 Apr 2012, Board of Supervisors' President, James Dunn, asked the County Administrator to check into this situation and see what could be done to help. This hasn't happened.  Surprise!!!  NOT!!!!

We also found information in the MS Code:

25-41-11. Minutes of meetings


(1) MS Code 25-41-11. Minutes of meetings: "Minutes shall be kept of all meetings of a public body, whether in open or executive session, showing the members present and absent; the date, time and place of the meeting; an accurate recording of any final actions taken at such meeting; and a record, by individual member, of any votes taken; and any other information that the public body requests be included or reflected in the minutes. The minutes shall be recorded within a reasonable time not to exceed thirty (30) days after recess or adjournment and shall be open to public inspection during regular business hours." End of MS Code

Since Feb 2012, the Transparency Committee has been asking both the Circuit Clerk and the Election Committee to review their minutes for 2011.  All we are getting is a run around.  Additionally, Election Commission Minutes are hand written and therefore are subject to change by anyone who can lay their hands on these documents.


E. Election commissions are also responsible for hearing and resolving disputes concerning the denial of voter registration by a circuit clerk. If the dispute is resolved in favor of the applicant, the individual is placed on the voter rolls by the election commission. This is the only time that the election commission may place a name onto a voter roll.  However, if the public is unaware of when the Tunica County Election Commission meets, how can they get their problem(s) solved?


F. “A circuit clerk is required to attend the regularly scheduled meetings of the election commission.”  This is not being done.  I've been there and the Circuit Clerk has not.


G. “A circuit clerk must also give all assistance that he is capable of giving to the election commissioners to assist them in the revision of voter rolls.”  So, let's see, the Circuit Clerk is not at the Election Commission Meetings; the Circuit Clerk does not provide the Election Commission with a printed copy of the current voter rolls for use during their meetings; and during their meetings, the Election Commission does not have computer access to the SEMS system.  All of this is just plain wrong.


H. “A circuit clerk keeps copies of the minutes of the meetings of the county election commissioners. Those minutes are prepared by the election commission when official action has been taken.”  But when a person goes to the Circuit Clerk and asks to see the minutes, she doesn't have them and tells you they are in the locked Election Commission room upstairs.
In conclusion, just what are the citizens of Tunica County supposed to do?  In answer to this question, this is what we found in the MS Code:

25-41-15. Enforcement of chapter; civil penalty

"The Mississippi Ethics Commission shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this chapter upon a complaint filed by any person. Upon receiving a complaint, the commission shall forward a copy of the complaint to the head of the public body involved. The public body shall have fourteen (14) days from receipt of the complaint to file a response with the commission. After receiving the response to the complaint or, if no response is received after fourteen (14) days, the commission, in its discretion, may dismiss the complaint or proceed by setting a hearing in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the Ethics Commission.

After a hearing, the Ethics Commission may order the public body to take whatever reasonable measures necessary, if any, to comply with this chapter. If the Ethics Commission finds that a member or members of a public body has willfully and knowingly violated the provisions of this chapter, the Ethics Commission may impose a civil penalty upon the individual members of the public body found to be in violation of the provision of this chapter in a sum not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) for a first offense and One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for a second or subsequent offense, plus all reasonable expenses incurred by the person or persons in bringing the complaint to enforce this chapter."

Don't know about you, but I'm ready to file a complaint.

A Seat at the Table

For some time now, we have been watching the actions of the Tunica County Sheriff at Board of Supervisors’ Meetings.


Since the first of the year, Sheriff Hamp, when present, has walked in and stated: “All rise, the Tunica County Board of Supervisors’ is now in session.” What the heck is this all about?

This is what the MS Code says about the Sheriff’s attendance at Board of Supervisors’ Meetings:

MS Code Ann. 19-3-25 (2011) Sheriff to attend meetings. “The sheriff of the county shall attend all meetings of the board of supervisors, either in person or by deputy, and shall execute all its process and orders.”

That’s it. This one sentence does not say anything about the Sheriff sitting at the Board of Supervisors’ table. This one sentence does not say anything about the Sheriff wedging himself between the Board President and the Board Attorney. What is all of this foolishness?

Actually Sheriff Hamp, your time would be better spent learning when you may execute an arrest and when you may execute a citation.

Employee Handbook

At the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting this morning, 4 Jun 2012, the Board approved the new Employee Handbook. Yes!!!!


One Supervisor asked about the Moonlighting requirements. This section was read aloud and it was essentially the same policy as was contained in the 2003 Handbook. The District 2 Supervisor asked if this was legal. He was told by the Board’s Attorney that this requirement was legal. Next, the District 2 Supervisor asked if this requirement was fair and proposed to the Board that they have a “gentleman’s agreement” not to enforce this part of the Employee Handbook. This statement was followed by laughter from the Board and the audience.

So, here’s the deal Mr. District 2 Supervisor: Do you still have Tunica County Employees working in your place of business? Then get the letters written and bring them before the Tunica County Board of Supervisors for approval of their Moonlighting employment. Right now, you are out of compliance with the 2003 AND the 2012 Tunica County Employee Handbook.

We made the national news tonight

....as the most impoverished state in the United States of America.  And you know what the focus was?  Education in the Delta.  We should be so proud.  NOT!!!

Tunica County Second Chances Program

The following is a copy of the letter this Committee sent to the Tunica Times.

"This letter is being written in response to the front page article in the 4 May 2012 issue of the Tunica Times. The title of the article is “Former sheriff back on county payroll.”

Let’s start with the “second chances” idea. This program may be beneficial to our community but it cannot be a program completely supported by our local government. If implemented, this program needs to be a joint effort between private and public entities.

Second, if implemented, the “second chances” program should not include those who broke the law while serving as an elected official. For our local government to thank these people by giving them a job is disrespectful to the rest of us. And as for these former elected officials not being given “desk jobs”? Are you kidding me? One of these people heads up the Meals on Wheels Program…a desk job.

And finally, if the Board of Supervisors wants to implement a new program don’t shoot from the hip. Work out the details, put it on paper, let the public know about it and then implement it. Not just on this idea, on everything. That’s how you gain the public’s trust and get re-elected."

Since submitting this letter, I have learned that there is a document being written to put this program in place. Here's hoping former elected officials will be "officially" excluded and private companies will participate.

Expanding on the contents of the Tunica Times article, it does seem preposterous that the District 1 Supervisor would vote against employing these individuals. The District 1 and District 2 Supervisors have been in office for a very long time. So, these two individuals can be held responsible for hiring prior to 1 Jan 2011. As a matter of fact, many moons ago I personally had a conversation with the District 1 Supervisor about the employment of the individual at Meals on Wheel. I remember what was said to me when I questioned this employment. I was told by the District 1 Supervisor that he would have vote for this individual because he was also his neighbor. As a point of interest, this Meals on Wheels individual is not listed with the agency. This individual is listed in the County Administrator's Department. Why is that?

Of course, we already know that the District 2 Supervisor was absent from this meeting. Seems he is absent alot when something that is really important comes up.

And there's more on Tunica National

And I sure hope this is the last:

Message:

I really thought that you were a highly educated person and could tell the difference between the truth and BS., but you had your mind filled with liberal ideas that you don't recognize the truth when you are told the truth. The things you are trying to find on T.N. are don't exist. This is the last time you will hear from me

Reply:

This email did not receive a reply.

Comments from the Blogger:

Another attack on the messenger. Although I will not divulge the name of the source of these emails, I will say the writer is a golfer who is known to play at Tunica National. Hmmm, me thinks he/she protests too much.

More on Tunica National

More email on the Tunica National subject.

Message:

You asking what the company makes or doesn't make is none of your business or mine or anybody's. Plus you wanting the list of the members and addresses or phone numbers is way out of bounds. You have what you need and that is the greens keepers salary. That is the only person the county pays. What the county pays the greens keeper, he could make more at any country club in the United States.The greens keeper at PGA National made more than $125,000 30 years ago.

Reply:

Please stop writing to me on this subject. I am not a whipping board for your bad attitude. You are making me wonder just what we might find at Tunica National. You are wrong on so many levels it is just not worth my time to speak with you.

End of emails.

This is a good example of people stating what they believe to be true enough times that they start believing their own untrue statements. We are seeing the same thing on the national political front.

Oh, by the way PGA National is 30 or 31 years old. Now I could spend time finding out what they paid their greens manager when they opened for business but why would I do that? Would rather spend my time helping to make Tunica County a better place to live and work for everyone and not just the few. Unfortunately, this means finding out where our money is going.

Messages through my email about Tunica National

From time to time, I receive messages though my email. Most of the time they are complaints about Tunica County and what the Transparency Committee "should" be doing. We're not going to use names of senders. We will include my replies.

Message:

Just for your information, Tunica National Golf & Tennis made money
last year even with the flooding of the Mississippi River which shut
down the casinos in Tunica County. The golf course was built to give
the people staying at the casinos something more to do than just
gamble. The golf course was not built for the few people who live in
Tunica that play golf.

Reply:

Where did you get this information...about Tunica National making money? The records I've seen does not back this up.

Also, the casinos have two golf courses for their customers...Cottonwood and RiverBend Links. What we did when we opened National had the result of taking business away from the hand that feeds us...i.e. the casino industry.

Now, had Tunica County done a feasibility study and found we were lacking a Tennis facility to attract business to the county and the casinos, I would have no problem with that.

Seriously, please tell me where the profit is recorded for Tunica National.

Message:

I don't know where it is recorded and I don't have the need to know as you don't. Harrah's, Sam's Town, Hollywood & the Grand had a golf course to play on. That leaves 5 that didn't have a golf course to send their players to.

Message:

If you want to report on wasteful spending by the county government,
you need to look at the number of people who are working at the
Recreation Centers and doing nothing. White Oak, Dundee, and the one
with the pool just north of town. If you go by any of these
recreation centers any time during the day you will find people who
are doing nothing. Now these people are collecting a pay check,
probably insurance, and probably retirement pay. Then you have the
janitor Eddie at the county building that works more than 40 hours a
week.

Reply to the last 2 messages:

I did not appreciate your remark about it not being my business or any other Tunican's for that matter to know how much money we are spending on anything and that includes Tunica National.

As you well know. I have been working on this Recreation Dept stuff for the last 4 years. Where are you with the help? .

For your information, Riverbend Links accepted vouchers from any Casino. Do your homework and then maybe we could get something done. Right now, it appears you are speaking as a golfer who enjoys playing at Tunica National and you don't care how much it costs the County.

Let's just start with this: What greens keeper makes $90k per year? Maybe Augusta?

Board of Supervisors’ Meeting 13 Apr 2012

Did you forget something? Last Fri night at 5p was the second Board of Supervisors’ Meeting for the month of May. The next meeting is on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 at 5p. Mark your calendars. These meetings are important.

The Transparency Committee presented the results of some of the projects we have been working on. Some projects contained new discoveries and others we have had long discussions about with the Board of Supervisors and we were asking for conclusions.

The reports by the Transparency Committee were placed in alphabetical order for delivery. A copy of our reporting and documentation is always left with the Board of Supervisors. This committee does not and has not asked for an appointment without being prepared. The subjects presented were: Claims for Mar 2012; the Election Commission; R. C. Irwin Library; the Recreation Department and Tunica National.

To save time and to not “bombard” the reader with too much information, let’s just skip to Tunica National. In Jan 2012, this Committee sent a Freedom of Information letter to the County Administrator and the Board’s Attorney. In the letter we asked for the names and addresses of each and every member of Tunica National.

The first letter received no response. So, we asked again and received a letter from the Board’s Attorney stating that Tunica County did not have the requested information. In 2003, there was an act of the MS State Legislature submitted by Rep. Henderson

“TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF TUNICA COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI, TO PROVIDE FUNDING TO TUNICA COUNTY PUBLIC PROJECTS, INC., OR TUNICA COUNTY ARENA AND EXPOSITION CENTER, INC., OR BOTH, FOR THE MANAGEMENT, PROMOTION, OPERATION AND MAINTENACE OF A PUBLIC GOLF AND TENNIS COMPLEX, ARENA AND RIVER PARK; TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF TUNICA COUNTY TO LEASE SUCH PUBLIC FACILITIES TO SUCH ENTITIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.”

This Committee couldn’t figure out why this would be necessary. So, we asked. What we were told is that there are some things our County government could not do, like “run gift shops” and this legislation took care of that.

At this point, Mr. Dunn said we were “bombarding” the Board with too much information at 5p on a Fri night. Mr. Dunn, you are paid approximately $1000 for each meeting of the Board of Supervisors. If you are in a hurry, give the gavel to Mr. Nickson and be on your way. We were there on a Fri night. Why was it such a hardship on you?

Back to the story of Tunica National: By the time the Transparency Committee met the next day, we had learned that there are 2458 government owned golf courses in these United States. Can you imagine any golf course not having a pro shop?

We also found some interesting case studies looking at the pros and cons of government operating government owed golf courses. Oh, but we wouldn’t want to “bombard” the reader with too much information.

Letter sent to the Tunica County Board of Education

At the Transparency Committee Meeting on 10 Mar 2012 we discussed the handout from the Board of Education Meeting in Feb 2012.

Year Plan and Expected Graduation Rate

Year 1: 2011-2012: 52.7%

Year 2: 2012-2013: 57%

Year 3: 2013-2014: 65%

Year 4: 2014-2015: 76%

Year 5: 2015-2016: 85%

What we would like to know is the following:

1. Of the students who graduated in the 2010-2011 school year, how many entered a 2 year college and how many entered a four year college.

2. Of the students who graduated in the 2010-2011 school year, how many had to take remedial classes before starting their college curriculum.

Waiting for an answer.

A little bird told me....

There is a Weight Watchers program being held at the Recreation Department. So, why couldn’t I open our local newspaper and find the meeting time for myself? This committee has been posing this same question to our Board of Supervisors since 2008.

Specifically, what we’ve been requesting is that a weekly list of what activities are going on at the Recreation Department be published in the Tunica Times so that Tunicans could decide if there is something being offered that sparks their personal interest. This really wouldn’t be too hard to put together. We have a full time Public Information Officer already on staff. So, what exactly is the hold-up?

52.7%

This number represents the anticipated graduation rate in the public school district of Tunica County for the 2011-2012 school year. This letter is not about the current Superintendent of Education. This letter is about the process of how we have chosen to fill our Superintendent position.

A couple of weeks ago, Bob and I attended a special ceremony honoring Dr. Bobby Papasan. What I think I understood from the many comments was that we need to be hiring a Superintendent of Education not electing a Superintendent of Education. This is a belief long held in our household.

Why are we allowing the future of our children and the future development of our County to be decided by a popularity contest? Didn’t we learn anything from the past election and re-election of our former Superintendent of Education?

We need to change the process from electing to hiring the best qualified candidate to be our Superintendent of Education.

I can't believe we are going to build...

Here we go again. It appears the Board of Supervisors is going to build yet another facility. So, where is the feasibility study?

Perhaps what you all need to be discussing is the repurposing of our current facilities.

Okay, so now I'm mad...really mad

Today is the MS Primary. So, my husband and I showed up to vote at our Precinct.

Someone at the table must have known my name because the check-off lady noted my name in the Republican book. Are you kidding me? Was she looking at the color of my skin and "assuming" I would be voting Republican?

We all had a good laugh when I loudly stated I was voting in the Democratic Primary but the more I've thought about it this afternoon the madder I've become.

I am just so offended that anyone would...well, number one, think I would vote for any of those Republican Clowns and number two assume I would be voting Republican because I happen to be white.

I have a brain and I use it. Arrrrrgh!!!!

This just ain't right...

On the agenda for the Board of Supervisors’ 29 Feb 2012 meeting, item #7 asked the Board to “Consider Homeland Security Cooperative Grant in the amount of $300,000.00 for Force Protection Program.” We were told this was a 100% grant and that a separate accounting number would be given to this Grant so that the funds could be tracked. Well, hallelujah for that.

Upon examination of the claims for the month of Feb 2012 we found disbursements from this grant to be $101,499.45. So, Sheriff Hamp, how can you spend money before the Board of Supervisor has approved the funding?

Ah, so you want to know what was purchased with this huge amount of money? Well, you could go to the Public Records and look it up for yourself or you could wait for the Transparency Committee to do all the work and just tell you. I guess we’ll go with the Transparency Committee. The Sheriff spent $1399.00 on body bags (isn’t this a Coroner’s expense?) continuing: $50.00 on shipping; $90,288.20 for riot equipment; $6,819.20 for telephones and $3,002.45 for rooms and meals.

There are some who would say, so what, it’s a 100% grant and someone is going to get the money from Homeland Security so why not Tunica County? First of all, it’s still our money, meaning the funding for this grant came from the United State Government and that be us. Secondly, just because you can do something doesn’t mean it is the right thing to do.

So, here it is, the Tunica County version of a “Bridge to Nowhere.” Please write to your representatives in Congress and use this as an example of wasteful spending.

15 Feb 2012 Board of Supervisors' Meeting @ 5p

If you missed this first evening Board of Supervisors' Meeting, you missed a good time. The meeting was much more relaxed and after the meeting, everyone stayed around to talk with elected officials and fellow Tunicans. Hopefully. this is only the beginning of moving forward in Tunica County.

Now, onto the complaints. That is why you are reading this blog isn't it?

1. On 9 Feb 2012, I sent an email to James Dunn, Sonny Nickson, Clifton Johnson and Andy Dulaney requesting this Committee be put on the agenda to discuss Housing and to present some of the documentation we have been working on for the past many months.

2. On 14 Feb 2012, Clifton Johnson sent an email stating this Committee was being placed on the BOS's agenda for 5 Mar 2012. This is not acceptable as the first meeting of the month is held at 9a and is full of departmental reports.

3. On 15 Feb 2012, I sent an email message to Clifton Johnson asking who made this decision. Still waiting for an answer on that one. However, I could probably make an educated guess.

4. On 15 Feb 2012, I called James Dunn to talk about this situation. James suggested the 29th of Feb @ 5p and I agreed.

5. On 15 Feb 2012, we arrived at the BOS's Meeting and found that this Committee was not the only group not given time to speak with the Board. There were Tunicans from the Verner Road area who had asked to talk about their flooding problems. This group too was not put on the schedule. They are on the BOS's agenda for the 29th of Feb at 5p as well.

So, back to the "who done it" with this scheduling problem. Oh, and one more thing, the Beat 2 Supervisor, Cedric Burnett was the only Supervisor who left and did not stay to talk with his constituents. I will venture to say he was out the door before the Recess was called.

By-the-way, both Tunicans who asked to speak with the BOS last night are residents of Beat 2. Again, I would like to thank the Beat 2 residents who voted for this Supervisor and those of you who did not bother to vote for sticking us all with this "not interested" Supervisor for the next four years. And therein lies my educated guess.

The facts...just the facts

Okay so on the front page of the 10 Feb 2012 issue of the Tunica Times there is an article about our new Tax Assessor/Collector, Norma Anderson.

Within this article there is a quote by Anderson that reads: "It was important to know how everything worked and what all went into the job. But it was also to keep my fellow workers in their jobs - and for me to keep my job."

Now turn to page 4 of the same issue of the Tunica Times. Here you will find a letter to the editor from Tunicans for Transparency in Government. Within this letter is found the fact that one of your "fellow workers" is no longer employed in the Tax Assessor/Collectors office.

Ms. Anderson, when I spoke with you on 1 Feb 2012, you told me you terminated the white "fellow worker" the day you were sworn into office. You were sworn into office on 29 Dec 2011. Ms. Anderson, your statement in the 10 Feb 2012 issue of the Tunica Times is not true.

8 Feb 2012 Board of Education Meeting

The following is a note I sent to my representative on the School Board after last night's meeting.

"Thanks for the opportunity to speak to the Board of Education tonight...although in attempting to say I could see a vast improvement since the last time I attended a meeting...I got away from my written remarks.

I did not find it very helpful for Marilyn to spend time lecturing about how the board works. I know she is upset about the newspaper article but I was there to speak to you all about the letter we received. The effort I made to speak to you all would need to have a Board that is ready to listen.

Larry Braziel's remarks were totally out of line. I spoke with him before you all went into Executive Session and he said he was not talking about me.

Additionally, I will not be spending any additional time in setting up a meeting with the Superintendent. I found his facial expressions when Board members voted against his requests disturbing. What I am going to do is to turn this request from the Board back to the person who wrote the letter of complaint.

This is all very unfortunate. I really thought I saw lots of improvement in the Board meetings. The remarks from Marilyn Young, Larry Braziel and B. S. Chandler have proven to me that this Board is not interested in listening."

End of note.

Let's start by saying this is the same type of treatment the Transparency Committee received from the Board of Supervisors in 2008 when we asked for clarity as they conducted their meetings. Then Board President, Billy Pegram, told us the Board was being "transparent" and four years later we are still digging to find information.

Next, Ms. Young, when citizens come to Board of Education meetings to speak with you, please listen. This is not a time for you vent your personal frustration about what is on your mind. It is a time to listen whether you agree or not.

Mr. Braziel, the word argument does not mean the same thing as the word fight. An argument is one side or the other of a debate. I might be wrong about this so look it up.

Mr. Chandler, first be aware that I am not a citizen who believes a Superintendent should be elected. I believe we need to interview and hire the best person we can afford to hire. Our children are too important to do otherwise. That being said, I found your body language toward the Board of Education to be less then desirable. We elected our representatives and when they vote you down on a certain subject, accept it. Don't sit there shaking your head. It gives the impression you think you are the smartest person in the room.

My representative, Tomaka Cotton, voted against your proposal on the Mississippi Teachers Appraisal and I happen to think she did the right thing for the right reasons. Your timing is wrong for changing this policy when a State mandated policy will be in place this summer.

Tunica County Office of Planning and Development

On 5 Dec 2011, the Board of Supervisors held a public hearing about the North Sub properties owned by John Ferguson and Commilla Johnson Perkins and leased by Ed Walls.

Also on 5 Dec 2011, Tunicans for Transparency in Government hand delivered a Freedom of Information letter to the Tunica County Planning Commission requesting “a copy of any and all correspondence, phone calls, pictures, directives and dates of conferences pertaining to the clean-up of Mr. Ed Walls’ property in the North Sub. We are looking for documentation the County is using in their pursuit of the ‘clean-up’ of the property listed in the legal notices in the Tunica Times.”

This request was honored and the Transparency Committee reviewed and discussed this matter at our meeting on 14 Jan 2012.

This is what we found:

1.This matter has been going on for quite some time.

2.There are inconsistencies within the correspondence.

a.Example: On 10 Jan 2008, a letter addressed to Mr. Walls states the following:

i.“Failing to comply Mr. Walls could and will require further action with an appearance before the Tunica County Board of Supervisors and subsequently a lien against your property.” Mr. Walls did not own this property on 10 Jan 2008 and to the best of our knowledge, Mr. Walls still does not own this property.

b.Example: On 22 Feb 2008, a letter addressed to Mr. Walls states the following:

i.Concerning a grocery store operated by Mr. Walls: “It is not zoned commercial as once thought. It is a residential area.” One would think the Code Enforcer would know this information before entering into conversations pertaining to a business that may be operating in a residential area.

c.Example: On 16 Jul 2008, a letter addressed to Mr. Walls states the following:

i.“You were given from February 22nd (2008) to April 30th (2008) to expedite and clear premises of all debris that would deface the property. I requested that Mr. Ferguson grant you that amount of time to get the premises looking nice and conducive for a respectable business operation, but you failed him, me and our office by not doing what was requested of you.” It appears the County had already discovered that the grocery store discussed in the 22 Feb 2008 letter was not permitted in this residential area. So, why is there still a discussion on 16 Jul 2008 about cleaning up a business in a residential area?

d.Example: In letters dated 21 Jan 2010 and 27 Oct 2011 to Mr. Walls it is stated that calls complaining about the Sears Grocery Store were received by the Tunica County Office of Planning and Development. And yet, no documentation of any calls was included with our Freedom of Information request. Absent this documentation, we would have to conclude there to be no back-up for these statements.

From the information we have been provided, our conclusion is that the clean-up of our County is not timely, effective, consistent and accurate. Our request from this study would be for the Planning and Development office to review their correspondence and efforts in order to implement improvements.

6 Feb 2012 Board of Supervisors Meeting

Oh boy...the Board Room was really packed yesterday morning. Another reason to move the first meeting of the month to an evening time slot too. We could meet in the Court Room; even more people could come and everyone would have a seat.

Here are a few of the issues discussed during the meeting:

The BOS had a 9:45a appointment with T'rohosia Ingram and her attorney representing Daniels Farm Development, LLC. This is a housing community being developed in District 2 of Tunica County. Apparently, Ms. Ingram has been waiting for 2 years for the Tunica County Utilitry District to complete the Development's application for sewer and water. Why? Firstly, I don't understand why Ms. Ingram had to pay TCUD $15,500.00 for them to complete this application.

Supervisors McKinley Daley and Phillis Williams volunteered to investigate this delay and get the application completed within 30 days at the most. Thanks go out to these two Supervisors for taking the bull by the horns. We sure wouldn't have gotten this effort from the 2 Supervisors you replaced.

Another item: The Board of Supervisors moved to have Dr. Gene Osborne, who heads up the Healthcare Authority, to make a report at the first BOS meeting each month.
Again, thank you.

Another item: Supervisor Nickson moved and Supervisor Daley seconded a motion to increase the salary of a Road Department employee as requested by the Road Department Manager. Supervisor Burnett voiced his opionion to give everyone a $6,000.00 raise if this raise was going to be approved by the Board of Supervisors.

Geez, this is a prime example of doing things wrong so long you think they're right. Burnett doesn't seem to realize that employees need to be evaluated and raises given when warranted. Thanks again to Supervisors, Nickson, Daley and Williams who voted to give the department head the responsibility of running his or her department. That being said, I still don't think Joe Eddie Hawkins is the right person to be head of the Road Department.

Last item: Claims. Supervisor Burnett, please stay in the Board Room and review the claims just like the other Supervisors. You were out of the room when this part of the agenda was being conducted. You returned to the room to gather your things and leave at 11:48a. The claims were approved at 11:50a. And yet when I left the Courthouse at 12:16p, you were standing in the parking lot talking.

Excuse me, Cedric. We are paying you to do our business. Please do you job.

For the record....

Before we move on to the Board of Supervisors’ Meeting on 6 Feb 2012, a story that ran in the 4 Mar 2011 issue of the Tunica Times, needs to be put to rest.

The story title is “Beat Two Supervisor files trespassing charges” and was written by Meg Coker. This entry on the Transparency blog has nothing to do with the reporter and every thing to do with the Supervisor.

The following is not a quote by Supervisor Burnett. It is a paraphrase of his statement to the reporter.

“Burnett said the incident was the last straw and felt that he must take legal action. He alleges that Tuchel and his wife, Barbara, have been on his property several times, where they have argued with his neighbors. He also stated that he believes that the Tuchels have been following him and also his wife for months.”

Not true. Barbara Tuchel has never been on your property Cedric. Never.

Not true: Bob Tuchel has never argued with your neighbors. Barbara Tuchel was talking with Lawyer Porter in the street on the side of the 1370 Beatline Road house. We were joined by an older lady who lives in the house that faces the side of the 1370 Beatline Road house. This lady was soon joined by a younger man. Both the lady and the younger man started arguing and yelling so Barbara Tuchel walked away. And that's the truth. Ask Lawyer.

Not true: Neither Bob Tuchel nor Barbara Tuchel has ever followed you or your wife. Period.

The following is a quote by Supervisor Burnett:

“All I want is for them to stay away from me, my family, my job and my property. I really don’t know what their motives are, but it’s sickening, it really is…”

Not true. And as far as your “job” is concerned, the Tuchels are your constituents and they have a right to know where you live. At a Board of Supervisors meeting in Aug 2009, Tunicans for Transparency in Government asked you if you lived at 1370 Beatline Road. You said: “No, I don’t live there.” We asked you to tell us where you lived and you told us: “Keep looking, you’ll find it.”

The next quote in the article is from Bob Tuchel:

“We (the Transparency Committee) have been looking into elected county officials not living in Tunica County. A viable candidate must live in the beat, county, or state depending on the office he is seeking. Otherwise it is a violation of Mississippi law. Having an address here seems to be enough for the election officials.”

This article ends with a quote from Burnett:

“Bullcrap! I’ve lived in Tunica since 1966.”

Now that is a classy statement from an elected official.

Reverse Discrimination is also WRONG!!!

At the Board of Supervisors' Meeting yesterday, the newly elected Tax Assessor had the County Administrator present the hiring of a new employee.

Today, I went to the Tax Assessors' office and found just what I was afraid of finding. The white employee that I thought might be "missing" was infact well....no longer with the County. Maybe the new Tax Assessor missed our blog on this website dated 14 Aug 2011 and the letter to the Editor on the same subject. The blog and the article had to do with the cost to the county of willy-nilly replacing employees without a care given to how much this type of behavior costs our county.

Well, I talked with the Tax Assessor today and was told by Ms. Anderson that she let the white employee go the very day she was sworn into office. And the reason? For the employee's own protection. Apparently, Ms. Anderson thinks someone would hurt the white employee. This just doesn't make sense to me.

At the time of my conversation with Ms. Anderson, I didn't think I had seen this job advertised in the Tunica Times. Ms. Anderson told me she did place an advertisement in the Tunica Times. So, I went back and checked my copy of the newspaper and found a mark by the ad placed by me. (I do this alot to remind myself that I had read the article, ad, etc.)

What I must have been thinking at the time was that Ms. Anderson was hiring someone to replace her as she was now the Tax Assessor. On that basis, guess I didn't think much about it at the time. By the way, the ad ran only one time on 13 Jan 2012 with a closing date of 25 Jan 2012. Not a real sincere effort but hey no one is asking me.

Ms. Anderson, just because you can do something does not mean it is the right thing to do. Reverse discrimination is wrong too.

Now this is a riot....

Did you know that Tunica County is now the proud owner of $6348.84 worth of Riot Equipment? Not very funny is it?

Taking Responsibility for Your Vote

It's not just our duty to vote, we need to be responsible for the results. For awhile now, I've felt that those who voted to put Bush and Chaney into office should be helping to clean-up the mess Bush and Co. hoisted on our country. I don't see this happening. And what about those who didn't bother to vote? As fellow Americans, where is their responsibilty in all of this mess?

What about our local elections? What is our individual responsibility here in Tunica County?

Here's an example to mull over: In Beat 2 there are approximately 1200 registered voters. On 8 Nov 2011, 665 votes were cast for the office of Beat 2 Supervisor. These 665 votes represent 55% of the 1200 registered voters in Beat 2. This would mean that 45% or 535 of the registered voters in Beat 2 did not want to vote or did not bother to vote. So, the question is this: By not voting does a person have any responsibility to their fellow citizens?

Now, let's go back and work with the 665 votes that were cast for the position of Beat 2 Supervisor. Of the 665 votes cast, 424 went to Burnett and 241 went to Hudson. The 424 votes represents 33% of the 1200 registered voters in Beat 2. The 241 votes represents 20% of the 1200 registered voters in Beat 2.

This means that 80% or 959 (424 + 535) of the registered voters in Beat 2 either voted for Burnett or didn't vote at all. To my way of thinking, this 80% of the registered voters in Beat 2 are, for the next 4 years, responsible for the performance of the Beat 2 Supervisor. Good luck with that.

Posting of Meetings

Why isn't this being done consistently?

I spent just over a year trying to convince the Election Commission that it was their responsibilty to post their meetings.

It is so annoying to feel I need to put these meetings on this website. It is not my job!!! That being said and since our various Boards are not posting their respective meetings, these are the meeting I have on my mind at the moment.

31 Jan 2012: Board of Supervisors @ 9a.
6 Feb 2012: Board of Supervisors @ 9a.
7 Feb 2012: Board of Alderman @ 3p.
8 Feb 2012: Board of Education @ 5p.
14 Feb 2012: Election Commission @ 5:30p.
15 Feb 2012: Board of Supervisors @ 5p.
21 Feb 2012: Board of Alderman @ 3p.
29 Feb 2012: Board of Supervisors @ 5p.

Don't count on this information showing up here each month. Call your representatives and ask them to post their meetings as the Open Meeting laws require. Thank you so very much.

BTW on Sat, 11 Feb 2012, Tunicans for Transparency in Government will meet in the R. C. Irwin Library at 1p. Everyone is welcome.

Why are our legal expenses so high?

It appears to me Tunica County government is setting us up for these employee lawsuits because the Board of Supervisors does not have in place what is expected of any other $45 million business.

Here are a few ideas to turn this situation around:

1. Each employee should be given a job description.

2. Each employee should have a yearly review as close as possible to their employment anniversary.

3. Each employee should have a current Employee Handbook.

4. The Employee Handbook should be reviewed annually with any changes added to the Board of Supervisors' Minutes and changes sent to all employees. It needs to be noted this rewrite has been in the works for about 2 years. Come on, get the job done.

So, what is the cost to Tunica County for not getting our house in order? The cost in Nov 2011 was just shy of $50,000.00.

Transparency Meeting 14 Jan 2012

Tunicans for Transparency in Government will hold their meeting Saturday, 14 Jan 2012, at the R. C. Irwin Library at 1 p.m. All adult residents of Tunica County and all elected officials of Tunica County are welcome to attend.

A light bulb moment

For me...

Since the Board of Supervisors' Meeting this morning, I have received a few disgruntled comments...all from white Tunicans.

First of all, I do not believe Tunica is going to become another Clarksdale just because the color of the skin of the present Board of Supervisors happens to be black. That being said, we could become another Clarksdale if the character of this Board of Supervisors is not above reproach. Unfortunately, that means this Board of Supervisors has to be better then the last Board and they have to serve all of the residents of Tunica.

Further, if you are one of the Tunica residents who sat on your butt and now wants to complain...talk to the hand. I've found that in most cases, you don't know what you are talking about because you haven't taken the time to discover the truth.

Maybe the changes from the last election are not the best we can do but it's a start.

Road Manager

Before you read this posting, go back to the posting on Mon, 10 Oct 2011.

Okay, so now you have the background. Today the Board of Supervisors chose to replace the Tunica County Road Manager. Here's the problem. Three of the 5 Supervisors are ... well ... new. Did the new superevisors know the history concerning the loss of reimbursement before they made their decision? Hmmm, I don't know if they did or not. Based on the information I gathered on this subject from attending Board of Supervisors' Meetings, I would have made the same decision. Frankly, I was appalled at the Road Manager's attitude toward this problem. That's why I wrote about it on 10 Oct.

All of that being said, it appeared to me that some employment decisions were decided by the Board of Supervisors before today's meeting. Here are two examples:

1. After the Road Manager was not rehired, the Board of Supervisors did not decide to advertise for this vacancy. All five Supervisors voted to appoint Joe Eddy Hawkins. (See Democratic Executive Committee on this blog posted 31 Mar 2011). Joe Eddy Hawkins is the same member of the DEC who thought it was okay to certify Jerry Gentry to run for the Superintendent's job and Hawkins openly admitted they knew Gentry lived in Memphis. So, we are expecting Hawkins to follow FEMA regulations so we will be eligible for reimbursement?

2. The next appointment has to do with the Comptroller. Another job that was not advertised. This position went to Lawonda Knighten who has been attending Board of Supervisors' Meetings for a good while.

So, if these positions were talked about and agreed upon by the Board of Supervisors before this morning's meeting, this would be a violation of the MS Open Meeting Law.

Additionally, what happened to all the complaints about job descriptions and advertising for open positions? The Employee Handbook allows for the interdepartmental transfer of employees. Lawonda Knighten is already employed in the Comptroller's Dept. but I can't find Joe Eddie Hawkins anywhere. What are his qualifications for the job?

Board of Supervisors' Meetings

This morning, 3 Jan 2012, was the first meeting of the new Board of Supervisors. Thanks go the Beat 4 Supervisor, Sonny Nickson, for bringing up the subject of moving Board of Supervisors’ Meetings to evening hours.

What was finally agreed upon was this: Starting in Feb 2012, the first meeting will be at 9a on the first Monday of the month. The middle meeting and the end of the month meeting will be held at 5p.

This is why I think the decision that was made this morning was not a good and transparent decision for the residents of Tunica County.

1. The first meeting of the month contains all of the department reports and the paying of the claims. The middle and the end of the month meetings usually have much smaller agendas and usually are not all that interesting.

2. When residents begin to realize there is not that much on the middle and end of the month agendas, they might lose interest and stop attending. It sure would be a shame to let our newly found citizen participation start to wane.

This is why I think it would be a good thing for Tunica County to hold all Board of Supervisors’ Meetings at 5:30p:

1. Tunicans would get to hear what is going on in their government through reports from department heads.

2. Tunicans would get to hear the reading of the claims and know where their government is spending county funds.

3. Additionally, by holding Board of Supervisors’ Meetings at 5:30p, we could meet in the courtroom and everyone would get to have a seat. The courtroom also has a speaker system so we could hear what was being said. These are problems that now exist in the current Board Room...not enough room and we can't hear.

4. If by chance the courtroom had been in use during the day of a Supervisors' Meeting, the courtroom would be cleared out and we could move in at 5:30p for our meeting.

Supervisors, please bring this up for further discussion. At various county meetings, you have been able to observe that Tunica County residents are interested in what is going on. Please make your meetings and yourselves available to your constituents.