2 Feb 2015 Board of Supervisors' Meeting

Before posting the Committee's report, there are a few things I want to say and need to be said about last night's meeting.

1. Joe Jackson asked our County Administrator if he had moved to Tunica County.  When Michael Thompson started to answer the question, Jackson said answer the question yes or no.  Jackson went on to say he wanted Thompson fired.  Here's my question: "On what basis?"  To Jackson I say, we don't have the right to besmirch a person's professional reputation just because we want to do so.  Tunica County and some elected officials need to understand this and quite frankly grow up.  We do not have time for this foolishness.

2. It was at this point Cedric Burnett moved to fire Thompson and make Rochelle Siggers and Adrian McKay co-administrators.  Burnett's motion died for lack of a second.  On so many levels this motion emphasizes that after being on the Tunica County Board of Supervisors for 15 years, Burnett still does not understand the hierarchy of government to remain in compliance with our annual financial audit.

3. It is my belief this "outburst" was preplanned and unwarranted. 

4. At a later point in the meeting, there was a discussion about increasing the mills for fire protection in the North Tunica Fire District.  Because of the decrease in property values, the NTFD is not earning enough to fully staff the department.  If the NTFD is not able to fully staff the department due to funding, residences and business will see an increase in their insurance rates due to a decrease in their fire rating.  Therefore, it was necessary to increase the millage to produce enough money to fully staff the department to maintain the fire rating.

Not often do I agree with James Dunn.  Last night Dunn tried to explain this fire rating problem to Burnett in as clear of terms as was possible.  I agree with Dunn and after all he is the Supervisor from this Beat.  AND still, Burnett voted against this increase stating he wanted to wait.  Wait for what, the property values to go up?

You know what is scary?  I believe Burnett thinks he is the smartest Supervisor and so many of us can't believe his convoluted reasoning.

But wait, there's more:






5. The Board was going into Executive Session and like everyone else, Bob and I got up to leave the room but left our coats on our seats.  (Did anyone else notice the coat rack had been removed from the Board Room?) The Sheriff asked us to remove our coats from the room because he didn't know if we had a recording device in them.  I asked Sonny Nickson if he wanted to "frisk" my coat.  Then the High Sheriff of Tunica County pointed to Nickson and said don't you do it, she'll sue you.  Funny.


Transparency Report

2 Feb 2015: Board of Supervisors’ Meeting @ 5p

Thank you for the appointment this evening.

We have a few subjects in our presentation tonight. 

1. A copy of the Claims Docket in the Public Records each month.  Thank you for leaving a copy of the Dec Claims Docket for the review of the public.  Please note that we have been asking for this documentation for over 6 months.  Going forward, I’m hoping this agreement between the Comptroller’s Office and the public will be honored each month without having to ask for it.
2. The public has an agreement with this Board to have each employee and that employee’s salary made a part of your January minutes each year.  Certainly, last January had many challenges not the least of which was not having a Human Resources Manager.  Now that we have Mr. Oliver in place, may we expect to have this list included in Feb this year and Jan in years to follow? Blogger's note: At this time James Dunn asked that I just deliver the report and the Board would decide on the requests at a later time.  I explained that these requests had already been approved by the Board and were not being carried out.  I agreed to give a copy on the report to the County Administrator for follow through.
3. On more than one occasion, this Committee has requested a report prepared by Economic Development to show the money Tunica County has spent on the Hwy 304 projects versus the money Tunica County has earned from these projects.  When can we expect this report to be available?
4. On behalf of the citizens of Tunica County, this Committee has asked for the number of lawsuits in the Sheriff’s Department.  When can we expect this information?
5. Blogger's note: This is a new request: In the past, this Board has held workshops with the public explaining our broken tax structure.  The public is in need of another opportunity to understand what has happened to cause our present financial situation.

What we would like to see is a Timeline starting in 1996, the year our tax structure was broken.  Each year will show the gaming revenue minus the amounts given to the Town of Tunica and the Tunica County School District.

Above the figures representing the balance of the gaming revenue, we would like to see the original date and amounts of all GO Bonds 

What this will accomplish is the public will be able to see in real numbers what funds the County garnered from gaming each year and if the GO Bonds were really necessary.

Can you set a date for this workshop and will you publish that meeting so everyone will know when and where this meeting will be held? 

And finally, we are in an election year.  It is 2015, and way past time for the citizens of Tunica County to be living in fear of punishment for invoking their Constitutional rights to speak and to run for public office. 

Our Committee has been advised of 2 Tunica County Sheriff’s Department employees who have been demoted.  One of these demotions also involved the Tunica County School District. 

The first Sheriff’s Department employee is Dennis Allen.  It is my understanding that Deputy Allen was demoted for declaring to run against Sheriff Hamp.  This demotion forced Mr. Allen to retire from the Sheriff’s Department.   

The second set of information, we found on our doorstep and these documents have been posted on our Blog.  This incident involves Deputy Dennis Taylor who was the Resource Officer at RFHS.  Mr. Taylor’s offense seems to be his letter to the editor about the behavior of Superintendent Chandler and Board of Education President Tomaka Cotton during a Board of Education Meeting. 

These actions are not only bullying in nature but they are also costing us money.  Money that we cannot afford.  I am asking for (any other of) the public’s documented information to be given to me so that I may post this information on our Blog.  Together we can put a stop to this despicable behavior by some of our elected officials.