This post will be about the court hearing about Tunica County vs The Town of Tunica and The Tunica County School District.
Before going any further, I want to say I don't have an opinion one way or the other. It is my hope that whatever is the result of this hearing that all parties will abide by the ruling so we can get on with conquering the many problems that are facing all of us. Full disclosure, Bob and I live in the Town of Tunica and we are willing to pay taxes for the privileges we enjoy.
So, let's get on with this post.
During the hearing, I took note of a few details to keep in mind.
1. The Town's attorney made mention of a report he called: "Cash in the Bank." Where have we heard this before? The Beat 2 Supervisor has repeatedly asked for this report. It has,on numerous occasions, been explained to him that this report is a snapshot at a point in time and does not take into consideration the obligations on these funds.
The Town's Attorney came up with a "Cash in the Bank" figure of around $9M. At this time, Board President James Dunn stated that the County has obligations of between $3M - $4M per month. I did not hear any acknowledgement from either the Town's Attorney or Dunn that some of these funds are untouchable for any other reason then their designation. For instance, the taxes that are being collected for debt service has its own account. There are taxes being collected for the Road Fund and these funds are in a separate account.
So, where did this report come from? Wouldn't you like to know? Me too. So let's ask. Cedric Burnett did you cause this "Cash in the Bank" report to be generated from someone other then the County Administrator? If so, you have been a Supervisor long enough to know that you may not interfere with the day-to-day operations of the County.
Now I am not suggesting that the Town or the Schools should be denied any information that would help to come to a correct conclusion in this hearing. What I am suggesting is that the appearance of having gone around the County Administrator is hurtful to the County, the Town and the School District because a "Cash in the Bank" report can give either a false negative or a false positive picture.
2. It became clear through the questioning of Dunn by the County's Attorney for this case, that the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to reduce the percentages of gaming revenue that was to be paid to the Town and the Schools. The vote on this resolution was 4-1 with Cedric Burnett being the dissenting vote. When the resolution reached the State Legislature, who was there to receive it? Cedric's mother, Clara Burnett. From what was said in court, Clara Burnett wouldn't support the resolution resulting in the resolution never making it out of committee. So, it looks like no matter what the other four Supervisors voted, Clara was going to go with her son's vote. This is just wrong on so many levels.
It is important to establish when the "unconstitutional" thought appeared. A timeline was not established by either side during the hearing and it needs to be to understand the actions of the current Board of Supervisors.
a. The Resolution to reduce the percentages of gaming revenue to the Town and the School District was passed by the Board of Supervisors by a 4-1 vote.
b. When the Resolution reached the State Legislature, our Representative Clara Burnett did not support the Board's resolution so it died in committee.
c. The Board of Supervisors heard from their Attorney that they needed to ask the courts for a decision on HB1002.
If anyone disagrees with this timeline, please let me know.
4. There was also a discussion from the Town's Attorney in this case about why, after 20 years was the Board objecting to the division of gaming revenue. Didn't anyone think to mention that this is a different Board. This term, there are 3 new Supervisors, a new County Administrator and a new Board Attorney.
5. And then the Mayor testified about the impact the Town has endured due to the withholding of gaming revenue. In the County, past Supervisors did not act to increase taxation when gaming revenue declined. Same with the Town. Bob and I have asked the Mayor to consider raising our taxes. Now, I am not a crazy person who just can't wait to pay more taxes. I too wish things were different but they're not.
So, let's talk about this. What would you like to give up in the way of government services so that you will not have to pay taxes? Do you want to shut down Public Works? I'm not for that. Do you want to do away with our Police Department? I really don't want to do that. What's on your list of what we can do without in the Town of Tunica to continue to not pay taxes? I'm all ears. Sing out and let's come to a conclusion.
This is off the subject of the hearing but I do have a few ideas about how we can increase tourist traffic in the Town.
A. The Town of Tunica has one attraction that is not subject to going out of business. That attraction is the Veteran's Memorial. If we advertise this park, I believe people will come to see it. Then, they will go through our shops and maybe have something to eat and we won't have to worry about who has just gone out of business. We wouldn't be subject to negative word of mouth advertising because we didn't invite them to shop or eat. We invited them to come to the Town of Tunica to see our Veteran's Memorial Park. In order to do this, Main Street needs to shift their way of thinking and they need to change their billboards. What they are running now are print ads. And our logo....quit changing it. The current logo does not read well and it hardly reads at all from a moving vehicle.
B. I would like to see the Town, the County and the School District work together to coordinate our Museums. I'm not in favor of this Arts Council in its current format. When did you all advertise and welcome all Tunicans? Arts are for everyone. So, talk amongst yourselves and see what you can do about being more open to other County and Town residents. I've been involved in many art oriented groups in various communities and I have never before seen the Arts used to divide people. You don't like what I'm saying. Tough, I don't like what you are doing. Things are not going to change around here unless each and every one of us steps out of our comfort zone and stops excluding others. It's all really a matter of manners.
UPDATE: I am most happy to report that my "assumption" about the Tunica Arts Council was wrong. As you can read in the comments below, TAC is not a closed group and membership is open to everyone. Very relieved to hear this news. I have asked for the dues amount and where to find applications and will post that information here.
In the meantime, if you too are interested in the arts or this group, like their FB page and message your email to be added to their list.
Back to the subject of the hearing.
6. The Town's Attorney introduced a letter from the State Auditor. The letter begins by saying he is responding due to having received several phone calls. What does this mean? Who knows.
I will say this about HB1002: I've read it and I don't see where either the Town or the Schools are to be paid monthly. It is true that historically, they were paid monthly but it doesn't say that they are to be paid monthly in the Bill. The only mention is of the transfer of money from the Casinos, to the State Treasurer and then to the County. At the very least, this is a poorly written bill.
I don't have a clue as to how the judge is going to rule on this matter. Whatever the ruling, let's just abide by it and go on.
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