Madison County Considering forming Regional Solid Waste Managment Authority

BY: D.I. Smith

The Madison County Board of Supervisors continue the process of setting up a Regional Solid Waste Management Authority by voting 4-1 during Wednesday's meeting to hire a consultant to prepare related documents. The estimated cost for this is $30,000 which is not currently budgeted.

This new bureaucratic organization is supposed to provide "efficiencies."

On Oct 1, 2009, Madison County took over garbage collection requiring the purchase of 6 new garbage trucks at nearly a $1 million. Previously, a contractor, Red River, had the contract and picked up the garbage with 12 employees. The County needs 23 to do the job and the County doesn't have all the areas that are now annexed by the City of Madison and Ridgeland. Red River did all that area plus what the County is now responsible for!

In Sept 2008, Supervisor Tim Johnson defended/argued for the tax increase saying we were wasting $1 million a year on the privatized garbage collection.

Well, in Sept 2009, when the 2010 budget was prepared, instead of saving a $1M as promised, $500,000 (1/2 mil) had to be added to Solid Waste. This money was taken from the Road and Bridge account, which reduced funds going to County roads and the municipalities, and created 1/2mil tax reduction for property owners in the municipalities! A loss of precious revenues that were greatly needed.

So, the point is that we had great "efficiencies" when the garbage collection was privatized. Now, there is a proposal to form a Regional Solid Waste Management Authority who will be responsible to no one -- and they are supposed to provide "efficiencies".... Give us a break!

Wonder why one of these is needed in Madison County since we have no shortage of landfills? There are other "authorities" in the State... but, each was established where there was a need for such an organization due to shortage of landfills.

So, what would be the motivation to have an "authority" in Madison County? What are the benefits? What existing problems would be corrected with such an organization.

Johnson to run against Dick Hall for transportation commissioner

Madison County Supervisor Tim Johnson has announced his intent to run for Central District Transportation Commissioner, challenging incumbent Dick Hall, who will be seeking his fourth term in the office.

Johnson qualified today as a Republican candidate and said he is running to bring jobs to Mississippi.

"Mississippi needs more jobs," Johnson said in a press release. "We can bring more jobs to our state by improving our roads and bridges and making conditions favorable for increased economic development."

In his second-term, Johnson, the District 2 Madison County supervisor, made it widely known for months that he had no plans to run for re-election, but there was broad speculation about what he would do next.

In late January he revealed that a run against Hall was something he was considering.

Madison County Journal

You have to question a person that lists Elvis impersonations in his bio when running for a state-wide office.

Tim Johnson news release

Supes talk Flora Middle School Closure (Video)

The video was provided by Supervisor DI Smith, and is 40 plus minutes long. But, if you're interested in getting information on why the school board feels closing Flora's Middle school is the only option, you should watch it.

Thanks to Supervisor Smith for his continued efforts to provide transparent government to Madison County residents.


Madison County Board of Supervisors Special Mtg East Flora Middle School Jan 28, 2011 from DI Smith on Vimeo.

We know how to get out of this mess. But, how much more damage gets done until then?

BY: B. Keith Plunkett

Even those of us with a little history of being on the wrong side of the political witch hunters in Madison County—one day, I’ll write that story and explain—have to look at the past few months of shenanigans with mouths agape in amazement. There is no definitive starting point, and apparently no ending point, to the political gamesmanship that occurs here in the “Land Between Two Rivers”. It goes back decades. But, if one were to try to define a timeline of events that have us where we are today, the ramp-up to our most recent toxic political climate can be traced back to February 2006 when Board President Tim Johnson and Supervisor’s Karl Banks and Paul Griffin formed a voting bloc and passed a $50 million bond debt program without knowing how the county would pay it back. That lack of budget sense was followed by a vote again in September 2008 to raise taxes to the tune of 3.3 mils to cover the debt that was incurred from it.

Before the 2008 vote, there was an attempt to stifle debate altogether by closing the public hearing, followed by a surprisingly inept attempt to double the increase to 6.33 mils. Due to public outcry and the threat of legal challenges, it was quickly reduced back to the original 3.33 mils. But a new way of doing business had been put into play:

Johnson, who said he worked with an “ad hoc” committee comprised of County Engineer Rudy Warnock and road department officials to develop the plan, said he intentionally did not solicit input from either Jones or Taggart. Johnson, who said he did not need public input to determine the county’s greatest transportation needs, said he did discuss the plan and how best to finance the individual road projects chosen as priorities with District 4 Supervisor Karl Banks and District 5 Supervisor Paul Griffin.

“They were a part of it, yes,” Johnson said.

Warnock, who formally drafted the presentation document outlining almost $100 million in road construction and repair projects, was approved as part of the road plan’s 3 to 2 adoption to serve as the lead engineer for the entire road plan project – a responsibility that could potentially earn his engineering firm up to 20 percent of the road projects’ total costs.

“I will be the lead engineer for the road work,” Warnock said.

“It’s what the board decided.”

Plans for the future had been made behind closed doors. It was a sign of things to come.

Wary citizens talk of the lack of open government and restraint in Canton reached the stratosphere by 2009. One road project that had fallen out of favor within the newly developed road plan was holding up development in the City of Madison and Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler began a closer look at the county spending. The result was notice of potential double-dipping by County Engineer Rudy Warnock in his billing practices with subcontractors.

A subsequent report by an independent engineering consultant, Richard McAfee, funded by concerned citizens in the City of Madison found several red flags in Warnock’s cozy relationship with Madison County. The allegations became public in March of 2010, and calls for a visit from State Auditor Stacey Pickering ensued. Board President Johnson and Warnock looked on that as the seminal shot fired. With the help of the voting bloc that now controlled the Board of Supervisors, they began implementing a scorched earth retaliation policy, and a game of “hide-and-go-seek” of the county’s invoice approval process.



It has engulfed the county’s business ever since. Now including Board Attorney Eric Hamer’s billing practices:



The questions of financial irresponsibility also extends to questions over the salary of lobbyist C. Steven Seale, and even if his employment is legal under Mississippi code. Nothing at this point appears to be viewed outside the prism of doubt and mistrust.

I’d be willing to bet that former County Administrator Donnie Caughman and Comptroller Mark Houston are happy as two pigs in slop that they got out when they did.

The latest installment of the timeline has the Board of Supervisor’s trying to lock Supervisor D.I. Smith out of any executive sessions by charging him with leaking sensitive legal information to MDOT regarding one of the privately planned road projects.

The tactic employed by Johnson and company is to deny everything, admit to nothing, and to lay waste to everything through counter charges. There is a void left from the board’s refusal to come clean, and citizens are left guessing at why this is all happening. The vacuum created by a Board of Supervisor's unwilling to explain themselves is filled by any number of rumors.

There is Supervisor Banks land holdings and the question of whether he has personally profited from his votes on the board. There have been concerns of the possible uber-politicization of the upcoming redistricting process to allow the control of the power levers to remain in Johnson’s hands as, are you sitting down . . . County Administrator. That's right folks, rumor is he has his sight set on a job to run the whole county; Boss Hogg in a sequened jumpsuit.

As puzzled citizens scratch their heads, old rumors of the county engineer’s epic shindigs have again been brought to the fore, as well. Warnock’s soiree’s, the rumor goes, supposedly helped him gain enough dirt on public officials that he could get away with the billing deceptions and the closed door road planning meetings. No one would dare cross him lest he go public.

Is this all true? I’m not sure. There is almost always a hint of truth in the most deceptive of lies. That’s what makes them believable. But one thing is for certain; the fact that it is all being talked about as the back story to the ongoing head-butting between factions is not financially or civically healthy for any of us.

This is what we Madison Countians have been reduced to by the mismanagement of a few who want all the power all the time. It didn't just start this year, and it won’t be fixed overnight. Most voters probably now realize it will require some serious purging come Election Day before that fix is possible.

The question becomes, “Can Madison County keep from imploding until then?”

Johnson's Cabal does away with all pretense of good government.

Tim Johnson and his friends on the Madison County Board of Supervisors have stopped acting as if they care, deciding to boot Supervisor D.I. Smith from Executive Sessions. They have worked behind closed doors from the public for so long, apparently now they want to rid themselves of the distractions while they systematically dismantle decades of work in one of the most promising counties in the state.

Madison County board says D.I. Smith e-mailed suit plans

A Madison County supervisor is accused of leaking information from a closed session that could impact a lawsuit against the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

Supervisor D.I. Smith faced allegations from fellow supervisors Monday during a board meeting.

On a 4-1 vote, with Smith in opposition, the Board of Supervisors agreed to have Board attorney Eric Hamer seek the opinion of the attorney general or the ethics commission on barring Smith from any executive sessions in which the MDOT lawsuit is discussed.


"He's shown he can't be trusted in this matter," board President Tim Johnson said in seeking to bar Smith.

Smith, however, said he has done nothing wrong and called the board's attempt to censure him "simply politics in Madison County.

"I'm not aware I disclosed any information I wasn't supposed to," Smith said.

The county is asking MDOT to pay back $20 million local officials said was lost when the county decided not to build an I-55 interchange for Reunion Parkway. Smith has said he thinks the suit is a waste of the county's money.

However, Mississippi Ethics Commission Executive Director Tom Hood said state law does not keep an elected official from discussing what occurred behind closed doors.


"Discussing what happens in executive session is not a violation of the open meetings act or the ethics in government law," Hood said.

CL

Seale says no to column in response to latest post. Offer for open thread Q&A on the table.

In response to the post Madison County Lobbyist won't answer questions until you answer some questions first, and prove your "special" , and in response to my offer of a guest column on this blog, Madison County Lobbyist C. Stephen Seale had this to write:

Mr. Harvester, thanks for the column offer but I'll just offer a few comments in response here. First, it's "you're", not "your special" as referenced in your headline, but you missed the point I was trying to make. I don't know you and don't know you to be a taxpayer. If you are a citizen of Madison County, you are represented by the Board of Supervisors. The Board is my client. I work on behalf of Madison County taxpayers as directed by the Board. I began my state Senate service in 1993 and have worked as a state Senator, Chief Counsel to Sen. Lott and as a lawyer/lobbyist at the federal and state levels since. This amounts to almost 18 years of experience working in and around government. I have worked on policy and funding issues for, among others, the US Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, hospitals, telecommunications companies and other Mississippi-based interests. My clients seeking federal funding and I have a position on earmarks that benefit Mississippi and Madison County and its citizens, and we believe that should be the same position of our elected federal representatives. Finally, as to your position on my "defensiveness", my responses to what you write start with my objection to someone who doesn't know me or know much about my work writing about me and my work without at least trying to talk to me to get my position on the matters you write about. I hope anyone reading what you write and my response will understand that. If that's defensive, so be it.

Thanks for the editorial correction, Mr. Seale. No matter how many times I self-edit, I am bound to miss something. In that spirit, from one editor to another, might I suggest you create a new paragraph on occasion in your written responses. They are somewhat lengthy and would be a much easier read if you did so.

A few observations:

1. You write that you don’t know me to be a taxpayer. I am. As this website indicates, I am in fact a resident of Flora.

2. If you work on “behalf” of the Madison County taxpayers as you write, why would you not answer questions FROM the Madison County taxpayers? You seem quite ready to open up and defend yourself passionately online.  If you don’t wish to write it in the form of a column as I have offered, would you be willing to participate in an open thread Q&A? I’m trying to give you an opportunity here, Mr. Seale. Your friends are as welcome to participate as are those who may have tough questions for you. I’ll monitor the conversation and be sure the posts are only in the form of questions to you, not open ended statements, and no attacks on other commenters. I’ll see to it everything remains civil. Name the time and you’ve got the place.

3. I appreciate your lobbying experience and your time IN government. I made the reference to your time IN government. I made no judgment as to whether the length of that time disqualified you for service in your current capacity. In fact, I’m sure it gave you good insight, and obviously you do have extensive experience as a lobbyist since then. However, I do make a judgment call (as a taxpayer) as to the lack of oversight by which we can measure your success and our investment in your performance, and whether your services are actually needed. Regardless of who directs you and approves the invoices, you should be politically savvy enough to understand who actually pays that $100,000 per year salary.

4. Many of the taxpayers will take exception to you and your “clients seeking federal funding” and the position you hold on earmarks. Is it your contention that you and your “clients” know better than we lowly little taxpayers what is and is not to our “benefit”? I personally agree that it is the constitutional responsibility of Congress to “direct spending.” And I believe those that would end all earmarks are shortsighted, as that responsibility would then fall solely to the Executive Branch. But, I also believe earmark reform is needed to control runaway government spending. And, I also know a lobbyist shouldn’t publicly take a Congressman to task, and then expect him to take you seriously when you show up with hands out.

The problem with the current spending is that the Madison County citizens to whom you refer know mismanagement when they see it. There are serious questions regarding the Madison County Board of Supervisor’s management and lack of oversight. There is an outcry against bloated government, fraud and mismanagement of government spending. The current auditor’s report shows that lack of oversight in Madison County, and we have yet to see the financial report, which could be even more damaging to the board’s credibility. Mr. Johnson and Warnock can use the term “political witch hunt” all they want. The facts show that the questions and the audit were warranted. Your own statements show that you take the seriousness of the report lightly and defend the leadership of the Board of Supervisors despite the facts of the report. That shows a lack of judgment.

5. Finally, with respect to your defensiveness: You discredit yourself with the public when you make comments to the media defending the status quo, and then attack people online for calling such statements into question. What we know about you and your work is what we see, Mr. Seale. And you have made yourself seen and heard. You can’t now run from those comments. As to your “position on matters,” this door remains open to you.

This past week’s exchange between you and I has been referred to by others as a Madison County Food Fight. Why not instead turn it into a civil dinner of “food for thought”? If you choose not to participate in this offer of an open thread Q&A with Harvester readers, so be it. But the floor is still yours should you decide otherwise.

MCJ: Audit shows contracts protect engineer instead of taxpayers

The performance audit recommends in the future that supervisors do more to negotiate the lowest price for the best service.


"OSA recommends that the county should at least consider using the bidding process in the future where competition exists, even for personal service engineering contracts," the report said.

"Even though current law does not require it nothing prevents a board from using bidding for engineering personal services to get the best product for the best price."

Toward the end, the report notes that a financial analysis of their findings has yet to be released and could address other issues not covered.

"The next report will focus primarily on the financial review of payments from the County to Rudy Warnock and from Rudy Warnock to his subcontractors and consultants for selected contracts," it reads.

Warnock's use of subcontracts have at times been the center of the controversy with Hawkins-Butler long calling on him to produce invoices.

"If Mr. Warnock would produce the subcontracted invoices a lot of this could be put to rest," Hawkins-Butler said last year. "It would be so easy and would not cost a dime to produce those contracted invoices."

In question she insists is $326,000 Warnock's firm charged the county in environmental engineering fees for Calhoun Station Parkway before subcontracting the work to another firm.

The terms of those subcontracts are not public record, but critics have insisted that Warnock charged the county for the work then farmed it out at a much lower price and pocketing the difference.

Warnock has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing.

Read More at MCJ

Madison County Lobbyist won't answer questions until you answer some questions first, and prove your "special"

Madison County Lobbyist and Wise Carter attorney C. Stephen Seale fancies himself a political player. He must, or he wouldn't have the job of lobbying the federal government on behalf of the county to the tune of $75 grand per year. The voting bloc on the Madison County Board of Supervisors must fancy him a lobbyist as well. They gave him that job. And despite the fact that Seale took a sitting Congressman to task over a pledge to place a moratorium on earmarks (not smart), the board still thinks he will be effective enough a lobbyist to give him an additional $2500 per month to lobby at the state capitol, too.

Seale had a short-lived stint as a state senator alongside BOS Prez Tim Johnson, and an even shorter-lived stint as an adviser to then Senator Trent Lott.

That's it. A total of five years. According to his own bio, that's his experience in both federal and state government. Does that qualify someone to lobby? Maybe. But should Mr. Seale, or any lobbyist, have the autonomy to determine what projects Madison County should lobby for? Is there a list of projects Mr. Seale hopes to get money for? Where is it? Where is the measurement? What metrics do the taxpayers have to measure Mr. Seale's performance?

There aren't any. At least, that is, Mr. Seale won't provide any. Because, according to Mr. Seale anyone asking the question must first prove they have "special expertise" to ask? The fact that you may be a taxpayer, and that he works for the public apparently isn't enough. In a response to THIS POST, Mrs Seale writes the following:

I'm interested to learn what your basis is for your statement that I'm overpaid. Do you judge that based on some return on investment criteria? Do you have some special expertise on the work of lobbyists that allows you to opine as to which are paid too little, just enough or too much? Or are you just like many others who make charges and accusations and offer opinions without any evidence or basis? You answer those questions, Harvester, and I'll be happy to answer yours. Steve Seale

The unmitigated gall of a taxpayer expecting a return on the investment! How dare we!

If that isn't enough of a red flag, Mr. Seale's incessant defensiveness should be. Lobbyist are effective when they work behind the scenes, not when they make themselves the center of attention. Like THIS .

And if Mr. Seale's original tirade against Mr. Dawson wasn't enough, he responded to the MBJ story by going on yet another tirade HERE, complained about not being treated fairly to the North Mississippi Commentator HERE, gets even more defensive over the report that he wrote a letter in support of convicted felon Zach Scruggs HERE, and takes the writer to task over the fact that he commented on Seale's support letter without first asking his permission HERE.

Are you noticing a pattern?

While we're discussing good judgement, or the lack therof, we should also note that Seale apparently thinks that Madison needs only one state senator instead of the four we have. But, maybe that's not so much bad judgement as a good way to maintain a job as a lobbyist. With the lack of representation at the state capitol, Seales job becomes important all of a sudden. Where as now? Well, not so much.

When Mr. Seale "Googles" himself . . . ahem, I'm sorry . . . "Googles" his name, he may see this and respond. So, let me say here to Mr. Seale: I'll give you a guest column spot here on The Flora Harvester site to write about anything you care to write about. Just email it to floraharvester@bellsouth.net .

You can write about the hard lives of lobbyists, the ridiculousness of Congressmen attempting to cut federal spending through earmark reform, or how the recent auditor's report was really not a rebuke of the mismanagement of the Madison County Board of Supervisor's leadership. You can write about how Supervisor's who are paid in excess of $45,000 a year don't make enough for taxpayers to expect them to lobby for county projects themselves, or how you have the "expertise" to do a difficult job while we "po lil unedukatid Madison Countians" should defer to your breadth of knowledge without asking silly questions like, "How much is this costing us?"

Write what you will, sir. The floor is yours!

And why is the overpaid Madison County Lobbyist the one doing the talking?

Seale

In a WLBT report on the recently released Auditors report into Madison County Supervisors lack of oversight in billing practices of Engineer Rudy Warnock, Madison County Lobbyist Steve Seale acts as spokesman for Board of Supervisors President Tim Johnson. Did the additional $2500 a month he was recently given on top of his salary of $75,000 give him the responsibility to lobby the general public and the media, too?

The State Auditor's office released their findings on Madison County road contracts involving county engineer Rudy Warnock. This came after some Madison City and County officials raised concerns about misuse of tax payer money.


At the center of the State Auditor's report was Warnock and his contracts with Madison County since 2004. The State Auditor found the Board of Supervisors has poor oversight and monitoring of contracts allowing for the potential of double payments.

Attorney Steve Seale responded in a press conference, "They found no duplicative payments. They found no misuse of payments. They found no improper payments. They just said the potential existed."

The report demonstrates the contracts had missing information or confusing terms that seemed to protect the engineer and not the Madison County tax payers.

"We're going to look at everyone of those contracts again and make sure they are in the best interest, written in the best interest, of the county," said Seale. "Again, no harm has occurred to Madison County."

And, what exactly does Seale mean by "we"? Isn't that Johnson's other lap dog Eric Hamer's responsibility? Or, does Seale mean him, Johnson, Hamer and Rudy?

JJ: Pickering Wimps Out

State Auditor Stacey Pickering has released the awaited Audit Report on Madison County. And, as expected, Pickering took the teeth out of the report. Choosing, as noted by Kingfish, to scrub one very damning statement that was in the preliminary report:

"Contracts are geared to protect engineer's interests instead of Madison County taxpayers."

The report goes on to list that the cozy relationship Mr. Warnock has with his enablers on the Madison County Board of Supervisors has, in fact, resulted in his interest coming before taxpayers. But, one has to wonder why the auditor didn't want to come to that conclusion.
View Report: HERE

Related Posts: MCH: State audit probing county contracts
JJ: Stacy Pickering: What the hell?
State Auditor's office sends a response team to Madison County to look at Warnock and Associates Contracts
Warnock tells WLBT he embraces audit, but will there be a full investigation?
Madison County Journal-Report questions engineering fees

Howland's decision to run for Madison Alderman changes dynamics of District 2 Supervisor race

But, there is more at play and Madison County residents should remain diligent.

Madison's John Howland has decided not to run for District 2 Supervisor and instead will seek to replace Lisa Clingman-Smith as Alderman at Large in Madison. Howland's decision opens up the possibility of a one-on-one showdown between current District 2 incumbent and Board President Tim Johnson and local businessman Billy Redd. Redd has indicated his intentions to run for the seat for several months. Johnson has sent mixed signals as to his exact intentions. He has said he will not run for re-election, but in recent months has indicated that he would.

During Johnson's tenure as President the Madison Board of Supervisors has seen much controversy. Johnson has dealt with the ire of citizens over millage increases, dealt with accusations of mismanagement over the approval of Engineer Rudy Warnock's subcontracting practices, taken heat for not maintaining a transparent road plan that has led to millions of misspent funds, and forcing votes on spending under new business without allowing for debate amongst other supervisors.

He and Board of Supervisor's Attorney Eric Hamer have also had some side issues over their involvement with FAIM, a bingo operation that was shut down by the Secretary of State's office for misuse of funds.

Adding to the controversy is a recently discussed option, apparently supported by Johnson, that Madison County will appoint a commission to deal with re-districting instead of contracting with the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District (CMPDD). As a member of CMPDD, Madison County has enjoyed the organizations expertise in Economic and Community Development, Loan Programs, Technical and Planning Assistance and Human Resources, as well as redistricting for years. CMPDD has over 100 staffers that assist Madison and other Central Mississippi counties every day on issues ranging from Workforce Coordination and Social Work to GIS and Demographics. They have a direct line of communication with Census officials.

The question raised is why Johnson would want to give the work of 100 experienced staffers to 4 or 5 inexperienced political appointees. The only answer can be gerrymandering. The general consensus among Madison County political watchers is that Johnson is attemtping to gerrymander districts to keep his allies in power. In this scenario, whether he wins or loses his position as District 2 Supervisor, Johnson still retains a position of power by holding sway over gerrymandered districts that helps elect those he wants elected. And, with the Board of Supes responsible for hiring a new County Administrator, Johnson's cabal could grab a foothold in Madison County Government that would take decades to recover from.

It is a good thing for Madison County citizens that Mr. Howland has decided to seek the position of Alderman at Large in the City of Madison. That will allow Mr. Redd a shot at taking out Johnson. But, citizens of Madison County would do well to keep their eyes affixed to what is going on in the meantime.

The discussion of whether to allow redistricting to be kept "in house" will center around two arguments: saving money and doing away with split districts. The latter is something the professionals at CMPDD can do much better than any few political appointees. The former is a smokescreen for the real motive to do away with oppostion on the board and pave the way for complete control of of the power levers in Madison County.

MCH: State audit probing county contracts

Madison County officials can soon expect the results of a state audit that looked at the county's contracts for services.

"We will have a final draft in a week for the Board of Supervisors and a final report a week after that," said Laney Grantham, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Audit.

The final report in two weeks will be made public, she said.

The audit was prompted by months of questions raised by city officials, citizens and others over the county's engineering contracts and what county residents are getting for their tax dollars. Last year, the boards of Madison and Ridgeland approved resolutions for an for an audit of fees paid to Rudy Warnock, the county engineer. Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler has also questioned Warnock's business practices and contracted with an outside engineer to analyze Warnock's contracts and works with the county on road and bridge projects.

In a special meeting last Thursday to close out the 2009-2010 budget year, the supervisors did what [Supervisor Tim] Johnson called "housekeeping" to clear up some issues raised by the Audit Department. The board granted the authority to department heads to contact any vendors if they needed more information to finalize county business and not ask supervisors for the right on a case-by-case basis.

Supervisor Karl Banks agreed with the move, but added that board members also have the right to ask for additional information or verification on bills "because we are the ones ultimately responsible. Any claims that don't have proper documentation should be held until they can be verified."

The board also noted for its minutes, which serves as the county's official record, that board attorney Eric Hamer and Warnock have contract with the county until the end of the current term in 2011. Hamer said he was told by the former county administrator that their contracts did not have to be renewed each year.

Johnson said that contract issue also resolves questions raised by the Audit Department. "We hire a professional engineer and a professional attorney and authorize them to do contract work for Madison County," he said.

"As board members, if our attorney recommends a contract to protect the county's interests, we go along with him. The minute we lose that faith, we replace him," Johnson said.

The out-of-state engineer's analysis of Warnock's work, issued by Butler in February, offered the opinions that the county failed in having adequate controls over contracts and that Warnock's firms was paid excessive fees.

Warnock has denied all the allegations in the report. A majority of the Board of Supervisors has stood firm in support with Warnock and the county contracts with his firm.

Read Related Posts HERE

MCJ: Supervisor wants more time to look at budget

Supervisor D.I. Smith

Madison County approved a $70.9 million budget without a tax increase, but at least one supervisor complained that he and the public didn't have a chance to see the numbers far enough in advance.

Overall, the budget is up slightly over last year, but $20 million in one-time bond monies helped inflate the 2009-2010 numbers and forced some department heads to make cuts this year.

District 2 Supervisor Tim Johnson touted the budget, thanking Comptroller Quandice Green and others for their had work balancing the budget and avoiding a tax increase in a hard economic year.

Supervisor Tim Johnson

"It was a tough budget, but we're going to move forward with no tax increase," Johnson said. "There's only one county that has lower taxes than Madison County and that's Tunica. And not that I'm advocating it, but if they allowed us to open a casino on the Pearl River we could probably beat Tunica County too."

The board voted 3-2 to approve the proposed budget with District 1's John Bell Crosby and District 3's D.I. Smith voting against.

Smith said that he was disappointed that he didn't get a copy of the budget until last week and felt the public had no information ahead of time.

"To me it's unconscionable to hold a public hearing when the public hasn't even been given anything to look at," Smith said. "We should be giving an overview of what we're getting in this budget and what we're losing."

Read the entire article at The Madison County Journal

The rats scurry as the ship goes down.

The blood is in the water with respect to Supervisor's Tim Johnson and Karl Banks, Engineer Rudy Warnock and now, Eric Hamer, who himself has not exactly been a good steward of taxpayer money during his time as Board Attorney. Johnson is under fire for his association with the now defunct FAIM charity (also see below article). Karl Banks is getting a close look for potential ethical violations, and Warnock's days are numbered as the State Auditor finally begins to look into his practices.

The best thing the other Supervisor Paul Griffin can hope to do right now is to join Supervisor's John Bell Crosby and DI Smith in ordering a full audit of Madison County's books, and hopes the voters reward him for his change of heart. Either that, or he can take the path of Administrator Mark Houston and jump ship. Otherwise, Griffin can expect to drown with the rest of the rats.

From the Madison County Journal:

Bill Murphy was the highest paid charity bingo director in the state until regulators determined he was operating the dump for personal gain and shut him down.

The Secretary of State ordered the charity shut and levied fines totaling $50,000 against the organization and Murphy.

FAIM paid Murphy $155,000 in 2008 and spent only $22,000 on actual charitable giving, testimony showed.

Murphy's actions are indefensible, but look who's lurking around the bingo hall, District 2 Madison County Supervisor Tim Johnson, the charity's PR hack and their former lobbyist.

Murphy's attorney, Eric Hamer, - who happens to be the attorney for the Madison County Board of Supervisors, Murphy's former employer, as it would happen - argued during hearings that Murphy's compensation shouldn't be in question, claiming there are no statutory rules governing such things. Perhaps, but decent people have morals and principles.

To make things even more interesting, an asset sharing agreement FAIM had with Lynn Johnson, Tim Johnson's wife, was the red flag for regulators, they said.

What kind of confidence can Mississippians have in charities - or our elected public officials (Tim Johnson is president of the Madison County Board of Supervisors) -with these kinds of shenanigans going on?

If bingogate wasn't enough of a scandal, Johnson has been threatening to sue the state Department of Transportation over the failed $37 million Reunion interchange the county was going to build and give to the federal government.

Nearly 300 Madison countians showed up at a regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors in January to protest "wasteful and misdirected spending" of county tax dollars, including Reunion.

Examiners from the State Auditor's Office are currently reviewing engineering contracts connected to Reunion. The real meat of that story will be found in the subcontracts the county engineer arranged.

Bill Murphy should be ashamed and so should Tim Johnson and Eric Hamer.

What kind of people stand behind the kind of fraud Murphy was committing?

Read the entire Editorial at the Madison County Journal

The wheels are coming off. Ain't it GRAND?

A Lesson In Deflection

Under pressure from Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler and a number of Madison County residents for a too-cozy relationship with County Engineer Rudy Warnock, Board of Supervisor's President Tim Johnson is deflecting accusations by pointing the finger back at the Mayor. Pointing to a legal contract between the City of Madison and developer Richard Skinner and calling it "extortion" doesn't make it so. In fact, Skinner and the Mayor on behalf of the city both voluntarily signed the agreement.

Unless someone comes forth to claim they witnessed the Mayor pointing a gun at Skinner's head and demanding he sign, this is much ado about nothing. In fact, if Madison County, under the leadership of Supervisor Johnson, would uphold their end of the deal on the Reunion Parkway project and complete it by December of 2011, then the money would be returned to Mr. Skinner as the deal clearly states (posted on Jackson Jambalaya). Then again if the State Auditor would subpoena the UNapproved subcontracts for enviromental work that Engineer Warnock ordered and then way overbilled for on the Reunion project and a couple of others, it would go a long way to help return money to the county that could then be used on construction.

It is a typical response from Johnson: create a problem by using your position to provide a loop hole for your friends to gouge the taxpayer, while shifting money from the original project to others which in turn slows the project (further providing your buddy the engineer with a chance to re-engineer the project). And then, when it comes to light what you have done and bites you in the rear end, blame it on the accuser.  Of course the tactic is used often by the other two Supes in the voting block of three, as well, as my friend Kingfish at Jackson Jambalaya reports and is busy uncovering today.

The lack of ethics in DC ain't got nothing on us!



CLASSY!

Related Posts: Madison County Supervisor's lobbying adds to county's woes

State Auditor's office sends a response team to Madison County to look at Warnock and Associates Contracts

The Flora Harvester has been informed that State Auditor Stacey Pickering's office has dispatched a team of 6 auditors as part of the offices Audit Response Team to Madison County today. The team is reportedly looking into contracts the county has with Warnock and Associates Engineering.

Warnock has been under fire from elected officials Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler and Supervisor D.I. Smith, as well as a chorus of county residents turned activists. All have been calling for an audit from the state to uncover what they believe to be a fiscally irresponsible arrangement between Warnock and three of the five Supervisors. Efforts to release subcontracts Warnock says were approved by the Board of Supervisors have met with stiff resistance from Supervisor's Tim Johnson, Karl Banks and Paul Griffin, while being supported by Supervisor's John Bell Crosby and the aforementioned Smith.

In a point by point rebuttal to Mayor Hawkins-Butler's commissioned review of engineering fees and practice, and published on Jackson Jambalya, Warnock denied any wrongdoing stating, "all subcontracts is furnished to the Madison County Board of Supervisors, which votes on them in open board meetings."

Warnock's attorney Dorsey Carson supplied the rebuttal with 31 pages of other documents to the local blogger, but only once touched on the issue of subcontracts. No subcontracts were actually produced or shared by Warnock.

The Flora Harvester has also received information from an informant close to the engineering firm that Warnock, fresh off a recent trip to the Bahamas, was recently heard discussing a planned trip to Paris at an event to celebrate the opening of Calhoun Station Parkway. Records show that Warnock's firm charged the county $150,000 for environmental engineering fees for Calhoun Station Parkway Phase II and $176,800 for Calhoun Station Parkway Phase III.

Related Posts: Madison County Supervisor Asks For Audit Of Engineering Fees . . . Again.
"To Audit Or Not to Audit?" That is the question
Madison County Journal--Report questions engineering fees.
WLBT Report--Madison Mayor questions county engineering fees

Madison Co. Supervisor Asks For Audit Of Engineer's Contracts . . . Again.

Current efforts to further examine Madison County's books continue to be embroiled in politics.

Madison County residents turned activists Frank Halford and Billy Redd were on the Gallo Radio Show Thursday morning to discuss the lack of answers coming from the Board of Supervisors. Supervisor DI Smith continues to take his calls for a procedural audit to the airwaves as often as possible. Meanwhile State Auditor Stacy Pickering is trying to steer as clear as possible as he positions himself for a run for higher office.

County Engineer Rudy Warnock, in true Democrat fashion, continues his non-answer answers and to play the "poor me" victim. Back in June he was quoted as saying he is the victim of politics.

"Everything that D.I. is alleging is totally false and slanderous,” Warnock said in June. “Every contract and invoice that I have submitted to Madison County has been reviewed by the administration and then approved by the Madison County Board of Supervisors."

Boo Hoo!

WAPT is reporting that a recent investigation begun by Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler has only served to bring up more troubling questions about Warnock's practices.

Hawkins-Butler said a six-month investigation has revealed that Warnock has been paying other contractors to perform his projects, which she said is not allowed without county permission. Butler said the subcontracting issue has been raised for months now, and it was most recently talked about at a board of supervisors meeting.

“Two member of the board of supervisors voted for Rudy Warnock to produce those subcontracts,” the mayor said. “Three voted ‘no,’ that he didn't have to produce it. If there's nothing wrong with them, produce the subcontracts and all of this will go away.”

In addition to the issue of subcontracting, Hawkins-Butler said the investigation notes $2 million in tax dollars was spent without question or concern from the board of supervisors.

There was no quote in the story from Warnock. "Why?" you may ask. Because he's in the Bahamas on vacation.

Bad timing Rudy!

The investigation cited a conflict of interest where Warnock, serving as county engineer, designs and approves his own work - something the report says flies in the face of the Mississippi Board of Licensure's code of professional conduct.

Warnock, holding true to form, blamed it all on "political theater" orchestrated by Hawkins-Butler.

In a statement released by his attorney--did I mention Warnock was in the Bahamas--Dorsey R. Carson, Jr., of Jackson and reported by the Madison County Journal,

Warnock railed against Hawkins-Butler, calling McAfee no more than a "hired gun" and questioning the integrity of the report.

The report's author, Richard J. McAfee of Detroit-based PMA Consultants, said with limited documentation he found no illegal acts, but pointed to over $2 million in questionable spending by the county.

"This bears further investigation," McAfee said. "Any government in the business of serving the people need to have better checks and balances. There are so many inconsistencies it would make sense to perform a thorough audit."

When Pickering was running for Auditor he said,

“State and local governments in Mississippi spend billions of dollars in taxpayer money each year. As a fiscal conservative, I want to make sure that our tax dollars are spent with the integrity the taxpayers expect and deserve.”

We're waiting sir.

Madison County Supervisor's lobbying adds to county's woes

Like those of us wondering when this long winter will end and the spring begin, Madison County Supervisor Tim Johnson must be wondering if the storm clouds will ever pass. In a span of less than two weeks the District 2 Supervisor and Board President has been hit with an increasingly widening fracture in the county's populace. The unrest has the residents of the southeastern and more populated region pitted against the rest of the county.

Since mid February, Johnson has faced allegations of wasteful spending and mismanagement of county money. Persistent questions remain over fees paid to engineer Rudy Warnock and $4.7 million the county spent on Reunion Parkway interchange, which is no longer going to be built. This week, a resolution from one of the largest muncipalities in the county was passed calling for Johnson to resign.

Back in January, allegations of private deals and "quid pro quo's" arose from a meeting that resulted in Northern District Transportation Commissioner Bill Minor and Southern District Transportation Commissioner Wayne Brown being found guilty of violating the Open Meetings Act. That meeting between the two Commisioners with Johnson at a Jackson restaurant to discuss funding for the Reunion interchange also included Warnock.

Now comes a ruling that Johnson accepted illegal payment from a charity for lobbying efforts.

It's been a tough few months for the part-time Elvis impersonator. And, he may be looking for an entourage to help him get out of the building. At the very least, he should resign his leadership position and let another Supervisor step in to try to bring peace to the county's proceedings.

New leadership could start fresh with everyone involved and maybe, just maybe, facilitate a "coming together" to get Madison County refocused.

The sooner Johnson's "long cold winter" of leadership is over, the better. Only then can Madison County residents look forward to some much needed "sunshine."