MCDP President Jerry Frazier

By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

Marion County Attorney Joe Shepard has responded to a public records request that was seeking the salary amount for the head of a local taxpayer-funded economic development organization.

The Marion County Informer filed the records request last week seeking the salary for Jerry Frazier, who is the executive director of the Marion County Economic Development District and the president of the Marion County Development Partnership.

In his response to the records request, Shepard stated, “Mr. Frazier provides three distinct professional management services as follows: Manager of the Marion County Economic Development District (MCEDD), which owns industrial parks and buildings; manager of the Marion County Development Partnership (MCDP), which is the economic development and chamber of commerce organization of this community; and also, Mr. Frazier provides oversight of the Marion County Subdivision Regulations. These professional services are provided by Mr. Frazier for an annual fee of $85,000.”

Shepard also stated in his response to the records request, “Mr. Frazier is not a salaried employee of Marion County Mississippi, the city of Columbia, Mississippi, or any governmental entities of Marion County, as well as the Marion County Development Partnership. Nor does Mr. Frazier receive any employment benefits normally associated with salaried employees, such as retirement, insurance, FICA, taxes etc., from any governmental agency or the Marion County Development Partnership.”

MCDP Office

According to the 2009-2010 MCEDD budget, the county contributed $100,000 to the MCDP for “operating expense” and $96,000 to the MCEDD for “operating expense.” The city of Columbia also gives the MCDP $40,000 annually, said City Clerk Donna McKenzie. Other than funding from the city and county, the only other money the MCDP receives is from its 250-260 members, which include local businesses, Frazier has said.

According to the MCDP Web site, there are two other MCDP employees: Vice President- Chamber of Commerce Division Carolyn Burton and Administrative Assistant Angela Harper.

The Marion County Informer filed a separate records request with Frazier last week asking that he provide a detailed line-item breakdown of how the taxpayer money is used in the MCDP and MCEDD, but county officials refused to provide the information. Andrew Foxworth, counsel for the MCDP, responded via certified letter today to that records request, saying the MCDP is not subject to the Mississippi Public Records Act because it is not a public body.

Foxworth responded to the request stating, “The MCDP is not a division or entity of the state, the city or any subdivision thereof. The MCDP was not created by the Constitution or by any law, executive order, ordinance or resolution. The MCDP is a private non-profit entity. Therefore, the MCDP does not appear to fall within the definition of a ‘public body’ as set out by the Act. As a result, the MCDP would not be subject to the terms of the Act.”

The 2010-2011 proposed MCEDD budget also asks that the county contribute $96,000 to the MCEDD for “operating expense” and $100,000 to the MCDP for “operating expense.” It is unclear if the Marion County Board of Supervisors will provide that funding for the MCDP and MCEDD in the upcoming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

Marion County Attorney Joe Shepard

By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

Marion County officials have refused to explain how taxpayer money is specifically used at a local economic development district.

County Attorney Joe Shepard responded via certified letter today to a records request filed by the Marion County Informer last week. The records request asked that Marion County Economic Development District Executive Director Jerry Frazier reveal in detail what the $96,000 in county taxpayer money pays for at the MCEDD.

The 2009-2010 MCEDD budget states that the county gave the MCEDD $96,000 for “Operating expense for MCEDD (management, professional services, etc.)” The Informer’s records request asked that Frazier provide a detailed breakdown of line items that the $96,000 pays for.

In response to the records request, Shepard, counsel for the MCEDD, stated, “The Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 does not require, nor does it in any way imply that a public body or employee is under any obligation to spend time and resources explaining to you a document that you already have in your possession.”

The Informer’s records request also asked for a detailed breakdown of how $100,000 in county taxpayer money was used at the private non-profit Marion County Development Partnership. Columbia City Clerk Donna McKenzie said the city also gives the MCDP $40,000 annually. Shepard stated in his response that he was only responding to the portion of the records request dealing with the MCEDD.

The Informer filed a separate records request last week asking that Jerry Frazier, who is the president of the MCDP and the executive director of the MCEDD, reveal his salary since both organizations he is over receive taxpayer funds. The Informer has yet to receive a response from the request asking for Frazier’s salary.

The proposed 2010-2011 MCEDD budget once again asks that the county give the MCEDD $96,000 for “operating expense” and the MCDP $100,000 for “operating expense.”

Marion County Supervisor Raymon Rowell

By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

“My salary is a public record, and the rest of the county workers’ salaries are public record.”

That’s how County Supervisor Raymon Rowell responded this afternoon when the Informer asked him if he thinks Marion County Development Partnership President Jerry Frazier’s salary should be released to the public.

“Anybody who wants to know my salary is free to know that,” said Rowell. “That’s basically the way I see it.”

Rowell would not respond with a direct yes or no answer on whether he thinks Frazier’s salary should be released to the public. Rowell said he does not know Frazier’s salary.

Rowell also would not comment when the Informer asked him if he thinks the county should once again fund the MCDP with $100,000 in fiscal year 2010-2011, which begins Oct. 1.

Board of Supervisors President Calvin Newsom could not be reached for comment to ask whether he thinks Frazier’s salary should be made public. Supervisors Randy Dyess and Lloyd Fortenberry also could not be reached for comment.

The Marion County Informer filed a formal public records request this morning asking that Frazier’s salary be disclosed since the MCDP has received taxpayer funding. Frazier said the MCDP received $100,000 in county funds last year. In addition, the city of Columbia gives the MCDP $40,000 annually, said City Clerk Donna McKenzie.

Other than funding from the city and county, the only other money the MCDP receives is from its 250-260 members, said Frazier. The MCDP is a private non-profit economic development organization that works to attract jobs and industry to Marion County, Frazier has said.

Frazier has said that the county actually funds the Marion County Economic Development District, which then passes the $100,000 through to the MCDP. Frazier is the executive director of the MCEDD.

The Informer has published two other articles on this matter that can be read by clicking these links: http://bit.ly/cUX97v       http://bit.ly/bpZBBr

MCDP President Jerry Frazier

By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

The president of the Marion County Development Partnership has been asked to divulge his salary amount to the public.

MCDP President Jerry Frazier was presented today with a formal public records request from the Marion County Informer asking that he release his salary.

Frazier refused to speak with the Marion County Informer this morning.

The records request asks Frazier to release any earnings he receives from the MCDP and the Marion County Economic Development District, which he is the executive director of.

Frazier told the Informer on Monday that the MCDP received $100,000 in county funding last year. The city of Columbia also provides the MCDP with $40,000 a year, said City Clerk Donna McKenzie. The only other funding the MCDP receives is from its 250-260 members, which include local businesses, Frazier said.

According to the MCEDD preliminary budget for the upcoming 2010-2011 fiscal year, the county is being asked again to commit $100,000 for MCDP “operating expense” and $96,000 for MCEDD “operating expense.”

According to Frazier, the county actually funds the MCEDD, which then passes the $100,000 through to the MCDP. The MCEDD contracts with the MCDP for economic development services, Frazier said.

Frazier has said that the MCDP is a private non-profit organization that works to attract jobs and industry to Marion County. Since the MCDP and MCEDD both receive taxpayer funds, the Marion County Informer believes that Frazier’s salary amount should be released to the public.

Tim Magee, who serves on the MCDP and MCEDD Board of Directors, said he does not think it would be “fair” to release Frazier’s salary. Magee added that it is up to Frazier if he wants to release his salary.

MCDP board member Rene Dungan declined comment, and member Donald Hales referred the Informer to Board Attorney Andrew Foxworth, who could not be reached for comment.

Other MCDP Board members, Jonathan Jones, Jay Carney, Todd Pittman, Robin Sanderson and J. Todd Watts, were not immediately available for comment.

According to the MCEDD letterhead, the MCEDD also has a Board of Directors that consists of William Pittman, Jay Carney, Donald Hales, Tim Magee, and Todd Watts.

The Mississippi Public Records Act requires that a response to the Informer’s records requests be issued within seven days.

On Tuesday, the Informer reported a story about how the MCDP receives taxpayer money. To read that article click here: http://bit.ly/bpZBBr

To see a copy of the records request for Frazier’s salary click here: Public Records Request

Marion County Development Partnership Office

By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

The private non-profit Marion County Development Partnership received $100,000 in county funding last year, according to the organization’s president.

In addition to the county funds, the MCDP also receives $40,000 a year from the city of Columbia, said City Clerk Donna McKenzie.

The MCDP is the local economic development organization that works to attract industry and jobs to Marion County, said the organization’s president, Jerry Frazier. Other than the funding from the city and the county, the only other money the MCDP receives is from its 250-260 members, said Frazier. The MCDP “consists of members of the private and business sector of our community,” Frazier wrote in a letter to the Marion County Informer this month.

The county actually funds the Marion County Economic Development District, which then passes the $100,000 through to the MCDP, Frazier said. The MCEDD contracts with MCDP for economic development services, Frazier said. Frazier is also the executive director of the MCEDD.

Frazier said the $100,000 that the county provides to the MCDP is for operating expenses. It is unclear what the money provided by the city and county specifically pays for at the MCDP. The Marion County Informer has filed a public records request with Frazier to find out what the taxpayer money pays for at the non-profit MCDP.

MCDP President Jerry Frazier

The Marion County Informer about two weeks ago requested a copy of the MCEDD’s fiscal year 2010-2011 preliminary budget that was recently submitted to the Board of Supervisors. Board of Supervisors President Calvin Newsom refused to release the budget, saying it was just preliminary.

The preliminary budget was turned over by the county last week after the Marion County Informer filed a public records request for the document. Even though it is just a preliminary budget, the Informer still believed it was a public record because the MCEDD is funded with taxpayer money.

According to County Comptroller Mary McKenzie, the county funded MCEDD with $359,000 for fiscal year 2009-2010, which ends Sept. 30.

The preliminary budget for 2010-2011 proposes that the county fund MCEDD with $314,000 or $504,898. The proposed budget states that the county will need to fund the MCEDD with the $504,898 if payment on bonds for the former Wellstone Apparel building is passed through the MCEDD. If those bond payments are not passed through MCEDD, the budget request is only $314,000.

In previous years, MCEDD received money from rent payments on the former Wellstone building, but that revenue stream has been lost since facility was vacated last year. Frazier said the MCDP is working diligently to market the Wellstone building to find another tenant, and efforts include advertising in national magazines. The MCEDD owns the former Wellstone building.

It is unclear how much revenue the MCEDD was receiving from rent on the building, but a 2009 budget document states, “In the past the MCEDD has bundled the $314,000 from Marion County and the $176,400 received from rent to pay: MCEDD operating expenses; the $192,000 annual debt service on the building; and other designated debt services.”

Now that the MCEDD is no longer receiving rent payments, the county apparently has to make up for that lost revenue. The proposed 2010-2011 budget states that a bond payment of $190,498 will be owed on the former Wellstone building in 2011. According to a payment schedule on the building, a principal balance of $1.76 million is owed on the facility.

The 2011 MCEDD proposed budget also includes $29,580 for MCDP office building annual debt; $49,914 for CAP loan on building leased to Wellstone Apparel, LLC; $96,000 operating expenses for MCEDD (management, professional services, etc.); and $13,500 for utilities to secure Wellstone building.

It is unclear what the $96,000 that the county provides for operating expenses at the MCEDD specifically pays for. The Marion County Informer has filed a records request with Frazier to determine what the money goes toward.

Columbia Mayor Reed Houston

By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

In a special-called meeting this afternoon, the Columbia Board of Aldermen agreed to advertise for bids to complete the Ridgewood sewer project.

The Ridgewood sewer project has already cost about $360,000, and finishing the work could cost between $150,000- $200,000, Mayor Reed Houston said.

So far the project has included improving and replacing sewer lines on Ridgewood, West Lafayette and Martin Luther King. The portion of the project the Board is seeking bids on now will put in a new sewer line between Pine Street and Gill Street.

Finishing the project may require the city borrowing money, Houston said, noting that there are limited funds in the water and sewer budget to pay for the remainder of the project. Houston said he would be in favor of the city borrowing funds so the project can be completed. The mayor added that putting in the line from Pine to Gill Street was part of the original plan.

The fact that there are limited funds in the water and sewer budget brings up another problem that the Board of Aldermen discussed today in the meeting— water rates. Houston said he thinks a water rate hike is necessary to fund current operations and so the city can save money for future projects.

The mayor said the city’s water infrastructure is getting pushed to its maximum potential and that another well and water tower will be needed soon, possibly in the next year. A new water tower is estimated to cost $1.5 million, Houston said.

Houston said the Board of Aldermen has not made a final decision on how much of a rate hike might be implemented and that the Board is still in the discussion phase.

In other matters from the special-called meeting, the Board of Aldermen took no action on sending Columbia Police Department Dispatcher Rhonda Burnham to a mandatory state certification class on the National Crime Information Center. Houston said Burnham is the only dispatcher within the city that would have to go to the training because she is the lead dispatcher. The training is July 26-30 in Jackson, and there is no charge.

In other business, the Board voted to spend about $3,000 to put rip-rap along National Guard Road for erosion control.

After Mayor Houston’s statement on July 13th, there seems to be some confusion about my certification. I want to ensure the public that I am certified in all the required aspects of my position.

Since Mayor Houston has taken office, the only certification seminars that I have been asked to attend was for certification as a Commercial Class I Rubbish Site Operator. This is a certification that I had already received on  March 1, 2009, and that does not expire until March 1, 2012.  Since I was already certified, and my child was sick at the time, I did not attend and waste city funds on a duplicate certification.

The transfer of job duties was not my idea. However, like Earl, I will support Mayor Houston and The Board of Aldermen in their decision and continue to perform my assigned job duties.

David Rusty Rowell

City of Columbia Street Superintendent Rusty Rowell provided this scanned image of his certification to the Marion County Informer.

Columbia Mayor Reed Houston

By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

The Columbia Board of Aldermen on Monday voted to take oversight of the landfill and sanitation departments away from one department head and give those responsibilities to another city employee.

Oversight of the landfill and sanitation department was the responsibility of Street Superintendent Rusty Rowell, but the Board voted to put those departments under the direction of Cemetery, Parks and Recreation Director Earl Turnage.

The departments were passed over to Turnage to equalize the number of employees that Rowell and Turnage oversee, Mayor Reed Houston said. Prior to the switch, Rowell was supervising about 30 employees and Turnage 11. Turnage will gain nine employees under the new system, making them have about 20 employees each.

Rowell and Turnage each make the same salary at $32,240. Turnage told the Board of Aldermen that he does not have a problem taking on the additional departments, saying, “I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”

However, Turnage said he thinks Rowell has a “problem” with the change. Rowell declined comment to the Marion County Informer. Turnage said Rowell does not understand why the change is taking place.

Due to personal reasons, Rowell has difficulty attending certain seminars that are necessary to be certified, Mayor Houston added.

In other business, the aldermen denied a request to waive Expo Center fees for the Marion County School District, which wants to use the facility for an August event. The city already has a policy in place that states fees will be waived by 50 percent for government agencies wishing to use the facility. The aldermen decided to stick with the policy and offer the School District half off from the regular fee.

In other business, the aldermen voted to send Municipal Court Clerk Pearlie Magee to a mandatory Mississippi Municipal Court Clerks seminar in Choctaw. The state will reimburse the expenses of the seminar, according to City Clerk Donna McKenzie.

The Board went into executive session to discuss hiring and firing in the Police Department, hiring in the Fire Department and an employee issue on the 911 Board.

Judge Gwen Broom

The Columbia Board of Aldermen on Tuesday unanimously appointed Gwen Broom as Municipal Court judge.

Broom has been filling in as interim judge since former Municipal Court judge Forest Dantin passed away in January.

Broom, who is also a Marion County Justice Court judge, said she will keep that post as well. Municipal Court typically only meets twice a month and therefore should not interfere with her Justice Court duties, she said.

 She has been Justice Court judge since 1999. Jail is not always the answer for criminals, Broom said, adding she hopes defendants can be reformed and get on a better path in life.

 City Prosecutor Leigh Berry, Columbia attorney Joe Turney and Columbia attorney Renee Porter had also been considered for the Municipal Court judge position.

Broom will make $1,352 a month as Municipal Court judge.

Columbia Mayor Reed Houston

By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

Columbia Mayor Reed Houston told the Marion County Informer this afternoon that he thinks city water rates need to be increased.

This morning the mayor and Board of Aldermen met to discuss water rates and passed a motion to cut off customers’ water after two months of nonpayment. Previously, it was “open to interpretation” how long a customer could go without paying his bill before water service was disconnected.

Houston did not elaborate as to why a water rate increase is necessary and would not say how much of an increase he thinks will be required.

The Board of Aldermen met for its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night and approved several travel expenditures for city employees. The aldermen approved sending Police Chief Jim Kinslow to Homeland Security training in Philadelphia, Miss. July 19-22; sending the city clerk and deputy city clerk to training in Hattiesburg for $75 each; sending the city clerk to a women in the workplace conference in Biloxi for $149; and sending two water clerks to Jackson for training for $150.

In other matters, the aldermen tabled waiving the Expo Center fee for the Marion County School District, which wants to use the facility for its Back to School Bash. Board Attorney Lawrence Hahn said he checked with the Attorney General’s Office to see if it would be OK for the city to waive the fees, and the AG said an “intergovernmental waiver” is permitted. However, the city wants to do more research to see how fee waivers at the Expo Center have been handled in the past.

Mayor Houston said he has no problem sharing the city facility with the county but wants to be consistent when it comes to waiving fees for use of the Expo Center.

The aldermen also approved a change order on the Ridgewood sewer project to fix a sewer pipe at the corner of Lafayette and Martin Luther King for $3,200.

In other business, the aldermen approved purchasing a full-page ad in the phonebook for $1,350.

The board also approved appointing Michael McDaniel of MD Electric of Columbia to fill in temporarily for city maintenance supervisor Phillip Peak, who is out of work currently due to a knee injury. Mayor Houston said there is no set fee for what McDaniel will make filling in for Peak, saying he will be paid on a job-by-job basis.

The mayor and aldermen went into closed session to discuss litigation and personnel, but the board did not reveal what action was taken in the executive session. The mayor said the board has a new policy in which sensitive decisions made in closed session will not be made public until those directly involved have been notified of the actions. For instance, when the board votes to terminate an employee the city would like to notify the individual out of courtesy prior to the termination being printed in the press.