By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

Marion County’s total assessed value has decreased by $2.2 million compared to last year, according to new figures released by Tax Assessor Sherry McGowan.

The value of motor vehicles decreased by $3 million, which probably means Marion County residents are keeping their old cars instead of replacing them with new ones, McGowan said. Assessed values of vehicles also went down last year, but only by about $720,000.

The county’s total assessed value for 2009-2010 was $144,561, 492 and for 2010-2011 it is $142,274,648, for a total decrease of $2,286,844.

Other than motor vehicles, another area that saw a large decrease was personal property, which consists of business inventory and equipment. The assessed value of personal property decreased by about $1.2 million this year.  With the poor economy, some businesses are cutting back on inventory while others are closing completely.

Real property, which includes homes and land, actually went up by about by about $2 million, partly brought on by home improvement projects.

Marion County Comptroller Mary McKenzie said the $2.2 million drop in assessed value is the largest she has seen since she started working for the Board of Supervisors in the early 1970s. In fact, McKenzie said she can’t remember another year when the assessed value went down at all.

The drop in assessed value most likely means the millage rate will have to be raised to bring in the same amount of money, said McKenzie.

“It’s going to hurt as far as what we take in,” agreed Supervisor Raymon Rowell.

Asked if he thinks the millage rate will have to be raised because of the drop in assessed value, Rowell deferred to Board of Supervisors President Calvin Newsom, who could not be reached for comment.

McKenzie said it is too early to tell how much the millage rate might have to be raised to compensate for the drop in value.

One positive thing is that the county completed paying off the note for Marion General Hospital this year and will no longer have to levy 2.29 mills for that payment, said McKenzie.

The county currently assesses a total of 131.96 mills, for a total budget of $21,385,227. The new millage rate will probably be set around Sept. 15. Last year the Board of Supervisors did not increase the millage rate in the general fund.

The Marion County Board of Supervisros is now posting public notices of meetings on the front door to the office.

By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

The Marion County Board of Supervisors is now posting public notices of its meetings, following an Open Meetings complaint being filed with the Mississippi Ethics Commission.

The Marion County Informer filed the complaint earlier this month after the Board of Supervisors held a meeting without posting any notice.

Board Attorney Joe Shepard has said that the Board of Supervisors is in session for 10 days each month, beginning on the first Monday, and during that time the Board can meet anytime it likes without posting notice. The Informer could not reach Shepard for comment to ask him why the Board of Supervisors is now posting notice of its meetings on the front door to the office.

County Supervisor Raymon Rowell said he does not know why meeting notices are now being posted, saying he does not think the Board is legally required to do so. Rowell said he still believes the supervisors can meet anytime during the 10 days they are in session without posting notice.

The Marion County Informer believes that the Mississippi Open Meetings Act requires the supervisors to post public notice of their meetings.

Rowell said he saw the meeting notice on the door and wondered why it was posted. He said he does not know who made the decision to start posting the notices, adding he has not seen anything from the Ethics Commission regarding the complaint.

Rowell said the Board would not want to meet in violation of the law. “We wouldn’t want to do something wrong,” he said.

If posting notices of meetings makes the citizens feel more comfortable, Rowell said he is in favor of doing so. “If people think we need to give notice, I don’t have a problem with it,” said Rowell. “I work for the people, and they pay my salary.”

Rowell added that if the people don’t like what he is doing he can be voted out of office. “I want to do what’s right,” Rowell said. “I don’t have a problem with people coming to our meetings.”

The Ethics Commission has not yet made a ruling on the Open Meetings complaint. Last week, the Informer received a letter from the Ethics Commission stating that the complaint had been received. The letter states that the next step is for the complaint to be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors which will have 14 days to file a response.

After the Ethics Commission receives the response from the Board of Supervisors or if no response is received, the complaint may be dismissed or a hearing may be set.

The letter, dated July 6, closes by saying, “Your continued cooperation in this matter will be appreciated.”

Other members of the Board of Supervisors including Lloyd Fortenberry, Randy Dyess, and Board President Calvin Newsom could not be reached for comment.

A picture from the flyer that advertises Pearl River Airboat Adventures.

By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

Marion County could soon become a tourist destination for those who wish to take an adventurous boat ride down the Pearl River.

This morning, Gary Blackwell of Columbia went before the Marion County Board of Supervisors requesting permission to operate Pearl River Airboat Adventures from the Columbia Water Park.

Board of Supervisors Attorney Joe Shepard said it would be OK for Blackwell to operate the business as long as boat passengers sign a waiver stating that Marion County is not responsible for incidents or injury. Blackwell said he had no problem with such a waiver and hopes to have the business operating by mid August.

Blackwell said he plans on building a floating dock in the river at the Water Park to give passengers a platform to load the boat from.  Marion County Supervisor Raymon Rowell said he is concerned that allowing a business to build such a dock could set a precedent in which other private enterprises start constructing similar objects in the Columbia Water Park.

Gary Blackwell

Blackwell hopes passengers on the Airboat Adventure will see wildlife, especially alligators. “I’m hoping to find a gator place so they (passengers) can feed them,” said Blackwell, noting that Florida and New Orleans have similar tours. “They ought to be able to see an abundance of wildlife on the Pearl River banks.”

The tour will be good for this area, Blackwell said, because, “There’s nothing going on in Columbia. I’m just trying to make some things happen for Columbia and bring some tourism in.”

Blackwell said he has ordered a $60,000 airboat from Orlando, Fla. that he hopes to have delivered in the next month. Blackwell is not sure of what the exact tour route will be, saying he still needs to scope out the river. However, he said the airboat he ordered is capable of going on sandbars to allow passengers to get out and explore the banks.

Blackwell told the supervisors that he could have chosen Monticello as the place to operate the airboat adventure, but he wants “something happening here.”

The tours will be by appointment only and weather permitting, he said. Appointments can be made by calling the Round Table Restaurant, which Blackwell owns. He does not know yet what the charge for the tour will be but said the minimum length will be 30 minutes while some will last two hours.

He added that he hopes the local Boy Scouts take advantage of the airboat adventure to explore the Pearl River and camp.

The county is now the owner of Marion General Hospital after completing payment on a loan.

By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

This month the county paid off the note for Marion General Hospital.

Hospital Administrator Jerry Howell said the hospital cost about $5 million and was first occupied in 1981. It is great news that the Marion County Board of Supervisors has finished paying back the USDA Rural Development loan, Howell added.

“Anytime the county eliminates debt that it has had for any amount of time it is a significant accomplishment,” Howell said, noting that the payment period was approximately 30 years.

Another positive thing is that the hospital is still structurally sound and in overall good condition, Howell said. Through the years new equipment has been added to the hospital, and the county has performed maintenance such as painting and replacing flooring to keep the facility in good shape, Howell noted.

The economic downturn has taken its toll on the hospital, as some patients have not been able to pay their bills after becoming unemployed, said Howell. According to Howell, it may be extreme to say the hospital is in a financial crisis, but he admitted that it is a difficult time for smaller hospitals such as MGH.

He noted that prior to the recession the hospital had about $300,000 worth of bad debt it wrote off each month from patients who could not pay, and now it is more than $400,000 a month. Howell said that is money the hospital will probably never receive.

To deal with the situation Howell said the hospital has reduced employee hours, minimized staff through attrition, but fortunately has only had to lay off a couple of clerical workers.

He said the hard times Marion General Hospital is facing is “not unusual” for hospitals. Looking to the future, Howell said the hospital is “constantly having to evaluate and go forward,” and he pledged that the quality of care at the hospital will remain good.

County Attorney Joe Shepard

County Supervisor Raymon Rowell

County Supervisor Johnny Glen Stringer

By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

The Marion County Board of Supervisors may have violated the state Open Meetings Law this morning by not giving proper public notice of a meeting.

According to the Open Meetings Law, public bodies are required to give notice of their meetings. The “place, date, hour and subject matter” of the meeting shall be posted within one of hour of the meeting being called, the law states.  Notice of the meeting should be posted “in a prominent place available to examination and inspection by the general public in the building in which the public body normally meets,” the law adds.

County Supervisor Randy Dyess

County Supervisor Lloyd Fortenberry

No such notice was posted for the Marion County Board of Supervisors meeting held this morning.

According to County Attorney Joe Shepard, posting a notice of the meeting was not required because the Board of Supervisors is still in session for this month. It is set forth in the minutes that the Board of Supervisors is in session for 10 business days each month, beginning on the first Monday, said Shepard. During the 10-day period that the Board is in session, meetings can be held without posting notice, according to Shepard.

County Supervisor Raymon Rowell also does not think public notice was required because the Board was still in session for the month. “”I think we can meet anytime during session without giving public notice,” said Rowell.

The Marion County Informer has left messages with the State Ethics Commission and the Mississippi Center for Freedom of Information to determine if the Board can meet anytime it wishes while in session or if notice of each meeting is required.

Other supervisors present at the meeting included Randy Dyess, Lloyd Fortenberry and Johnny Glen Stringer. Dyess was unsure if public notice was required, saying, “All I know is we’re in session for two weeks.”

Fortenberry and Stringer could not be reached for comment after the meeting.

In the meeting, the Board of Supervisors went into a closed session to discuss a personnel matter regarding fired jail employee Ettie Faye Ervin. The board also voted to make an interest payment on Marion General Hospital in the amount of $4,183.

The Marion County Informer found out about the meeting through an anonymous tip.

By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

The Marion County Board of Supervisors went into a closed session meeting this morning at 10 o’clock to discuss a personnel matter.

The meeting apparently pertained to former Marion Walthall Correctional Facility employee Ettie Faye Ervin who was terminated effective June 10. Ervin was present at the meeting.

Prior to the supervisors voting to go into the closed session meeting, Ervin provided the Marion County Informer with a copy of her termination letter signed by Jan Ardis, office manager for the Marion Walthall Correctional Facility. The letter states that Ervin was terminated for “insubordination.”

Ervin, who said she was a mail clerk at the jail, told the Informer that “it is a racket over there all the time,” referring to the office portion of the Marion Walthall Correctional Facility. She added that there is a “big problem” at the Marion Walthall Correctional Facility.

Supervisor Randy Dyess made the motion to go into the closed session, and the other supervisors present, Lloyd Fortenberry, Raymon Rowell and Johnny Glen Stringer voted in favor to close the meeting to the public. Board President Calvin Newsom was not present at the meeting.

Marion Walthall Correctional facility officials including Ardis and Chuck Abrams were allowed to stay in the meeting room when the board went into closed session. Marion County Sheriff Berkley Hall was also present.

Two private property owners oppose this new public boat ramp in Goss.

By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

Two private property owners in Marion County are upset with a new boat ramp that gives the general public more access to the Pearl River.

Goss residents Scott Dale and Nell Tolar live next to the new public boat ramp and think it will be a nuisance. They went before the Marion County Board of Supervisors this morning in hopes of having the public boat ramp destroyed, which is not going to happen.

To make matters worse for Tolar and Dale, the land the boat ramp is located on used to belong to them. They said they feel like they were “deceived” by the state of Mississippi when they sold some of their land more than five years ago for the new Pearl River bridge project in Goss. The boat ramp is located at the foot of the new bridge and was built two weeks ago.

Dale and Tolar said they would have never sold their land to the state if they had known it was going to be used for a public boat ramp. They thought their property would only be used to accommodate the new highway and bridge.

“I feel like we had the wool pulled over our eyes,” said Dale, adding he just found out about the boat ramp two weeks ago when it was built.

Marion County Board of Supervisors President Calvin Newsom

The supervisors likely could not take the boat ramp down if they wanted to. Board of Supervisors President Calvin Newsom said the boat ramp is state owned, but the county will help maintain the facility, which is located under the new bridge and has parking. The boat ramp was part of the overall $20 million Pearl River bridge project in Goss that was primarily paid for with state and federal funds, said Supervisor Lloyd Fortenberry, whose beat the boat ramp is in.

Newsom said he is sorry that Dale and Tolar feel like they were deceived, adding that he does not think that was intended. Dale is not mad at the county supervisors and said that the majority of county residents probably favor the boat ramp.

However, Dale said the property he lives on has been in his family since 1866, and he does not think it’s right that he is being “punished” for having land along the river.

Fortenberry said he advocated the construction of the boat ramp, because more public access to the Pearl River was needed. “I had a lot of people in my district and beyond who wanted a way to the river other than Columbia or Monticello,” said Fortenberry. “The Pearl River belongs to everyone. It needs to be accessible to everyone.”

Marion County Supervisor Lloyd Fortenberry

Fortenberry added that there are low-income people who can only access the river via free public access points such as the new boat ramp. He added that the boat ramp will probably draw people from different counties who want to access the river.

Tolar is concerned that a public boat ramp will draw a criminal element, including people who use drugs, fight and drink. She added that she is an elderly woman and that her children fear for her safety with her living next to the public boat ramp.

Newsom said the county will do its best to patrol the boat ramp to make sure there is no criminal activity taking place and will also post no alcohol signs. A sheriff’s deputy will go to the boat ramp daily to make sure there is nothing criminal taking place, Newsom added.

In general, fishermen are honest people, and therefore Tolar should not worry about them causing problems, Newsom said. Supervisor Raymon Rowell agreed that fishermen are typically good people who do not commit crimes.

Dale is not necessarily concerned about the safety factor, but is upset that the road to access the boat ramp is the same road he uses to get to his house. Dale is concerned that the road will not be maintained well with all the traffic and boat trailers.

For 15 years Tolar has operated a private boat ramp at her residence that people can pay to use. Tolar said she has let many people access the river from her property for free. She asked the supervisors if there was any way a fence could be constructed to afford her more privacy from the boat ramp, and Newsom said he would have to check into that and get back with her.

Election poll workers undergo training today to get ready for the June 1 primary election.

Poll workers were undergoing training on the touch-screen voting machines this afternoon in the Marion County Chancery Courtroom in preparation for next Tuesday’s June 1 primary election. According to Circuit Clerk Jesse Loftin, whose office oversees the election, poll worker training takes place before each election. Kendra Turnage, pictured at left, looks at a print out from one of the voting machines. The only races on next Tuesday’s ballot will be for U.S. Congress. In District 3, there will be a Democratic primary with candidates Joel L. Gill  of Pickens, James D. Jackson of Brandon and Shawn O’Hara of Hattiesburg, and District 4 will have a Republican primary with candidates Joe Tegerdine of Petal and Steven Palazzo of Biloxi. There are a total of 17,040 registered voters in Marion County. The polls open at 7 a.m. next Tuesday and close at 7 p.m. Following are precinct locations for voters in District 3: Carley, Cedar Grove, Darbun, East Columbia, Goss, Kokomo, Morgantown, Pittman, Stovall, White Bluff. District 4 includes Balls Mill, City Hall, Courthouse, Foxworth, Hub, Jefferson School, National Guard, Pine Burr, Popetown, Sandy Hook, South Columbia and Union. The Morris Precinct is split between Districts 3 and 4.