by Associated Press Published: June 12,2012
Tags: appropriations, bonds, debt, education, elementary schools, funding, funds, high schools, junior high schools, kindergartens, learning, municipal govertnment, revenues, school districts, schools, secondary schools, students, tax collections, taxes, taxpayers
JACKSON — Jackson residents will soon pay more in taxes supporting the city’s school district. When 81 percent of voters in 2006 approved a $150 million bond issue to build more schools and improve others, it meant they were willing to have property taxes raised to pay that debt. But city leaders didn’t raise taxes [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: May 25,2012
Tags: attorneys, bench, courts, judges, judicial, judiciary, justices, law, lawyers, legal, state agency, state government, taxes, taxpayers
JACKSON — The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled yesterday in two cases that legal fees paid to private lawyers to represent the state are public funds. Justices said because the money belongs to the public, it should’ve been paid out to the lawyers from the attorney general’s contingent fund or from other money appropriated to the [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: May 25,2012
Tags: annex, annexation, appeal, bench, courts, judges, judicial, judiciary, land, municipal government, property, real estate, taxes, taxpayers
PASS CHRISTIAN — The city of Pass Christian has now decided it won’t appeal a judge’s decision denying the city’s request to annex 5.4 square miles in Harrison County. The Sea Coast Echo reports the board of aldermen reached that decision this week after Mayor Chipper McDermott said an appeal would cost $60,000. Aldermen then [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: May 17,2012
Tags: annex, annexation, appropriations, budget, finance, financing, municipal government, real estate, rtaxes, taxpayers
PASCAGOULA — An additional $175,000 will come out of the Pascagoula general fund this fiscal year to finance annexation. The Mississippi Press reports city leaders approved the budget amendment. The city’s plan to annex about 21 square miles east of the city got rolling in fall 2010, and has been a subject of debate ever [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: April 13,2012
Tags: clinic, credit cards, debit cards, entertainment, misappropriations, municipal government, SCANDAL, sex, state agency, state government, taxes, taxpayers, treatment
SOUTHAVEN — The office of Mississippi Auditor Stacey Pickering is revising the amount that Southaven Mayor Greg Davis must repay to taxpayers after aldermen determined that about $6,000 in charges to the mayor’s city-issued credit card were not city-related expenses. “We didn’t have enough documentation to justify approximately $6,000 as city expenses,” Aldermen Ronnie Hale [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: March 28,2012
Tags: audit, auditing, auditors, clinic, credit card, entertainment, investigation, law enforcement, mayor, misappropriations, misdemeanor, municipal government, scam, SCANDAL, school bus, sex shop, taxes, taxpayers, traffic violation, treatment
SOUTHAVEN — Southaven Mayor Greg Davis has surrendered to authorities after he was charged with passing a school bus in a private vehicle that displayed blue police-type lights. The Commercial Appeal reports the misdemeanor charge, stemming from an incident last week. The embattled mayor was already the target of state auditors and the FBI investigating [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: March 26,2012
Tags: audit, car, clinic, entertainment, investigation, mayor, misappropriations, municipal governmwnt, sex scandal, stress, taxes, taxpayers, treatment
SOUTHAVEN — Southaven Mayor Greg Davis used campaign money for a $30,000 car, treatment at an Arizona stress clinic and $75,000 in personal credit card payments. The spending, legal in Mississippi, showed up in campaign finance reports, The Commercial Appeal said. Nothing in Mississippi law forbids personal use of campaign money — a loophole that [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: March 26,2012
Tags: alderman, aldermen, audit, board of alderman, credit card, entertainment, mayor, misappropriations, municipal government, review, SCANDAL, sex shop, state government, taxes, taxpayers
SOUTHAVEN — The Mississippi auditor’s office warned Southaven aldermen in a March 16 letter that they were running the risk of being held liable for charges made by Mayor Greg Davis if they did not immediately review the items in question. The Commercial Appeal reports Special Asst. Atty. Gen. Melissa C. Patterson chastised board members [...] [...]
OCEAN SPRINGS — The city of Ocean Springs is looking at possible fee increase or reductions in spending to address a projected $600,000 deficit in next year’s budget. The Mississippi Press reports City Clerk Shelly Ferguson outlined alternatives for the board of aldermen this week. The board asked Ferguson to come back in April with [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: March 22,2012
Tags: appropriations, bill, budget, funding, funds, law, lawmakers, legislative, legislators, Legislature, state budget, state government, taxes, taxpayers
JACKSON — Mississippi legislators are starting to pass the first versions of budget bills for the year that begins July 1, but much of what they’re approving now is likely to change during the next several weeks. The House and Senate face a late-April deadline to allocate money for everything from schools to prisons. Top [...] [...]