Yesterday’s Nunc Pro Tunc request by the administration that was related to the $13/month utility surcharge and the September 9, 2014 City Council minutes failed.
As a refresher for everyone keeping track of the doings in the Bay, the utility surcharge that was subject of the Nunc Pro Tunc request by the Administration was supposed to be used exclusively for debt service of the refunding Utility bonds the City was forced to issue in order to avert a default on Utility Fund debt payment that was due around the first of July of 2014. The refunding bonds were issued and the surcharge dedicated to the debt payment was eventually approved by the City Council but the administration instead co-mingled the surcharge into the Enterprise Fund and misspent the surcharge on the City’s general Utility Fund operations. With that set up, I figured now would be a good time to highlight some of Slabbed’s contemporaneous coverage of the Bay’s financial meltdown circa 2014:
- Financial Statement Drilldown: Is Bay St Louis budgeting revenues it will never collect?
- Writing checks that can’t be cashed: Bay St Louis is broke
- The Technical Term is “In-substance defeasance”
- City of Bay St Louis at financial cross roads: Budgeting hope versus reality
- City Auditors considering Going Concern Opinion on Bay St Louis Financials
- Chapter 9 Bankruptcy: A primer for the Citizens of Bay St Louis
- Proposed Bay St. Louis utility rate hike fails
- Strategic Plan: To the last dime we spend…
- Fillingame Administration a going concern: Auditors explain to City Council why the City is getting a very bad report.
- UPDATED: Bay businessman claims Mayor Fillingame retaliated against his business for speaking out on financial crisis.
- BREAKING: The Hancock County Alliance for Good Government has issued the following statement
- Bay St Louis Mayor says news coverage of City’s audit report “sensationalized”
Raff and Les are reaching for remedies. Mrs Atkinson has educated them on the pitfalls of playing follow the leader as well as scrutinizing advice from Raff Man.
I was upsetting that they renewed Raffs contract knowing that he selectively prosecutes at the detriment of many people. As well he uses our court system for his play ground. His time will come soon enough.
Did the administration really think the Council would fall for that after being educated by Samantha Atkinson from the Office of the State Auditor for the last 5 months as to how to handle the city’s finances? I am still trying to sort this out.
Was the Council really going to be approached by the Mayor and City Attorney to change minutes to state that the $13 surcharge was never really dedicated to a specific purpose?
Have the Mayor and attorney forgotten that the Mayor signed a document at the bank to that effect?
Have they forgotten the meetings are recorded?
The scary thing here is the Council at one point in time could have been convinced to do something like this, but even though old habits die hard, I think Hizzona and the Counselor are dealing with a different set of public officials now. My, what a little education can do for the benefit of the taxpayers!
Lana,
Remember that Rafferty signed those documents too! That was a legal defense being orchestrated by the both of them! Still, we renewed his contract! He selectively prosecutes citizens and they know it!
Thanks, Dumped On.
I thought Rafferty signed too but wasn’t sure.
At any rate he sat through the whole process and debate with the Council, Mayor, and City Clerk Kolf.
Deep Throats crystal meth ball came up with…. Fire Chef resigned this afternoon????
Not sure truth or rumor, but sounds like a new tune….Les’s bridge is falling down falling down….Les’s bridge is falling down all through his leaders……
Hope all those hard working firefighters don’t go hungry without the Chef….
And while we are on the topic of leaders….Chew Chew Charlie is gonna be in court Tootsday at 10Am for his Hey man why you doing that tour!!!!Cocktails anyone?????
I sure hope the rumor of Fire Chief resigning is false. We need good leadership somewhere in this administration.
Charlie in Code office we can live without….That salary can be saved..
Does the Bay have a fire chief? Been lots happening with the fire department including equipment issues but its always an underlying that appears before the council. I thought San Fillipo was already gone quite frankly.
She is not a Certified Police Chief. She acts in standing only like in the Building Department. We have very few qualified department heads if any. Les likes it that way because he can control their destiny! Quid Pro Quo
Well, the final draft from the Performance Audit Division of Stacey Pickering’s Office is in and the Bay St. Louis City Council voted last night to
accept the report, pay the Auditor’s office for their 5 months of work on the city’s books, publish the report on the City’s website for public viewing. At that point, I would imagine the Counvil could begin to take whatever action the Auditor’s office recommended to secure the finances on behalf of the taxpayers.
True to form, the Mayor made a weak attempt to delay the action of the Council because he claims to have ” quite a few objections to parts of it.”
Council moved on and took care of business. Without this 5 month intense education provided them by the Auditor’s office, they may not have acted on their own this time last year. While the bill came in at around $800 more than quoted in Jan. by the Auditor’s office, Council voted 6 to 1 to pay–Seal being the “no” vote. It was explained that they had no obligation to pay the overage, but the Auditor had to bill for the exact amount of hours she spent with them.
In my humble opinion, it is the best money they have spent in the past 3 years because it will truly benefit the taxpayers in the end.
Remember them? The folks who provide the $$$$ for the politicians to play with?!
Les is now just awaiting his fate! Quid Pro Quo has not worked for him since the OSA came to town.
He did manage to get Charlie Oliver off the hook on his DUI, i’m hearing? I am also hearing the Judge is going to have to defend his legal favor by public demand.
Raff used his court room play house again!
Sorry my previous comment, I am in support of Police Chief NOT fire chief. Was confused…. They can let her go no loss to the city along with City Code office Charlie.
Les likes interim chiefs with no certifications, he would be lost if someone had more credentials than he did.