Tuesday night’s City Council meeting was a doozie and that does not count this:
Lawyer’s discovery stuns Bay St. Louis officials ~ Wes Muller
Bay St. Louis attorney Stephen Benvenutti told the council the city’s comprehensive zoning ordinance was never published, as required by law, when it was adopted by the previous City Council in 2010.
Municipalities are legally required to publish zoning change proposals and other significant measures in the municipality’s local newspaper within 30 days of a council’s vote. The newspaper of record for municipalities in Hancock County is the Sea Coast Echo.
The display of ineptitude inherent to not following simple, statutorily mandated tasks such as keeping a codified book of municipal ordinances and publishing them after Council adoption by Mayor Fillingame and his appointees is stunning, though not surprising. The fact is this problem was identified in 2015 by the FY 2014 auditors at Wright Ward Hatten and Guel. Here is what the state auditor wrote in their Performance Review of that audit:
“You’re – in essence – healthy,” Bobby Culumber, of Gulfport-based CPA firm Culumber, Harvey & Associates, told council members at a workshop meeting on Thursday.
Ooops sorry folks wrong auditor. Here is what the State Auditor Performance Review said about Fillingame Administration problems handling ordinances:
It’s clear from the State Auditor’s language Mayor Fillingame was confused as to his job responsibilities in 2014, despite being well into his second term as the “Strong Mayor”. A plain read of the Performance Review shows he pointed the finger at the Council and Council Clerk as the reason for his incompetence but as OSA makes clear that dog don’t hunt. Along those lines it should surprise no one I am hearing Fillingame and his political supporters are again pointing the finger at Former Council Clerk Jane Carrow in an effort to scapegoat her for the Mayor’s ineptitude. But it is worse than that because there are other official actions that must be advertised in the local paper such as Debt issued that is backed by the full faith and credit of the municipality. There are currently “dedicated”* tax levies to pay these debts which were never advertised. The liability exposure to the City could run into the millions folks, such liability pointed out by the State Auditor in the Performance Review.
These problems, all identified long ago, continue to keep coming up. Luckily for weary taxpayers in the Bay an opportunity is coming in early June for the Citizenry to take out the trash at City Hall. Unfortunately for the taxpayers, making good with citizens like Mr. Adams is likely to cost scarce tax money well into the future.
* Term used with caution in Bay St Louis as the Mayor has no problem expending dedicated funds for prohibited purposes.
They are the gift that keeps on giving, and taking😩😩
And yet I got a haircut Wednesday & was amazed at the number of Fillingame signs proudly on display in Ward 2 …
Main Street is now called “Snow Flake Blvd”!
Me too! What’s up with that
Any politician will tell you … Signs don’t vote. People feel obligated to put yard signs up, but the truth is the only vote that matters are the ones cast on election day. There are lots of qualified candidates in all races, and I hope people think about their decisions before just checking the box.
My, my corruption continues to spread it’s wings at the Bay. Vote them all out or like a cancerous growth it will continue to spread.
Be careful who you vote for or it will continue.
I wonder if the same type of “mistake” has been made with the City of BSL’s adoption(s) of the building codes it attempts to enforce?
Time to review the minutes.
Clerical Errors, lost documents, misunderstandings, impermissible actions, computer errors, forgery, payroll mistakes, nepotism etc. have plagued the mayor since he has been in office.
Les calls them incompetent but he hired them! He really is a pathetic man.
Pathetic is being kind. There is not enough room to write all of the cons against him. He needs to run again to have a job, who would hire him. What credentials does he have to apply for a job. The Video store is closed.
Drain the Swamp !!!
What disgusts me is that even if the mayor is not re-elected, think about the “golden parachute” he will receive when he retires. Years of monthly checks going to his address for being the worst mayor this city has elected and hopefully NOT re-elect. Crime does not pay, but stupid apparently does.
People have to get out to vote, and it may mean they have to vote against party lines for what is most important. Obviously the Mayoral race is important, but that needs to be messaged out to everyone. They need to step in and vote where it matters most!
As a realist, I will admit that mistakes will surely happen. But when they happen second, third, fourth and fifth times … Then you have a problem. In regards to this mistake, this is comparable to Mr. Fillingame “forgetting” to appoint someone to the school board in February as is statutorily required of him. Did he forget or did he hope to stay off decision making until after the election? He doesn’t want to risk losing votes by making the right decision.
Les is a continuous debacle. There is more to come. He and his rogue attorney feasted on the tax payers for a long time. The Rogue is gone now lets get rid of the incompetent mayor. He lies for a living. He has chased his adversaries around wasting the police resources on his and his daughters fabrications until they just had to go in hiding. I hear the judges roll their eyes when they are mentioned. He puts everyone he associates with at risk of corruption. He goes after people under the color of law abuses time after time.
Every department he puts his daughter in gets screwed up. She created billing ineptitude in the utility department and had enough questionable actions managing public property that they have to out source it to straighten it out.
Drain the swamp! Getting rid of the rogue attorney took out the biggest alligator now go after the rest. Raffs insurance is being put on notice. Dollar to a donut he does not have E&O Insurance. Only reputable attorneys do.
Les is Predident of the Solid Waste Authority. We are going to take Medical Waste from all over the country because we have cheap dump fees and stupid politicians. No sur charges or limits on where the garbage is generated. Alaska can ship theirs to an acceptable state and it will come here cheap. He can screw up a wet dream!
Who is “behind” this medical waste proposal? Not the business front. The people pulling the strings. This didn’t just happen overnight. Much like the current dump owners came into trash gold when they were “awarded” their current contract. If there is money to be “made” then the medical waste will be heading for Hancock County.
Lord,
Les Filingame has been working this. He is the Predident of the Solid Waste Dept. He has a fascination with garbage. Like the down town processing center that no one wants to participate in.
Big money in garbage. He can get paid to push contracts while they push garbage.
No limits on who sends it! Les thinks he is a business man! LOL!
No negotiation like said cheep rent and stupid politicians!
Will this ever end? What is the most disturbing issue are the people of BSL. They are so blind to his ways. When they were assessed the $13 on their water bills that should have been the 1st clue.. Where did our money go? Why didn’t Les pay the WWA?
Gee people — Wake up !!! If he would have at least taken responsibility on one issue that would be admirable, but he has an excuse for everything and blames everyone. That is another clue… Then blames the deceased Police Chief ==Clue –The attorney her hires for the City with no E & O Insurance and nothing has been done as per the government guidelines for procedure on issues,,,, Clue,,,, Department heads he hires have no qualifications…Clue….Daughter leaving early but gets paid for full day and requires CASH when renting a city venue..Clue,, and I bet there are over 100 clues here….City Ordinance not properly advertised (how many more)..Clue…. Please go out and vote for anyone but Les…
Perhaps now is the time for the citizens of Bay ST Louis (and soon Waveland) to CAREFULLY CONSIDER who needs to be the head of the city. The good old boy system and knee jerk voring responses have never worked, and won’t begin to work now. Think!!!! about what kind of city you want, and vote in the person who will lead you there.
I would think that at a minimum, citizens should be able to feel like their utility bill payments are safe when sent to their city hall to be applied to their bill.
There is still some explaining due the folks in the Bay when theirs were misappropriated in 2013, and they were stuck with a $500,000 loan at The First Bank to bail out the ” Misappropriators!!!!
Yep. That needs to be resolved before May 2!
A lot needs to be re solved before May 2, and I hope the Good People of BSL have open minds and make the crucial decision to vote for someone who will lead the city in the right direction and straighten out the mess Les has made in the last 8 years. I truly feel sorry for who ever is elected, because that person will be fighting their way out of a sink hole.
When is the next election. I am presently registered in LA. I am in the process of rebuilding my damaged house in BSL and plan on making it my permanent residence.
http://www.seacoastecho.com/article_10758.shtml
The deadline to register is 4/1/17. Circuit clerk handles that is MS. You can register by mail.