January 22, 2016
On Thursday night January 21, 2016, Mrs. Sam Atkinson held a 2 hour training session with the Bay St. Louis Administration (Mayor), City Council and a handful of Bay St. Louis city employees. It was so artfully done, that there were very few questions that had to be asked of Mrs. Atkinson by the officials. The public was allowed to attend the meeting as observers only, and no comments were allowed from the observers, in an effort to maintain the training atmosphere rather than distractive rhetoric which was a good idea. You could tell that Mrs Atkinson was well versed in her field and that we all; employees, elected officials and citizens alike, could learn a lot from her expertise. I later reviewed my own notes and then listened to the tape of the session again. There were three things that seemed to primarily target the City Council:
1. The proper development of the council meeting agendas,
2. The documentation of council actions through accurate minutes, and
3. The approval of the payment of the city’s bills (Docket of Claims) through an orderly procedural chain.
Mrs. Atkinson stated firmly that there was great liability facing the Council Members if their procedures in paying the bills did not follow clear policies and procedures of verification. Verification that the bills were paid in the order they were received, that the bills were separated by docket numbers, properly dated, and subsequently logged into a docket book. She also stated that it was illegal for the Administration to hinder the Council from receiving requested information or the originals of those invoices, because it could make them vulnerable to liability. Then she said something astounding: Misspending of the public’s funds could require replacement of those funds to the public by use of the bonds of the officials that did not do their part to protect those public trust funds…. and (here is the key):
LOSS OF BOND EQUALS LOSS OF OFFICE.
Mrs Atkinson also stated several things that were actually against the law, or you could say “illegal”:
1. The Administration not presenting documentation to the Council when requested.
2. Transfer of funds without the approval of the Council.
3. Spending funds outside the budget
4. Co-mingling of designated funds and several others things that space does not allow me expand upon in this post.
I have attended the Council meetings consistently for at least six years, and have heard the Council repeatedly ask, demand, beg, and downright grovel (in my opinion) before this administration for dated original invoices in time before the meetings so that they could be sure what they were actually paying on the docket, only to be put off meeting after meeting. It has been an embarrassing display of disrespect to the Council by the Administration. All of these problems could have been avoided, had the Administration simply complied with the law.
We, many Ward 5 & 6 citizens, have been very discouraged that we paid our garbage pick-up bills last year but our money went into the general fund and was misspent by Administration that did not pay our Solid Waste bill. The Utility Authority bill was also not paid on time – though the Citizens had already paid our bills to the City. The Solid Waste Bill and Utility Authority bill got so far behind that a loan had to be taken out to catch it. (By the way that loan was illegal, too).
So in essence, we’ve had to pay our bill twice. Once, when we paid our bill to the City and again out of our tax money to pay back the loan. I could mention here, as well, that there was a surcharge added to your utility bill to cover a bond payment. That money was not to be co-mingled with general utility funds, but it was and then expended thus the money dedicated to future bond payments that was required to be set aside got behind as well.
Now, I understand, that yet another incidence has occurred that will be reported on at the first February Council meeting. It appears that the Department of Justice will place a stipulation on the city to repay around $300,000.00 into the Equitable Sharing Fund because the Administration co-mingled those funds and they have been spent. Mrs Atkinson was clear that the Police Chief alone could approve the expenditure of those funds. Your City Council has passed resolution after resolution, unanimously, to demand that the Administration put the money where it was supposed to go, only to be ignored.
It sounds like it might be necessary, since the Council is trying to do things right, that the bonds of those who have mishandled these funds should be taken to refund and make right those accounts so that we citizens don’t have to pay for the mishandling of funds by this Administration, again and again. The scary part is that once the bonds of the Administrator, and those responsible in the administration over the last few years for mismanaging our funds are taken, the rule applies: LOSS OF BOND=LOSS OF OFFICE. Maybe it’s past time for a resignation.
Libby Garcia
Bay St. Louis Property Owner
Tax Payer
For those of you that have not attended a City Council meeting Miss Libby is stalwart attendee of the council meetings that has seen it all. She does a great service to the community keeping an eye on our elected officials.
Those misspent Utility funds related First Bank Credit Line, which is the illegal loan to which she referred has been one of those issues from a couple of years ago that continues to bother the Citizenry here and for good reason because no one likes to pay for the same service twice, especially when it is due to sheer financial ineptitude.
There was an attorney in the room that night when the council approved that loan who advised the City Council that it complied with the law. Financial ineptitude on part of an elected official with over inflated opinions of their management capabilities? That I’ve seen a lot professionally so it does not bother me like it does some of the other engaged citizens. But a City Attorney advising a City Council that a loan without any statutory authority in the Mississippi Code actually complying with the code? In my career auditing that is something that I had never seen.
The last word of Miss Libby’s piece needs to be plural in my opinion. The City needs a professional, rather than a yes man with a law degree and a license, giving its officials legal advice.
The fiduciary duty that leaders have to citizens had been ignored for years. The city council approved payments without proper documentation. The mayor has a laundry list of crimes. There’s a reason these folks are bonded: this is it. There are eight bonds available to repay this money. They all need to be used.
Our city attorney doesn’t have E&O insurance. Is he at least bonded???
Nope
The City Attorney gave them an E&O declarations sheet but the attorney has failed to give them the exclusions. I do not beleive he is covered for municipal work for a paltry $1800. Although his E&O coverage is paltry as well. $250K yet he demanded to get paid $40K on the Bond Reveiw! He was short $3.75 Million if there were an error! Talk about irresponsible. Also the land transactions and other liabilities in his hands far exceded his finacial ability to remedy. The council has had their hands full of the clown to the left and thr joker to the right! Wendy has consistantly argued for and has gotten financial support for an organization she partners with! At one meeting the counselor said she had conflict and the next meeting he let her vote on it! This ridiculous affair has gone on and on and on! The council has to pick a choose their fights! Im am thrilled that Mrs Atkinson is here to fix the Malfeasance!
I am making a public request on how much money we have spent on MML Training over the last 6 years to include travel, lodging, Class, meals, Costs Books etc. I want the offenders to explain why we had to pay the OSA $35 an hour and an auditing firm $9K to tell them what they did not learn or failed to apply they learned at MML Training!
I think he finally got E&O insurance, Rachel. But all of this happened before he got it. Don’t know how that is handled.
He did advise them on the First Bank loan which involved the missing utility bills Libby mentioned, but we actually do not know if he was aware of the comingling of the Department of Justice Drug Forfeiture Funds to be fair.
I have wondered about that MML situation for a long time. Mrs. Atkinson told me she has done workshops for MML on just what was covered Thursday evening.
You have long standing incumbents on that Council–
Seal-15 years–Compretta–15
Reed–12–Boudin-9.
It seems like by now they would know the ropes.
“Financial Ineptitude” is putting it kindly. Out right Fraud and Illegal spending sounds much better to me.
Thank You Libby and Lana and your group that have attended the meeting and witnessed the disgusting actions of this administration during the “Les Years” I have seen New Orleans and other cities, but Les is at the top of the List. And for the Council to continue to defend him, and the City Attorney to approve his actions, is all so appalling.
Lets hope the Bond pays for the actions of the Mayor and he has to leave office. Maybe Wendy, Bobby, Doug and Jeff need to go also since they are his “Fan Club” and vote with him always. I’d like to know what they personally are getting for this support to him????
It is time for the people of BSL to take a stand and demand for the elected officials do the right thing.
The devil is in the details! I will get them! Hopefully they registered for our tax payer funding of trauning otherwise it was a rouge!
Folks it doesnt stop. If you recall he had a $600,000 error on this years budget! Hahaha clerical errors, mistakes etc…..the council and the media are picking on him.
His toast to carnival today will be more like a last supper!
His assholiness reighn is over!
Libby left them no wriggle room!
They’ve done their dance.
Now, it’s time to pay the band👯
Pay for the band he will…….for most of us humility would come into play and we would just step down and fade into population but his arrogance prevents that from happening. He will deny and blame other people until everyone has turned on him even his most loyal political hires.
Bad boys bad boys what ya gonna do when they come for you? Bad boys
Who is running the city while les and Raff are putting on a legal defense! I hear they are placing Rat Traps out for the defectors! He will have enough cheese to put in the traps for sure!