My Visits to the Zoo

There was not a big crowd tonight, but that's not surprising. A meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen is not the most exciting event in the world. (Later I stopped by a meeting of the Natchez Historical Society about witches, and it was standing room only.) By the way, if you missed it, you can watch it on Channel 4 Thursday night at 6 pm - I think that's the right time.

I've been attending meetings for quite a while now, and there is always discussion ad nauseum about getting grass cut at abandoned houses. What a waste of time! I simply don't understand why meetings are filled with such items when they could easily be accomplished by calling a city employee on the phone. If you look at an Agenda for one of these meetings, you never see anything of substance. The only public hearings they have are for issues required by law.

For example, everyone knows the Board is considering bringing a casino to the Natchez Riverfront, but it has never been on their Agenda. The only reason it was discussed tonight is because three citizens (Gwen Ball, Neil Varnell, and I) asked for time to discuss it. My testimony was basically asking them to involve the citizens in their decisions about the use of city property. Gwen discussed some of the research on casinos. Neil urged them to abide by the Chadbourne plan for waterfront development. Mostly our testimony was met with stares, although I'm quite certain that Aldermen Massey was snearing at us and even made a snide remark under his breath. Gwen asked the Aldermen if they had a vision or a plan for the city. After a period of silence, Aldermen Middleton said his vision was for jobs. Perhaps the most telling moment was when Neil offered to go over the Chadbourne plan and asked if anyone was willing to do this. Only Middleton raised his hand. The rest were totally disinterested in learning about it, even though theoretically they're bound to abide by it - and I'd bet my last dollar none of them are knowledgeable about it. There has been speculation that Middleton is planning to run for Mayor, which may explain why he's being nice.

During the reports of the Aldermen, Aldermen Gray told us why he walked out of the meeting last time. He said that a city employee, without any authorization at all, negotiated with a developer for a casino and presented a contract to the Board. Aldermen Gray said he didn't want any more citizen lawsuits, and he knew that was not the legal way to do it, and he was having nothing to do with it. After the meeting, I asked him if the city employee was David Gardner, since someone had posted a comment on this blog to that effect. He said it was. Even the most boring meeting has its gems!

I think I forgot to tell you that, as a result of Aldermen Gray and Mathis walking out, the City has solicited bids on the development of Roth Hill. Bids are due in mid November.

UPDATE: The ad is in today's paper and says:

REQUESTS FOR PROPOSAL. Notice is hereby given that the City of Natchez, Mississippi is Requesting Proposals for the Lease or Purchase and Development of the Roth Hill Road Site until 5 pm on November 16 2006.

I also attended two other meetings that are never attended by the public, although by law they are open. One was the "Working Session" yesterday and the other was the Finance Committee today. In both cases, I was the only person there, although Joan Gandy from the Democrat came late to both. I don't know if I inhibited them or not, but they surely didn't do much of anything in either meeting. It was mostly chit chat about this and that, with no organization that I could ascertain.

In the meeting this afternoon, they voted to go into Executive Session after about 30 minutes, which meant Joan and I had to leave. There are legal reasons to go into Executive Session, but there's no way to tell what they talked about once we left. I can tell you they go into Executive Session a lot.

There is another "Working Session" next Wednesday at 4 pm, in case anyone is interested in joining me. This Wednesday (October 25) is the meeting of the Community Alliance at 3 pm in the Convention Center.

PS I will be letting you know of an organizational meeting in the near future.

PSS It would be helpful if Commenters would register a name before leaving a comment. When everyone uses Anonymous, it makes it difficult for us to respond to comments. Let me assure you that no one, including me, knows who you are when you register except Google.

Let's Get Organized!

Nothing like the threat of a casino on the bluffs to activate people! Have you seen all the comments? People have some great ideas. We need to get organized so we can accomplish some of our goals. Here are some suggestions:

1. Several people suggested that we should meet and get organized. I'll be glad to call a meeting. Could someone volunteer their home or some other place? If so, send me an email.
2. Go to the next meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen on Tuesday, October 24 at 6 pm. If you want to speak, you have to submit a request in writing no later than Wednesday. Your request merely has to state that you request time on the Agenda. When you speak, it doesn't have to be long or elaborate. Just ask them to please involve the citizens in the decision to have a casino.
3. One of the commenters talked about the Community Alliance, which was designated as the "voice of the community" at a Town Hall meeting. They meet on the fourth Wednesday of every month (October 25) at 3 pm at the Convention Center. Let's go check it out.

By the way, today I went to the meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen. It was supposed to be solely for the purpose of passing the docket, so they could pay bills. And it was. However, they also set a date for a "Working Meeting" prior to the regular meeting on Tuesday. It is tentatively scheduled for Monday October 23 at 4 pm.

All meetings have to be open to the public, with some exceptions. I'm going to try to attend this meeting. I think there may be some fireworks, according to one of the Aldermen. Come, if you can. However, be sure to check with the Mayor's office (601.445.7555) to see if the day or time has been changed.

Looks like next week will be busy! Have a Happy Balloon Fest! I'm expecting visitors and probably won't post anything until next week.

Our City is Out of Control!

The City Government is totally out of control, and Natchez citizens had better take action to protect our City! This crisis became blatantly clear by reading two articles in today's Natchez Democrat.

One article describes the problems City Departments are having functioning without a budget. This is unconscionable! By state law, the City must adopt a budget in September, as their fiscal year begins October 1. Did they? No! Instead they passed a fake budget. The guys who can't find time in their busy schedule to do their job are the same ones who gave themselves a big raise a couple of months ago.

The other article explains why they don't have time to deal with piddly little things like financing the City's government. They're busy with their secret deal to develop a casino!

The most horrible part of the article was that the Mayor and all the Aldermen are in agreement to have a casino under Roth's Hill. They're fighting alright, but not over whether to have a casino, but which one. The white Aldermen brought a proposal from one developer and expected it to be adopted. The Mayor and black Aldermen want it subjected to bid - or they want another developer. The only people with no say in the matter are the ones affected the most - the citizens of Natchez. Needless to say, citizens can be understood if they think these politicians must have something to gain here. After all, casinos have lots of money to throw around.

They really think that the citizens have absolutely no right to be involved in this discussion! Here's what the Mayor said:

“I was hoping we could avoid this being a public issue. It’s too important for it to become a public issue."

Can you believe that? It's too important for us to be involved! He seems to forget that he and the Aldermen work for us. (See Natchez Democrat editorial on this issue.)

This may be the first time that a racial disagreement benefits Natchez. At least, it delays the secret casino backroom deal. However, I'm willing to bet any takers they'll reach an unanimous decision (behind closed doors of course) to allow a casino.

What can you do to stop this atrocity?

1. Get in touch with your Alderman and tell them what you think of their shady deals. Click here for addresses, phone numbers, and emails for City Officials. If you don't know who your Alderman is, contact the Mayor at 601.445.7555 or mayor@natchez.ms.us.
2. Attend all meetings of the Mayor and Board. They meet on the second Tuesday of every month at 11 am and the fourth Tuesday at 6 pm. The next regular meeting is Tuesday, October 26. However, since they didn't meet last week, they have to have a special meeting next Tuesday, October 19 at 5 pm to approve the docket to pay their bills (Disgraceful!). They say the casino deal will not come up then, but their word is not worth much.
3. Tell your neighbors and everyone you know what's going on. At least some of these politicians want to get reelected, and the only thing that may stop them is outrage from voters.

Casino Crisis?

In the story I posted about the non meeting of the Mayor and Board of Alderman, I said there was a rumor they were considering a casino development. This rumor is getting stronger.

An anonymous comment on the last story:

"Hunch: There is a bigtime casino operator knocking on the door and wanting to invest cash in Natchez. Hunch: Other proposals are lurcking and may pay the right individuals better. Likely minority group, maybe from Atlanta."

In an editorial in today's Democrat:

"None of the board members will confirm the details but sources say the issue involves a potential second casino development."

In that same editorial, the important issue is made very clear.

"Regardless of the specifics of the development potential, the city needs to come clean on its plans and let the public have input. Secret deals never seem to pass the smell test with us, or the taxpayers."

If the Mayor and Aldermen ever want to survive another election, they'd better pay attention to that advice. If the citizens of Natchez are involved in the process and the majority want a casino, fine. But if the Mayor and Board decide on a casino behind closed doors, all hell will break loose.

Stay tuned.

The Non Meeting

Last time at the meeting of the Mayor and Aldermen, we had the budget public hearing on the non budget. This time we had the non meeting. With this group, there is never a dull moment!

The Mayor apologized to the public and said there could not be a meeting since there was no quorum. There is, of course, a story here.

As we all know, the Board always meets prior to the public meeting in the little room in the back. And as we all suspect, it is in there that all the real decisions are made. They work out their deals in there and then come out and put on a pretty face for the public. However, something went wrong this time - or right maybe.

Alderman West was not there. Right before the public meeting, Aldermen Arceneaux-Mathis and Gray left the back room, continued on out of the building, and never returned. Hmmm! I think they were mad, don't you? Apparently, something was being voted on, and they were on the losing side of a 3-2 vote. I imagine they thought Aldermen West would vote with them, which would result in a tie vote - and the Mayor might break the tie. Better to leave and try again when everyone was there.

To justify this kind of extreme behavior, it must have been something really big and important. According to the Natchez Democrat, Aldermen Arceneaux-Mathis and Gray were not happy with the way things were being done in there. Alderman Gray was quoted as saying:

“I didn’t like the way we were handling business in executive session about the possible sale of city property. For legal purposes, I was not satisfied with what they were saying back there. . . I felt like to keep the city out of another lawsuit, it was best for me to just convene at another meeting instead of this meeting."

And Aldermen Arceneaux-Mathis:

“We need to legally accept requests for proposals, not jump on any one bandwagon. That developer might be who we end up with, but we’re trying to be legal. We don’t jump with the first person we see. We need to look at everybody and be fair.”

Here's another quote from the article:

"Gray said he was upset because the item in question was not on the agenda, and therefore shouldn’t be discussed."

Now where have I heard that before? Hey! This is starting to look good. Do you think maybe we're going to have someone with ethics?

Just to make matters juicier, I heard a rumor that they were considering a casino! (Now, this is just a rumor, and I can't prove it.) They had better be really, really, really careful how they handle a casino, because there are some strong feelings about that here - and some of those feelings belong to people with money to file lawsuits. I don't know about any of you, but if they try to build another casino in Natchez, this is one grandmother who is going to throw herself in front of a bulldozer.

Municipal Salaries Compared

The link above will take you to the 2006 Annual Municipal Salary Survey provided by the Stennis Institute of Government. (It's a PDF document and requires Adobe Reader, which can be downloaded free.) This document is also available at the Armstrong Library. Pretty interesting information!

I looked at the three municipalities with populations in the 18,000s: Natchez, Greenwood, and Laurel. (Ocean Springs also has a population in this range, but I left it out because of Katrina.) Our Mayor earns more than the Mayors in the other two municipalities. Our Aldermen, at their old salaries, earned more - now they earn a lot more. The City Clerk in Greenwood earns the most, with those in Natchez and Laurel about the same. Laurel has the most employees, and Greenwood has the least.

Our Personnel Manager and Court Clerk earn the least. Our Parks & Recreation Director is in the middle. Our Public Works Director and Code Enforcement Officer earn the least, and our Building Inspector and Laborers are in the middle. The other two cities do not list City Engineers or City Planners. Our Police Chief, Fire Chief, and Police Officers were in the middle, but our Firefighters were the lowest. For all but one of these, Laurel pays the highest.

Support Your Firefighters

The Natchez Firefighters Association is having a Benefit Fish Fry on Saturday, October 14 from 11 am to 2 pm. For a donation of $6, you can pick up a catfish dinner, complete with french fries, hush puppies, and cole slaw, at Duncan Park. The firefighters will also have fire prevention activities for kids. These are the guys (there are no gals yet) who run into burning buildings to save your house, your business, and your family. The least we can do is give them $6. You can get tickets from me or at any firehouse.

One of the good things that came out of the Aldermen raising their salaries was the very deserved raise they also gave the firefighters and police officers. When I went to the next meeting of the Board of Aldermen after the Raises meeting, the room was full of police officers and firefighters. The police made a very good case for a raise, and the firefighters were there to support them. Those Aldermen knew they'd better give them a raise, or there would be hell to pay.

Special Kudoes go to Alderman Gray, who has been pushing for raises for fire fighters for a long time. In fact, when he voted against the Aldermen raises, he said he couldn't vote for a raise for himself until the firefighters got one. I'll bet he could easily get a free catfish dinner, if he wanted one!

I may not be overly fond of the elected officials we have in Natchez, but I know we've got some fine city employees.

Board of Aldermen Votes to Sue Citizens

The Mayor asked the Board to approve taking legal action against the individuals who are "holding up the condo project", and of course the Board went along. In their typical fashion, it was the last item before adjournment. Of course, there was no discussion whatsoever - obviously this was the result of another back room deal. Since they never seem to have roll call votes - just a voice vote - I could only detect one vote against, which was Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis.

As you all know, two developers (Worley Brown) purchased the old Pecan Factory property from the city for basically nothing in order to build luxury condos on the bluff. There was a large group of citizens who were incensed about this project for many reasons, but especially about the way it was handled. Three of those citizens - Gwen Ball, Neil Varnell, and Sarge Preston - filed a lawsuit against the city questioning the legality of the sale of the property. This Board seems to think it can violate the law whenever it wants without any consequences. Thank goodness these citizens were brave enough to challenge them. I personally applaud their courage and thank them for taking this action on behalf of the rest of us.

And what thanks do they get? Their City is suing them! Can you believe that? I guess the City is concerned about losing in a court of law, and now they are resorting to intimidation of these citizens, whose only concerns are the welfare of our community. Here's the message, folks: don't you dare to disagree with this group. This is pretty outrageous in my book - when citizens in the community cannot have a voice in their government.

This condo deal is looking worse all the time. The recently released report from the National Realtors Association indicates that condo prices are sinking and condo sales are way down, and they expect that trend to continue at least a year or two. So why is the city so desperate for this project? It was a bad idea to begin with, and it's not getting any better.

On the subject of the condos, I have heard a nasty rumor, and I would like to know if anyone out there knows anything about it. I was told that Butch Brown, Secretary of Transportation and father of the Brown in Worley Brown, told the City it would not get its Trails Project approved unless the condos were allowed to be built.

UPDATE: The meeting was televised and will be shown on Thursday at 6 pm on Channel 4. This is supposed to be regular now.

Mayor & Board of Aldermen Non Budget Hearing

I've now been to a public hearing for a nonexistent Budget - it sure was exciting! It was so important that even the Mayor didn't stay for the whole thing, and my Alderwoman wasn't there at all.

There were three pieces of paper handed out. The first was entitled "City of Natchez, Combined Cash Basis Budget, All Governmental Fund Types and Internal Service Funds, Fiscal Year 2006-7". This was a list of broad categories of Revenues (eg Taxes, Licenses & Fees, Bank Loans) and Expenses (eg General Government, Public Safety, Public Works) with amounts from five Governmental Fund Types (General, Special, Debt Service, Capital Projects, and Internal Service). Revenues and Expenses of all types equal $30,693,989.

The second sheet had no title, but I think it was a list of Revenue and Expense line items in the General Fund. One column was labeled October 1 2005-06 and the other October 1 2006-07. Although the next year's Budget was supposed to be the same as this years, the figures in the two columns did not match. Also, neither column seemed to match the first sheet.

The third sheet was totally worthless - a list of the same broad categories which were on the first handout, but with no amounts or fund types.

The hearing began with City Clerk Donnie Holloway reading the first handout with no explanation. That was certainly not very enlightening - unless you don't know how to read. Then the Mayor opened it up to questions and comments from the audience. Hardly anyone was there, since there was really no Budget to have a hearing on. A couple of people asked for funding for certain items. I asked if there would be a public hearing on the amended Budget, and I didn't get a direct answer. The Mayor said they didn't have to but they might. When I asked if the amended Budget itself would be made public, he said yes.

After the public hearing was closed, the Mayor had to leave. There was some discussion by the Board before they adopted the so called Budget. One thing was obvious to me: no one there really understood what they were voting on. Alderman Gray, who is not as dumb as some people think he is, said he knew of only four items they had voted to increase: Legislative, Police, Fire, and (I think) Public Works. He asked the City Clerk if those were the only items that had been changed in the Budget, and he was told yes. Afterwards, I asked Alderman Gray why there were differences between the two columns, if the only changes were the ones he mentioned. He said that's why he asked the question - to get it in the record.

It was really very scary to watch our elected officials deal with a $30+ million Budget. That's our tax dollars - and our city's future.

Questions about Hotel

natchezblues said...
I read in the paper that the city will issue bonds to the persons/co. building the new hotel downtown. Then this co. will buy back the bonds, I believe. I guess this made the deal more appealing, but WHY? Why aren't they paying property taxes? We must stop giving our city away and instead appreciate its value and act accordingly. I know others were interested in buidling a hotel on this site, why couldn't taxes have been a barganing tool in choosing the right prospect.

The County Is Totally Different!

Tonight I went to the County Board of Supervisors for the hearing on their Budget. What a difference in atmosphere from the City!

First of all, they handed out several sheets of paper to everyone in the audience. There was the Proposed Budget, plus two sheets comparing information from this year and the Proposed Budget. Charlie Brown is the recently retired County Administrator, who is consulting on the budget this year. He gave a brief overview of the budget, and then the discussion was opened to the audience. It was very friendly and informal. Anyone could just raise their hands and make comments or ask questions, and I know you'll be shocked to learn that I asked several.

Because the County will have an increase in some revenue sources and has been able to decrease some expenses, the millege rate will be slightly less than last year - so you should pay less in taxes.

The County starts the year with $2,139,377 cash balance, and the Budget projects overall Revenues of $20,776,537 for a total of $22,915,914. About half the Revenues comes from property taxes and about another quarter comes from federal, state, and local government. The rest comes from other taxes, fees, licenses, interest, etc.

The total Expenditures are the same as the total Revenues (required for balancing a budget). The categories are, from largest to smallest: General Government, Public Safety, Public Works, Debt Service, Education, Health & Welfare, Other Financing, Conservation of Natural Resources, Economic Development & Assistance, and Culture & Recreation.

It's difficult to tell much from the Budget itself, since it is based on broad categories. As they say, the devil is in the details. There is a very lengthy budget, with all the line items. I suggested that after the end of the fiscal year (September 30), they send a copy of the entire itemized budget to the Library, which they happily agreed to do, along with a final itemized budget for this fiscal year. They also agreed to see if it was available in electronic form, and if so, to send that to the Library to post on its website. So citizens will have all year to look at the figures and can come to next year's budget hearing knowing exactly how their money is being spent.

I did find out that the Budget ultimately adopted by the Board is the one with the broad categories. The itemized budget is to help the Board determine how much goes into each category. So long as a department stays within its overall allocation, it has flexibility in expenditures. The Board will vote to change the budget only if a department needs to exceed its allocation.

The openness of this meeting was so refreshing!

The City will have it's public Budget hearing next Thursday, September 14 - don't forget to attend. Since they don't have a budget, it should be interesting.

There is also a meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen on Tuesday, September 12 at 11 am.

The Annexation Process

If you read the paper today, then you know the Mayor wants to double the size of the city by annexing parts of the county. I was curious how this process would work. So I went to the Mississippi Secretary of State's website, where I can look at the Mississippi Code, assuming that Natchez must conform to state laws governing annexation.

This information is found in Title 21 Municipalities: Chapter 1 Classifiction, Creation, Abolition, and Expansion. Extention or Contraction of Corporate Boundaries is found Sections
§ 21-1-27 through §21-1-41.

First, the City has to pass an ordinance (following procedures in the City Code) defining the changed boundaries, describing proposed improvements in the annexed territory and when they will be made, and stating the services the City will provide to the annexed territory. Unless they decide to suspend the rules, we may assume the public will have an opportunity to be heard.

Next, the City files a petition in the Chancery Court. Any parties interested in, affected by, or aggrieved by the annexation have the right to appear at the hearing. The chancellor (which I assume is the Chancery Court Judge) decides if the annexation "is reasonable and is required by the public convenience and necessity" and that "reasonable public and municipal services will be rendered . . . in a reasonable time". The burden of proof is on the City. The chancellor also has the power to modify the annexation.

The decree of the chancellor goes into effect in 10 days, unless appealed before that. The City or any person aggrieved by the decision may appeal, and it goes to the Mississippi State Supreme Court for a final decision. The loser pays for the costs of the appeal.

Board of Aldermen Stonewalls Raises Issue

I was on the Agenda of the Board of Aldermen tonight. I made a brief presentation about the raises being illegal, since I had already written them all letters, including the citations from the City Code. I ended by asking, "So am I right?" Dead silence. The Mayor asked the Aldermen if anyone wanted to say anything. Then Ricky Gray said he wasn't going to answer my question, but he had something to say when I was through. I said I was through. I have to paraphrase what he said, since I didn't have a recorder.

He was mad that I called him a "hypocrite" for voting to suspend the rules to allow the vote. (Someone's reading the blog, since that's the only place I've used that word.) He said there are numerous motions to suspend the rules, which he votes for without knowing why they've been made. (So I guess he votes for things he doesn't know anything about and somehow thinks that's better than being a hypocrite.) He said I should have brought the issue to the attention of the Mayor first. (I did, but he never answered me.) But then he went way over the line. He said the Library (where I work) has enough problems of its own and needs to get its own house in order before telling other people how to run their business. He gave examples, which I'm not going to dignify by repeating.

I said, very forcefully, that this has nothing to do with the Library. That I was here as a private citizen and the work was done on my own time. I sincerely hoped that no one on the Board would hold the Library responsible for anything that I did or said on my own time.

When Ricky finished, I asked the Mayor if I was going to get an answer to my question. He said he asked the Aldermen if they wanted to say anything, and no one did. I said that I guessed I wasn't going to get an answer - and that was very interesting! I then sat down and stayed for the rest of the meeting. It was a short meeting and not much happened. (Although I understand something big happened in the meeting before the meeting.)

After the meeting, I was on the sidewalk walking home, and Alderman David Massey passed me on his way to his car. I asked him, "Don't you think y'all should have answered my question?" Obviously very angry, he said, "Lady, you need to get a life. You have big problems." I just said "Whew!" as he slammed his car door.

Now I may not be a lawyer, but I am a psychologist. This is the behavior of guilty and defensive parties, and it is very obvious to me that the Board broke the law. If I had been wrong, they would have told me so - and probably taken great joy in making me look like an idiot. What possible reason could they have for not correcting me?

They could have admitted their mistake, said they didn't realize it at the time, apologized to the citizens of the City, and then done it the right way. I think most people would have been so impressed with that response that they wouldn't even have objected to the raises. I know I wouldn't have objected. I was more upset with the process than I was with the raise itself. But of course, this type of rational response is not in the personality make up of this Board.

Tell me again - when is the next election?

Updates on Tax Assessment

Previously, I told you how to look up the value of property belonging to anyone in the state. At the time, I wasn't sure what all the terms meant. After a visit to the Tax Assessor's office, I can report the following:

• True Improved Value is the value of your house.
• True Land Value is the value of your land.
• True Value is the value of your house and land combined.
• Assessed Value is 10% of the True Value and is what your taxes are based on.
• You pay taxes for the county and for the school district - plus the city if you live in Natchez. All three together add up to .1662, unless someone raises taxes.
• Multiple your Assessed Value by .1662 to determine your taxes.
• Then subtract your homestead exemption.

Don't forget the Mayor & Board of Aldermen meet Tuesday at 6 pm. I hope to be on the Agenda about the raises, and I requested it in time. We'll see!

Raises Again

Below is a copy of a letter that I've written to the Mayor and Aldermen and will hand deliver tomorrow. Hopefully, my request to be on the Agenda will be early enough. Make plans to come to the next meeting on Tuesday, August 22 at 6 pm.

On June 17, you voted to give yourself a raise effective July 1. I believe that vote was illegal, and I have enclosed the wording of the two applicable sections of the City Code.

If I am incorrect, then please let me know why. On the other hand, if I am correct, then I am asking that you acknowledge your mistake, rescind the motion, and do it again legally.

I am requesting that I be placed on the Agenda of the meeting on August 22 to discuss this issue.

Interesting Fact from Natchez Water Works

At the last meeting of the Mayor & Board of Aldermen, David Gardiner (Natchez Water Works) reported that for the first month since Katrina, there were more water turn offs than water turn ons in July. Generally speaking, when your turn ons are higher than your turn offs, your population is growing, and vice versa. (This sounds vaguely obscene.)

Is this a trend or just a blip?

Find Tax Appraised Value of Anyone's House

This is a very interesting site, which was found accidently by an anonymous friend who passed it on to me. It's from the State Treasurer's office. If you click on the link (which is the title above), you'll see a list of counties. Click on Adams for our county - but you can do any county. Then put in a name., and you'll see a list of properties in that name. Click on one, and you'll see the 2005 landroll information.

Here are two examples: my house and Trent Lott's, which I guess is no longer there.

Casey - Trent
True Value (TV): 87,060 - 308,940
Assessed Value: 8,706 - 30,894 (10% of TV)
Cultivated Value (CV): 900 - 0 (10% of TLV)
True Improved Value (TIV): 78,060 - 122,060 (TV-CV/UC)
Improved Value: 7,806 - 12,206 (10% of TIV)
Uncultivated Value (UV): 0 - 186,880 (100% of TLV)
True Land Value (TLV): 9,000 - 186,880

I have no idea what all this means. What is cultivated and uncultivated value? Why deduct only 10% of cultivated and 100% of uncultivated? Most importantly, how are my taxes figured on this? If anyone knows the answer, please post a comment. Otherwise, I think I'll trot myself over to the Tax Assessors Office to find out.

One interesting thing: Trent starts with a True Value worth more than 3.5 times mine. He ends up with an Improved Value worth only 1.5 times mine. Maybe that vegetable garden in my back yard is hurting me!

How to Find Out What the Law Is

If you want to be a responsible and active citizen, and you can't afford to hire a lawyer, you need to be able to look up the law yourself. Fortunately, that's a lot easier now than it used to be because of the Internet.

Mississippi Law

• It's valuable to have the website of the State of Mississippi saved in your Favorites to check out all sorts of state agencies.
• The entire Mississippi state code is online and searchable.
• If you want an old fashioned paper copy, it's in the Armstrong Library. You may read it and make copies, but it is Reference material and cannot be checked out.

City Law

• Just recently, the Armstrong Library has received a paper copy of the Natchez City Code. Again, it is Reference Material and cannot be checked out.
• The City Code is not yet available online. However, it can be for only $400 a year. The Mayor has been asked to put that amount in the City Budget for next fiscal year (October 1). So hopefully that will be available soon.

County Law

• You're not going to believe this, but there is no copy of the County Code. If you want to know what the law is, you have to go searching through all the old minutes. Looks like somebody doesn't want you to know what's going on!
• The good news is that Chancery Clerk Tommy O'Beirne is going through the minutes to put everything in one place. There's no telling how long that will take.

Rinaldi Strikes Again!

On the front page of the Miss Lou Magazine, you'll see an article entitled Aldermen's Raise Illegal? - Commentary by Peter Rinaldi. (You will recognize the information right away, since it came from this blog.) At the end of the article it says: Thanks to Casey Ann Hughes of Natchez for her research on this controversy. See her commentary at www.natchezms.blogspot.com.

This is a perfect example of why I'm not a big Rinaldi fan. He's smart, and he knows alot, but there's always something missing or not quite right about what he writes. If you were reading the article and you didn't know any better, you might think I was a researcher for Rinaldi - or at the very least that I had provided the information to him for his use. However, he not only didn't ask me if it was alright to use my information, he didn't even have the courtesy to let me know. Such a class act!

Let me tell you how I found out - it's a good story. A charming gentlemen that I did not know called me on Tuesday evening. He wanted to tell me about some other issues I should research. He obviously thought I was some kind of investigative reporter. During the course of the conversation, he said he was 90 years old. I was very impressed that someone of his age should be reading a blog, and I asked him who told him about it. He was totally confused. Finally, he said, "I didn't get this off any computer - I read it in my paper." Now I'm confused, so I asked which one. He said the one they throw in his driveway for free - written by the guy who attacks everybody. He thought I worked for it. I quickly assured him I did not!

It took me a while to find a copy of the paper, since apparently it's not delivered everywhere at the same time. A friend kindly brought me a copy.

Oh, by the way, I intend to send Rinaldi a copy of this. (My momma taught me some manners.)

Educational Inadequacies

gritsisit said...

I wish our leaders would address the educational inadequacies in Natchez. When this was brought up at a city council meeting last year, I heard Joyce Arceneaux say "Natchez has a wonderful education system" and that was the end of the discussion. I've also heard that our ACT scores in Natchez were second to last in the country - after the city of Washington, D.C. Is that true? Does anyone know the facts?