Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Ooooooohhhhh I love to dance a little sidestep....

WJTV tried to ask Speaker Philip Gunn if he directed his House Public Properties Committee Chairman Tom Weathersby to kill a bill that would have moved the Department of Revenue from a decaying metal buiding near Clinton to the Landmark Center in downtown Jackson:

Here is Link to story. Link includes video. Watch the video first before you read any further.

Finally Speaker Gunn, exasperated, says "No, I did not" when asked the question several times by Ross Adams. Decaying? See for yourself in this post last week about the erector set building. However, the Clarion-Ledger reported this morning:

"Opposition from House Speaker Philip Gunn means the Mississippi Department of Revenue is likely to spend at least another year in a building near Gunn's district that was meant as a temporary home.

The tax collecting agency has been housed for 16 years in a metal warehouse between Clinton and Raymond and has spent years seeking a new location...

Senate Bill 2795, designed to ratify that recommendation, was introduced by Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson. After passing the Senate, the measure died in a House committee, apparently on Gunn's order. Gunn says it's cheaper for the agency to stay in the rented warehouse and acknowledges the location adjoins his district.

"It's simply dollars and cents," Gunn said. "Is it insufficient where they are?
"

Yes, Mr. Gunn, it is dollars and cents. Nearly $68,000 a month in rent to someone very well-connected for a piece of crap building that is declining in value and falling apart. Does this sound sufficient:

"Monday, as rain fell, department spokeswoman Kathy Waterbury said "strategically placed" buckets were collecting leaks from the roof and water was ponding in the parking lot. However, she said the situation could be worse - sometimes rain drains from the parking lot into the building, a condition that has made some rooms unusable." Article

Reminds me of the old 16th section land deals. Education suffered and buildings fell apart while the good ole boys got rich off of 16th section land leased to them and by them on the cheap. Makes one want to ask if Airwave has a contract for the Revenue building as it seems the Speaker has picked up some lessons from Doug Anderson and Robert Graham. Earlier post with copy of study

Note: Where exactly has Harvey been in all of this? One would think the Mayor might want to move this to downtown Jackson.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would suspect Gunn's reaction has more to do with the fact Ross Adams is the one asking the questions. Ross Adams has dealt unethically with Gunn in the past and I'm sure Gunn has no interest in talking to him again.

Anonymous said...

Why would the Mayor of Jackson want to move the tax commission to downtown jackson?? the landmark building, which was what would have been bought for the Commission HQ, would then be taken off of the tax rolls. This would potentially cost Jackson more money than if the Landmark Bldg was used for a private sector purpose by a ad-valorum tax paying entity.

Anonymous said...

Let's see Democratic Senator Blount go out and tell the 6300 registered voters in Clinton that he represents that the jobs and tax dollars helping bolster Clinton's local economy need to be forcibly extracted and given to the woefully dysfunctional in downtown Jackson.

Or is stealing these jobs and taxes from a hard working city like Clinton with one of Mississippi's four STAR rated -- the top rating -- public school districts political payback by Democratic Senator Blount since he lost the Clinton precincts last November with only 45% of the vote?

If the discussion is going to be politics then let's discuss why Belhaven resident Democratic Senator David Blount is trying to screw over a city in his district that didn't support him in the last election.

Anonymous said...

Keep dreaming 1:25. DT Jxn is now almost 40% EMPTY.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't the recommendation for the state to LEASE space in the Landmark Building, leaving the landlord to pay property taxes rather than removing it from the tax rolls?

It hasn't taken but three months from the Republicans to disappoint their supporters and prove that they are either unable or unwilling to take the actions necessary to move this state from the bottom of the rankings in every imaginable category. Unfortunately there is no credible party to turn too. Watching Bryant follow Haley is like watching a toddler trying to walk in his father's shows - cute but very quickly tiresome.

Anonymous said...

Back some years ago, they could have purchased the old Allstate Bldg for a steal. However, Musgrove and his chief of staff gave it to Jackson State. They now rent it out for parties.

They could have bought the old Gayfers bldg at Metro for 2M, already fiber optic and necessary wiring.

Now you are telling me we are paying 68K a month for this dump. An embarrassment to the state.

Anonymous said...

Let's see Democratic Senator Blount go out and tell the 6300 registered voters in Clinton that he represents that the jobs and tax dollars helping bolster Clinton's local economy need to be forcibly extracted and given to the woefully dysfunctional in downtown Jackson.

Or is stealing these jobs and taxes from a hard working city like Clinton with one of Mississippi's four STAR rated -- the top rating -- public school districts political payback by Democratic Senator Blount since he lost the Clinton precincts last November with only 45% of the vote?

If the discussion is going to be politics then let's discuss why Belhaven resident Democratic Senator David Blount is trying to screw over a city in his district that didn't support him in the last election.

Anonymous said...

The Republicans haven't disappointed their supporters on this.

Anonymous said...

Gunn doesn't give a shit. His people don't give a shit. BFD he thinks. Well as our capital city dies, a part of our Mississippi soul does as well.

These simpleton hicks will never understand the importance of a strong state capital.

Anonymous said...

Gunn doesn't give a shit. His people don't give a shit. BFD he thinks. Well as our capital city dies, a part of our Mississippi soul does as well.

Who is the simpleton?

You can paint it any way you like but Gunn and "his people" aren't remotely responsible for the epic failure that is Jackson.

Anonymous said...

To add to the insult of employees having to work in this erector set of an 'office building', this afternoon the sewage system failed.

No bathroom facilities for 300 employees.

Anonymous said...

Hey ... that makes sense ... bathrooms don't work ... let's go drop $14 million + bond interest into the Jackson toilet to make it all better ... what a simpleton.

Anonymous said...

Mississippi's "soul" has nothing to do with the FACT that the "Capitol City" HAS died.

Shadowfax said...

Some of you are probably old enough (and might have been players) to remember the old 'Capital Commission'. Or was it spelled 'Capitol'. The 'situation' with the tax department is penny-ante compared to the shenanigans of that group thirty-forty years ago.

Anonymous said...

I love Jackson, my neighborhood, conveniences, people, restaurants, arts, inexpensive cost of living, wonderful health care, symphony, museums, proximity to "big" cities. Heck, it is a great place to live and raise a family. Sorry you are so unhappy 8:38.

Anonymous said...

"inexpensive cost of living"

You must not own property April 18, 2012 10:51 AM because Jackustan's prop tax millage is the highest around by a wide margin.

"a great place to live and raise a family"

How many children do you have currently attending JPS schools?

Anonymous said...

11:24. I sent them to Prep. JPS is very lacking. What has that got to do with my enjoying living here?

Comparing Jackson's millage with the bedroom communities around us is humorous at best. Compare to Memphis or Plano, Tx.

I love living here. Enjoyed NEJSO, Little League baseball on Lakeland, St. Paddys on and on. Whole Foods likes it too.

You sound like a depressed little twit.

Curt Crowley said...

1:01, if you are going to accuse Mr. Adams of acting unethically with Gunn in the past, how about some facts? Otherwise, it looks like you are just making an unsubstantiated allegation against the reporter to deflect attention from the fact that the Speaker of the House ran away like a punk a-- b---h.

I'm not saying you're lying. Perhaps past history with Adams is why the Speaker ran away like a punk a-- b---h. But some facts to support your claims against Adams would be helpful.

Curt Crowley said...

2:59, the Republicans in the Legislature have been too busy this session trying to replace the Mississippi Code with the King James Bible to worry about frivolous things like moving the State forward.

Shadowfax said...

(not for pub. ~ KF; you're obviously not familiar with the antics of the Capital Commission, that state appointed body that controlled every square of state property from the 60s through the 90s)..........thus the prior attempt to post.)

Anonymous said...

The state pays over $800,000 for a shed that floods, and they pay for utilities as well. What does that come out to?

Anonymous said...

$1.3MM per year total.



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