The written minutes of the Town of Jonesboro’s board of aldermen meetings have not been printed in The Jackson Independent, the town’s official journal, since early July, a review of past issues has revealed.
In the thirteen issues of the paper from 7/5/12 to 9/27/12 show that the only public notices published by the town was the 2012-2013 budget ordinance (#709) in the 7/19/12 issue, and notice of a tax election in the 9/27/12 issue.
At least five meetings of the board of aldermen have been held since the first of July, 2012.
Here’s the law – not that it makes any difference to the district attorney:
LA RS 43:143 – Newspaper selected to be known as official journal; duties
The newspaper selected shall be known as the official journal of the parish, town, city or school board, and it shall publish all minutes, ordinances, resolutions, budgets and other official proceedings of the police jury, town or city councils, or the school board.
LA RS 43:144 – Penalty for failure to have proceedings published
The official of any municipal corporation, police jury, or school board by law responsible for the preparing and recording of the official proceedings who, within twenty days from the date of any meeting at which the official proceedings were had, wilfully neglects or fails to furnish the official journal with a copy of the minutes, ordinances, resolutions, budgets, and proceedings for publication, shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, or be imprisoned for not less than ten days nor more than six months, or both.
10/02/2012 at 5:54 am |
I have to complete required Ethics training annually which consists of the Louisiana Code of Ethics and the Louisiana Revised Statutes that also include proper procedure for bid proposals, etc. It encompasses every rule, regulation and law for elected officials to adhere to while in their elected position. I have been attesting to this action for 5 years now, and it has become very apparent that I was not provided the “WAIVER” to complete in order to operate outside the parameters of all that has been presented and all that I attested to as having been presented and my ability to comprehend and understand. When I was sworn in to office, I took an oath before God and man to UPHOLD the LAW and DEFEND the United States Constitution and the Louisiana Constitution again, I was not provided the “WAIVER” to complete in order to operate outside the parameters of those laws.
Today in Baton Rouge, there will yet another episode of “Let’s Make Ourselves Feel Warm and Fuzzy” so we can just hurry up and move on and again, more tax dollars, statewide and locally will have been utilized to give the facade that all is well in Jonesboro.
A few weeks ago, the Jonesboro Town Council voted unanimously to have Jonald Walker & Co. to proceed with the Audit, contingent upon his presentation to the Council the Audit that was completed prior to Mr. Ryder’s appointment to the Town of Jonesboro as the Fiscal Administrator, to date, that has never happened.
The Council voted to have Mr. Ryder be held accountable, but the findings of an Audit were somehow just not that important.
I pose this question, are the “WAIVERS” for providing audit findings, providing (correct) official meeting minutes, bid procedures and all the other items that were listed on the Compliance Audit and even those listed in the Audit that was completed by Mr. Walker found in the local District Attorney or the Attorney General’s office?
The taxpayers are owed an explanation and I as an elected Official find it humorous at this point that I have to complete mandatory training, attest to it and then am held accountable to that attestation, while others can simply do as they desire while the taxpayer pays for all the actions and additionaly for all the (REMEDIATION) by the State of Louisiana.
I was told by a State Elected Official that the consensus in Baton Rouge is that “This is still Louisiana, it’s politics and those votes are important”.
I just wish the gentleman that spoke those words had to live in and through what we have to endure on a daily basis, from inaccurate water bills,holding our breath that Entergy will come and cut the power to our Town for non payment of utility bills and public Council meetings where the public is attacked both verbally and physically while they try to inquire about how their taxes are being utilized.
God help out State and our Town.
Renee Stringer
10/02/2012 at 7:58 am |
So who are “those votes are important”? Which votes?
10/02/2012 at 7:36 am |
Jonesboro should be declared in a state of anarchy, and action should be taken to restore legitimate government function. This may take a Peoples’ Militia; anyone have any better ideas?
10/02/2012 at 8:37 am |
Not at the moment … I sincerely hope it doesn’t come to that!
10/02/2012 at 9:02 am |
Renee for governor! an oddity. a public official who would obay the laws as written.
10/02/2012 at 10:53 am |
Would it do any good for everyone who reads this blog to all send letters to the governor on the same day so that they can’t ignore us? I don’t know. Just brainstorming here. I love this blog because i love knowing what’s really going on, but honestly it depresses the crap out of me that this stuff is still going on. Maybe a protest at the Town Hall or something? Everyone seems to protest everywhere else… Dunno.
10/02/2012 at 11:03 am |
sam lamkin is a dumb donkey
10/02/2012 at 9:56 pm |
The governator ain’t going to do jack about anything if he thinks it might imperil his precious national political career. He could not care any less about Louisiana, or he would have come out knocking heads when he was inaugurated, like Christie did in New Jersey. And he would have stayed away from John Alario like the plague.
10/14/2012 at 5:22 pm |
Thompson was quoted in one newspaper as saying that the fiscal administrator was being paid too much. Don’t know how much he is getting, but at least he earns his pay. The mayor gets about $172 an hour for doing absolutely nothing now since the FA is handling all the financial business. That is based on his $70,000 a year salary, which is about $5,833 a month.