Council Holds Off on Debt Vote

Kenya Hudson

Jackson City Council President Frank Bluntson pulled a vote to restructure the city's bond debt from the agenda this week, angering Mayor Harvey Johnson.

by Lacey McLaughlin
July 13, 2011

The Jackson City Council's decision to put off a vote to restructure the city's bond debt and save approximately $6 million over the next two years resulted in friction between city leaders this week.

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. and his financial team attempted to brief the council yesterday during a work session about restructuring the debt, but Council President Frank Bluntson said he felt uncomfortable with the mayor briefing the council less than 24 hours before it would vote on the item. He also expressed concern that Ward 7 Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon, Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes and Ward 1 Council Quentin Whitwell were absent from the work session.

"I didn't know anything about this until Friday. Why do we have to wait to the last minute to have these briefings?" Bluntson asked the mayor.

Johnson appeared to lose patience with Bluntson for repeatedly stating that the mayor had waited until the last minute to tell the council about the deal.

"I have no problem pulling this," Johnson said. "I have no problem doing whatever you want to do, but don't tell me we are waiting to the last minute to do something when that's not the case."

In August 2010, Johnson told city council members that his administration had hired financial advisor Porter Bingham of the Malachi Group to help prevent the city's projected deficit of $48.5 million by 2015.

"One of the recommendations was to restructure existing bond debt in order to realize some savings that would provide some relief while our local economy was able to recover," Johnson told council members in August.

In August 2010, the council voted in favor of a restructuring plan, but it must vote this month on a final resolution to authorize the plan to meet a Sept. 1 payment deadline. The city must go through several procedures including receiving a bond rating and reselling existing bonds by the time the payment is due, Johnson said.

Last month, Johnson placed the item on the agenda but said he had to remove it because the city did not have a certification to show that it had enough money to cover the debt service. "Now that certificate has been made and we feel comfortable moving forward with it," Johnson said yesterday.

The Jackson Free Press reported in August that the city would begin incurring $1 million in annual fees for the debt service starting in 2015. The mayor, however, has not made the terms of the final refinancing agreement public. Johnson supplied the council with documents regarding the final plan this morning. Council members rescheduled the briefing for 4 p.m. July 18. After the briefing, they will vote on the final resolution.

Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba, who voted against the restructuring plan in August, said he did not want to rush his decision on such a complicated and important vote. "I think it make sense but I'm not sure it's the best thing," He said. "... I don't think a vote like this you can bring on a Friday and vote on a Tuesday. This was discussed conceptually early on ... but the specifics of this proposal have not been discussed."


JPD to Purchase Surveillance Trailer
After a lengthy debate today, council members approved the Jackson Police Department's purchase of a SkyCop Cadet Mobile Surveillance Trailer for $54,400.

JPD Deputy Chief Eric Walls told the city council that the trailer can monitor public areas such as streets and parking lots without police being present. He said the trailer is ideal for capturing violators of the law during large events such as parades.

The trailer has a telescopic pole with a camera that can elevate up to 21 feet.

"You can determine, within a perimeter, where shots are being fired from and use the camera and deploy officers there," Walls said.

Lumumba said that while he supported technology to assist JPD, he worried about the technology being abused. He cited the civil-rights era as a time when police abused power.

"I have trust in the people running this department that they wouldn't do that," Lumumba said. "But I do believe that this is one of the reasons why we should have a civilian review board."

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