In the ongoing story of MPERS, an interesting side note.
MPERS has sued both Bossier Parish and Bossier City to refund the ad valorem taxes they paid for 2010. This is the first year that they have done so.
MPERS paid, under protest, $190,166.70 to the Parish and $13,967.67 to the City for 2010.
In January they filed suit against both the Parish naming Larry Deen as Tax Collector and Bobby Edmiston as Assessor. They also filed against the City, naming William Buffington, Finance Director.
The suits were filed by Kimberly L. Robinson of the Baton Rouge law firm of Jones Walker.
The suits maintain that they are exempt because according to their theory, they fall under the Louisiana Constitutional definition of “public lands, other public property used for public purposes”.
I’m not a lawyer, but the “used for public purposes” doesn’t seem to fit (in my opinion) golf courses.
The lawyers and the judge will figure it out.
It just seems a little strange to me that they paid the taxes for all of those years, and now want to challenge the assessment.
I suppose desperate times require desperate measures.
We will have a lot more on MPERS in the very near future.
They will lose that suit because the courses, although owned by a public entity, are a private for profit business. They are not public lands.
ReplyDelete8:24,
ReplyDeleteYou may or may not be right but really, in the end who wins? Both parties will spend millions fighting this battle. As a police officer and a member of MPERS, I'm still pissed off about the purchase of the golf courses that caused this to be an issue.
As far as the city is concerned, Jimmy Hall won't try for a quick resolution. He'll just tie it up in the court system for years running up the tap on the taxpayers dime. The only ones, in the end, will be the lawyers.
And the loser is the retirees and those who paid into the system. Thank you Bill, Mike, Willie Joe, and the other a$$h@£€$ who got us in this mess. I am praying for the day you guys end up as guests of the Federal Prison System.
ReplyDeleteThis is the insult we have been living with since the golf courses were purchased with MPERS money. As a retired officer, I too am waiting for the day when we see the people responsible for this mess walking into the crossbar hotel. I'd also like to see their assets reviewed, such as large tractors purchased and stored in south Caddo Parish, deer leases in Tx, and deposits made during their tenure on the board. We have to keep up the pressure and demand an accounting for this fiasco. If we don't follow through with lawsuits, supoenas, and perp walks we won't get any answers from anyone.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know the status or timeframe when we may see movement in this case?
ReplyDeleteFrom what I understand, the FBI is doing a full investigation, with the assitance of Randy Zinna. It may not be done quickly, but it will be thorough.
ReplyDeleteIf a perp walk does take place I will make every effort possible to go watch. From driving a vette to a house on the lake to riding in a van to a federal prison. I hope. Oh how I hope.
ReplyDeleteThe more thorough the better! Oh, the webs we weave...
ReplyDeleteI have not heard a thing about MPERS before. I don't know anything about these allegations. It seems to me that perhaps the allegation is that MPERS, a public retirement system for police officers, bought a golf course. Is this correct?
ReplyDeleteThey bought two golf courses and gave Hal sutton $30 million to build another one that went bankrupt soon after being built.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lampers.org/Minutes/Minutes%2009%2002.pdf
ReplyDeleteNote the names under the Real Estate Report. Tehehe!
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 7:23, If I'm looking at the same document and the same name you're referring to, and I'm no big fan of that person, he had nothing to do with the golf course fiascos. He got on the board long after the golf courses were purchased.
ReplyDeleteThe simple fact is, every line Officer knew the golf courses were a mistake, disagreed with them being bought. I'm not sure how it was in other departments but in Bossier if you were vocal against them then your life was made hell. I hope this is really investigated and if laws were violated by members of the board then they need to be in jail.
ReplyDeleteResearch and see who used golf carts #1 & #2 at Ole Oaks. No one else was allowed to drive these carts! Just a little piece of information, what egos?
ReplyDeleteanan@ 801AM said,I'm not sure how it was in other departments but in Bossier if you were vocal against them then your life was made hell.,,, There is/was general bitterness throughout most other departments in the city. Employees feel the rest of the departments have absorbed the false/true layoffs that the city council continue to state in the police and fire departments that really never happened.
ReplyDeleteQuestions:::: is the City really broke? Are the lack of annual raises a direct result of Police Retirement costs going up a result of this scandal?
Has the public been deceived under the guise of public safety?
An instance would be that gilded election the fire department had to raise property taxes.
Answers to these questions would not be a bad thing.
I can only hope if the people who wouldn't listen to the rank and file member are sentenced to prison that they won't be heard when they are yelling no.
ReplyDeleteI'm not for sure about golf carts but I know Hal Sutton had locker #1 and mike Halphen had locker #2. This was at Olde Oaks. I don't what the rules are but I'm pretty sure you have to be a member of the club to have a locker. I would like to know if he or bill fields ever paid any membership fees. Bill Fields certainly called a lot of shots out there. If only one person goes to jail, I hope like hell its bill fields.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 2:20, Amen, and probably needed to be years ago.
ReplyDeleteLets not single Fields out in this. If he is guilty of wrong lock him up. If others, Halphen, Sutton, Green, anyone, put them in jail also.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone is singling out Bill Fields. But there has been a lot of questions that needs to be answered by him. He'll probably stand by his old standard answer evertime a question was raised about questionable union or MPERS matters, "You wouldn't understand the big picture."
ReplyDeleteWe understood some dirty $#|± was being pulled but didn't know what to do about it. Wonder if the answer to the FEDs questions will be, "You wouldn't understand the big picture?"
Dont't misunderstand my post. My point is, I want any and all that are guilty of a criminal act to be in jail.
ReplyDeleteThis investigation is much bigger than current and former board members who are from the Shreveport / Bossier area. Remember, it is a statewide system represented by active and retired officers from all over the state of Louisiana. I could inform you in more detail however you wouldn't understand the big picture.
ReplyDeleteThe golf courses and development is a very infinitesimal portion of the total assets and portfolio owned and managed by the fund. Actually Less than 1% of the portfolio. I am always intrigued by the lack of vigilance exerted by active and retired members. Very few actually attend any of the board meetings which are held on a monthly basis, and yet the board is managing your retirement funds. If other persons (are / were) involved in the ( misuse / misappropriation) of funds, I am confident they will be prosecuted accordingly.
Can anyone name the board members who voted to purchase Olde Oaks Golf Course and Olde Oaks Development in 1999? Who voted for and who voted against? How much was paid for them?
ReplyDeleteCan anyone name the board members who voted to purchase the Golf Club at Stonebridge in 2003? Who voted for and who voted against? How much was paid for purchase?
The answers may surprise you! Mrs. E. Springer, can you answer these questions?
I just hate waiting to see what happens next. Please keep this blog in the forefront and update as you hear things!
ReplyDeleteMaybe if we wouldn't catch so much grief for going to the meetings we would go. I can assure you if someone from Bossier City had went when the previous Chief was here it would have been hell to pay.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you have to stand up for what is right and for what you believe in regardless if the so called Chief puts you through hell. There are ways to handle that as well. It's your retirement. Fight for it!
ReplyDelete6:31,
ReplyDeleteEasy for you to say. But if you have any suggestions on how a rank and file police officers is to challenge the chief of police please let me know. You could file a lawsuit but it's been tried before. Jimmy Hall just spends millions of taxpayers dollars keeping it tied up on the courts for years. You basically run out of money fighting it. So right or wrong you still lose.
I do not believe for one minute the current Chief would object to an employee going to the retirement meetings.
ReplyDeleteI can assure you if someone from Bossier City had went when the previous Chief was here it would have been hell to pay.<<< anon@5:29pM said,,,, Hats off to the H Bros. They knew how to play politics. Safety and non-safety personnel are paying the price for their politics now. Seems like non-safety more so! There has been TRUE LAYOFFS in these departments. and absorption of zero increase in compensation in what three years now.
ReplyDeleteIronic how the powers that be changed the wording of annual pay increases from Annual raises to Merit raises when Bossier City was suddenly broke in 2008.
When the subject of non-safety personnel comes back up in 2011 the(as of 2008) Merit raises are again called cost of living raises.
F******G local politicians!
Ain't Karma a Bitch?
I watched a movie last night where a guy sold whisky and repeating rifles to a band of hostile Indians and put the town people and area ranchers and settlers at risk. The guy didn't care about the others as long as he got his money. All of a sudden certain people who are administrators and politicians in Bossier City and Bossier Parish came to mind.
ReplyDeleteI heard that Jimmy Hall lives in Olde Oaks. Is this true??
ReplyDeleteIf he does you can bet your sweet @$$ he got some sort of sweet-heart deal.
ReplyDeleteIf he lives there then he just moved there. Far as I know he still lives in north bossier.
ReplyDeleteJimmy Hall still lives north of I220!
ReplyDelete