Davis fighting against Auditor Pickering’s claimed recovery amount.

Southaven Mayor Greg Davis is asking a Hinds County judge to throw out part of the $70,000 that the state auditor alleges he owes for unsubstantiated personal expenses.

The Commercial Appeal reports that Davis is scheduled to be in chancery court in Jackson on Wednesday.

Davis argues his reimbursements followed state law. He says contends that he had the authority to approve his city travel. He says according city policy and state regulations he was not required to turn in any receipts to be reimbursed for his business-related expenses.

State Auditor Stacey Pickering is attempting to recover more than $70,000, including penalties and interest. Pickering says Davis should not have been reimbursed for some trips, shopping and marriage counseling that he charged to the city.

Read More

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Doug Davis confirmed to Parole Board

Former state Sen. Doug Davis of Hernando, a Mississippi PEP contributor, has been approved by the Senate to the Mississippi Parole Board.

Davis began his new job in late January after his appointment by Gov. Phil Bryant.

Congratulations to Doug from all of your cohorts at Mississippi PEP. We hope you never have to see us in an official capacity!

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Southaven Mayor Davis loses perks in new budget but still gets a raise.

English: Greg Davis, Mayor of Southaven, Mississippi and former Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from the 7th district. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Southaven Mayor Greg Davis is losing $40,000 in annual perks in the city’s new budget.

But he is getting a $5,000 a year raise.

Davis has been fighting legal battles to keep Auditor Stacy Pickering from garnishing his wages over charges of $70,000 in misspent city funds.

The Commercial Appeal reports that in approving a new budget this week, aldermen raised Davis’ base pay from its current $145,000 annually to $150,000. However, the board removed a $35,000 annual stipend Davis had received for running the city’s utility department as well as a $5,000 educational stipend.

Together with $2,700 in longevity pay, the additional compensation raised Davis’s salary to $187,700 in fiscal 2011-12.

Davis will continue to receive longevity pay in addition to his base salary under the new budget. The mayor’s longevity pay will increase to $3,000 next fiscal year to give Davis a total salary of $153,000.

CA

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Mayor Davis gets a new court date: September 13

English: Greg Davis, Mayor of Southaven, Mississippi and former Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from the 7th district. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Southaven Mayor Greg Davis’ court date on charges of unlawfully passing a school bus has been reset for Sept. 13.

DeSoto County Justice Court Clerk Shirley Beshears told The Commercial Appeal Monday the hearing in Justice Court was continued because a defense witness could not attend July 31.

The charges of overtaking a school bus and illegal use of blue and red lights on a private vehicle stem from a March 22 incident in Southaven. The bus driver, Tracey Ann Riva, filed the complaint against Davis, alleging he failed to stop as the bus discharged children near a subdivision off Davis Road.

Read more: djournal.com

Auditor Stacy Pickering shows up at Southaven board meeting to seize Mayor Davis’s paycheck

English: Greg Davis, Mayor of Southaven, Mississippi and former Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from the 7th district. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mississippi Auditor Stacey Pickering paid a surprise visit to Southaven Mayor Greg Davis and aldermen Tuesday evening, returning $96,000 in disputed funds repaid by Davis but announcing plans to take the mayor’s paycheck to recover another $70,000.

Pickering said Davis’s $3,700 bi-weekly pay check will be garnisheed to help recover the remaining funds that Pickering’s office ordered Davis to repay the city late last year. Pickering also said he has filed a lawsuit in Hinds County Court against the mayor and the mayor’s bonding company.

“If there had been a good-faith effort, we would not have had to take the action we have taken,” Pickering said. “If the city does issue him a paycheck, whoever authorizes that paycheck and cuts it will be liable to the taxpayers of Southaven and the state of Mississippi.”

Davis, who said he didn’t know Pickering planned to appear until he saw him in the hallway shortly before Tuesday’s regular board meeting, said his attorney, Steve Farese, plans to file a temporary restraining order as soon as possible in Hinds County Court.

“This issue will be taken care of before the next pay period, which is next Friday,” Davis said. “If a judge rules he has the authority to stop it (Davis’s pay), we will keep coming to work, doing our job and paying our bills.”

Via Commercial Appeal

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Southaven Mayor Greg Davis latest legal wrangling.

English: Greg Davis, Mayor of Southaven, Mississippi and former Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from the 7th district. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A hearing for Southaven Mayor Greg Davis on charges that he unlawfully passed a school bus in a private vehicle has been continued.

Davis was to appear in DeSoto County Justice Court at 2 p.m. Tuesday, but he and his attorney, Steve Farese, said Monday both sides had agreed to continue the matter. A new date has not been set.

The charges of overtaking a school bus and illegal use of blue and red lights on a private vehicle stem from a March 22 incident in Southaven.

The bus driver, Tracey Ann Riva, filed the complaint against Davis, alleging he failed to stop as the bus discharged schoolchildren near a subdivision off Davis Road.

via Top of the News » The Commercial Appeal.

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Mississippi governor ‘concerned’ over possibility of union activity at Toyota plant

Gov. Phil Bryant said Monday he is concerned that labor unions will try to organize workers at the recently opened Blue Springs Toyota plant, but he expects plant workers and anti-union groups to defeat labor organizing efforts.

“That’s very concerning to me,” Bryant said of the prospect of more organized labor recruiting efforts in Mississippi.

Bryant told a gathering of business leaders at the Center for Manufacturing Excellence at the University of Mississippi that he doesn’t plan on leading the anti-union charge, but he expects others to successfully resist organizing in the right-to-work state.

“I’m not at the point of saying I will personally organize an effort to stop unions,” he said afterward. “I think the workers themselves are going to help us do that. There are many organizations in this state that would be involved in the process if we keep pushing.”

via Mississippi governor ‘concerned’ over possibility of union activity at Toyota plant » The Commercial Appeal.

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Rep. Tommy Woods to retire from Mississippi House July 30

Byhalia, Mississippi location map; created with the GIMP. Made by User:Acntx. Adapted from Wikipedia’s Mississippi County Maps. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Veteran state legislator Tommy Woods of Byhalia said Thursday his retirement from the Mississippi House of Representatives will be effective July 30.

Woods, a Republican, announced earlier that he was retiring from the Legislature but said he delayed his departure at the behest of House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, in case he was needed to vote in the event of a special legislative session.

“I talked with Speaker Gunn, and we decided that July 30 was the best date,” Woods said.

Woods, 78, noted that he had only two opponents in his 25 years as a legislator serving parts of Marshall and DeSoto counties.

Woods was re-elected in November but suffered a stroke on Dec. 26.

He recovered from the stroke and served through the 122-day legislative session that ended in early May.

via In brief: Woods to retire from House July 30 » The Commercial Appeal.

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Misinformation in Mississippi

With the great assistance of the DeSoto County legislators, the Mississippi House apparently killed the chance for our citizens to have a meaningful charter school statute passed during this session.

The representatives stated they were voting the wishes of the DeSoto County citizens. I am sure the representatives were familiar with the details of the proposed legislation they voted against, even though the county citizens appeared not to have a clue as to the bill’s provisions. In fact, I believe that many people don’t really know what charter schools are, how they operate and why they can solve a lot of problems in poor-performing school districts.

Earlier in the drafting of the statute “virtual charter schools” were prohibited. This means charter schools would not be allowed in areas where the existing public schools were performing at a high level. Didn’t DeSoto citizens learn about this before they killed the bill? Didn’t their representatives tell them?

Walter Wallace

via Letter: Misinformation in Mississippi » The Commercial Appeal.

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Mayor Gene Alday becomes Rep. Gene Alday

The Walls Board of Aldermen Tuesday night officially accepted former mayor Gene Alday’s resignation.

Alday, 54, had to resign from the job he held for six years after winning the state House seat in District 25 in the Nov. 8 general election.

Walls Deputy Mayor Lynda Austin will assume duties as mayor until a special election is held on Feb. 6. Austin said at that time, she plans to run for mayor.

via In brief: Doyle appointed to fill vacant alderman seat in Walls » The Commercial Appeal.

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