Itta Bena’s Fire Department has missed out on at least $33,000 in revenues from the Mississippi rebate fund over the last three years, Chief Vonzell Self told the Board of Aldermen at Tuesday night’s meeting.
Self said Leflore County Fire Coordinator Bobby Norwood will attend a meeting of state fire coordinators next month in Jackson and “they’re holding me responsible.
“The problem is we haven’t been sending paperwork in to them for three years.”
Self said his department draws from two different funds: a special account for state rebate funds distributed by the state Department of Insurance and the city’s general fund.
General fund revenues dedicated to the Fire Department come from a monthly fee from the city and a larger contracted amount from Mississippi Valley State University, and this money is used to pay salaries and other bills.
It appears there has been confusion at the City Clerk’s Office over the funds.
Clerk Edna Beverly said there was $50,000 in the rebate account when she took her job with Itta Bena nearly three years ago, and the fund now contains $72,118.
According to Self, it should have only $4,000 in it, based on purchases of equipment he made using the fund and the fact that his department has not received annual disbursements over the last three years.
In 2013, Itta Bena purchased a new fire truck and other equipment with approximately $209,000 of the $213,000 it had in its state rebate account at the time.
Beverly said she pointed out to Self in 2014 that a report sent to the state rebate office was incorrect. Apparently, the corrected report was not submitted by the clerk’s office or the Fire Department.
According to Self, all of the county’s fire departments receive rebate funds and Itta Bena should be collecting anywhere from $8,000 to $11,000 annually. State rebate funds are designated for purchasing needed equipment.
Mayor J.D. Brasel asked Self and Beverly to meet today to try to reconcile the bank accounts and work on a report for Norwood.
Self also reported to aldermen that his department’s phone system goes down whenever there is an electrical failure or Cable One’s cable service goes out.
“I got a 5 a.m. call on my cellphone the other day about a fire on Kennedy Drive,” he said.
Brasel said the problem needs to be addressed immediately to assure public safety, and the city will entertain the possibility of using another service provider. Aldermen approved contacting former provider AT&T and asking it to bring a plan to the board.
In other business, representatives of Hope Enterprise Corp., the community development arm of Hope Credit Unions, came to the board to propose a partnership that will help Itta Bena move forward on improving its outdated electrical grid.
An open community meeting last year identified problems with the grid and resulting high electric bills as a major problem.
Brasel said former Mayor Thelma Collins after that meeting had a consultant look at the electrical substation and come up with a plan, but the cost of $300,000 to fix the system was prohibitive.
“How do y’all help us come up with the money?” Brasel asked, a question that was echoed by others.
Dee Jones and Cassandra Williams of Hope said their goal would be to guide Itta Bena into a strategic planning initiative as part of the organization’s Small Town Partnership, which helps communities identify resources to move such projects forward.
The board approved entering into a partnership with Hope to explore strategies for improving the electrical grid.
•Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
