Category Archives: Transparency

Private companies are not subject to sunshine laws —VDT

The VDT reminds us of an important distinction in yesterday’s editorial, Citizens entitled to open government,
All governmental entities supported by tax dollars are subject to the laws. Private companies are not.
As the VDT knows better than anybody else around here, getting informaiton out of Valdosta State Prison or the Georgia Department of Correcions (GDOC) is very hard. The VDT has been trying to find out what’s going on at Valdosta State Prison for years now, and getting the runaround and hitting stone walls.

Florida has a law that says private prison operators have to comply with Continue reading →

Keep an eye on the Land Bank Authority —Barbara Stratton

Today the Georgia Senate Rules Committee votes on Sen. Tim Golden’s SB 284 “Georgia Land Bank Act; governing creation/operation of land banks; provision”. Received 24 February 2012. -jsq
A citizen’s committee needs to be formed to keep an eye on the Land Bank Authority because they seem to think they are exempt from state Sunshine Law rules. In addition Sen. Golden has a bill SB 284 introduced into the state senate that will allow the establishment of regional land bank authorities. We citizens never consented to all this regional government that is being forced on us. If we can’t keep up with what the local land bank authority is doing just imagine what a regional land bank authority will be able to accomplish with zero public knowledge and input. This is one of the most dangerous pseudo-government entities ever and it needs to be addressed from the citizen level immediately. I applied for a citizen vacancy on the Land Bank Authority, but of course those positions are reserved for politically supportive individuals. Per the sunshine laws, which Sam Olens has sworn allegiance to, a citizen review committee would have to be advised of the meetings that are currently never publicized.

-Barbara Stratton

SB 284 already passed Monday a week ago in the Senate Finance Committee, according to Nelson Mullins, Gold Dome Report – 2-27-2012, Continue reading →

Georgia takes steps towards more open government; could take more

The state of Georgia may improve open government with HB 397. While the steps it takes are welcome, the bill could go farther.

Kay Harris wrote for the VDT today, Georgia AG works to boost Sunshine Laws, quoting State Attorney General Sam Olens:

“The legislature has given the Attorney General’s office the jurisdiction to enforce the Open Records law and this bill will give us the tools to do so.”

Olens said the AG’s office receives an average of 400 complaints each year of Open Records violations by governmental entities in the state. The bill strengthens penalties and gives the AG more tools to use to prosecute violators.

Subsection 50-14-6 changes the fine for knowingly violating the law from $100 to $1,000 and allows the court to impose a civil penalty as well.

The bill also strengthens the guidelines for posting notices on websites and clarifies the rules for social events that may attract a quorum of officials. Also, destroying public records can be prosecuted as a felony.

The bill ( Here’s HB 397 on the legislature’s website) includes some welcome requirements about meeting times and public records officers having to be posted on a body’s website, but builds in a huge loophole: Continue reading →

CCA Go Away

Somebody else is trying to drive away CCA. Near Ft. Lauderdale, CCA wants to put a detention center in Southwest Ranches, Florida, and CCA Go Away (facebook) is organizing against that.

Lots of clever signs, from the unmistakable:

CCA Go Away
to the symbolic orange jailbirds holding oversize $20 and $100 bills.

Plenty more in their flickr set:

No Prison Here in This Town

Put Residents Before Profit

The Prison is No Longer A Secret

Did You Know?
A Prison is coming to your neighborhood!
Say No to
Corrections Corporation of America
No CCA
If they can do it, we can, too. Come to the prison site Tuesday 5PM to help Drive Away CCA!

-jsq

Motorcade against CCA, 5PM Tuesday March 6th

Do you want to live in a prison colony? Help us say, CCA Go Away!

Join us 5PM Tuesday March 6th 2012 at the private prison site (Dasher-Johnson Road off US 84 at Inner Perimeter) for a motorcade by Valdosta City Hall to the Industrial Authority offices: for education and against the private prison.

When:5PM (rush hour) Tuesday March 6th
How:Cars, trucks, motorcycles, and bicycles
Who:Everybody is invited
What:Oppose the Private Prison
From:Proposed Private Prison Site
US 84 @ Inner Perimeter Road
(Staging on Dasher-Johnson Road next to US 84)
By way of:Valdosta City Hall
Valdosta City Council Work Session
Honk to say No CCA!
To:Industrial Authority Office
2110 N. Patterson Street
(Patterson at Park Avenue)
Bring a sign: No Private Prisons!
Contact: noprivateprisons@gmail.com
Winn Roberson, 229-630-2339, winnroberson@bellsouth.net
John S. Quarterman, 229-242-0102, politics@quarterman.org



on the web


View Larger Map


Petition

Winn Roberson read the newspaper Friday (February 24th) and realized the prison site was down the street from him, so the news finally sunk in. This motorcade was his idea to drive the point across to the Industrial Authority: we don’t want a private prison!

John S. Quarterman lives about as far away from the prison site as you can get in Lowndes County, but realizes it will affect everybody for many counties around. So let’s say CCA Go Away!

-jsq

PS: If you can’t come, you can still sign the petition to the Industrial Authority, or write a letter to the editor, or…

Gently orienting the Land Bank Authority to Sunshine Law compliance —Barbara Stratton

Received today. -jsq
Is gently orienting the Land Bank Authority to Sunshine Law compliance going to be a joint LAKE transparancy in government venture or am I riding solo? Since their purpose is to acquire, transfer, divest, etc. land for the common good, real time exposure of this public good should be welcomed. I’m sure it is just an oversight that to date I have never seen a posted meeting date and the city web site has never listed anything but “occasionally” for a meeting schedule. Perhaps they think citizens would be bored and not interested in their meetings and we just need to let them know we are interested. Currently I’m interested in the construction for Dupont on St. Augustine.

Also we need to keep watch to make sure SB 284, which would legislate the formation of a regional land bank with greatly enhanced acquisition powers, does not rise from the 2011 session ashes. If getting information from the local land bank authority is so difficult, can you imagine trying to keep up with a regional entity and all the creative land deal possibilities.

-Barbara Stratton

It’s an hours in the day issue. if you want to spearhead this issue, please lead. As you know, LAKE as an organization rarely takes a position on anything. Most topics are pursued by one or two or more individuals and almost all posts are the opinions of the poster, unless otherwise indicated by “for LAKE”. You seem to be the kernel of a syndicate of initiative on this one.

According to The Valdosta City page on the Land Bank Authority “Last updated: 8/23/2010 7:29:18 AM”: Continue reading →

CCA private prison VDT front page today

Former Sheriff Paulk luke-warm; Sheriff Prine completely opposed. Water and sewer, wetlands, federal funding: all hurdles, says Paulk. Sheriff’s Association also opposed, says Prine. More in the VDT article.

Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine has also shared his thoughts on the private prison industry:
“If I’m going to house an inmate and if I’m going to be responsible, I’d rather them be in my facility not a private prison,” said Prine. “If I’m going to be responsible for them I want them to be within my reach. the Sheriff’s Association feels the same way I do. I’d say the large majority of Sheriff’s feel the same way about this. I don’t want a private facility handling my prisoners.”
Here’s video of Sheriff Prine saying most of that a few weeks ago.

They also mentioned the petition and quoted me:

“If those signatures and calls are making any impression on the Authority they certainly don’t admit to it,” said Quarterman. “This is another Lofton (Brad Lofton, former Authority executive director) project. It’d be nice if the Industrial Authority represented the community they were located in.”
Do you want the Industrial Authority to notice? You can sign the the petition, or send VLCIA your own letter, or write a letter to the editor to the VDT, or….

-jsq

Videos of Lowndes County Commission Work Session 2012 02 27

Lowndes County Board of Commissioners Work Session Meeting held February 27, 2012, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia. Here’s the agenda.

Here’s a playlist:


Videos of Lowndes County Commission Work Session 2012 02 27
Work Session, Lowndes County Commission (LCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 February 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

Sweetheart deal for private prison site?

CCA has a contract to buy the private prison site from a private landowner. But who did that landowner get the site from? The Industrial Authority! And the sale prices involved are rather interesting: the landowner gets almost 100% profit in five years. One person I showed them to immediately said, “sweetheart deal.” What do you think?

The Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority (VLCIA) bought the site back in 1998 for $1,243,200, and sold it to the landowner in 2007 for 1,463,512, which is an increase of about 18% in almost 10 years or about 2% per year. CCA can buy it from the landowner in 2012 for $2,907,000, for an increase of 99% in about five years or almost 20% per year. Which is far more than the 20% in five years or about 4% per year shown by the assessed value. And this remarkable surge in the price of that land is during the worst real estate market since the Great Depression.

Does this look like a sweetheart deal to you?

DatePrice$ Increase% Increase% /yearFromTo
2012? $2,907,000 $1,443,488 99% 20% N.L. Bassford JrCCA
2012 $1,756,320 $   292,808 20%   4% Assessed Value
2007 $1,463,512 $   220,312 18%   2% VLCIAN.L. Bassford Jr
1998 $1,243,200 Camellia Investment Co. VLCIA
Prices in this table are taken directly from the legal documents.
All percentages are rounded and approximate.
Images of the deeds and plats are on the LAKE website.

Here is a petition for VLCIA to reject the private prison.

-jsq

Corrections Corporation of America: A Critical Look at its First Twenty Years

This is the report Bobbi A. Hancock gave Andrea Schruijer Friday:

Grassroots Leadership published Correction Corporation of America: A Critical Look at its First Twenty Years. By Philip Mattera and Mafruza Khan, Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First, and Stephen Nathan, Prison Privatisation Report International. December, 2003. Here’s an extract from the Executive Summary:
CCA is the leading participant in, and in many ways the embodiment of, one of the most controversial industries ever created—the incarceration of people for profit. While the company is looking back through rose-colored glasses, there is a need for a critical analysis of what CCA has brought to the world of corrections. That is the purpose of this report.

Even by its own standards, CCA has not been a success. Rather than taking the industry by storm, it still manages only about three percent of prison and jail beds in the United States, and its global aspirations had to be abandoned.

Only a few years ago, CCA was being widely vilified

Continue reading →