Editor, The Commercial:
A certain charm and casual informality tend to bloom in many southern cities. Southern "hospitality," or in New Orleans "home cooking," are euphemisms used to describe the cozy relationships that arise in delta towns, where we often turn a blind eye to the incestuous relationships that invade the politics of our city.
Some people call it being in the clique, on the team, or even in the in-crowd. Other people would describe it as conflicts of interest or even public corruption.
Non-withstanding the unfairness of the regressive tax, the most insidious threat posed by the Go Forward Pine Bluff public-private partnership is the entrenchment of a political machine using taxpayer dollars. Left unchecked, Go Forward's tentacles will soon span our entire government, including local boards and commissions.
For instance, the Pine Bluff Advertising and Promotion Commission (A&P) collects and administers taxes for restaurants and hotels in the city. Otherwise known as the "Hamburger Tax," these funds pay for the commission to develop marketing plans to attract tourists to Pine Bluff.
Unfortunately, Pine Bluff ranks last in tourism because we never use our Hamburger Tax proceeds to promote our town. When we passed the first hamburger tax in [1983/84] it was used for public safety -- not advertising and promotion.
More recently, our hamburger tax proceeds go to shore up a failing "money pit" convention center instead of promoting the city. In addition, these funds are also used to provide local non-profits with grants for various activities (i.e., concerts, conferences, sporting events, meetings, etc.), which will bring travelers to the area.
So how can a great recipe for promoting tourism in Pine Bluff unravel and invite suspicion? How can the seasonings become bitter and stale, leaving others to wonder why accountability is not a top priority? How does a commission keep getting the recipe wrong with successive chairpersons who should know better? Look for yourself.
Earlier this year, the Pine Bluff A&P elected its new officers, according to the Jan. 25, 2023 minutes found on its website. A quick look at those minutes reveals some interesting "recipe-revising" was happening.
According to A&P's by-laws (also found on their website), "A commission member or appointed committee member shall not be interested, directly or indirectly, in the profits of any contract for furnishing supplies, equipment, or services to the Commission."
So when Mr. John Lawson was elected at the beginning of the year as chair of the A&P Commission, he also served as a board member for Go Forward Pine Bluff (GFPB).
The January minutes show that the commission was considering awarding grants to local non-profits. They also show that "Lawson made a motion to approve the $12,000 request for the UAPB Homecoming Marketing. The remaining funding would be divided between ASC's Augmented Reality Installation and GFPB at $19,250 each."
If Mr. Lawson is also a board member for GFPB, how can he make a motion to award them funding in any grant cycle? In doing so, he has presented the public with a powerful example of a conflict of interest. That's because his non-profit, GFPB, stood to benefit from his vote. He should have abstained.
Conflicts of interest should be of utmost importance to A&P board members.
These issues must be addressed immediately before Go Forward's home cooked "hamburger tax" loses its savor. Vote Against the GFPB Tax. Vote No on May 9.
Steven B. Mays Jr.,
Restaurant owner