My son John is unusual. In between using the Internet to download all the information in the world into his brain, he likes to go on random excursions, one of which is to the Jackson Zoo.
A few months ago, he arrived home and informed me, “I couldn’t get into the zoo because they don’t take credit cards, only cash.” This seemed very strange to me.
Turns out the Jackson Zoo can’t manage to accomplish what any street vendor can easily accomplish — credit card transactions. As a result, the zoo has turned away hundreds of patrons and missed out on tens of thousands of dollars.
A recent WLBT article indicated that progress was being made and this great technical hurdle was about to be overcome by the zoo staff. So last week, I told my son I thought the problem was solved. So he promptly went to the zoo only to return with the same report — no credit cards, only cash. (Credit card transactions were scheduled to start October 2.)
I mentioned this to my friend Pete Perry at the Rotary Club lunch. Pete informed me of another cash-only instance — the city dump, which he said had been closed for several months because one of the bulldozers to shove trash is missing a part.
The city dump is not where the garbage is taken. It’s where residents can take old stuff they don’t want and dump it. I asked the Sun’s ace reporter to look into this and she confirmed that the Jackson city dump is only taking old tires and that, yes, it is cash only.
This raises several points. First, add mismanagement of the city dump to the endless list of things the current Jackson city administration can’t figure out how to run. The list is long: water, libraries, zoo, Thalia Mara, potholes, street lights, garbage, crime. I’m probably leaving out a few.
Getting back to these cash-only transactions. I recall years ago, the Jackson water department only took cash. I was appalled. That’s tens of millions of dollars in cash transactions. Talk about a recipe for embezzlement! Cash is fluid, untraceable, invisible. It is absolutely the bane of accountants trying to impose accountability. As a businessman, I avoid cash like a plague.
Having noted years ago that the city water department embraced cash payments, I was not surprised that years later, the entire operation collapsed.
Cash is the driver of the American black market, estimated to be 30 percent of economic activity worldwide and ten percent in the United States.
Everybody knows that many contractors prefer cash. Why? Because they can hide the transaction and not pay taxes on it. Even Venmo reports to the IRS.
The legal standard for proving adultery is where inclination and opportunity converge. The same could be said for cash transactions. Cash allows the opportunity. As a Presbyterian, I would argue the total depravity of man provides the inclination.
This would answer the mystery of why a huge operation like the Jackson Zoo or the city dump can’t figure out how to do what every bar and restaurant in Jackson can do — use a credit card. All you need is a simple smartphone and an app.
Another explanation other than graft could be complete and utter bureaucratic incompetence. Hmmm (as Bill Crawford would say.) It’s probably 50-50 between the two explanations.
This all reminds me of a few years ago when I decided to go play golf at the Sonny Guy (renamed to Pete Brown) Jackson municipal golf course off Woodrow Wilson Drive. It was cash only too.
My buddy Scott Carlton and I were on hole ten, the furthest hole from the clubhouse, when a man rode up on a cart with no clubs. “You owe me $20 each. You only paid for nine holes,” the man announced.
Scott and I looked at each other, perplexed. “Incorrect, sir, we paid for 18 holes,” I responded with Scott confirming. The man kept insisting we pay him and we kept insisting we were not. Finally, he turned the cart around and sped away.
After we finished the round and were loading our clubs into our trunk, the pro approached us. “Did some guy approach you on the course?” he asked. We said yes and explained the situation.
The pro shook his head in disgust. “Man, I’m sorry about that. That shouldn’t have happened.”
We then asked, “Who was that guy?” The pro responded, “He works for the city.” And walked away.
I tell these stories and raise these points as the entire metro area awaits anticipated indictments of city officials by the FBI. So far, only one shoe has dropped, city councilwoman Angelique Lee. More are expected.
Jackson has now had a run of four out of five mayors who could not effectively manage the city. It’s time to change our form of government from a strong elected mayor to a city-manager style. That way, we can hire a professional to run the city. The Jackson electorate can’t seem to elect competent mayors.
With a council-manager government voters elect a mayor and council which, in turn, hire a city manager. The mayor presides over council meetings and represents the city. The council is the policy-making body for the municipality while the manager handles the day-to-day operations including the hiring/firing of city employees, budget preparation, and fiscal management. The city manager attends council meetings but does not have a vote.
All that is required is a petition representing ten percent of the number of voters in the city. Once the petition is certified, a vote must be held. Not that complicated.
Presumably, a professional manager could work better with state officials. State cooperation and participation is crucial to turning around Jackson. Yet Jackson’s mayors have been at political odds with state leaders, stifling the chance for cooperation.
The problem is politics: Jackson is the state capital, but Democrat controlled. Meanwhile, the state leadership is Republican. This political disharmony is holding back progress. A professional city manager, not involved in politics, could break this logjam.
Personally, I don’t care who runs Jackson as long as it is run properly.
