Numerous elected Lowndes County and Columbus area officials failed to file their 2015 statements of economic interest online with the Mississippi Ethics Commission by Sunday’s deadline.
Those failing to file include three supervisors, four other county incumbents, three city councilmen, Columbus Mayor Robert Smith and state Sen. Angela Turner, D-West Point.
The two-page document provides a brief snapshot of officials’ economic ties, including income earned from all businesses and entities, control or ownership of companies and work and financial ties of spouses and other persons who reside with them.
All statewide, district, county and municipal incumbents must file every year on or before May 1, while appointees must file within 30 days of assuming office. Candidates up for election must also file within 15 days of qualifying.
Anyone who fails to file within a year of their applicable deadline or who knowingly fails to disclose required information can be fined up to $10,000, according to the commission’s website.
The Dispatch reviewed the MEC website for the filings’ availability Monday but did not review each document for their contents or accuracy.
A review of the MEC’s filings Tuesday showed all five area Mississippi House of Representatives members — District 37 Rep. Gary Chism, R-Columbus, District 38 Rep. Tyrone Ellis, D-Starkville, District 39 Rep. Jeffrey Smith, R-Columbus, District 41 Rep. Kabir Karriem, D-Columbus, and District 42 Rep. Carl Mickens, D-Brooksville — met Sunday’s deadline.
A filing for Turner, however, was absent from the MEC’s website. Lowndes County’s other state senator — Chuck Younger, a Republican out of Columbus — met his filling requirement.
Statements due last year from all seven state lawmakers were present on the MEC’s website.
Three of the five-member Lowndes County Board of Supervisors — Leroy Brooks, John Holliman and Jeff Smith — also failed to submit their documents to the MEC’s website by Sunday.
2014 filings were present for four of the supervisors, but Smith’s previous filing was unavailable on the commission’s site.
Last year’s SEIs were also unavailable for Sheriff Mike Arledge, Coroner Greg Merchant and Lowndes County School District Superintendent Lynn Wright.
Excluding the five supervisors, 2014 filings were present for all other elected county officials except for Coroner Greg Merchant.
Councilmen Charlie Box and Bill Gavin both filed their 2015 statements before Sunday’s deadline, while the documents were unavailable for fellow board members Joesph Mickens, Gene Taylor and Marty Turner.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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