THE MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

Introduction

Through local and private legislation, the Legislature created the Meridian/Lauderdale County Partnership in 1991 for the purpose of combining the economic development efforts of Lauderdale County. In response to legislative concerns regarding the Partnership's financial and program activities, the PEER Committee took the following steps in conducting a review of the Partnership:

• analyzing the Partnership's revenues and expenditures since its establishment in 1991;
• determining the Partnership's effectiveness in demonstrating any benefits that Meridian and Lauderdale County have realized as a result of Partnership activities;
• identifying managerial, financial, and program deficiencies of the Partnership; and,
• assessing the potential effect of the Partnership's termination on economic development efforts in Meridian and Lauderdale County.

During the course of the review, a legislative deadline for re-authorizing the Partnership passed without action. As a result, the Partnership's enabling legislation will repeal effective October 1, 1996.

Overview

The Meridian/Lauderdale County Partnership has been the subject of controversy throughout the five years of its existence. Much of the controversy has resulted from public perceptions that the Partnership exercises too few internal controls over its administrative operations, and that much of its program efforts have been "too little, too late."

Regarding the problem of internal controls over administrative operations, inadequate supervision by the Partnership's board of directors in its early years allowed misappropriation of approximately $27,500. The current chief executive officer has implemented policies designed to prevent such misappropriation and the staff has effectively implemented these policies, but the Partnership's credibility as a fiscally responsible entity has been damaged by the early problems. Also, although the Partnership's practices of providing extra compensation to employees and giving vendor preference to Partnership members when expending private funds do not violate law, they may not ensure the most efficient use of financial resources. Since it receives the majority of its funding from public sources, the Partnership should maximize its resources to accomplish its mission of promoting economic development, tourism, and community development.

Regarding program efforts, the Partnership has been slow to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for recruiting new businesses and providing assistance to existing businesses. These were primary tasks assigned to the Partnership by law. Also, the Partnership has not established a formal accountability system with which to measure its performance or gauge its effectiveness in accomplishing its statutory mandates. Without such an accountability system, the Partnership cannot objectively demonstrate its worth to the constituents of the area it serves.

Because of the October 1, 1996, repealer in the Partnership's enabling legislation, the entity will cease to exist on that date. While closure of the Partnership will mean utilizing a decentralized method of delivering services, private and public entities can provide each of the major services that the Partnership currently provides. Thus, the Partnership is not essential to the economic development and well-being of Meridian and Lauderdale County and its closure will not cause the area to suffer irreparable loss of promotional and development capacity.

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