Why are large amounts of money being moved between accounts at the Columbus Housing Authority? Why is the movement of hundreds of thousands of dollars not mentioned in their meeting minutes? Who is managing the money and why are they so cavalier with their funds? 

Why was a check for $75,000 made to Cash by the Executive Director of the Columbus Housing Authority, and it is not reflected in any meeting minutes to the board of commissioners before or after the event? Where did that money go? To the nonprofit Columbus Community Housing Development Organization (CCHDO)? Is anyone paying attention to where money goes at CHA or how it is spent at CCHDO? So many questions arise every turn of the page.https://youtu.be/io1t0qAjaLg

Follow along as I examine the Columbus Community Housing Development - (The Columbus Housing Authority's Non-Profit) Negative Revenue Balances. We will learn how to search the Mississippi Secretary of State Business Listings for Businesses and Charity Listings, Agents, and Members, as well as their compliance with yearly updates. Why is Seasons of Columbus included as a DBA but not Seasons of Success? Where is Seasons of Success EIN and State License to operate? Do they fall under some other business? Again, why is nothing related to the Columbus Housing Authority ever transparent and straightforward? (The video of the how-to is on YouTube). 

 When it comes to nonprofits, there's a lot that you need to know. You can ask for it in a public records request, but it's not really considered a public records request because nonprofits are guided by their nonprofit status. What you can access are their 990s, their tax filings. Here is how you do just that. (Visual version is also available on YouTube. This is just the audio version.) 

Public records are just that: Public! You are entitled to have information from government officials in the form of bank ledgers, meeting minutes, contracts, bids, emails, etc. Public Officials' and Private Individuals' Land and Property Tax Records are all in the public domain. You just have to go to your county courthouse or look at their website online and do some research! (PS: there is a YouTube video that shows the actual screen view if you are a visual person). Here is how:

Rusty Walker is earning $ 4,295 a month from Columbus HA. He is also receiving fees from Natchez, Hattiesburg, Brookhaven, and McComb Housing Authorities, as well as having some contracts with the City of Gulfport, in addition to his salary as a councilman for the city. I can’t imagine money should be an issue, as he appears to be a successful businessman. So why are his property taxes always delinquent? He is a Capital Funds Manager for Housing Authorities all over the state with significant budgets funded by HUD. He is an elected official responsible for millions of dollars for the City of Gulfport. Do they know he forgets to pay his property taxes? Did his opponent know he has a questionable track record where money is concerned? Is this the same man who was borrowing and then lending a million-plus dollars not even 10 years ago? Why does everything around Councilman Walker generate so many questions?

 Gulfport's City Council President and Futurespec's Rusty Walker have been playing a shell game with money and land for some time in Gulfport while consulting for various housing authorities in his spare time. Why? According to HUD and area directors, there is absolutely no need for companies like Future Spec to do the day-to-day coding and grant fund management. That they are hired to do. The directors have so many opportunities to learn both online and in person, and HUD and various state-level agencies provide continuing credits, ongoing training, and support to those executive directors.Why are we mixed up with this guy and paying him to do something our Executive Director SHOULD be doing? 

 Unravel the financial irregularities in this community housing organization. Let's take a deep dive into the financial transparency, or lack thereof, and the organizational accountability that is missing at the Columbus Housing Authority. From single and rubber-stamped signatures to initialed checks with no invoice or purchase order numbers...the financial mess at both the Non-profit CCHDO and the CHA is appalling.   

This comprehensive investigative report exposes deep-seated governance challenges within the Columbus Housing Authority (CHA), revealing a complex network of potential systemic failures that compromise organizational integrity, financial accountability, and public trust. We're uncovering a peculiar board member who appears to be a long-standing fixture in the organization. Appointed under a previous administration, Greta Gardner seems to occupy a unique position - signing critical documents for both the Housing Authority and a related non-profit, yet remaining mysteriously inaccessible. What does Gulfport City Councilman Rusty Walker have to do with moving around the money in the CHA Draw? What is CFP? What is a JV? Why is Sheila Hosli with a non-business email and NOT an employee of the CHA “revising” the draw? Something is truly amiss here!

 Today we examine the Mississippi Ethics Commission rules related public access to public records information and how the Columbus Housing Authority Executive Director and Board Attorney are in non-compliance. 

 The housing authority uses federal grants or gifts to help pay the housing cost of its customers. Federal money is given to the housing authority to cover all the normal costs of maintaining a place to live. As a result, the housing authority must comply with state and federal bidding rules on purchasing. The laws are really clear, and they're easy to comply with if an agency chooses to follow them. Is the Columbus Housing Authority following federal and state bid law guidelines? I. Yes, no one knows right now, since the bidding documents have not been produced, we are asking for them, but the rules are pretty clear.

My most recent FOIA request has been described as requiring 160 hours of work and cositn over $7000 to complete. What hogwash! Is nothing in the CHA digitized? 

 What started with looking into a truck that CHA purchased and got scammed on has made me look more carefully at how they conduct their business. It makes me question a lot of things they do and makes me wonder who else is scamming them. Follow along as I explore their ledgers. 

It would appear that most of the service providers to the Columbus Housing Authority are from out of town, adding to the cost of their services. Was the Cook Pest Control account ever put out for bid? Is it rebid each year? Why does the Columbus Housing Authority have a huge bedbug problem that shows up each month in one and only one unit at varying amounts for treatment? 

Since October 13th, 2023, Executive Director Robert Grathree has spent $52,000 on conference travel and per diem.   In that same period, over $100,000 has been charged to the Columbus Housing Authority's credit card. None of that is spent on resident housing improvements, and none of that is spent on bills. All of those invoices and all residency work are paid for by checks. What is this credit card used for? What have they spent over $100,000 on in less than two years?

Looking through the board minutes on the truck and the scammer, I found other anomalies that caught my eye…big dollar anomalies and still no mention of the scam. Interesting! 

My recent FOIA request related to the Columbus Housing Authority (CHA) Truck and the 60K scam has raised even more questions about the activities of the director and board at CHA. 

Tonight, I am going to tell you a story that was told to me by people in positions of authority with the Columbus Housing Authority…a strange, convoluted story…and then I will read you three emails I was handed in a meeting. I should have much more on Friday as a result of a FOIA request and a couple of hundred dollars to get said public documents…but here is the story. Bear with me as I may struggle to keep it all straight—it is a doozy!

Wales Land embodied the archetypal small farmer - hardworking, unassuming, and deeply rooted in the agricultural traditions of the American South. He farmed with his father and the sharecroppers who worked the land beside them. The Great Depression and the Prohibition era had transformed quiet rural communities into complex battlegrounds of legal enforcement, social tension, and economic survival. This is the setting of how three federal Prohibition agents gunned down an innocent, hard-working 27-year-old farmer in front of his father's house. 

City Councilman and Mayoral Candidate Stephen Jones answers questions generated by Columbus, MS, citizens.