A Town Divided
Sometimes I feel like I’m on a never-ending tour of dysfunctional city governments. This time we’re in the east Texas city of Jasper, a town divided over questions of ethics and transparency.
“This is the most dysfunctional thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” said a resident in an August city meeting.
A quarter of a century ago the town of Jasper was badly scarred by a case of racial injustice…
But folks in Jasper are fighting a much different battle now.
“We are broken here. We have to fix that brokenness.”
It’s a fight to fix what many believe is a broken city government…
Ignoring the city charter…
Ignoring the will of its residents…
Ignoring ethics rules.
“Since I’ve become a city councilwoman, I found out that it’s not fair and equal, not in any way,” admitted Angel McCroskey.
Jasper’s mayor Anderson Land knew he was running for a part-time political job that didn’t pay. But suddenly he wants to get paid.
Mike Lout: “You sold out to the people, mayor, and I told you, you were going to do it.”
Audience member: “I believe it too.”
The East Texas town of Jasper has just over 7 thousand residents… nearly a third of the town lives in poverty.
“Jasper city council fills 2 district seats. McCroskey pulling it off, winning with 57% of the vote there in Jasper,” informs a TV news video.
“That’s one of the reasons I ran, because my neighbors were struggling so much to pay their electric bill,” explained McCroskey.
Residents voted to limit what the city could charge for electricity, sewer, and water, to no more than 10 percent over the city’s cost.
That measure was called Proposition A… But it turns out even the city’s finance director had no clue if it was being enforced… if taxpayers were getting cheated.
Angel McCroskey: “Are we implementing this since it was passed two years ago?”
Robbie Peek: “I don’t know exactly what the formula is for this implementation. I don’t know, I can’t find anything on that.”
That’s reassuring…
A year earlier another city councilman had asked the same thing.
Ronald Sample: “Have we done what the people voted for us to do?” Denise Kelley: “It’s not refunds or rebates…”
Sample: “Why? People voted on this. Why?”
Denise Kelley: “Mr. Sample, we had an attorney’s opinion.”
That’s former city manager Denise Kelley telling Ron Sample some lawyer told her they didn’t have to implement the proposition.
What’s crazy is that when Anderson Land was a city councilman, he actually spearheaded the Proposition “A” petition and brought it to a public vote.
“I ran for this to help him out in the mess that was happening with the city council,” assured Ronald Sample.
Sample thought he would be an ally with the mayor, but says once Land got elected, he didn’t want to talk about Proposition A anymore.
“He was mayor. He was sitting on my left and he had told me before, don’t do that. Don’t do that. Don’t ask it,” revealed Sample.
One of Land’s biggest critics is Mike Lout, a former Jasper mayor who runs KJAS- the city’s radio station… its media watchdog.
He went door to door and got it signed. Somebody got to him and shut it down. They got to him,” Lout stated in an August city meeting.
Listen to the mayor’s review of citizens’ complaints.
“We’ve just got crazy people up here, and I’ll say it in public and we just got crazy people up here to go hell-bent on doing something to the city of Jasper and Jedco that they have lost their ever-loving mind,” he exclaimed.
But citizen outrage is finally getting residents somewhere.
“We’re going to, we’re going to take a look at it,” said Jasper city attorney Billy Morian.
Finally, this month residents got a report. The city manager showed folks an electric rate study that says folks aren’t being charged too much…
Ronald Sample: “Is it in effect?”
City manager: “It’s in effect.”
Ronald Sample: “But not on water and sewer.”
Folks are still waiting for a review of water and sewer rates.
“One of the complaints I did when I filed a case that they had never done a cost of service study since 2008,” explained Bill Grant.
Bill Grant is president of Citizens of Jasper For Fair and Equitable Rates.
The group filed a complaint with the Texas Public Utility Commission…
“We did reach a settlement, but I don’t believe our work is done,” he added.
The city had amassed of huge pot of money…. More than $60 million from utility refunds. Only $29 million was unspent.
“The settlement we reached with the city of Jasper was that they could only use that money for things that would otherwise be in electric rates. So, they couldn’t use it for, for example, basketball courts,” emphasized Grant.
The city had used a million dollars for a basketball pavilion in Jasper’s Sandy Creek Park.
Other millions more had been spent on city vehicles downtown revitalization.
At least $3 million went to a project called Jasper United… to bring jobs into the city of Jasper.
Provalus Automatic Message: “Thank you for calling Provalus, where we’re delivering dependable, scalable quality IP services straight from the heart of America.”
Provalus is a technology company that sets up shops in small towns around the country.
Promising Jasper 100 jobs…
Their 5-year contract with Jasper has just ended. But it looks like Provalus violated the contract.
“I mean, it’s supposed to benefit the city, you know, and I don’t think it benefits the city at all,” expressed McCroskey.
Provalus was required to give monthly reports documenting the number of employees they had. But they didn’t.
“I’m just now finding out that they’re spending money. I’m just now finding all this stuff out. And also, at the same time as I’m learning it, I’m getting sicker and sicker,” admitted Sample.
“An enormous amount of money, from what I understand, has been spent,” added McCroskey.
Mayor Land says Provalus has met its obligations to provide jobs. And doesn’t care about the fine print.
I don’t care what the city of Jasper is doing or what Jedco is doing… if this is going to keep jobs in the city of Jasper I don’t have a problem with it,” he stated.
Jedco is the city’s economic arm… And we investigate that all over Texas… but I’ve never seen a problem like the one we just uncovered.
“Are we operating as a legal board or not?” asked Jennifer Miranda during an EDC meeting.
Jennifer Miranda was just appointed to the Jedco board in 2024…
Her question was a bombshell.
“I simply asked the question, are we a legal board? Are we even a legal board? And to this day, I have not gotten an answer,” she stated.
Jedco’s bi-laws allow 17 board members to be appointed two years terms…
Trouble is… only 3 of the 17 board members have current appointments.
“The economic development Jedco has a stranglehold on the town,” expressed McCroskey.
This illegitimate board has been spending taxpayer money for years… even money that benefits themselves.
“I haven’t done anything purposely. I have not violated any law purposely,” claimed Eddie Hopkins.
Jedco’s executive director Eddie Hopkins was the guy that was supposed to make sure the EDC ran properly. The guy who maintains records on possible on conflicts of interest… but Jedco board members have been enriching themselves to the tune of 10’s of thousands of dollars.
“Jedco, in my eyes and in my opinion, is a very honorable organization. We have a great board of local businesspeople that truly have pure motives,” suggested Hopkins.
Board member Chris Lanier got $20,000 in façade grant money for two of his buildings.
Board member Dr. Larry brown got more than $11,000 for complete health care where he practices medicine.
The daughter of board chairman Danny Walker got more than $12,000 for her business… The Veranda.
And board member Marvin McDonald’s business, Double M Rentals, got $27,000 of taxpayer money.
“We don’t rent to them anymore. So there’s not any conflict of interest,” exclaimed McDonald’s.
That’s not the point. McDonald has been on the board for 7 years past the date he was supposed to be replaced.
“It’s the same group of people over and over again who are benefiting from it, while at the exact same time turning down the people who truly need help,” argued McCroskey.
“We’re not crooks. We’re not bad people. We’re all good people,” said Hopkins.
Hopkins resigned from Jedco just days after we called him.
The Jedco board has stopped meeting.
“Currently, the city does not have a position. If you would like to come visit with me about this some other time, that’s just fine,” City Attorney Billy Morian told us.
In recent years city employees have also been city vendors. Hundreds of thousands of dollars spent.
Employee Bob Gary… owns B&B Fencing.
Employee John Wendt owns Duct Doctor.
Former city manager Denise Kelley and her husband own a company called Forestry Supply.
“Denise Kelly is not there anymore. We have a new city manager. I don’t live in the past. I’m trying to make Jasper better by moving to the future, though,” declared the mayor.
Land has started a petition asking for support to collect a one thousand dollar per month salary. He wouldn’t answer our questions about that.
“Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m not going to tell you about it. I don’t know if I’m going to complete it or not. That’s it,” he said in a council meeting.
“The mayor believes he’s the king of Jasper. And anyone who speaks out against him, you are his enemy, and he will get you. But I’m not afraid of the mayor. He’ll tell you.”
Angel McCroskey says mayor Land is doing everything he can to silence her… but she’s just getting started.
“My goal for the rest of my term would be that I want to make people aware of what’s happening. I want people to be involved in our government because when we’re not involved, then things like this happen.”
“What we can do is stay at it. Stay for the people. I ain’t for myself. And I ain’t for no little group where I’m forged. I’m only a district, but I’m also for the total city of Jasper,” added Ronald Sample.
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