Citizens for Transparency in Lauderdale County MS

Citizens for Transparency in Lauderdale County MS Fighting for truth and accountability in Lauderdale county,Ms.Exposing misconduct

A few weeks ago, I submitted a public records request asking whether Lauderdale County recorded Board of Supervisors mee...
05/30/2026

A few weeks ago, I submitted a public records request asking whether Lauderdale County recorded Board of Supervisors meetings.

In response, I was provided a video recording of a recent Board meeting and charged $10 for the copy. After reviewing the video, I noticed there was no audio.

I followed up and asked whether the video was supposed to have sound. I was then informed that the footage came from security cameras that were not equipped with audio recording capabilities and that the security footage was the only recording the county had of Board meetings.

Wanting to better understand the situation, I requested additional information about the Board room's audio/video capabilities.

County Administrator Chris Lafferty has now clarified that the Board room does, in fact, contain an AV system capable of recording audio and supporting livestreaming. He also confirmed that if the audio were connected, Board meetings could be broadcasted and recorded with both sound and video.

According to the county, the microphones are not connected to the recording system, and using the system would require someone to monitor the equipment and ensure executive sessions are not accidentally recorded. Because recording Board meetings is not required by state law, the county has chosen not to use the system for that purpose.

To be clear, the issue is not whether the technology exists. The county has confirmed that it does.

The issue is that Lauderdale County currently relies on silent security camera footage as the only recording of public Board meetings, despite having the capability to record and livestream those meetings with audio and video.

Citizens can decide for themselves whether that level of transparency is appropriate in a modern county government.
Lauderdale County MS Jamie Parttridge Fred Chambliss Frankie Hilburn

05/29/2026

The Mississippi Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of a Meridian man who suffered severe injuries when a dead tree fell onto his vehicle from state-owned property, reversing a […]

Let me explain why so many citizens are frustrated right now.I filed a Notice of Claim against Lauderdale County a while...
05/28/2026

Let me explain why so many citizens are frustrated right now.

I filed a Notice of Claim against Lauderdale County a while back. But here’s the part people need to understand

A Notice of Claim is NOT a filed lawsuit.

At this moment, there is technically no active “Clearman v. Lauderdale County” case pending in court.

No judge.
No discovery.
No active litigation. Yet.

Yet somehow, basic citizen questions are already being treated like high-level adversarial legal warfare.

And what exactly were we asking for?

Not litigation strategy.
Not confidential records.
Not privileged attorney communications.

We asked for POLICY.

Simple public policy questions involving taxpayer-funded government operations and county vehicles.

That’s it.

We submitted public records requests asking whether there were written policies governing deputies taking county vehicles outside the county while off duty.

The response?
After charging us money for the request, we were told there were supposedly “no responsive documents.”

But apparently there WAS enough concern for:
outside counsel,
formal complaint numbers,
Board authorization,
extension requests,
legal positioning,
procedural delays,
and taxpayer-funded attorneys to become involved.

Why?

Why does asking basic policy questions suddenly require lawyers?

Why are citizens being treated like adversaries for participating in local government?

I attended the May 18 Board meeting and used my legally allotted five minutes exactly as citizens are entitled to do. I stood face to face with elected officials and expressed my grievances directly, respectfully, and publicly.

I did not threaten anyone.
I did not ask about litigation strategy or private legal matters.
As a matter of fact I only spoke on the data center concerns…

I only asked questions about transparency and accountability.

The entire interaction is on video.

Citizens are legally allowed to:
attend Board meetings,
criticize elected officials,
request public records,
ask uncomfortable questions,
and publicly express concerns about their government.

That is not harassment.
That is not intimidation.
That is civic participation protected by the Constitution.

But when communication suddenly stops, emails go unanswered from supervisors, officials block citizens on social media, attorneys are hired to answer simple questions, and every interaction becomes layered in bureaucracy and legal maneuvering people notice.

And taxpayers should notice too, because taxpayers are funding all of it.

The Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors and the County Attorney should explain why ordinary policy questions from citizens now appear to require legal shielding and formal damage control.

Transparency should not feel adversarial.

The documents speak for themselves.





PUBLIC RECORDS QUESTION: WHAT EXACTLY WAS I CHARGED FOR?I submitted a narrow public records request to the Lauderdale Co...
05/28/2026

PUBLIC RECORDS QUESTION: WHAT EXACTLY WAS I CHARGED FOR?

I submitted a narrow public records request to the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department regarding written vehicle use policies.

On May 15, I received a written response stating that:
- a lieutenant was identified as “the lowest paid staff member capable” of locating the records,
- the hourly rate would be $27.20 per hour,
- and the request would take 1–2 hours to complete.

I paid the fee.

After the request was processed, county attorney Lee Thaggard later responded in writing that:

“there is no document which is responsive to your narrow request.”

So here is the reasonable public question:

If no responsive document existed, what exactly was the lieutenant spending billable time searching for?

This is not an attack on law enforcement. This is about accountability, transparency, and proper handling of taxpayer-funded public records requests.

The Mississippi Public Records Act allows agencies to recover actual costs, but it also states requests should be fulfilled by the lowest paid competent employee capable of performing the task.

Citizens have a right to ask questions when:
- fees are charged,
- delays occur,
- and the final answer contradicts the original justification for the charge.

The documents speak for themselves.

What a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive..

Lauderdale County, MS Sheriff's Office Lauderdale County MSJamie Parttridge Fred Chambliss Leon Seals

05/20/2026

Concerns over data center projects drew public criticism at Monday’s meeting of the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors, where residents questioned transparency, environmental impacts and long-term benefits of the project. […]

05/18/2026

Several citizens stood up today to speak about the proposed data center here in Meridian.

We had technical difficulties with our livestream during the meeting, so I’m posting the full recording now. Apologies for the delay.

Thank you to everyone who showed up, spoke out, and participated in the discussion. Regardless of where people stand on the issue, citizens deserve transparency, open dialogue, and the opportunity to be heard.

05/16/2026

Even national figures like Tucker Carlson are now publicly questioning the rapid expansion of AI data centers and the long-term impact they may have on power grids, infrastructure, energy demand, and local communities.

This conversation is no longer isolated to Lauderdale County. Communities across the country are asking the same questions:

* What are these facilities being built for?
* How much power and water will they consume?
* What are the long-term impacts on nearby residents?
* What are taxpayers actually receiving in return?
* Why has there been so little public discussion before approval?

Nobody is saying technology or AI is “bad.” The point is that projects of this scale deserve transparency, independent studies, and informed public discussion before communities are expected to simply accept them.

These are fair questions — and citizens have a right to ask them.

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Meridian, MS

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