GULFPORT - A member of the Harrison County Development Commission can still serve, even though his step-uncle sits on the board that appoints commission members.

However, commission member Richard Bennett cannot take money for the position, according to the state Attorney General's Office.

Bennett was appointed to the development commission in 2000 by the Harrison County Board of Supervisors. Marlin Ladner, who is Bennett's step-uncle, had just begun serving his first term as a supervisor when Bennett was appointed.

In years past, the attorney general has said that people appointed to government positions by family members could serve as long as they did not accept pay. Step-relatives are included in the nepotism law.

Last summer, the AG released an opinion that said pay could not be waived. The AG recently reversed that opinion, but Bennett did have to pay back more than $10,000 to the state Auditor's Office.

Grady Holder, a member of the Long Beach School Board, also paid back more than $3,000 earlier this year because his brother, Allen Holder, serves on the city's Board of Aldermen, which appoints school board members.

Good luck on exposing HCDC's wasteful spending

Supervisor Connie Rockco is having a difficult time making the Harrison County Development Commission accountable to the over-burdened taxpayers of Harrison County. This does not surprise this past commissioner. I served on this commission for 10 years and fought for more conservative spending and accountability to no avail.

Before gaming was legalized in 1992 this commission and its director had no economic revitalization plans, and without gaming we would still be twiddling our thumbs. Spending taxpayers' money for unnecessary first-class traveling for the director and commissioners abroad, extravagant golf and retreat outings, and ridiculous high salaries for the director and consultants is still out of hand. There is not enough space in this one letter to tell you, the taxpayers of Harrison County, the rest of the wasteful spending history of this untouchable commission.

LOUIS VIC ELIAS