The Sun Herald | 10/12/2006 | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The Sun Herald | 10/12/2006 | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: "Posted on Thu, Oct. 12, 2006
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Knocked down by Katrina; finished off by bureaucracy

The Mississippi Gulf Coast is dead! Years from now when anyone asks 'What happened?' the appropriate reply should be: 'Katrina knocked it down and bureaucracy strangled it.'

While Katrina dealt us a mighty blow, it was far from fatal; the mortal wound came at the hands of government. From the lowest level local public servant to the highest ranking office in the Republic, government failed us in every way.

I do not believe that government should take care of our every need, but it would greatly assist us in our recovery if it would just get the hell out of the way!

You can't simply take care of your own recovery either because every step of the recovery is regulated, mandated, legislated and formulated to require government permission before any forward progress can be attempted.

The largest stumbling block that I've personally encountered is local planning/development/permitting departments. I have dealt with Harrison County, Jackson County and the city of Biloxi and each of these entities and the people that serve in them are obstacles to the Coast's recovery. Here's why the Coast will soon draw its last breath:

• It shouldn't take five months to get site approval for a dental clinic.

• When you make numerous calls to your Jackson County supervisor he should call you back - even if you have to wait until he gets out of jail.

• Civil servants should remember to be both civil and of service.

• It shouldn't take three months to get a letter approving a variance from one department to another.

The final nail in the Coast's coffin, though, will be the absurd insurance costs. New insurance rates went into effect on Oct. 1, and I can tell you this: my wife and I can no longer afford to live here or work here.

According to the information I received, no company is writing new wind insurance in the six coastal counties and all homeowners seeking new coverage will go into the wind pool. This will shut down the real estate market on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. What we need is an elected official to guard the taxpayers from the unscrupulous insurance companies... oh, wait, we have such an official... and he too failed us miserably.

Will the last person to leave the Coast please drop the keys off at the front desk of the nearest casino.

BO RAY
Biloxi"