Sunday, October 28, 2012



Do you like the Flintstones? Then you are going to love the following video from Britain’s Got Talent. Just click on this link Ashleigh and Pudsey

Raytown Calendar of Events
Data compiled by Friends of Raytown Parks - for more information go to Friends of Raytown Parks

One Inspired Evening for Kids with Courage, November 2
Kids with Courage invites you to join them for One Inspired Evening, a charity event that includes a cocktail reception, dinner, program, silent auction, live music and dancing. Proceeds from this event will benefit families in crisis, and children and young people battling daily to stay alive.  Click for details.

Rice-Tremonti Soup & Craft Days, November 3-4

Join us for a hearty lunch of home-made soup, fresh-baked cornbread, dessert and beverage. Also, purchase the perfect gift or decorative item, hand-made by one of the several local crafters who will display and sell their items from the front parlors. Proceeds benefit Rice-Tremonti 1855 Home. Click for details.

Amateur Radio Club 2012 Hamfest, November 10

Raytown’s Amateur Radio Club KOGQ invite you to HamFest, featuring satellite demonstrations and hourly door prizes plus the Grand Prize of a Mobile Transceiver.  Click for details.

Tribute to Our Veterans, November 11

The Raytown Arts Council, Retired Teachers Association, Marguerite McNair DAR Chapter and Council of Aging will co-sponsor the annual Tribute to our Veterans, that includes military color guard, patriotic music by the Raytown Community Symphonic Band, recognition of veterans from all armed service branches and more.  Click for details.

Holiday Lights Recycling in KC Region, November 17

Southeast Enterprises and St. Louis Green are joining forces in the goal to collect and recycle 104,000 pounds of holiday lights. In addition to keeping holiday lights out of the landfill, we have the benefit of providing challenging work for over 160 employees with developmental disabilities. 100% of holiday lights we collect will be recycled. Click for details.

MCPL-Raytown, November

The Mid-Continent Library of Raytown's events will soon be included in our community events calendar. Until we get their calendar fully integrated, look for their RSS events feed in the right margin of our calendar. Besides the library, they are a wonderful resource for learning, from storytime, book clubs, internet, business, cooking and craft classes, and more! Click for RSS feed.


Paul Livius
BOA Should Follow Committee Recommendation BY PAUL LIVIUS AND GREG WALTERS
The topic at the BOA meeting was an automatic 2% pay increase for Raytown’s Chief of Police. 

The discussion is fallout from a recommendation by the Elected Officials Compensation Committee to not increase the pay of the Municipal Judge, Chief of Police or  Board of Aldermen.

However, because past Board of Aldermen created a policy of giving the Chief of Police an automatic pay increase of 2% each year – some members of the Board spoke as if they had little choice. 

According to City Attorney Joe Willerth that was the wrong conclusion. He clearly told the Board that they had the authority to make a different decision on the matter.


Ward 1 Alderman Shane Pardue said it was “unfair” other employees were receiving a pay increase but the Chief of Police was not. Seems he forgot that the Chief of Police received 2% pay increases the past two years while the rest of City Hall, including the rank and file of the police department, saw their pay frozen.

Ward 3 Alderman Christine White said she was “not comfortable” with giving the Chief of Police salary increases when the rest of the city received nothing. Too bad she didn’t do something about it in 2010 and 2011 when the Chief received 2% increases and the rest of city hall went without.
 
Mayor Bower said that since none of the Committee members were present during the meeting that it would be best to hear their reasoning before moving forward. That’s interesting. He did not wait for committee members to come forward when he proposed an ordinance that would have stripped the voters of their right to vote for the Municipal Judge.

Ward 4 Alderman Pat Ertz suggested they up the ante by increasing the pay increase for the Chief of Police by 3% instead of 2%. He did not make the same suggestion for the Municipal Judge or the Board of Aldermen. Ertz also pointed out five 2% increases equaled a 10% increase in over five years

He certainly did get the math right!

Not one member of the Board of Aldermen offered any explanation as to why they should not follow the recommendation of the Elected Officials Compensation Commitee. That recommendation, which was unanimous, should be honored. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Compensation Committee did recommend that the Board of Aldermen receive a small increase in their monthly auto allowance. The increase amounts to $6.00 a month. The current auto allowance is $50. The increase would make the monthly stipend $56.

Last Week’s Poll Results
We've Been Hacked!
Last week we noticed that the vote totals coming in our weekly poll were not making sense. First, the totals disappeared entirely. When we reset the counter odd things began to happen. Votes would disappear, then re-appear. Final conclusion, we had been hacked!

We closed down the poll – which indicated a very tight race between Republican Jim Aziere and Democrat Tom McDonald -- for the newly created 28th District in the Missouri General Assembly.

We were able to keep track of votes cast for the two candidates. They just were not showing up on the page. So we are running the final results here.

Aziere . . . . . . . 53%        McDonald . . . 47%

This week's poll question was suggested by one of our regular readers who asks how seriously people take national polls. An interesting question. There is one theory out, based on results from the 2008 Presidential Election that suggests that the polls are skewed by up to 5% depending upon the gender, race and age of the person participating in the poll. 


Greg Walters

“Proposition A” Deserves a YES Vote BY GREG WALTERS

Because a Civil War-era law is still on the books, the St. Louis police department is controlled by the state government. The Safer Missouri Initiative, often referred to as the “Local Control Initiative,” returns local control of the St. Louis police department to where it belongs: with the city and the people of St. Louis.

This common-sense measure would get the state out of the business of controlling the St. Louis police department. Proposition A will increase the efficiency and accountability of the St. Louis police department, reduce state and local costs, and save state and local taxpayers millions of dollars.

Because the Local Control Initiative changes a state law, it requires approval by voters statewide. Tens of thousands of Missourians have signed our petition to place the Prop A on the November 2012 ballot.

The Raytown Report recommends a YES vote on Proposition A.


Election Notes . . . 


A friend of mine who works on the Square in Independence tells me that the absentee voting at the headquarters of the Jackson County Election Board has been so heavy that the line has stretched outside the building. It is an indication of the high interest in this election.

Watch for coat-tails to play a large part in who is elected down ballot in close races. This may play out to be especially true in Raytown.



October 31st is Halloween. It is also the last day that the Election Board will accept Absentee Ballot applications (applications must be postmarked by 10/31/12). After that date, you will have to go in person to the Election Board to cast your vote if you need to vote by absentee.


To reach the Jackson County Election Board call 816-325-4600 or go to JACKSON COUNTY ELECTION BOARD for more information. To download an absentee ballot information go to ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION FORM

 

Fit Bottomed Girls
Five Ways to Eat Sweet Potatoes BY JENN

We’ve been talking about pumpkins a lot lately, but today we’re highlighting a little tuber that has a special place in our hearts: the sweet potato! Rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, manganese and fiber, we’re crushing on these little orange guys, like, “big time” this fall. Read on for five wonderfully delicious ways to eat sweet potatoes! Read more

To post a comment on this blog click on the word comments on the line directly below this sentence. 

38 comments:

Teachable Moments said...

Obama scares me. Talk about someone trying to hide what he is from the voters.

On July 16, 2009, Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was arrested at his Cambridge, Massachusetts home by a local police officer responding to a 9-1-1 caller's report of men breaking and entering the residence. The arrest initiated a series of events that unfolded under the spotlight of the international news media.

The arrest occurred just after Gates returned home to Cambridge after a trip to China to research the ancestry of Yo-Yo Ma for Faces of America.Gates found the front door to his home jammed shut and with the help of his driver tried to force it open. A local witness reported their activity to the police as a potential burglary in progress. Accounts regarding the ensuing confrontation differ, but Gates was arrested by the responding officer, Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley, and charged with disorderly conduct. On July 21, the charges against Gates were dropped. The arrest generated a national debate about whether or not it represented an example of racial profiling by police.

On July 22, President Barack Obama commented on the incident, criticizing the arrest and the response by the police. Law enforcement organizations and members objected to Obama's comments and criticized his handling of the issue. In the aftermath, Obama stated that he regretted his comments and hoped that the situation could become a "teachable moment".

There is a pattern here.

You saw it in the aftermath of the assassination of four Americans in Bengazi.

Obama made a big show of some really stupid movie being the cause for the spontaneous riot. It was a major theme on his speech at he United Nations. Spokesman from his administration went on national television decrying the offensive movie that caused all the trouble.

We now know that it was not a spontaneous riot. It was an attack, just as the attack on twin towers was an attack on America.

Obama has yet to admit another one of his teachable moments.

Maybe he will after the election.

Anonymous said...

The BOA+ can buy 2 more gallons of gas. Big Deal!

Chief Lynch and I had a dsiscussion the last time this came up. While I feel he has earned it, so has every city WORKER! There should be no increase to elected officials, or department heads until thos behind desksand on the streets receive at least a 5% increase!

Greg, It is easy to vote 2 or more times. Won't say how, but if you send me an email, I will respond. Personally in my mind a straw poll has no affect on an elction. The Presidential poll isa open to question.

Andy Whitemnan

Anonymous said...

Obama and Biden have changed their stump message to: "Vot4e early!" Why? Because every day thousands of voters are changing their minds about Obama.

Anonymous said...

You know, Greg,

I used to like reading this blog, and like reading the comments, but the incessant sniping about national politics really brings it down to a whole new level of pointlessness for me.

There are plenty of places on the internet to rant about how Obama is a draft-dodging Kenyan-born Muslim hellbent on destroying America and taking our guns and, well, believe what you want. Plus you don't need to spell Libya correctly there either, like your commenter last week!

Could you make a concerted effort to keep the comments more oriented towards issues in Raytown? The comments are moderated anyway, right? How hard would it be to keep posts - like the one at 10:16 here, which is not about Raytown and adds nothing useful - just off the site entirely?

I urge you to consider it. I don't think it would be be all that difficult.

Otherwise, it makes the whole effort you're making to provide news about Raytown - which I for one greatly appreciate - look kind of silly and, unfortunately, ultimately pointless.

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Obama supporters should vote September 8 to avoid long lines!

Greg Walters said...

I understand that some people may tire of national politics and how it can come to dominate our news,even on a little blog like the Raytown Report.

We do make an effort to keep our coverage of national stories to a minimum. However it should be remembered that we only elect a President once every four years.

The high amount of interest in this particular Presidential Campaign is reflected in the increase of comments from readers about politics that are not local.

The Presidential campaign will have a collateral affect on local races.

For instance, in Raytown, whoever wins the race to serve as our Representative in Jefferson City on the State Legislature, will probably have the coat-tail of a Presidential candidate to thank for part of his vote tally.

We have had letters from writers who complain that we spend too much time reporting on the quality of code enforcement, the repeated reporting of what we deem to be wasteful mismanagement at City Hall (i.e., the City Administrator's pay increase, the debacle at Super Splash earlier this summer).

Look at it this way. There is only one more week left in this campaign cycle.

The voters will have done their job and we can all get back to normal.


Pat Casady said...

I am really afraid of this coming election.
This country has made the likes of Honey Boo Boo,
The Kardashian's and other senseless people stars.
These are the same people that voted in Obama
and Bidden! It shows the sad mentality of this
country. If you can talk a good talk and dazzle
the people with BS and a smile, you too can be president.
It doesn't matter you don't know what you are doing.
I believe this president will go down in our history as
the man that pulled the biggest scam on the American
people ever!
I have one last thing, If you were offered
five million dollars for your favorite charity,
to show your college enrollment papers. How long
would it take you to produce them? Why wouldn't
you produce them just to shut Mr.Trump up?
I can tell you for me, about a half a second.
R.E.A.P. would have a warehouse full of food!
That is "IF" I didn't have something to hide.

Anonymous said...

The Chief drives around in a brand new Dodge car, tricked out with all the latest cool cop stuff, goes to out of town seminars on a monthly, if not weekly basis and already draws $140,000 a year. And we want to do what? give him a raise?

We should be demanding our money back.

We can get alot better for alot less.

Lee said...

Paul,

Alderman Ertz fails on his math too. If you are looking at the five year period, the raise was NOT 10%. Since the raise was given incrementally over 5 years, the amount of the raise is compounded. For example, the 2% additional salary given in year 1 is included in the base when calculating year 2. It doesn't sound like much, but by year 5 it becomes 10.4%.

So yes, for the last 5 years the police chief has received a 2% raise each year. But his salary today is 10.4% higher than it was 5 years ago. That is important when you compare his raise over a term compared to a single raise give now to other employees.

Just using the last three years looks like this:
2+2+2=6.12%
0+0+3=3%

Anonymous said...

Greg,

I am impressed with your political election knowledge. I was wondering if you would give your predictions on the following races:

Obama/Romney
Nixon/Spence
McCaskill/Akin
McDonald/Aziere.

And give the margin! Let's see how accurate you are!

Love the blog, Greg. Keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

Why does an elected official have a contract with the city that states they get a 2% pay increase every year?

It seems to me that any elected office should only get a pay increase when approved by the votes and that pay increase would be locked down until the next term for the elected official expired.

I know living in Raytown these seem like silly questions for anyone to ask of our elected officials, but any place else in America they would be answers already provided to those of us that pay the annual bills occurred by these same elected official.

Anonymous said...

It is almost Halloween and the scariest thing that I can think of is on Nov 6th Mitt Romney could be elected President of the United States.

Just think what will happen to all of us on social security and Medicare!

Anonymous said...

The post before the idiotic remark about Romney makes a lot of sense. It looks like some people have forgotten that the politicians holding elected positions like the Judge and Chief of Police are not forced to run for office.

Guaranteeing a pay increase for just one elected position in a city makes as much sense as the $30,000 pay increase the City Adminsitrator was given.

It is the collective, weak, response of a City Council without backbone or desire to grow one.

Anonymous said...

City hall has swindled the citizens and businesses of Raytown out of millions of dollars. They promise better roads, better Police protection and all we get are out of town City Administrator receiving $30,000 raise, and the top brass in the Police Department giving themselves higher ranks and more pay for doing less and less.

I will never support another tax increase as our City Government has proven over and over again that they only are concerned with their self advancement and not the people or businesses of Raytown.

I'm Anonymous, and I support this message.

Pat Casady said...

Any pay increase for employees in Raytown
making over seventy thousand a year is
just wrong in this economy. What did our
elected officials learn when they handed the City
Administrator a thirty thousand dollar a
year raise? NOT A DAMN THING! The new city
budget showed a general fund, remember this
is your money, of $12,705,847.00. So, it only
seems right that our elected officials would
do their level best to get rid of it as fast
as they can. Hand it out to people that
don't need the raises, and give a nibble to
to the employees that need it the most.
This is no way to run a town in this economy.
It seems that everybody is tightening up their
belts and cutting costs to survive. That is
everybody but our leaders. They have all money
they need....our money!

Anonymous said...

If Romney is elected, those of you on Social Security and Medicare will continue to collect your check every month just as you have in the past. The president, any president, can't and would not stop your paycheck. Please stop listening to the lies in the media, research, and think for yourself.

Greg Walters said...

Last week, we received the following anonymous message:

Greg and Paul,

I am impressed with your political election knowledge. I was wondering if you would give your predictions on the following races:

Obama/Romney
Nixon/Spence
McCaskill/Akin
McDonald/Aziere

And give the margin! Let's see how accurate you are! Love the blog, guys. Keep up the good work.

-----------------

Paul and I talked it over and came up with the following reply.

Dear Anonymous,

You seem to be a very clever individual.

How about this. You sign your name to your post. Then you and I can sit down and talk over our predictions for the election. We will then publish our respective predictions in the Raytown Report next Sunday.

Glad you enjoy the Raytown Report. Paul and I put a lot of effort into what you see each week. It is nice to hear someone say they appreciate it. Even if they do so anonymously!

We look forward to your reply.

Pat Casady said...

Greg,
I applaud your response to the "Anonymous"
writer. To my knowledge nobody has ever
been threatened or browbeat for signing
their name to what they wright. I have been
told to move away when I was fighting to
keep my property from being taken away by
a developer but, that was from an "Anonymous"
writer too. So I didn't think much of it. You can't.
If people aren't serious enough about what they write to sign it,
then why should we take them serious.
I realize Anonymous 11:32 did not take any cheap
shot but, that's all the more reason he/she shouldn't
be afraid to sign.

Anonymous said...

Dear Fellow Voters,

After reviewing information on Jim Aziere, it is clear we cannot elect him to the MO House of Representatives.

In April of 2011, Mr. Aziere last ran from Ward 2 Alderman. At that time on his website he listed that he was a member of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. As a Catholic myself, I questioned why he would not be a member of the parish in which he lives. This has only become more apparent with the yard signs throughout our city and especially the parish in which he does live that he claims to be the “Raytown Candidate”.

If Mr. Aziere is going to play up on his connection to Raytown should not Mr. Aziere in fact support and attend not only the Catholic Church within the parish where he lives, but also other events within our city.

Over the years, I have attended many fundraisers of multiple organizations within Raytown and I have often seen several of all Aldermen, but never Mr. “Raytown Candidate”. It could be argued that I was not there at the time he attended, but when one checks with others it his quickly clear this good “Raytown Candidate” never made an appearance.

I would say it is morally wrong for Mr. “Raytown Candidate” to call himself this when, by his own actions he fails to attend events not only within Raytown as a whole, but even within the ward he represents.

With this I hope you and your friends will join me and voting for Tom McDonald on Tuesday November 6th.

Sincerely

A true supporter of Raytown

Anonymous said...

True supporter of Raytown,

Let me understand what you are trying to say.

Jim Aziere doesn't attend church in Raytown so he cannot be "The Raytown Candidate" as he claims. I claim to be an American. Just because I choose to travel to Mexico or Canada or wherever and not Disney World, does that make me any less of an American? I am an American because I live in America.

Of the two candidates we have to choose from, one lives in and pays tax dollars to Raytown (Aziere) and one lives in and pays tax dollars to Independence (McDonald). I am not trying to persuade anyone to vote for McDonald or Aziere in this comment. My point is simply that if your voting issue is whether Jim Aziere is, or is not "The Raytown Candidate" I would ask you to tell me why you think Tom McDonald, an Independence lifer whose wife ran for mayor of Independence a number of years ago, is better-suited to represent the issue of Raytown. How many times have you seen him at a Raytown fundraiser? A Raytown sporting event? A Raytown carnival?

The answer is far fewer than Jim Aziere.

There are reasons I like and dislike Aziere. There are reasons I like and dislike Tom Mcdonald. But based on your criteria,the candidate that is the most "Raytown" has to be Jim Aziere.

Becuase he lives here.

Anonymous said...

I don't know anything about St. Francis Xavier Church but I have seen Mr. Aziere at church in Raytonw at Our Lady of Lourdes and at Bernadettes just north of Raytwon.

Mr. McDonald is an Independence politician supported by other Independence politicians. i am sure he is a nice guy but his loyalty will be with those folks north of Raytown more than those of us living in Raytown.

Greg Walters said...

Just call me at my office - 842-9068.

Anonymous said...

I'm really tired of this silly discussion about where someone lives makes them the quote "better candidate". Without mentioning any names I can tell you that your "so called Raytown candidate" is one of the laziest people to ever hold office. I believe that both candidates qualify to hold office under the Mo. state law. You can live in ANY part of the district that you see fit. The real question is WHO will represent MY views best, not where they live or intend to live.

Pat Casady said...

To all of you "Anonymous" writers out there.
None of you have written one word that you should
be ashamed of. You should sign your name.
I don't think much of Mr.Aziere, but his religion
doesn't matter to me. Where he attends church doesn't
matter to me. It shouldn't matter to anyone.
What matters is what he has done for or not done
for Raytown! If you think he is good enough to
represent Raytown and this district then vote for
him. If not don't vote for him. This country was
built on freedom of religion. Freedom to go to the
church of your choice. Freedom to say or write
what ever you want. But, for crying out loud, if
you want to taken seriously forget the Anonymous
and stand up for what you say.
Heck, it could have been Mr. McDonald that wrote
that about Aziere.

Anonymous said...

Tom McDonald does not currently live in-district. That is the problem. He was an incumbent in a district that now has 2 representatives so he is allowed one year to move into any adjacent district in which he chooses to run. Tom McDonald is running legally, but he doesn't live here. He lives in Independence. And that matters.

Raytown and Independence are different cities with different interests. Independence has land available along a major interstate available for further development. Independence has a major entertainment venue. The 100,000 population attracts State attention as a location to bring new, big business. Raytown has none of those things.

We are a small, land-locked, bedroom community. We rely on small business and redevelopment to thrive. The only attention the state pays to Raytown is attention our elected official brings to Jefferson City. We need someone who understands the ins and outs of Raytown. In order to meet that standard and understand our issues, that individual must live here.

Jim Aziere does. Tom McDonald doesn't. It does matter.

Throw in other issues like Tom McDonald voting in 2009 to increase HIS OWN salary when more than 100 other representatives turned down their raise and we realize Tom is out of touch with the needs of our town.

Please stand up for Raytown and vote for Jim Aziere on November 6th.

Anonymous said...

I think we should elect Jim Aziere to the MO House of Represtatives as it will show the rest of the state the type of people who are educating our children and that we need to change the laws and make it easier for the school districts to keep people like Jim Aziere from teaching our kids.

1.) He cannot do simple math
2.) Doesn't understand max occupancy
3.) Doesn't understand 30% for one individual and none for the rest is unfair
4.) Doesn't understand redistricting
5.) Doens't understand the laws of MO

Yes, Jim will be a fine example of what is wrong with education in MO

Maybe this is why the NEA didn't endorse him

Anonymous said...

Pat,

let us spell it out for you.

Based on Jim Aziere's own logic we should only vote for him for one reason and that is how long he has lived in Raytown.

Using that logic we should only do business with company's in Raytown who's owners live in Raytown. So when are you moving the company to Lee Summit. Again this is Aziere's logic not mine.

I believe that is the point that was trying to be made about Jim Aziere and where he is and is not a member. I agree with you religion doesn't matter, but I also agree with that blogger that if Jim is going to play up on his Raytown conection he needs to be part of things in Raytown!

Art

Time for the NACCP to step up again said...

It seems several people in Raytown think it is okay that one city employee who refuses to move to Raytown should get a 30% raise while the rest get nothing.

Sounds like time for the blue flu or maybe we just need to check with the NACCP learn why the Jim Aziere and the city can justify a raise for one and not give the rest of the city employees a raise this year.

Anonymous said...

Who the heck is the NACCP and why should they care about this. If you mean the NAACP, again why should they care?

Anonymous said...

You are right Raytown and Independence are different.

Independence has not only a Mayor, but the rest of their elected city governing body that pro-actively address property maintenance issues.

In Raytown, we have elected official like Jim Aziere who have allowed our city to become a ghetto where property maintenance issues are only addressed when citizen that actually care about the condition of the city start complaining.

Maybe the city employees within the codes department would take a pro-active approach on their own to clean up the city as they sure are not going to be told to by individuals like Jim Aziere. However, I don’t think that this will happen anytime soon considering they didn’t get a raise, but Jim Aziere was able to help their boss the city administrator get a $30,000 raise.

I don’t know about you, but I would have like to seen $30,000 used to clean up the ghetto issues that we all can see driving through our city, but again I am not one of Jim Aziere’s friends working at city hall.

Anonymous said...

Jim Aziere’s only reason to elect him is that he is from Raytown.

Jim Aziere cannot explain why we should vote for someone from Raytown who did not vote to give the city employees who live in Raytown a raise.

However, Jim Aziere voted to give one city employee who doesn’t live in Raytown a 30,000 raise, which is the equivalent of 30%. Jim Aziere has continued to vote to extend an exception to this same employee that allows him not to relocated to Raytown even though this employee accepted a contract that he agreed to relocate to Raytown

Jim’s actions of supporting “outsiders” clearly demonstrate that we need to vote for his opposition.

Thanks Jim for leading by example.

Anonymous said...

I think that the only reason some of the ones here do not like Aziere is simply because he has an "R" next to his name, and therefore has to be evil, then again the same can be said about McDonald. Everyone just needs to grow-up.

Anonymous said...

November 1, 2012 12:55 PM,
Face it, unfortunately a large population are unable to do simple marh! That doesn't change their reasoning processes.

I recently asked what the weekly rate at a motel was and my response was, "That is more than the daily rate.". The clerk stated that she wouldn't know because she didn't know math.

I had a person working for me when I was in business. I offered my employees a 10% discount. She said, "Please don't do that,because I can't do percent." She was a HS graduate!
My 7th and 8th grade math teacher required us to be able to claculate mentally. That included multiplying by 11. Fearing that I had lost my skills after my head injury I multiplied x 11 mentally and then checked my work on a calculator.

Jim Azier was a swimming teacher. His speciality was not math. He received my vote as a well rounded leader with a concern for Raytown.
even though I didn't approve of some of his BOA votes
Andy Whitemab

Anonymous said...

I see Alderman Aziere has gone negative in his bid to win his election. SHAME ON YOU JIM for taking a very positive campaign down into the mud. But if you look at it that seems to be the Republican way of winning elections. Can't compete on their merits so tear your opponent down. Only hope Raytown voters are smart enough to see through your lies. I was even considering voting for you until I saw what you were really made of. Now let's all get out and for for Jim's opponent to show him Raytown voters are SMARTER than he thinks we are.

Anonymous said...

We don't need $30,000.00 to clean up the city. We just need a codes department to do their job.

Anonymous said...

Yea, I know what you mean about negative campaigning. Like when Obama starts calling Romney names and tells his followers to get revenge on election day.

Obama is not about building bridges. He is about building walls.

Mrs. Peeved said...

It is crazy to see how hateful some of these comments can be! If I had put my life on the line and gave my heart and soul to a city for 35 years I would expect a decent salary.
Has Mr. and/or Mrs. anonymous been employed with the same company for that long? If so, then I apologize...you do deserve a fancy car! There are some terrific ELECTED officials that really care about this city and who often have hands tied behind their backs when it comes to certain issues! So I suggest you vote and in the mean time contact your alderman and relay your car envy.

Unknown said...

First time blogger, I really enjoyed (for the most part) reading everyone’s posts. Mr. Livius and Mr. Walters do a good job of recording meetings and I especially liked reading the aldermen’s comments and fellow bloggers on this one. I guess along with freedom of speech we are not expected to see eye to eye. That’s the beauty and the anger in it!
I think it is also important to know that the Police Chief serving in the year 2000 got a raise of 12,000, because he took on additional duties of Communication Coordinator for the department. Current Police Chief Lynch does not receive any additional compensation for this duty, and his starting salary in 2002 when first elected was 75,000. Not receiving any raises until 2006.
I just had a couple of things to state about the 2% pay increase for Chief Lynch and wanted to address an anonymous and quite ridiculous statement made. I don’t know where you came up with the figure that Chief Lynch was making 140,000 a year unless you’re including benefits which are the same as every city employee. His base salary is 96,742. I wonder if you are a secret agent because I don’t know how in the world you would know how often he goes out of town for seminars! I’m really just a concerned citizen that wonders how you know that his so-called tricked out Dodge has COOL stuff.
The fact of the matter is Chief Lynch has earned that stock car and his salary! He has been active in the Raytown Police Department since 1975 that’s 35 years! He is never really off-duty, so it’s not an elected position like an alderman that is part-time. He cares about this community and is always willing to listen to anyone……even the complaints. Bottom line is: If I devote my life and 35 hard years to a job especially one that starts off underpaid (police officers, teachers, etc.) and get a WORK car and 96,000……. I would say it was well deserved!