Sunday, July 8, 2018

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BY GREG WALTERS
Tony Jacobs
Speaks Out . . .
Tony Jacobs is a regular speaker at Raytown Board of Aldermen meetings. He frequently takes the podium during Public Comments to report items of interest to the Public and Board at the beginning of each meeting.

Like most public speakers, he is attentive to detail and keeps his comments within the guidelines set forth by the Board.

He is also getting better at delivering a clear and concise message. When it comes to city business, Tony has learned the value of accuracy in his comments. . He relies heavily on information provided to him through the Freedom of Information Act.

Last week, his comments were full of information the voting public.

PROPOSED PROPERTY TAX INCREASES:
“According to Deborah of the Jackson County Collector’s Office and Richard Sheets of the Missouri Municipal League, the (property) tax raise will affect all property, not just housing. This means the effective rate is not the $100 dollars the city claims, but rather increases will be seen on Cars, Boats, RV’s, etc. This also means small business owners will be seeing a spike they will need to pass on to customers or lay off employees.”

CITY WIDE ASSESSMENTS AND TAXES:
“Assessments are 32% for (businesses) instead of only 19% for residential. . . . Another frustrating part of the city asking for more money is the sewer department seeking a rate study to increase (rates) 5% for five years. Even though according  to State Auditor files the sewer department had excess revenues of $673,000 or 10%.”

CITY EMPLOYEE PAY:
“The Pinnacle however comes with the statement that city employees haven’t been given raises. After reviewing literally hundreds of employees and thousands and thousands of paychecks it come to my attention that this is not true. In fact, last year alone the positive variance of more than 3% of a person’s salary included 27 individuals, which made up 17% of the hundred fifty-eight unelected returning employees year-over-year. For instance the City Administrator got about a 5% increase. Other increases were up 40%.”*
*MR. JACOBS SAID THE SALARY DOES NOT INCLUDE CLOTHING ALLOWANCES, “CELL PHONE ALLOWANCES, FLOATING HOLIDAY PAY, INSURANCE OPT OUT BONUS, MILITARY LEAVE PAY, OVERTIME, SICK TIME, VACATION PAY, WORKING HOLIDAY PAY, SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL PAY, BEREAVEMENT PAY, SPECIAL DUTY PAY, SEVERANCE AND GIFT CARDS, OR ANY OTHER DOZEN SPECIAL PAY CATEGORIES.”

Paul’s Rant BY PAUL LIVIUS
THE FOLLOWING IS AN ABRIDGED VERSION OF AN 
ARTICLE PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED IN THE RAYTOWN REPORT.

The Tyranny of the Minority
Okay. I bastardized the saying. It is actually the Tyranny of the Majority. The Tyranny of the Majority is unofficially an explanation of when the majority refuses to hear or brow beats their opposition into submission on public issues.

I call this story the Tyranny of the Minority because in these strange times it is often the minority who take over the bully pulpit and browbeat their opposition into silence. On the national scene you saw this last summer at the University of California (Berkley) when a minority of the student population rioted to keep public speakers from making addresses at the campus.

In a way, we have a Tyranny of the Minority playing out here in Raytown.

Facebook, a tool that is marvelous for informing the public can also be used to subvert the public. Case in point . . . Mayor McDonough’s veto of the Board of Aldermen’s vote to establish the pecking order of who does what at City Hall.

The Board voted to establish the order as Mayor/Board of Aldermen / City Administrator / Department Heads (elected and appointed).

In so doing, they have adopted a measure already mandated to them by Missouri State Statutes.

So what they have done is nothing new. They merely adopted a law they are required to follow.

It all makes for good theatre. But even if the veto is upheld it will not change anything. Raytown is a Fourth Class City. A fourth class city is a statutory city. That means it must follow the laws established by lawmakers in Jefferson City.

The Board of Aldermen will remain the ultimate decision maker in Raytown.

A couple of posts on the blog section of the Raytown Report proclaimed the majority of Raytowners are opposed to the majority of the Board's actions this past year. One went so far as to say the public speakers at Council meetings ALL support the Police and are opposed to what the Board of Aldermen have accomplished.

I disagree.

Here is a reality check. Most people do not itch for a fight. When someone sits quietly at a meeting and does not wildly applaud when someone giving their point of view speaks, it means they do not agree with what was said.

I do not blame people for not standing up and speaking out at meetings. Here is why.

I review all the meetings in my Paul Livius Report. The microphones at city hall are pretty sensitive. Turn up your speaker if you want to check this out. I have heard the reception speakers who are not in tune with the crowd called vulgar names, racist names. Shouts of “sit down” and “shut up” do not encourage anyone with the opposing view from speaking their mind.

I am well aware of how a few can make their voice sound like many on Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat. Those same few are often viewed as threatening by many folks. My point in this rather lengthy rant is this . . . Do not take silence as a sign of support of your position. You will be surprised at how wrong you can be.


Our Editorial View . . . BY GREG WALTERS AND PAUL LIVIUS
Vote NO August 7th

QUESTION 1 will increase the city property tax paid for "residential and commercial property owners" from 35 cents to $1 per $100 of assessed value. This tax increase will also be levied against our personal property . . . your car, motorcycle, trailer, RV, boat, etc.
Vote NO ON QUESTION 1
What City Hall is not telling you is that each time Jackson County reassesses the value of your property the tax you pay will increase. This tax increase will hurt homeowners on fixed incomes and small businesses throughout Raytown.
A FACT CITY HALL IS NOT SHARING WITH YOU
The County re-assesses property tax valuations every two years.
 2019 will be a re-assessment year.

QUESTION 2 will place a two cent tax on every gallon of gasoline, diesel and blended ethanol fuels sold in Raytown.
Vote NO ON QUESTION 2 
City Hall has not committed to continue traditional funding sources in future budgets for road maintenance if this tax passes. This leaves the door open for more cuts in the city budget for street repair and maintenance.
A FACT CITY HALL IS NOT SHARING WITH YOU
On November 2nd there will be a state wide 10 cent tax increase on the ballot. If approved, the tax will also be applied to any fuel pumped ata gas station in Missouri.

QUESTION 3 will place a 2.5% “use tax” on all internet purchases made by anyone living in Raytown.
Vote NO ON QUESTION 3 
This so called use tax is, in reality, another sales tax. Like the property tax in Question 1, it is tied to inflation. Every item you purchase on the internet will have a 2.5% “Use Tax” tied to it.
A FACT CITY HALL IS NOT SHARING WITH YOU
This same tax increase was turned down last April by voters in Blue Springs and Independence, Missouri.
Voter Alert!
THE BALLOT LANGUAGE CONTRIVED BY CITY HALL IS CONFUSING. IT IS DESIGNED TO HIDE THE MONETARY IMPACT OF THE THREE TAX INCREASES TO HOME OWNERS AND SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS.

All three taxes will transfer your hard earned money to City Hall without any specific promise or guarantee of improved services.

 
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173 comments:

Anonymous said...

I bet I know a few topics that the police will not cover at their academy:

1.) How to manipulate a time card?

2.) How to get a city vehicle for your personal needs?

3.) How to have more officers and less tickets?

4.) How to have more officers and more unserved warrants?

5.) How to intimidate others?

Anonymous said...


2:46 am

Sounds like YOU should attend the Citizen's Police Academy. You would come away with a deeper understanding of what our police folks do.

Anonymous said...

Well 3 is incorrect because they have way fewer officers and no traffic unit. And 4 is not in their control. You can blame senate bill 5 on that boondoggle.

Anonymous said...

During reassessment property values don't always go up, they can stay the same, or they can even go down. Just FYI

Anonymous said...

Anonymous I love your comment sad thing is it is all true.

Anonymous said...

Just a mathematical nitpick on your information on Question 1. The increase is 100%, not 200%. The proposed amount is indeed 200% but the increase itself is 100% ($0.50 increase on the current $0.50 amount). Regardless, it is a hefty increase.

Anonymous said...

I will be voting "NO" on all 3 taxes. I don't trust our Mayor, Chief of Police, or any of the alder people on the board!

Anonymous said...

Don’t forget,
6) How to use taxpayer purchased equipment for personal gain and profit

Anonymous said...

I will vote no on any tax increase until there is a state audit that accounts for every tax dollar currently being spent by the city.

Anonymous said...

I think the police academy is a joke. From what I've heard other people who went it is nothing more than a feel good thing.

Anonymous said...

The increase to the property taxes means that the city will get 100% more, but the overall tax bill only goes up 7% or so, because the city isn't the only entity that gets the money from it. Nice try to make it sound way more dramatic to the tax payer, when in reality it's a 7% or so increase and the city will get double the money, actually sounds like a good deal. Pay 7% more and the city gets double the money they're getting now.

Anonymous said...

I love the red "VOTE NO"s!

Agreed. My vote is NO. Absolutely not.

Raytown needs to get it's house in order first.

Anonymous said...


5:07 pm

You are right! The Citizen's Academy is a "feel good" thing.

You come away with a greater appreciation for these men and women who would put their lives on the line for ANYONE in this city.



Anonymous said...

Trust no one! Gravel roads are awesome!

Anonymous said...

Exactly. But the naysayers could care less since they think the city can survive with the status quo. When they fail and subsequently fed city fails because they they are so far behind the times. Gravel roads with no enforcement will do wonders for property values. But let’s get the gestapo out there and enforce fireworks in the parks.

Anonymous said...

I am waiting for the city to refinance those Walmart Bonds before I vote YES for any taxes.

Anonymous said...

5:07 You got that right and how can you believe anything after all the lies the police told last fall to the Board of Alderman.

Board should have fired them all on the spot!

Anonymous said...

"Trust no one! Gravel roads are awesome!"

You're darn right!! Several city officials appear to be untruthworthy IOHO, and we DO prefer gravel roads in the interim until they either retire or are permanently expelled from office.

No possibility of liberal cash and spendy-spendy until prior expenditures are accounted for and a solid, sustainable financial plan is implemented.

Foolish to put the cart before the horse.

Anonymous said...

I see some City sycophants are posting here. Rather sad in view of the facts.

Fact: The City has been bad stewards of your tax dollars.
Fact: Three tax initiatives at once is prima facie mismanagement.
Fact: More taxes means rewarding malfeasance and waste.
Fact: There is no oversight committee in all three ballot statements.
Fact: You have no legal guarantee of where the money will be spent.
Fact: These taxes will hurt businesses and residents.

Conclusion: Raytown citizens should vote NO on all three NEW TAXES to send a message to City Hall to live within their budget as the citizens have too.

Moral of the Story: Increasing Raytown's tax revenue without changing the Mayor and his cronies will only prove the law of diminishing returns for the taxpayers and business owners.

It is time for the City Hall minions to be quiet and the hard working folks of Raytown to loudly speak No New Taxes on August 7th.

For you bloggers of feeble mind that want to be created in the Mayor's own image. I am not repeat not the owner of this blog.

Anonymous said...

If the police are really hurting and short on staff why not a 10% cut in pay for anyone above master patrolman and on top of that 30,000 cut from Lynch's.

Raytown Newbie said...

I guess I must like being in the minority and on the losing side. I was in favor of saving downtown Raytown by supporting the idea of a Neighborhood Walmart and I will support a YES vote on the tax issues, except the use tax.
We are in our seventies and living mostly on Social Security. It will cost us a few hundred dollars a year more to pay the tax increases but it's time the city had more funding to get some badly needed improvements made.
Am I happy with how everything is at City Hall? Heck no! I am sure their is wasteful spending of our tax dollars. That is a fact of life at all levels of government.
BTW... I would support an "Internet" tax but not a "use" tax. It's my understanding that use taxes require a citizen to self report out of area spending and then declare and pay the appropriate tax to the city. That's just too much.

Anonymous said...

What lies? That they were going to have to layoff a bunch of people, but instead a bunch decided to leave on their own to protect their future. The way the board acted made people feel insecure about their future so they took control of their future. More power to them. It’s obvious people their don’t care about law enforcement.

Anonymous said...

Gravel roads? We already have them. In McDonoughville we call that street repair. We don't use old fashioned asphalt. Heavens no. We use oil and gravel. It is supposed to lengthen the life of streets. It is like putting a bandaide on a broken arm. So, to make matters better, here is what our city leaders did. They hired a firm to come in who told them the streets are deteriorating in Raytown. They paid $30,000 to learn that knowledge! Could have repaired some streets properly with that money. But, no, they wanted the talking point for what may be one the most stupid tax increase campaigns ever conceived.

I will be voting no on the tax increases. Yes. Even the gasoline tax increase. I do not trust the city keep its word. I would not be surprised that IF the gasoline tax passes that the Mayor and City Council would start taking money from the road funds to take care of their pet departments at city hall.

Not one councilman speaks to this issue. They have plenty to say about fireworks. And tons to say about whether or not someone should talk 3 or 5 minutes during Public Comments. But absolutely nothing to say about what they plan to do with our tax dollars.

Anonymous said...

So you want more to leave based on poor decisions by the board? Because that’s all that would happen. Guess if you’re trying to get rid of the Pd, you can try it. And Lynch’s can’t be cut midterm since he’s elected. The backwards thinking of people on here is truly shocking.

Anonymous said...


"I will be voting no on the tax increases...Not one councilman speaks to this issue. They have plenty to say about fireworks. And tons to say about whether or not someone should talk 3 or 5 minutes during Public Comments. But absolutely nothing to say about what they plan to do with our tax dollars..."

"Fact: The City has been bad stewards of your tax dollars.
Fact: Three tax initiatives at once is prima facie mismanagement.
Fact: More taxes means rewarding malfeasance and waste.
Fact: There is no oversight committee in all three ballot statements.
Fact: You have no legal guarantee of where the money will be spent.
Fact: These taxes will hurt businesses and residents."

Wiser words...

I wish that some of these Facebook mouthpieces would wake up and consider that there are potentially some rather sinister consequences for willy nilly voting in a bunch of additional taxes.

Step back. Slow down. Personnel changes, plans and oversight first.

Anonymous said...

2:19 Only thing I disagree with you about is you forgot the police pension.

Other cities have been forced to pay pennies on the dollors on their pension funds and I think we should be doing that too.

Look at the issue and tell me the police have not created the mess we have and part is the funding of the pension.

1.) They have had no problem being the Nations leading top heavy police department for years. No officer ever spoke up about to the Board or news media, but several moved one as quickly as they got hired so they were not part of the problem. Around town you could hear officers talking about not understanding why only 2 of them reported to 1 supervisor.

2.) They never spoke up or took legal action over the mismanagement of the pension fund. Yes, miss management for how could UMB say it was managing the plan correctly when quarter after quarter it would loos money while the market and plans outside of UMB saw growth. To this day have you heard any officers complain that the city is still doing business with UMB even though they have shown they don't care about them.

3.) We know the police got caught at least once last fall playing with the time cards of 16 officers trying to give them overtime for hours not worked. Do you really want to believe this is the first time it happened and that is why the cards got adjusted and overtime removed. I know I don't as it was the first time they got caught. If you are not working, but time cards show you are that is fraud and should be reason to scrap the pension all together.

4.) We live in a small community and talk is all over town about these things and the fact Lynch has been allowing those officers within 5 years of retirement to start kicking up their overtime. This is done as the pension plan payout is figured on age, years of service and salary average for the past 5 years. Therefore by pushing overtime in those years you increase your monthly payouts after retirement. As a business owner I don't want my senior employees working overtime as they also earn more that someone with a few years on the job. I also would question why after so long some one who is near retirement and never worked much over time was all at once trying to cash in on it. Why is this allowed in our police department.

I think we need to vote NO on all the tax questions and wait unit after the city elections in April when we have a new mayor and Board of Alderman with the courage to do right by the citizens, and explore other options starting with this one.

Anonymous said...

Hello folks. I am Mr. D. Kaye... I am for returning Raytown to nature. To do this, we just need to call it a day, and let things fall apart. Who is with me??

Anonymous said...

Not one Councilman speaks to this issue? What bubble have you been in. Several of them had very pointed remarks after the roads analysis report the last council meeting and have been consistent since the Tax Ballot initiative was announced that the TOP pressing need is to address failing infrastructure. It was addressed in the Open House at City Hall and I know that again several of them were more than willing to take on the subject of replenishing operating revenue needs in discussions with citizens. It’s not that complex of issue if you pay much attention to the present budget issues. I mean didn’t this same group of Council last year unanimously agree that a major alignment in the budget was necessary even against a major upheaval by the PD and their support group and even the Mayor. Something that previous Boards didn’t want to even approach or address. Just keep borrowing from the Gen.Fund was always the solution. This eminent need should have been presented to the voters long before now by previous councils. So here we are. Unfortunately at a pretty desperate time for Raytown. Tough times call for tough decisions. I will not hesitate to support these much needed funds and Vote Yes for at least a couple of the ballot issues and be confident that this same group of leaders will repeat their sound financial analysis during the upcoming budget.

Anonymous said...

The cronies on here can talk about the many injustices that occurred to them in the last 30 years, while our streets are beyond crumbling and EMS is suffering from severe manpower shortages. I choose to live in the present and address today's needs.

GADSDEN said...

We should all remember that we had gravel roads with Bower, matter of fact he may have been the
one who started the process of spending more money than we had and not telling anyone that he
was dipping into the reserve fund of the city. After all he and the old city manager were really good
buddies.

I think that it was foolish of the board to spend $30,000 on a study of how bad our streets are when
we have no provision to take care of them. How many funds are being spent on projects that do not
benefit the city?

Anonymous said...

Paying for an audit of the police who have no money is like paying for an audit of the streets that we have no money to repair

Anonymous said...

Nations leading police department is correct.

Anonymous said...

Because their budget was stripped, auditing the police department will take 5 minutes but I can give you the report right now: $$$ to payroll, $gas, $bullets. Everything else was stripped out. That’s just my opinion

Anonymous said...

One absolute is true in Raytown for August 7th. If you vote in three new taxes. They will spend it irresponsibly. And then have the audacity to ask for more.

The cruel irony here is that City Hall has wasted your hard earned tax dollars and expect you to give them more.

A further inexplicable concept is what Raytown voter who reads the vague and confusing ballot language honestly vote for any of these taxes??

Signed
Raytown Realist

Anonymous said...

chip and seal was before McDonough was elected. take your axe and grind it somewhere else.

Anonymous said...

6:22 We all know the corruption and other issues with the police, but too many in Raytown believe the police have done no wrong.

The audit is need to prove to those who believe in the lies and to more so be used to make sure the abuse never happens again.

Anonymous said...

7:38 Silly little person

You are correct Lynches salary cannot be touched in midterm, but who says there are not 30,000 or close to in benefits that can be cut.

Lets start with a city vehicle unless he is on patrol!

Anonymous said...

You only have to self report if you spend $2000 or more with online retailers that do not withhold the taxes. For most people that means no self reporting.

Anonymous said...

Cities all over the metro and on the KS side are using the same materials for road repair. Its cheaper and we are broke. You want better roads? You’re sure not getting that with a no vote.

Anonymous said...

"....and be confident that this same group of leaders will repeat their sound financial analysis during the upcoming budget."

Spit take, resonant, breathless laughter.

Thanks, we needed that!

Anonymous said...

While I think most of the posts here are vitriolic, I will be voting no to any taxes. I'm not opposed to taxes...they are the backbone that permits government services... but I have ZERO faith in these "leaders". I sat in the audience last fall as I watched them shout down and disrespect citizens who came to voice their opinions about the police cuts. That demonstrates ZERO respect for the same people they've come to a mere 8 or 9 months later and ask us to trust them with even more of our money. Whether you agree with cutting the police or not...that display of attitude does not endear me to trust them.

They won't tell us what they're going to do with it. Imagine that in any other setting...going to a bank for a loan but you won't tell them what it's for? That level of arrogance has been demonstrated enough for me to decide.

Increase taxes for better services? Absolutely...but not this board. no way. After they get replaced, lets talk about it again. If they don't...my answer will still be no.

As a final note..that little tony guy should really just get an attorney to settle whatever he's so angry about. It's embarrassing to listen to his rambling like he's on the cusp of some great reveal. good grief.

Anonymous said...



July 9, 2018 at 5:07 PM

So you are blasting a program that you have never attended?

Wow

Anonymous said...

Mr Steve Myers,

If you don;t understand the daily operational cost of the county, which based on your Facebook post you don't it shows you therefore don't understand the daily cost of operation for the city.

Sir that makes you like Mr. Lynch part of the problem with Raytown!

Anonymous said...

"The cronies on here can talk about the many injustices that occurred to them in the last 30 years..."

"Cronies"? "Injustices"?

What did we miss? Examples?

You ARE however somewhat correct about "...the last 30 years...". Many of us have been acquainted with some of these officeholders a little longer than that! Long enough to be familiar with their personality characteristics, aptitudes and their backgrounds.

We know enough to be legitimately concerned about their ability to function in their respective positions, and continue to be concerned that they were ever elected to positions of responsibility in the first place.

Absolutely no new taxes until that mess in city hall is sorted out.


Anonymous said...

I just talked to several business and they made it clear if these tax questions pass they will be out of business within the year.

They also said they are tired of putting the cost of having a Walmart on the backs of the small business owners.

Anonymous said...

Aren't most of Meyers Facebook posts about gross hot dog eating challenges, bad music from the 70's and sad lonely frozen meals at his desk?

Anonymous said...

The truth is coming out!!!

For those that didn't watch last night Board of Alderman meeting you might want to know that one of two leaders in the group to "OVER TAX RAYTOWN" is up for an appointment to the park board.

I guess the you scratch my back, I scratch you back is alive and well in Raytown.

I understand this is a clear ethics violation and the individual will need to be removed from consideration all together at this point.

Anonymous said...

The changing ties of a failure.

Remember just a few years ago Jason Greene talking about the police budget being out of control and something needing to be done, but what does he do.

He goes out and makes the motion to give Lynch a raise.

Who would give someone a raise if they didn't think the department was being managed correctly.

He spent the better part of the last two years telling the city had no financial issues.

Now in the last several of months everything is the sky is falling and what are we going to do.

Are we really to believe this happened over night or more from his lies and willingness to look the other way.

In the best interest of Raytown we cannot allow our leaders to treat us this way and the best way to show it is time to stop the lies and spend responsible is with 3 NO VOTEs AUG 7th.

Anonymous said...

I am not by any means a Tony Jacob fan, but last night he made Raytown proud.

Great points about the lies coming from too many on the Board of Alderman and/or police and even better research.

Anonymous said...

I have never seen a Republican more pro tax than Jason Greene.

Anonymous said...

Once again the Citizens for the Truth in Raytown would like to point out the shell game the City is playing with the way they define and report the taxes they receive.

First, it is a complete and bold face lie to state the City has not increased the property tax mil-levy rate. One simply has to look to the City's 2017-2018 Budget and you see that in 2009 the levy was .3189, in 2010 the Aldermen arbitrarily decided to increase the levy to .3668 or 15% increase.

That increase basically remained in place until this year when the Hancock Amendment forced the City into lowering the levy to .3373 which still amounts to a 10% increase in just the past 8 years.

The shell game comes into play further when you hear people like the Mayor publically state that the Library receives roughly the same amount of tax revenue that the City does. Statements like those are deliberate and only serve to deceive the voter.

You see, the City does not only derive all of its income from the property tax. The city also receives millions in hidden taxes we all pay.

Just look at your utility bills some time or your cell phone bill and you will see franchise fees or taxes which generate almost 4 million a year for the City.

Every homeowner in Raytown must pays these fees on the natural gas, electricity, internet and entertainment services (i.e., cable television) and telephone service.

Even your cell phone service is taxed.

Here is a little secret most Raytowners are not aware of. Both your electric and natural gas bills are double taxed.

Check out your last electric or gas bill. You will see the Sales Tax follows the Franchise Tax. That means the sales tax is applied against the amount of Franchise Tax you pay! That’s right you are paying a tax on a tax.

The City is the only entity that is allowed to collect this tax and the City does nothing to earn it. When you equate this franchise tax we all must pay in to the mil levy it makes the City’s tax rate $1.94 which makes them by far the number 2 taxing jurisdiction in Raytown.

Just a brief Google search will show that Raytown’s franchise taxes are the highest in Jackson county, make no mistake these are taxes plain and simple. When you then add on the fact that a whopping 12% of every cent of sales tax goes to the City as well, you really start to see the narrative that is being sold is not close to truthful.

Please join us in sending the message to 10000 East 59th on August 7th that we have had enough of the lies...

Signed the Citizens for the Truth in Raytown

Anonymous said...

I couldn't resist commenting. Well written!

Anonymous said...

I just heard from someone else who is done with "Raytown Unleashed".

I as I understand it one or more members took to abusing the homeless people who are living underneath 170 at Sterling.

What has happened to compassion in Raytown.

Is this the image we want for Raytown!

Anonymous said...

Wow. Looks like the tin foil hat crowd is out and about. Lol. Have fun you when kcmo annexes you and you’re dealing the kcmo bs. You talk about poor police, public works etc services, they’re the king of it. Good luck and enjoy.

Anonymous said...

Well first that’s not even Raytown, and it’s technically illegal.

Anonymous said...

@8:10 pm

Can we please not resort to these types of attacks? These remarks are low class by any standard of decency. This is like me saying that so and so is a cannibal and eats babies. Let’s critique each other’s ideas and not reside in the toilet.

Anonymous said...


The main problem is not homelessness, although that is a big problem.

The issue is that the homeless people are accosting folks and begging. Folks feel unsafe.

This is not in Raytown anyway.

I noticed several news stories have been done so that post did get a spotlight put on the problem.



Anonymous said...

"I just heard from someone else who is done with "Raytown Unleashed"..."

Us too. The conversation on there leaves us with this pervasive negative feeling. There are a handful of really hateful people on that site. There are plenty of other "Raytown" options to choose from on Facebook.

Anonymous said...

10:08 If groups like unleashed don't like their behavior out in the public the administrator needs to start cleaning up the things being posted on their page and kick some just out of the group.

It is not only the things 8:10 brought to light, but there is a local small business that found out unleashed was allowing information to be posted that they had closed the doors when they had not. It had started having a negative impact on the business and wouldn't have even been brought to their attention had word of the post not started to spread beyond the hate of unleashed.

Anonymous said...

Raytown Unleashed are now defending the hateful actions of some of their members on here by trying to say that it was not actually in Raytown.

Sounds like trying to justify their actions because it was not in Raytown.

Hate is Hate.

By the way this is the same group that thinks the police can do no wrong and refuse to listen to facts even from their own Tony Jacobs.

Anonymous said...

I stand with the unions

I'm voting "NO" on the tax questions

Anonymous said...

A post referring to the homeless conversation on a Facebook group:

"...not resort to these types of attacks? These remarks are low class by any standard of decency. This is like me saying that so and so is a cannibal and eats babies."

And this helps how? A member of the handful that regularly causes issues on that Facebook group (including the "admin") likely wrote this?

"...eats babies...". Seriously?

Only a disturbed mind would write something like that.

You'll need to also indict the news media, as they recognized it as a serious enough issue that they gave it air time. The same media that you pander to.

Rather hypocritical, don't you think? Give it a rest.

Anonymous said...

I just got a call from the IBEW reminding we to get out and vote "NO" on August 7 on the PROP A question.

I was surprised that when he confirmed I lived in Raytown to vote "NO" on the three tax questions.

I have always supported the unions and they are saying "NO" on a tax question there must be something wrong with it.

Anonymous said...




RIP Coach Lathrop.

Anonymous said...

To - Signed the Citizens for the Truth in Raytown
July 11, 2018 at 6:41 PM

Just because the franchise fee follows the sales tax it doesn't mean it's applied to the sales tax. I've done the math, it's not charged on the sales tax. Talk about a lie, saying it's charged on the sales tax when it's not.
Also, the franchise is a fee paid by the utility to the city to use the right of way for service lines. Since utility companies pay into social security and other fees for employees, but don't break it out on the bill, are we like triple taxed, since all income from utilities come from sales of their service you're also paying for the unemployment and workers comp charges for their employees, and all the other costs including their franchisee fee, it just isn't itemized on the bill like the franchisee fee is.
12% of every cent of sales tax goes to the city according to your post. So for every 1 cent of sales tax the city gets .0012 cents, which you call whopping? What that calculates out to the city getting almost a full penny for every 8 cents paid in sales tax. Not whooping in my book.
Yes the city does have other fees and taxes for income, which is good, because that spreads the cost of operating the city. No matter how many fees currently exist, or taxes are in place, it doesn't change the fact that the cost of running a city has gone up more than the income the city of Raytown has and there needs to be more income, for the city to operate.
If you don't like how the city is currently run, voting no on the taxes won't change that, it'll just get the next BOA less to work with, vote yes for the taxes, and in April vote for the Aldermen of your choice, hopefully there are some qualified individuals running, for the positions.


Anonymous said...

5:44 The police lie so shouldn't everyone be allowed

Anonymous said...

I just checked my electric bill and the franchise fee was applied then the whole amount was charged sales tax, so I can confirm that at least KCPL is doing what was stated. Is there a limit to how much the City can charge for franchise fees? As for the explanation that this is the fee the city charges for use of the right of ways, but I have to ask what are the expenses of the right of way? I mean we have to mow them not the City, as for my Cell phone bill 75% of the time I do not use it when in Raytown so there are no right of ways in Raytown impacted most of the time yet they still charge almost a 17% fee. Don’t forget about the gouging the City implemented 4 months ago when they increased most fees an average of 54%. When you go to vote next month remember just vote No, No to Prop B, No to Raytown questions 1,2,3

Anonymous said...

Question 2 (motor fuel tax) has been endorsed by the Greater Kansas City Building and Construction Trades Council. They provided no opinion on the other taxes.

Anonymous said...

11:45 No opinion is same as NO

Also I cannot wait to see their take when the city doesn't follow through on what ever was promised as we all know that money is going to the police.

Anonymous said...

The city doesn't need more money the city needs to learn to manage the money they have

Not even a year and they want more & more

Tax and Spend Republicans

Anonymous said...

I too revived a legislative newsletter from Local 41 Teamsters that listed all three Raytown Tax’s as Vote No. That’s not the only reason I’m voting No, but it sure validates my feelings. Raytowna Beach Bum

Anonymous said...

The unions haven't opposed any of the taxes. In fact, the building and construction union has officially endorsed question 2 and is still in talks about endorsing the other 2. The AFL-CIO has taken no position. If you stand with the union, you vote no on Prop A and yes on the taxes. The Chamber of Commerce and the Raytown Main Street Association have also endorsed all 3 tax questions. I'm no expert, but isn't the chamber of commerce made up of local businesses? I can't imagine they'd support anything that is bad for local business. I get that some of our elected officials are a problem. But I don't see how you can argue that the city doesn't need the money. Tom Cole no longer has a dog in the fight and he said we need something like a hundred million to repair the city. The finance directer who also no longer has a dog in the fight said these taxes are necessary. I feel like people are making decisions on these taxes based on who's on which side and whether you like the person or not. This isn't about a FB admin. This isnt even about the chief of police. It's about a city crumbling to pieces literally. Vote out the bad guys. Vote in the funding and put responsible people in charge of it.

Anonymous said...

Get rid of Lynch and Bowman in PD and maybe I would vote yes. Until that happens I wouldn't give another damn nickel for either one of them.

Andy Whiteman said...

I spoke with a precious Finance Director who confirmed my math that the sales tax on utility bills was also a tax on the franchise tax. I brought this up during public comments at a BOA meeting several years ago about double taxation and was ignored.

Andy Whiteman

Anonymous said...

I am so enraged I could spit nails. I just drove by a house that had a sign urging us to vote for all three questions in the August election. The heading on the sign was Raytown Road and Police.. Citizens there is one thing you need to remember that there is no sunset clause in this. If it passes you are stuck with it FOREVER!! I remember the safety sales tax when they told us we would get more police that never happened and that was long before the budget was cut. When they were asked about where are the police we were going to get, we were told that was just a tactic to get the tax passed. That tax also has no sunset clause on it. Just remember if Lynch's and McDonough's lips are moving it is nothing but BS coming out of their mouths. Same goes for anyone that is connected with Raytown Unleashed.

Anonymous said...

I will be voting NO on any tax until we cleanup the management of the police department

Sick of them saying they need more money while the only place that get service is Walmart.

I am not surprised I mean why go on a call to a neighborhood assault when the company that is giving your officers countless hours of overtime pay that we have learned is better than that of their normal salary.

Lynch and his mouth piece of a mayor best hope they have a hell of an umbrella issuance policy as if something happens to my family I am coming for everything they own including that beloved pension.

They both need to stop profiting off us the citizens

Anonymous said...

5:44 pm

How do you honestly pander your logic and look yourself in the mirror?

You speak of a fact of the cost of running the City. Let's unpack that. The City choose to give Walmart huge tax breaks and unpaid services that any fool could have known would affect the cost of running the City.

I guess we taxpayers should just blithely vote in more taxes on ourselves to make up for the unnecessary and council inflicted increased costs of running the City. When we in fact did not get to vote on giving Walmart a free hand in our City coffers.

It is simple arithmetic. Give the City more taxes + They will waste these additional taxes too = More tax initiatives to meet the cost of running the City into the ground.

I would think you have a greater mental capacity than to ask us to give more money to a City that can not handle our money wisely.

Intellectual honesty begs a NO Vote on all three initiatives for a host of logical reasons:

1. The Ballot language is vague, confusing and incomplete.
2. There is no language that guarantees a neutral committee of
citizens will have oversight to ensure the money will go where it
is supposed too.
3. The City has proven they are irresponsible with our tax dollars
now.
4. Three tax initiatives at one time is indisputable proof the City
can't be trusted with more tax dollars.
5. History proves you cannot tax yourself out of debt.
6. If you give the City more taxes you reward bad management and
will undoubtedly be forced to give yet more taxes later.
7. As the founders of Raytown often cautioned "Don't spend good
money after bad".

I hope you now see the errors of your convoluted economic theory and cease trying to Rip Off Raytown voters.

Anonymous said...

For Raytown to move forward Raytown needs elected official who represent the people and not the police!

Anonymous said...

I saw a big sign wanting you to vote for the taxes in Raytown. the heading on this sign read Raytown Road...Police. right there is one good reason to vote no on all the taxes. You see this is being pushed by the mayor a former policeman who still believes he works for the police department not the citizens of Raytown. When the police pushed hard for the safety sales tax the lie they used to get it passed was we would get more police officers on the street. This was years before the budget was cut. When we asked why we didn't get more police on the street they say that was just told to us to get it passed, they never intended to put more police on the street. The safety sales tax does not have a sunset clause so we are paying it for the rest of our lives as will our children and grandchildren. These taxes do NOT have a sunset clause either so again PAYING FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES!!! Just remember if the chief and mayors lips moving you are being fed a bunch of lies and BS. Here is another prediction, the fire district will coming at us for more money also. Just get ready folks we are going to be taxed to death if this passes,,,,,,,

Anonymous said...

to anonymous at July 12, 2018 at 10:45 PM

I just checked mine- subtotal 199.39 franchise fee or 15.95. Tax on the subtotal at 2% = .02*199.39=3.9878 tax on the subtotal+ franchise fee of 15.95 would be .02*(199.39+15.95) = 4.03 Sales tax charged on the bill 3.99. I'm not sure what math you're doing but sales tax isn't charged on the franchise fee. Checking your bill and seeing the subtotal with the franchisee fee below it and the sales tax below it, doesn't mean that sales tax was charged on the subtotal+ franchisee fee.

Anonymous said...

I heard today a lawsuit is ready to filled if the taxes pass forcing the money to be spent only on the streets.

God love lawyers

Anonymous said...

The city hasn't committed the taxes to anything at this point except the gas tax because state law requires it. That sign surely comes from the Citizens for Progress group who have said they want the taxes to go to roads and police. I've seen several of those signs around town.

Anonymous said...

It warms the cockles of my heart to know that the opposition is spitting nails.

Anonymous said...

A Brian Morris and Michael Anderson are the Treasurer and Deputy Treasure respectfully for the Political Action Committee that is trying to Rip Off Raytown taxpayers. These two snake oil salesmen will be exposed shortly. Their prior misdeeds will soon become public.

I hope the new political club "Stop the Raytown Rip-Off" will be able to channel the peoples anger to a trifecta NO vote

I can't wait until the Raytown Taxpayers Assoc. get their mail out to the people. Look out Morris and Anderson. Oh yeah, you bought into the City Hall con and a bruising campaign.

Or when the Political club "Rescue Raytown" from City Hall concludes their planned door to door campaign.

Anonymous said...

@3:12

Judges don’t like to overturn election results unless there is a constitutional issue involved. I don’t see any constitutional issues with these taxes. Nice misinformation though.

Anonymous said...

Once again a big win for Tony Jacobs.

It seems he had to explain to those pro tax folks how to properly report things to the ethic commission.

If those pro tax folks don't under stand the ethic's rules how can we trust them to explain the taxes to us.

Anonymous said...

I think it's clear..that aside from the mayor, "the city" is not for the police. Raytown is not moving forward - it just continues to circle the bowl.

Anonymous said...

EXCELLENT post, 07/13 @ 9:50 PM. I challenge anyone to successfully refute any of the following:

"You speak of a fact of the cost of running the City. Let's unpack that. The City choose to give Walmart huge tax breaks and unpaid services that any fool could have known would affect the cost of running the City.

I guess we taxpayers should just blithely vote in more taxes on ourselves to make up for the unnecessary and council inflicted increased costs of running the City. When we in fact did not get to vote on giving Walmart a free hand in our City coffers.

It is simple arithmetic. Give the City more taxes + They will waste these additional taxes too = More tax initiatives to meet the cost of running the City into the ground.

I would think you have a greater mental capacity than to ask us to give more money to a City that can not handle our money wisely.

Intellectual honesty begs a NO Vote on all three initiatives for a host of logical reasons:

1. The Ballot language is vague, confusing and incomplete.
2. There is no language that guarantees a neutral committee of
citizens will have oversight to ensure the money will go where it
is supposed too.
3. The City has proven they are irresponsible with our tax dollars
now.
4. Three tax initiatives at one time is indisputable proof the City
can't be trusted with more tax dollars.
5. History proves you cannot tax yourself out of debt.
6. If you give the City more taxes you reward bad management and
will undoubtedly be forced to give yet more taxes later.... "

Anonymous said...

Reread the Raytown Report 12/03 entry "The Tyranny of the Minority". A valuable blog. And don't forget to read the accompanying comments.

"The sky is falling! The sky..."

They're at it again, folks!

One member of this vocal handful's property taxes are thousands of dollars (nearly 3500-) in arrears, and there was a 2-3 year payment gap in their personal property payments, according to the online Jackson County online lookup/bill pay.

"Consider the source..."




Anonymous said...

@1:16am

How amusing. Let me say this. We are and will be in 100% compliance with Missouri law. Unlike certain folks who did not bother to register at all, but somehow think it’s ok to combine individual actions without forming a committee and registering it with the state.

Anonymous said...

@ 7:05 am

I’ll take the challenge. Although you wrote a diatribe....

Point 1: the ballot language is just fine. It’s written in the English language and I paid attention in school and have no problem understanding it.

Point 2: not the responsibility of City Hall to create a neutral committee to oversee the taxes. Responsible and caring citizens can and should do this on their own.

Point 3: that’s your opinion. Past performance does not guarantee future results anyway.

Point 4: that’s your opinion


Point 5: that’s your opinion. Nice slogan too. The City is not taxing to bail out a debt so your assertion is false to begin with.

Point 6: illogical assertion. Pure opinion.

Anonymous said...

WTG!! "Tyranny of the Minority" was worth republishing! Thank you!!!

Anonymous said...

NO, NO, NO NO for me for all 3 taxes!!!!!

Anonymous said...

To the comment on the original post about the city not telling everyone that county does reassements- As a homeowner, who is concerned about where my tax money goes, I went to the county website and checked it out well before this tax issue came up. The assessed value isn't always increased and if it's done in error people can file an appeal. That's a county thing and if anyone isn't adult enough, and aware enough to have looked at this stuff and be aware of their taxes, why is it the cities job to tell anyone. Take some personal responsibility people and don't rely on someone else to tell you this stuff. What the point on question one doesn't say is that the city only gets a very small portion of the reassessment increases, in proportion to what they get from property taxes. Keep this whole reassessment thing in mind the next time the school district wants more money as they truly benefit from it.
Point on number 3- The post is forgetting to mention it was passed in Liberty. Yes it's a sales tax on things purchased online where not sales tax is paid. Equals out pricing a bit for local stores. If you can buy it locally but don't want the sales tax then you buy it online tax free, and our local business loose a sale.

No there are no guarantees where the money will go, what there is a guarantee of is every two years in April aldermen are reelected or not. If you think the money has been miss managed in the past, the only people you have to blame are the people that voted in those aldermen or those that didn't vote.


To the comments that claim the city wanting a tax increase is because they miss managed money and it's rewarding bad behavior, take a look at the cities income the past few decades it hasn't gone up much if at all, and now it's reached a critical point. The problem is they don't have the money coming in, like living on the same wages you made for 40 years without an increase and someone saying, well if you managed your money better.....

Wake up, smell the coffee and quit living in the past and let the city move into the future. If you don't like the people in office do something about it in April, but lets get the tools (money) in place for the city to improve now so they have something to work with.

Anonymous said...

Weak, disrespectful response. And it's YOUR opinion. Authorship is obvious.

It's premature to vote on multiple, permanent tax increases.

Instant gratification will only accelerate the destruction of this city.

We must clean house, raise our standards and organize first.



Anonymous said...

9:16 AM
Gosh I am sorry. I just realized your are a cerebral kindergartner. I didn't realize I was attempting to intellectually joust with a preschooler or Mayor McDonough.

Hey little guy forget I responded and go to your mommy she says she has a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, sippy cup of milk and some really tasty grapes for lunch. Toddle off now. I won't bother your further.

Now all the grown ups who can think logically will vote NO on August 7th against three of the unfairest taxes ever presented to the Raytown voter.

Anonymous said...

Well they don’t just hire anyone off the streets to be an officer. There is a much tougher background check etc than say a public works or parks Department employee. And it’s that way for a reason. Then you have dumb politicians who make very dumb and ill advised statements about police and how they do their job. So people don’t want to deal with that kind of lack of support. So fewer and fewer are applying.

Anonymous said...

I just heard the reason our alderman refuse to say were the money from the increase is going is they plan to give themselves a raise.

They said this is why this was on the Aug ballot and not April.

It allows any of the new elected Alderman and Mayor to collect on the wealth.

Anonymous said...

Susan and the Mayor must think unionworkers are stupid. There is a huge difference between an endorsement and a purchased ad the Labor Beacon. News flash for you there are only two positions labor will take, we either support an issue or we don’t. So when they claim that Labor has decided to remain neutral.... it’s the same as they voted not to support. But then again if The City of Raytown was Pro Labor they would have known this. As for the Chamber of Commerce’s endorsement that is a no brainer. The President of the Chamber last name is Turnbow... As in the wife of the former Police Chief oh and by the way her maiden name is Besson or rather the sister of the former seargent and PIO for the police and the daughter of the dispatch supervisor. Lastly she lives the Raymore so her taxes won’t be doubling if passed. As for the Raytown Main Street Association, I would challenge anyone who is not a member of this group to name 4 members... Just 4. They are a non factor and carry no credibility with this community. Just like the Mayors hand picked committee who are attempting to move 84% of the property tax collected into the coffers of the police department. I am asking all my Local 2 Tineners to join me in voting NO accross fhe ballot this August and send a message to the Wal-mart loving local government of Raytown

Anonymous said...

I guess your opinion is the only one that matters so you feel the need to insult someone who’s opinion differs. Nice to see where the small minded fall on most issues.

Anonymous said...

The reason we have such unprofessional elected leaders is that the actual professionals want no part of the raytown circus.

Anonymous said...

I find it interesting that the one group who actually set up a committee and filed with the MEC Is now being attacked on this blog by people who are participating in an illegitimate campaign committee that is avoiding transparency by not filing with the MEC . Also, it’s clear on social media that Tony Jacob is in no way connected to Citizens for Progress and has difficulting understanding the most basic political practices and legislation. People tend to attack the messengers when they can’t attack the message.

Anonymous said...

@10:27 pm

Are these groups registered with the Missouri Election Commission?

Anonymous said...

Yes. It is correct to say you can appeal your property tax. But it is a snap lie to leave the impression the Jackson County Appeals process gives caves in to requests to lower tax evaluations. In fact, not only is it rare, in some cases the County has actually increased the value! How many reading this page have heard or read Raytown properties are under-assessed? 2019 is just around the corner. Get ready for a correction to those low property values. There is a housing shortage in the metropolitan area. Prices are going to go up.

by the way. I agree with your comments on the school district. They are the true robber barons in Raytown. But that does not make a good deal out of what the city is proposing. Count me and mine as a NO vote on August 7th.

Anonymous said...


Raytown will use scare tactics to frighten our citizens in the hope that we will give them a blank check to spend as the Mayor pleases.

The upcoming August 7th Triple Tax vote is proof that the City is admitting they have broken our City

Remember the slogan of Bennie the Bloated Bureaucrat..."Only You can Stop the Fiscal Insanity"

Do yourself a triple solid and vote NO on these taxes to bailout City Hall's mismanagement and feed the Mayor's arrogance.

Anonymous said...

You know something is wrong when the Building Trades Unions vote to only support one of the three Raytown taxes. It was great to see Meyers and Greene jump on the facebook bandwagon lie about the union supporting all three taxes. I will be voting no on all three taxes. Plus there will be a re-assessment in 2019 and I don't want a double whammy on my property taxes.

Anonymous said...

9:16 Come on it is okay to tell the truth.

The Mayor wants the money to help Lynch rebuild the police empire even though we have as many officer on the street now as we did before everyone left as a result of Lynch's lies.

Anonymous said...

@7:37 am

There are two “members” of Citizens For Progress. Brian Morris, Treasurer and Michael Anderson, Deputy Treasurer. We are officers. Anyone is welcome to look us up on the Jackson County website. Make sure you have our address when you look us up. You’ll find that we both are up to date in the payment of our taxes and we pay them regularly each year. We are proud of the campaign we are conducting and we are committed to transparency. This election is very important, and it’s important to follow the Missouri Ethics Commission rules. Win, lose, or draw, we are committed to Raytown and it’s people. With all that said, both of us have no intention of running for office in the future, or ever. And we are looking forward to the election being over, as we are average citizens who want the best for Raytown, but we do want to get back to our families. Please exercise your right to vote on August 7th!

Anonymous said...

I find it interesting that the one group who actually set up a committee and filed with the MEC Is now being attacked on this blog by people who are participating in an illegitimate campaign committee that is avoiding transparency by not filing with the MEC . Also, it’s clear on social media that Tony Jacob is in no way connected to Citizens for Progress and has difficulting understanding the most basic political practices and legislation. People tend to attack the messengers when they can’t attack the message.

Anonymous said...

If an alderman would lie to the people that elected him just think of the damage he is doing to our children as a teacher.

Anonymous said...

Here is a thought for everyone involved. Quit attacking each other with so much venom. No doubt there is more than one position to take on whether or not to support or oppose the proposed tax increases. It appears the pro side is running around trying to vilify anyone who is opposed to the tax increases. Why not stick to the issues? Figure out how and why the city is in the financial shape it is. Fix those problems first. Then, if you have real need, ask for more money. But doubling the personal and real estate taxes collected by the city is not a reasonable choice. Neither is asking voters to support a tax on internet sales tax neighboring cities recently turned down, as did Blue Springs and Independence. Asking for support of a two cent gas increase when the state has a ten cent gas increase on the November ballot? You have got to be kidding.

Those are the simple facts of what is being asked. The part missing is the city is not addressing what put it in this position. Run-away tax abatements, over-spending by the police department. A command staff in the police department that acts like it is above the rules put in place by the city council. Not to mention a tendency to over-use tax abatements and continue to support tax abatement districts that are not producing results are your problems.

Address those problems first. Then ask for money.

As it sits right now. I will be a solid NO vote on August 7th.

Anonymous said...

Tony you need to call the unions as I did yesterday.

As we no nothing in this world is free including an ad as they called it in their paper.

I think you will find it interesting who actually paid for it and not only appears to be changing an ethics filing, but also the facts around it not being free.

We know they lied about the police, now they lie about this.... Will it ever stop!

Anonymous said...

Snap Lie = Your opinion that I do not agree with.

Lie= Something said that can be proven to be an untruth, i.e. not a matter of opinion.

IMHOTI = In My Humble Opinion That Is

Anonymous said...

1:16 AM Thank you I will be watch for more of his comments.

9:00 AM Not following, How does the comments to 1:16 about Tony's research and fact finding having anything to do will what you are talking about. I question what you are hiding.

Anonymous said...

I didn’t realize Raytown Unleashed has stared filing with the MEC

Anonymous said...

"...attacked on this blog by people who are participating in an illegitimate campaign committee that is avoiding transparency by not filing with the MEC ."

Are you referring to the people that merely post their opinions on this blog?

Are you attempting to regulate that too?

How 'bout a municipal "blog tax"?

(I know, I know...don't give the dynamic duo any ideas..)

Anonymous said...

Just got a call from a Raytown resident who said she would never buy gas in Raytown again if the gas tax passed. Still think this is a good idea Alderman Meyers? We will loose the base we have. Stupid thinking Alderman Meyers

Anonymous said...

We need to keep it lively here. That's how things get fixed. For the most part, no one is being attacked. I see a lot more "venom" in other forums. Admittedly, it does get a little sticky when those "forums" come here to visit. Glad to see that they consider the opinions here to be so vital to their mission. Obsess much?

For instance, over at Unglued they love "debate"! So much so, that if anyone expresses a negative opinion about that insane tax increase, the dominatrix of Unglued and her 3-4 handmaidens will pile on within seconds. Rapid response. At the speed of light, even.

Don't confuse their bogus claim of free debate with the furtive need to control and silence anyone that they disagree with. They could let opposing opinions lie and let the conversation take it's course, but that isn't their end game.

Just think how traumatic it would be for one of them in particular to hold her tongue and simply be still when someone expresses a divergent opinion.

Boiling point! Someone call 911!

The pressure to conform over at Unglued totally annihilates the purpose of what is purported to be a community forum.

We treasure debate. When it's genuine, not in a controlled environment.

And therein, to a large degree, lies the value of being able to express our sentiments anonymously.

And if it's anything like it was 8-9 months ago, as desperation sets in, Unglued will claim that they've talked to EVERYONE under the moon, stars and Raytown Bridge about the tax. Yup, those people are all on board and will be voting in the affirmative. You betcha, you betcha!

And the fact that asst. elected city admin are (figuratively) in bed with that kind of behavior by regularly posting on that site tells me plenty.

To wit...

Get ur funeral home motorcycle escort, Wal-Mart door checker and warehouse security guard gigs lined up, guys. Replacement time is drawing nigh.



Anonymous said...

Think of all the things we never saw from the public safety sales tax and now these same people want us to believe them again.

Fool me once shame on you.... Fool me twice shame on me.

I am not going to be feeling any shame.

NO on the city tax questions!

Anonymous said...

I remember when we past the last public safety and transportation sales tax. All we got was tar and gravel and a Police Department that ran a muck like a kid in a toy store. New large SUVs, Chief got a new sports car, Lynch and all his buddies got increase rank and pay. Cityhall is a screwed up place where the department heads come and go and come and go, each no better that the other. They take countless out of town trips to unnecessary seminars all in the name of professional development, costing the tax payers thousands of dollars, which could be better spent on real needs.

I don't trust any damn one of them, but I also don't want the direction our beloved Raytown in going in. I just don't see taxing our way out of the mess that our fine "professional" PD and city staff has gotten us into.

Anonymous said...

Here is a better thought, stop lying to the public, stop playing the shell game with our hard earned tax money and stop trying to make Raytown like it was back in the “Good Ole” days Mr Mayor. For a lot of us who do not share your privileged background those days were not so good for us.

Anonymous said...

quid pro quo

The word for the effort to pass higher taxes for the police

Anonymous said...

What are you talking about?

Anonymous said...

New suvs because the crown Vic was discontinued and the Chiefs car is several years old. Always is.

Anonymous said...

So when the city folds and are annexed by kcmo, who are you going to blame? If you think their road replacement program will be better, good luck. Same for police protection and every other service.

Anonymous said...

7:39 am

Did you speak with Kevin O’Neill the publisher of the Labor Beacon? Because that’s the guy who would truly know.

Raytown Newbie said...

Very surprising, to me, to see that the franchise tax brings in 3 times more revenue to the city of Raytown than it collects for its share of property taxes.
Pretty clear that even if the property tax proposal passes, it will not result in a "windfall" for the city since it now only represents 4.2% of annual income.

Peter Weber said...

Who's the fool that keeps harping about KCMO annexing Raytown? What would ever make you think KCMO would want the headaches associated with Raytown? Do you know how stupid that makes you look? Go crawl back into your hole and pull the dirt in behind you.

Anonymous said...

"So when the city folds and are annexed by kcmo, who are you going to blame?"

This? Again?

Yada, yada, yada.

We'll gladly take our chances until this tiresome slate of clowns are replaced.

Replace, revise, plan and restore.

No new taxes until that time.

Anonymous said...

It doesn’t matter if you call it a franchis Rex or a property tax. If it’s something all of the residents have to pay because they live here it’s the same thing. When you calculate those two together it is the only true representation of how much we are actually paying for how little we actually receive. Most households actually pay the City around 2.44 per 100.00 dollars assessed when you calculate the fees and the taxes the City levies. If Police Officer Mike gets his way in August that number will grow to almost $3.00. Tell your neighbors, tell your friends, tell anyone you meet. Please, please, please vote no on questions 1,2,3 in August

Anonymous said...

Once again the police work to divide our city

This time with more and more taxes

Last time with the fear we would be over ran with crime.

Andy Whiteman said...

I have had the same question as Peter Weber for quite some time. Why would KCMO, Independence, Lees Summit, or any other city want to annex Raytown? Such annexation would be a cash drain on the city doing the annexation! It would take a group of foolish city commissioners as well as foolish voters to carry it out. I can't believe there are that many fools.

Andy Whiteman

Anonymous said...

I did only the one I spoke with spells his name Kevin O'Neil so maybe you know someone I do not.

Anonymous said...

It's a NO NO No on all three from me... Raise taxes chase good people off and have more vacant properties & let's not forget no police to patrol this broke City.. Mayor & Chief both need to GO !!! Doing nothing good for this City, only padding their own pockets with our tax money. What does the Mayor make for his pension from the police department ?? A LOT & Chief Lynch he needs to learn how to drive respectfully and not like he owns the road and has the right to run a red light and talk on not one but two phones while driving...

Anonymous said...

Well, two separate shootings minutes apart. Police obviously can’t control that but spreads them very, very thin. Not to mention any other crimes that come in that will have to be put on the back burner.

Anonymous said...


Just fyi.....Police volunteers DO have to undergo a background check.

Anonymous said...

Why more taxes

We don't need more police

We need an appointed chief and why is that not on the ballot.

Anonymous said...

if you ever needed visual proof that the council people hate the police department, watch tonights meeting. they literally turned away free money because it was for a police function. hence why propping up the police to pass their taxes is such a manipulative tactic. disgusting. we need new elected leaders.

Anonymous said...

Why is some one from outside of Raytown pushing so hard to raise our taxes.

Makes me think about those that messed with the national election.

Anonymous said...

We need an appointed police chief so we can have a professional police department.

Until that time we will see more of the wild west way of people taking the law into their own hands.

How long before Jim Lynch and Jean Peters Baker get sewed for allowing this!

TONY JACOB said...

To July 17, 8.01
In an email dated Sept 7th 505pm Capt Candice Schwarz wrote an email to a volunteer RB after a review indicated he had not filled out a background check nor application. After several emails back and forth on Sept 17th he wrote back he refused to fill out the appropriate paperwork. He indicated he had 2 uniforms, a badge and a key. He had already been serving in a capacity that afforded him access to sensitive areas and systems. Future emails detailed his return of uniforms but they could not find the other items, city hall has been looking into it and they too are having trouble verifying keys and badge were returned. Sunshine request away or tell me where you'd like to meet and i can let you see it in person (that'd be faster).


To July 17th, 1105pm
You must have left early after cutting that check, Another lie. Van Buskirk made a motion to reconsider, and swung the vote to APPLY 5-4. There was nothing before the Board to accept. It is incredible how much emotion clouds truth. There was no "FREE" money to turn down. There is nothing Free in life anyway. Ask to see the emails from VIPS Inc, they have been using the PD copiers, labels, Notaries (unbonded), uniforms, systems, training facilities, and time on the clock. If you want to see the emails let me know, i have over 1200.

And to those who say "post them here" how about you just contact me instead of hide behind anonymity the same 3 people posting 10 times? Face to Face conversations are way better than online keyboard warriors. In person is much more constructive and efficient.

Anonymous said...

Just finished watching last night's meeting. Kudos to Alderman Mims and Alderman Ryan Myers for asking the tough questions. You can't deny that they don't do their homework prior to meetings."Free money" doesn't exist folks. There's something fishy going on with anonymous PD donations, and it smells of corruption.

Anonymous said...

Why did Tom Cole cut a deal with PD behind the BOA's back about the MOU?

Anonymous said...

How anyone elected or not elected votes, it is between them and God. . No one else needs to know. So mind your own business unless they wish to tell you.

Anonymous said...

False advertisement

"Where does your tax dollar go"

It is hard to be honest and add the fact about all the other taxes the city collects.

Once a cop always a cop and you cannot find any honest ones anymore.

Anonymous said...

"Raytown Lies"

Our new slogan to go with "Raytown Reaching for Tomorrow" as they cannot get their act together today.

Anonymous said...

Had lunch with the union leadership today and about got a beating for spitting a mouthful of tea all over on of the leaders. Only thing that saved me was being friends with the one that had invited me.

The key part to the free shower was when they told me they did endorse tax question 2 because they had been promised a lot of future road work.

I am still laughing that they bought this, but I cannot wait to see them have those old fashioned one on one conversations when they don't get what they were promised.

Oh to be a fly on that wall.

Anonymous said...

Number one it’s sued, not sewed, number two, the voters have to approve a charter because a fourth class city cannot appoint a chief, has to be an elected Marshall.

Anonymous said...

"Number one it’s sued, not sewed, number two, the voters have to approve a charter because a fourth class city cannot appoint a chief, has to be an elected Marshall."

Number one, it's not "Marshall", it's Marshal".

And number two, a charter needs to be enacted to both manage and prevent grossly unqualified and/or unsuitable candidates from running hog wild in office.

Give it a rest, grammar police.


Anonymous said...

So Ryan Myers two meetings ago tables a police item so he can speak to Lynch and then has Zero questions about the item when Lynch shows? What a joke.

Anonymous said...

Comprehension isn't your strong suit isn't it?

Anonymous said...

9:12 Agree with you on "sued" not "sewed"

However, you are wrong on the appointed chief. A 4th class city may by the approval of the voters change to an appointed chief.

Interest what one learns when they look for facts Vs. story time with Jim.

Anonymous said...

Tony for mayor as honesty is a must!

Anonymous said...

The State will have an increase in the gas tax on the November ballot. None of this will go to the City of Raytown. At least, the wording in the ballot for the 2 cents a gallon increase is very specific. It can not be used elsewhere. I will be voting for it, but not the other 2.

Anonymous said...

At the Labor lunch, today and the City of Raytown and specifically the Citizens for Progress were the talk of the luncheon. Kevin O'neil addressed this issue head on and provided a letter he sent the Citizens for Progress committee demanding they immediately stop representing the Ad in the current issue of the Labor Beacon as an endorsement. The letter went on to request the committee issue a statement retracting this representation at the earliest possible opportunity. While it was stated that Local 264 Construction and General Laborers Union is supporting Question 2, the Union leadership is overwhelmingly against Questions 1 & 3 on the ballot and that the misrepresentation by the Citizens for Progress was case in point why. The City of Raytown has never been a labor-friendly organization and there is no indication that is going to change anytime soon. Four of the current Aldermen have spoken against unions several times while conducting City meetings and the body as a whole has voted time and time again to approve projects completed by sub-par non-union contractors. Of the current 138 employees on the City's payroll, only 7 of them are afforded Union representation and the City has refused to approve a CBA for them in over 14 years. This my Brothers and Sisters is why I am asking for you to show solidarity in joining me in voting NO to all three of the City of Raytown's questions on August 7th. Raytona Beach Bum

Anonymous said...

One of the misguided tax proponents are now dangling the possibility of an "Outback" or Longhorn" in front of us!

The steakhouses won't be on board until we have good streets and a properly-staffed police department, they warn.

Sir, unfortunately, Raytown hasn't been in preferred marketing for several DECADES. Raytown is landlocked, has a limited "catch" area, and town demographics disqualified us even "back then".

Demos continue their rapid, dismal downfall around here, in the worst ways possible. Tax bases don't lie. Neither do the significant number of violent incidents that Raytown has experienced in these last few days.

And it's very doubtful, given the nature of this recent violence, that increased police presence would have mitigated anything at all.

Additionally, all it takes is for these respective corporates to take a brief look in at current city administration. What they would discover would cause them to RUN, not walk, in the opposite direction.

Darden, Bloomin' and OSI have stringent standards, yet have had issues in far more prosperous towns than Raytown. Unfortunately, it's very unlikely that they would ever invest their millions in this area.

Not meaning to paint an entirely dismal picture here, but you need to STOP attempting to entice people to vote for these ridiculous taxes via the possibility of a nice steak dinner.

Ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

Uhhh, word of advice. Pay attention to how Tony Jacobs throws out nuggets of information that don't go beyond the surface, and cannot speak in depth on subjects, only "sound bites." His “proof” is in his basement just like joe cramer’s. Raytown Realist

Anonymous said...

Guess what, I moved here from Mission Kansas, for the lower living costs. My wife and I did not always agree with Mission's decisions, but we knew enough to know that services and maintenance aren't free. What don't you people understand? The tenor and vitriol on this page tells me that you DO understand that it takes money to run a city, but you're letting personal hurt feelings cloud your judgement.

Anonymous said...

You truly do get what you pay for. Don't want nice paved roads, don't vote for it. You want bare bones service from other departments, don't vote for it. It's simple math, really. We will all live with the consequences, though. Citizens Reaching for Tomorrow

Anonymous said...

I can't believe how much money the schools get. we need to fix our city. The schools won't get an increase for a long time if I have anything to say about it.
Raytona Beach Bum

Anonymous said...

Let me get this straight. You moved here from Mission because the cost of living was lower. But you want the city emulate the very community you left behind?!? What do you think was driving the cost of living? It comes from poor management decisions. Do the police in Mission all have city owned cars to drive home? The city of Raytown did until the BOA said "enough"!

Did the City of Mission operate without a City Administrator or a City Finance Director. That's what the City of Raytown is doing.

Did the city of Mission sell its financial soul to the walmart god? That is what our leaders in Raytown did.

Don't be so fast to blame the regular folks in Raytown. Check out what they are paying in taxes and you will find the real culprit is mismanagement at City Hall. A police department that is out of control and a Mayor who used to be a Sergeant in the p.d. but refuses to take the badge off and start acting like a mayor.

Anonymous said...

Typical lie. Not every single member of pd has/had a take home car. On call personnel and certain administrative officers have access to take home vehicles for a quicker response. Get your facts straight.

Anonymous said...

At the Labor lunch...Kevin O'neil...provided a letter he sent the Citizens for Progress committee demanding they immediately stop representing the Ad in the current issue of the Labor Beacon as an endorsement. The letter went on to request the committee issue a statement retracting this representation at the earliest possible opportunity. "

If this is indeed the case, a State complaint should be filed immediately against each and every entity that misrepresented the Union's position.

Anonymous said...

Ithe new restaurant is going to be a Panda Express, because everyone knows what we need is another Chinese restaurant around here

Anonymous said...

Anyone else notice fhe players in City Hall do not seem to be wasting much political capital on this election? Sure they took turns last week speaking, but talk is cheap. I do not know how much fund raising there has been but the dozen or so signs I have seen could not have cost more than a hundred bucks. Seems like everyone has come to the realization these are going to fail and fail miserably

Anonymous said...

I know that it takes money to have a nice city, in Mission, and here in Raytown. I know one of the Mission officers and yes, some of their officers, detectives and commanders, have take home cars for faster responses. That’s what professionals do. You have to pay a little more to have improved response and service. Sounds like the police are displaying professionalism in spite of some people’s efforts to bring them down to lower standards.

Anonymous said...

2:43:

Don't forget to also bulldoze all the title loan and cash advance businesses in Raytown.

"Darden, Bloomin' and OSI have stringent standards, yet have had issues in far more prosperous towns than Raytown. Unfortunately, it's very unlikely that they would ever invest their millions in this area."

Agreed. Pretty much no chance of a Panera Bread, Olive Garden, ect.

The only reason we have any major food or retail in Raytown to begin with is due to the traffic counts along the 350 corridor.

Anonymous said...

Emergency call out of Raytown police from their homes in Lee's Summit and further points east. Smells like a snap lie. I remember the Raytown City Council looking into this and they found over a one year period there had been one (1) call where an officer actually left his home to respond to a call in Raytown. There was an incident where one of the officers got into a car wreck with the city owned vehicle with his children in the car. I wonder what will happen to the city's automobile insurance rates if they found it was common practice. The p.d. upper staff even wanted the city to approve a personnel item in some agreement where it specifically said it was okay to use publicly owned city vehicles for personal business like taking kids to soccer practice, grocery shopping. Do they really allow that in Mission, KS? I don't think so.

As for the make believe chatter about this restaurant or that restaurant coming to Raytown if these three taxes pass. Sounds like the same double-talk we heard when the wise ones at city hall decided to underwrite a Walmart on 350 Highway.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me! If this is your idea of progress count me as three solid no votes on August 7th. Think I will go chat up my neighbors about your plans to throw us deeper into debt. Should make for some interesting conversation.

Anonymous said...

Yet more misinformation by ten”snap lie” crowd. When there was a traffic unit, call ours all the time for bad crashes (more than one a year). Anytime a crime happens when the detectives aren’t working is a call out situation. More than one a year. Anytime a swat situation happens when they aren’t working, that’s a call out situation. More than one a year. All have/had access to a tale home car for call. Guess you all don’t care about response times. You get what you pay for.

Glad to be out of that headache of a city.

Anonymous said...

6:47 Sounds like why we need GPS and management report sent to the Alderman on when and how far outside city limits our property goes.

It also sounds like the police and FOP are justifying why officers need to live in the city where they work.

Anonymous said...

I have solved our tax and police off duty issue and the Mayor and Chief have got to love it as they sure love new taxes.

A police officer tax!

It would work like social security that the officers would pay a matching percentage to that of the business that is using them.

Lets base it on the overall percentage of total taxes and franchise fees to the city, which means sales tax, property tax, and all those taxes and fees on the utilities.

Whereas this is a police officers tax the police department would get the funding, but have the same amount of funds generated from this subtracted from the part of the general funds.

This would allow more money for our streets

Talking about a win, win.

This also would address the issue with officers not wanting to work over time in the parks as the parks are part of the city and would be except from the tax.

Anonymous said...

3:34 PM July 18 Raytown"Reaching for Tomorrow". God did I die laughing. I rolled on the floor and gut laughed myself to near death.

The only thing Raytown is reaching for is your pocketbook.

Questions: Are there people in Raytown who have one ....in" reason to trust City Hall?? Are there people in Raytown that are abysmally stupid enough to vote for three tax initiatives at once??

How sad for the real people of Raytown if the answer to either question is yes.



Anonymous said...

"....all we can see from the opposition is an opposition in order to hurt someone or something else. Some want to stick it to the BOA. Some want to stick it to the chief or mayor. Some want to punish the RPD....Not about who you hate and why you want to punish them with a no vote."

Hmmm. We wonder who has been making the continuous anonymous comments on this blog accusing many of the contributors of "hate". It's rather transparent, isn't it?

Stop it with the "H" word. You're projecting.

No one wants to "hurt" anyone else.

No one wants to "stick it" to anyone.

No one wants to "punish" anyone else.

These taxes need to fail. FOR NOW. When they fail, it won't be for keeps, UNLIKE the open-ended, permanent taxes that you're attempting so desperately to ram down everyone's throats.

We agree with other posters. There are plenty of reasons to vote some of these unqualified, incapable and potentially unethical people out of office FIRST, as a firm assertion that the days of business as usual at City Hall will no longer be tolerated. Reorganization and a fresh start first, otherwise undoubtedly it will be more of the same.

STOP ATTEMPTING TO MANIPULATE EVERYONE BY CONTINUALLY ASSERTING THAT WE'RE DONE FOR IF THESE TAXES ARE FIRMLY REJECTED AT THE POLLS.

Funding is needed. It will happen soon. But not quite yet. Not this way.