RAYTOWN'S LEADING NEWS SOURCE

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BY GREG WALTERS

Observations

Paul's report on last week's Council meeting and a public hearing on the city budget take up most of the space in this week's Raytown Report. I attended the public hearing on the Police Budget. The crowd numbered about 200 people. The majority of those speaking were either police personnel or a representative of the Department. Still, the meeting was interesting and very enlightening.

Following is a short list of observations I made notes on during the meeting. Paul’s reports goes into greater detail.

Now you see him, now you don’t! Raytown Chief of Police opened the Public Meeting with an inflammatory statement and then he left! His statement said services will be cut and response times will be longer if the budget is cut as suggested by the Board of Aldermen.

Probably true. But it does not change the fact that the city is out of money. 

Mr. Lynch needs to get on board and help the situation. His comments are sometimes referred to as a “drive by” in politics. You make the statement, place the blame and then leave . . . which is what he did.

So much for teamwork.

Police Vehicles: It came to light in last Tuesday’s public hearing. The Raytown Police Department has more unmarked vehicles than it does “marked” police cars in its stable of vehicles. It was also learned that nearly all of those vehicles are going home with officers after they went off shift.

The Board of Aldermen unanimously voted to quit the practice of unmarked vehicles going home. Alderman Bill VanBuskirk said the Board learned that some of the vehicles were being used for private use.

The gasoline and wear on the vehicles adds up over a year. It is a common sense move made by the Board . . . incidentally, the vote was unanimous to park the cars.

Editing Time Cards: At a previous budget hearing Board members were surprised the Police Department had sent 16 members officers to the meeting. Of those 16, only four testified before the Board in the hearing.

Ward 1 Alderman Karen Black asked if all those in attendance were being paid to attend the meeting. A real answer was not forthcoming, so she checked with the Finance Department who told her nearly all of those in attendance put in for overtime.

When the topic came up at the public hearing someone from the audience said overtime was not requested. Alderman Black asked for a clarification from the Finance Director.

She was told all of those in attendance had put in for overtime to attend the meeting.

At last Tuesday night’s meeting some of those police employees had asked for their card back. The Finance Director told Mrs.Black the time cards were being edited.

Ward 4 Alderman Steve Meyers asked if this was a common payroll practice. The Finance Director told him, “no”.

Better hope the wage and hour people do not hear about this one.

Missing Recordings: While watching the video of the hearing my partner, Paul Livius, noted that some of the sound was not recorded when Aldermen were speaking. I explained this sometimes happens if an Alderman forgets to turn on their microphone when speaking. Paul pointed out that in this case, the sound went “silent” during the middle of an Alderman speaking.

 

So we reviewed the recording.

Apparently this anomaly happened when Ward 5 Alderman Bonnaye Mims was speaking. I was in attendance at the meeting and could hear her well enough.

The problem is, if the microphone is turned off the recording apparatus does not pick up what is being said.

Alderman Mims told me it has happened in the past to her.

You can clearly see Mims speaking, her hands are moving and not anywhere near the microphone switch.

We will follow up on this mystery in our next Raytown Report.

"Gotchya" Question Backfires: Speaking of Alderman Mims . . . someone in the audience asked what they no doubt believed was a “gotchya” question to the Board. They asked Board members if they had attended the Police Academy run by local police departments . . . and, if they had not, how could they justify making decisions about the police budget.

Turns out that not only did Mims attend Police Academy activities, she also spent 36 years working with police, prosecutors and the court system (Municipal and Circuit Court) as an advocate for the mentally disturbed. In that role she helped coordinate and provide information to the courts and prosecutors to determine if defendants were competent to stand trial.

RAYTOWN

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ANNOUNCES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

(Raytown, Missouri) The Board of Directors of the Raytown Emergency Assistance Program (REAP) is pleased to announce Michael Watson as the new Executive Director, effective September 11, 2017.  Watson most recently served as the Television Color Analyst for Time Warner Cable’s Spectrum Sports Channel. 

Watson has also served as the District Director of Athletics for Kansas City Missouri Public Schools (KCPS). At KCPS, he oversaw athletic, intramural, and recreational operations for six high schools and two middle schools. Prior to KCPS, he was the Executive Director of AdHoc Group Against Crime, an organization dedicated to serve as a trusted bridge between the community and law enforcement to reduce violence and solve crimes in order to make neighborhoods safe and secure.

“We are very pleased to announce our new Executive Director,” Board President Pat Ertz said. Michael Watson is committed to REAP’s core values and mission and has a capacity to strategically move the organization forward; he will bring leadership and creativity to REAP’s programs.” 

Watson has a rich history of community engagement, fundraising, and executive leadership in the nonprofit sector. During his time at the AdHoc Group Against Crime, he designed, created, and implemented innovative youth development programs and led a taskforce of community alliances and law enforcement officers. Prior to his work at AdHoc Group, he was the Outreach Director for the YMCA of Greater Kansas City and the Athletic Director for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Kansas City. While at the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club, he created partnerships with outside agencies, schools, and colleges to support growth and advance organizational goals.

Watson is interested in using his background in strategic planning to further REAP’s impact on the Raytown community.

 

BY PAUL LIVIUS

The Paul Livius Report

Raytown Board of Aldermen Meeting – September 5, 2017

Police Chief Jim Lynch told the Board the letter sent out by City Administrator Tom Cole said the deep budget cuts were not a punishment but an effort to preserve the city’s financial health.  Chief Lynch promised delays in emergency response times.  He said detectives may be reassigned and some cases may not be investigated.  There will be delays in traffic control as well.

The Board passed an ordinance amending the code of ordinances of Raytown, by repealing a portion of section 2 of ordinance no. 5566-17. The Community Development staff has done a comprehensive review of Chapter 50 (Zoning) of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Raytown, and has made a number of recommended changes to the use table in Section 50-107. It has been known for some time that there were existing errors in the use table, as well as some conflicting information between the use table and the zoning district requirements. As such, staff has put together changes to the Land Use Table to accurately reflect what is required in each zoning district, as well as to better capture the spirit and intent of the zoning ordinance.

The Board passed an ordinance amending the code of ordinances of Raytown, by repealing a portion of section 2 of ordinance no 6448-17.  This is an ordinance amending chapter 50 (zoning)  of the code of ordinances of the city of Raytown by repealing a portion of section 2 of ordinance no. 5571-17 as a part of an ongoing review by city staff of the zoning ordinance (Chapter 50) of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Raytown, staff has revised the definitions section of the ordinance in order for it to more closely match the land use table, zoning districts and overlays, and for the general purposes of greater clarity and understanding.

The Board passed resolution approving amendments to the Personnel Manual relating to the take-home city-owned vehicle policy. The current Employee Personnel Manual was adopted by the Board of Aldermen pursuant to Resolution R-2925-16 on December 20, 2016. Per the City Code, the City Administrator is to recommend policy to the Board of Aldermen for consideration and approval. After the current Personnel Manual’s adoption, the previous Employee Committee representing each department reconvened to further review the adopted manual. During the review, there were some suggested changes. At the June 20, 2017 Board of Aldermen meeting during the review of suggested changes, staff was directed to obtain legal review of the Personnel Manual. The entire manual was reviewed by Matt Gist of Ensz & Jester and individual policies were reviewed by Audrey Odermann of Mize Houser & Company, P.A. at the direction of Mr. Gist.

The Board tabled the resolution approving the purchase of computer equipment and supplies from Dell Marketing off the Midwestern Higher Education Commission until September 19. The Police Department utilizes an IT replacement scheduled that is an annual recurring list of equipment for IT items reaching their useful service life. The new equipment is to ensure infrastructure reliability and mitigate large IT expenses in any single year. The Department frequently purchases workstations, laptops, servers, network security appliances and other IT equipment from Dell Corporation via special government pricing, MHEC Contract Number MHEC-07012015. The Police Department anticipates spending approximately $42,950.00 this budget year with Dell. This is a budgeted expense for IT equipment and all the items scheduled to be purchased were approved by the Sales Tax Oversight Committee and found to meet the intent of the designated tax.

At Chief Lynch’s request, the Board permanently tabled the resolution approving the purchase of workstations and equipment from Knoll off the U.S. Communities cooperative bid.  Last year, a portion of the Police Department underwent substantial interior renovation.  These renovations included many work spaces used by Officers, Detectives, Command Staff, as well as Citizens who have occasion to visit the Police Department.  The Department is now in need of furniture to best utilize remaining space, including the addition of a workstation in the Sergeants office.  Much of the office space equipment is decades old, some are broken, and not designed to maximize available work space.  Many of the old pieces of equipment are mismatched equipment that has been put in use after being discarded by other departments.  The Crime Analyst is working with broken and incomplete furniture.  The included furniture proposal from Spaces, Inc. shows a design plan of both the layout and models of furniture/equipment selected for this project.  The Department is able to utilize the “U.S. Communities” Federal cooperative bid.  This provides deeply discounted equipment pricing.  Knoll (manufacturer) products include an excellent warranty, covering lifetime parts and service on the workstations and 12 years on chairs.  Knoll also maintains a non-obsolescence policy, making future renovations and service possible within this same product line.  The purchase was presented to the Sales Tax Oversight Committee on 07-18-17 and was found to meet the intent of the Public Safety Sales Tax.

The Board passed a resolution approving an amendment to the Personnel Manual.  Currently under definitions in Section 1 – In General, Immediate Family is defined to include: spouse, domestic partner, cohabitant, child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, great grandparent, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepsibling, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or first cousin (that is, a child of an aunt or uncle), and spouses thereof.  When this definition was updated, we expected the cost would increase; however, it is a significant increase that benefits a relatively few number of employees.  The number of employees using bereavement leave increased nearly 75%.  The number of bereavement hours increased 96.5%, and the associated cost increased 142.5%.  Staff recommends revising the definition of immediate family to: Immediate family.  Is defined to include; spouse, domestic partner, cohabitant, child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandparent, great grandparent, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepsibling, brother in-law, sister-in-law, and spouses thereof.  This definition removes nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles, but still reflects societal changes since the original definition.  The City also allows employees to use sick leave to augment bereavement, which few other municipalities do.  We believe this change will still provide a rich benefit for employees and, at the same time, help reduce costs for the City.

The Board heard the first reading of an ordinance establishing the annual property tax levy rate for the operating fund and the park fund for the year 2017.  The City has received its notice of 2017 Assessed Valuation from the County.  Finance has recalculated the levy rates using the formula supplied by the State Auditor's Office.  These calculations indicated the City could levy a rate of $0.3453 per $100.00 assessed valuation for general city operations and a rate of $0.1724 per $100.00 assessed valuation for park operations.  The 2017 proposed combined rate represents a slight decrease of .0116 compared to 2016.  According to Zillow the median home value for Raytown is approximately $104,900.00.  The total taxes collected for the City and Parks on the median home would be $543.07 compared to $555.24 last year on an equally valued home.  Based on the assessed valuation and the proposed mill levy, staff is projecting that approximately $1,119,213.00 will be generated for the General Fund and approximately $558,796.00 will be generated for the Park Fund.  In accordance with State law, the City must hold a public hearing on the establishment of the levy rate prior to passage of the ordinance approving the 2017 rates.  Notice for this public hearing must be published in the newspaper prior to the meeting date.

Town Hall Meeting 09-05-17

NOTE:  There were many people who spoke at this meeting.  Some of them either did not give their name, or spoke so softly that we could not hear their names.  In an effort to be fair, we are only quoting people if we can identify the speaker.

Tom Cole started the meeting with information about the proposed budget cuts.

Projected Revenues                       $10,860,490

Projected Expenses                        $13,996,096

Projected Shortfall                          $  3,135,600

Department	Original Budget		Reductions		New Budget
Police	7,062,886		2,772,083		4,290,803
Public Works	2,169,540		22,590		2,146,95
CommunityDev	1,014,302		172,282		842,020
EMA	1,259,530		11,422		1,248,108
Administration	800,629		21,970		778,658
Finance	587,050		75,380		511,670
Court	376,789		4,922		371,867
City Wide	347,367		51,500		295,867
Governing Body	262,763		3,451		259,312
Law	115,240		0		115,240
	13,996,096		3,135,600		10,860,490

Alderman Jason Greene asked how many years the city has pulled from the reserve fund to balance the budget.  Mr. Cole said the past four years.  Alderman Greene then asked how much the savings will be when the city refinances the TIF bonds.  Finance Director Briana Burrichter said it will be approximately $260,000 per year.

Mr. Cole read public question #1: Have any of the Board members graduated from the Police Academy?  How can they cut the budget if they don’t know how the police department works?  Alderman Steve Meyers said he had not attended the police academy.  How many members of the police department have read last year’s budget?  This is not about the police department, he said.  It is about the budget for the whole city.  Alderman Bill Van Buskirk said he was an auxiliary police officer in Raytown for many years and he know what it takes to be an officer.  Still, he said, the money just isn’t there and these cuts will take some hard decisions in all departments.  Alderman Karen Black said she has not been through the police academy.  She said this about the budget.  She said the residents would not run their checkbook in the red and incur all the bad check fees and she said the city can’t do that either.  Rick Inglima, a member of the Lee’s Summit FOP, said it is the City’s fault, not Police Officers’, that the city hasn’t raised taxes in 40 years.  This action will make the residents less safe and directly impact public safety.  Property values will go down and the crime rate will go up.  Currently, Raytown has an extremely high crime rate.  Alderman Eric Teeman asked those in the audience if they think the crime rate was increasing in Raytown, and many seemed to agree.  Alderman Teeman said last year, the Police Department had a record high budget.  The year before that, the Police Department had a record high budget.  The amount of the money the Police Department has to spend does not equate to safer streets.  If that was the case, the crime rate in the last two years would have decreased.  Alderman Bonnaye Mims said she served in the State Legislature for four years and served on Budget Committees and Economic Development Committees.  She listened to people who have lived in Raytown 40 – 50 years.  She said 40 – 50 years ago, she was not allowed to live in Raytown.  The fear the police are trying to instill in the community is very dangerous.  Greg Walters said everyone was only talking about the reductions in the police budget.  He thinks they should also talk about the reductions in other departments, such as public works.

Mr. Cole read public question # 2: why is the largest cut to the police department?  Why weren’t the reductions made on an equal basis?  Alderman Steve Meyers said many months ago, all department heads were notified of budget reductions.  Each of them should have been preparing their staff while they looked for ways to reduce spending.  He has every confidence in Chief Lynch and is positive the Chief will be able to do what the Board has directed.  The Chief has 16 years’ experience doing this and the fear factor that has been thrown out into the community is not doing anyone any good.

Mr. Cole read public question # 3: What other options have been considered and why are the reductions only in the police department?  What will this mean for the crime rate?  Mr. Cole said there were several options considered, from dipping into the reserve funds again, to making partial reductions and dealing with the other reductions next year, or making the necessary reductions this year.  The Board decided it was in the city’s best interest to have all the reductions this year.  It is unknown what this will do to the crime rate.

Mr. Cole read public question # 4: With the proposed cuts to the police department’s budget, how do you think there will not be cuts to personnel?  No police department personnel were available to answer that question.  Sharon Probe said Friday, Saturday, and Sundays there are constant sirens on Raytown Road.  It sounds like the inter-city.  Beth Bennett said everyone talks about the number of police officers that will be cut, but no one is talking about the support staff.  The officers on the street can’t do their jobs without the support staff.  Alderman Mims said she was told the police department applied for COMBAT funds and was denied.  She wanted to know why the police department wasn’t getting the grant money like they did a few years ago.  Alderman Bill Van Buskirk asked Rick Inglima if he was a Raytown resident.  Mr. Inglima stated he is not a resident.  Alderman Van Buskirk asked if it was correct that Mr. Inglima doesn’t live here, doesn’t work here, and doesn’t pay taxes here.  This was confirmed.  Mr. Van Buskirk went on to say the crime statistics Mr. Inglima was quoting is misleading.  There is a lot of shop lifting, but not a lot of felony crimes like what’s in Kansas City.  Look at overtime.  The city pays a lot of overtime for the police department, more than any other department in the city.  Yes, he said, all departments have overtime, but not like the police.  There is one officer whose base pay is $65,000 per year.  With overtime and differential pay, he earned over $100,000 last year.  If you add all his benefits, his total compensation was over $130,000.  Alderman Van Buskirk said he can go through the list and find a lot more officers who earn as much supplemental overtime.  This means the police department is not effectively using the overtime hours efficiently.  Terry Lancaster said she hears a lot of sirens in Raytown, as well as gun shots in town.  Each time, the police department responds.  The letter sent out by Tom Cole stated the budget cuts will allow for a balanced budget in several years.  The solution is not to make all the reductions in one year.  All the departments and the Board are supposed to be on the same team and work together.  Kathy Schutte said she is tired of the comparison to other cities.  Both Grandview and Gladstone are surrounded by Kansas City, as is Raytown.  The reciprocal agreement with Kansas City is Raytown helping KCMO more than KC helping Raytown.  It’s only going to get worse.  Andrew Schutte said he is ashamed of Raytown.  There is one police officer for every 560 residents.  Fifty-six officers from the police chief on down wouldn’t have broken up a Raytown/Raytown South football fight 20 years ago.  Matthew Plumber said he is a first time homeowner and chose to buy a house in Raytown.  What is the percentage of other towns in similar size have their police budget at 50% - 60%.  Mr. Cole said he thinks the numbers are similar.  Jill Scott said she lives in Raytown because the police department makes her feel safe.  She is will to pay higher taxes in order to keep the department the way it is.  Laura Shireman said she was disappointed in the meeting.  She thought the residents would be able to talk and ask questions, but instead, they heard all about what the aldermen think. 

City Clerk Teresa Henry read statement from the residents:

Margaret Dale wrote that three weeks ago, the Raytown Fire Department saved her life.  She had a heart attack and called 911.  EMS transported her to the hospital.  What would her children think if Raytown cut back on the Fire Department and EMS?  Paul Hackenburger wrote I am happy to call Raytown home.  His neighbors are more like family.  He is alarmed when he hears the Raytown Police Department plans personnel cuts because of the budget.  Pam Clark – We had 100% fire loss.  We chose to rebuild instead of retiring or relocating.  These budgets cuts will leave us not properly protected.  Bobbie Stone said it took the Raytown Police Department 4 ½ years to apprehend the people who shot and killed her husband. 

Mayor McDonough thanked everyone for coming to the meeting and for all the questions.  

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Jackson County

Combat Commission 

Combat will be hosting a Family Day at Coleman Park located at 59^th and Lane Street on September 23. This free event includes music, free food, ice cream, a petting zoo, face painting, games and basketball in a fun family environment.

The event starts at 11:00 a.m. and will continue until 1:00 p.m.

This a FREE FAMILY friendly day event.