RAYTOWN'S LEADING NEWS SOURCE
To leave a comment use this link POST A COMMENT
Fountains and
Waterwalls were turned Green recognition of the
Irish Festival held at Crown Center
this weekend.
PUBIC NOTICE: The regular BOA meeting on Tuesday, September 5 will start at 6:00 pm instead of the usual 7:00. Immediately after the BOA meeting, at approximately 7:00 pm, there will be an open mike town hall meeting about the budget. All Raytown residents are invited.
 |
| BY GREG WALTERS |
Board Reduces Police
Budget by $2,784,565
On August 29th the Raytown Board of Aldermen voted
to cut the Police Budget by $2,784,565. According to officials at Raytown City
Hall, the cuts were needed to balance the city’s budget that has been growing
out of balance at an alarming rate in recent years.
As Ward 2 Alderman Jason Greene told the Raytown Report, “We cannot spend money we do not have, it is that
simple.”
Many critics of past administrations at Raytown City Hall
blame the shortfall of revenue on the 350 Live TIF project commonly recognized
as the Walmart development on 350 Highway as the main cause of the shortfall.
It is estimated the 350 Live TIF Project diverts over 25% of
the city’s sales tax revenue from city coffers to pay the debt of the Tax
Increment Financing tax scheme. The debt load from the 350 Live TIF has
nearly 16 years left before it is paid out.
The following letter was sent by City Administrator Tom Cole
to Jim Lynch, Raytown’s Chief of Police, explaining the Board’s action.
Letter from City
Administrator Tom Cole
to Raytown Chief of Police, Jim Lynch
to Raytown Chief of Police, Jim Lynch
August 29, 2017
Chief Jim Lynch
Raytown Police Department
10000 East 59th Street
Raytown, MO 64133
Chief:
This evening the Raytown Board of Aldermen instructed me to
reduce the General Fund budget of the Police Department by $2,784,565 to a General
Fund Total of $4,278,321.
After reviewing a number options, the Board agreed upon
$2,784,565 as this will allow for a balanced budget for the first time in
several years.
The Board also asked that the PD portion of the Public Safety
Sales Tax be capped at $1,200,000 to conform with the projected revenues in the
fund. The amount requested in the budget from Capital Sales Tax of $224,257
shall remain the same.
As such, the total allotment for the Police Department Budget
is:
$ 4,278,886.00 . . . . . . Police Department General Fund
$ 1,200,000.00 . . . . . . Police Public Sales Tax
$ 224,257.00 . . . .
. .Capital Sales Tax
$ 5,703,143.00 . . .
. Total 2018 Budget
This is not a matter of favoritism or punishment, but rather
a step to preserve the financial well-being of the entire City.
Our General Fund Balance has been declining for years as we
have become accustomed to accessing the Fund Balance to supplement daily
operations rather than budgeting appropriately for adequate and sustainable
needs.
This is, however, a matter of simple economics. The Board has
decided we can no longer spend beyond our revenues as that merely compounds
future challenges.
Additionally, this is not a matter of redistributing Police
funding to other departments. Revenue is simply down and expenses have
increased which has caused a significant gap in the City’s ability to fund all
departments as desired.
As the projected revenues for FY2018 are $10,860,490 and the
request of funds by all departments is $13,996,096, a deficit of $3,135,606
remained. While all departments are attempting to operate as efficiently as
possible, the ability to balance the budget truly rests with a budget reduction
in the Police Department for the sole reason of the Department hosting the
largest portion of the total budget.
It should also be noted that all departments are reducing
costs and the Cost of Living Increase for all employees has been reduced by 50%.
The Board of Aldermen
strongly desires for the required reductions to NOT impact those officers who
serve in a patrol/on-the-street capacity. As such, the reductions will need to
occur elsewhere.
I sincerely hope that 2018 provides additional revenue generation and we will monitor revenues monthly. Perhaps, if revenues fluctuate toward the positive, additional allotments can be made throughout the year.
I sincerely hope that 2018 provides additional revenue generation and we will monitor revenues monthly. Perhaps, if revenues fluctuate toward the positive, additional allotments can be made throughout the year.
We can further discuss this item in the morning including a
timeline of completion.
Thomas A. Cole, CEcD, MBA
City Administrator
City of Raytown, Missouri
Cooperation Needed
to Weather the Storm
to Weather the Storm
The Raytown Board of Aldermen has taken an unprecedented step
to stop the flow of red ink at Raytown City Hall. For this they deserve credit
and even praise for doing the work many past administrations failed to do.
They put aside the smoke and mirrors of budgeting and faced the reality that Raytown is hurting financially.
The criticism they have received from certain sectors is not
deserved. They have met a problem head on and are addressing it.
As with any decision, there will be detractors who
second-guess the decision to accept the city needs to make some changes to
assure a sound financial future for Raytown.
Reality Check . . . Money is Tight at City Hall
The problem before our leaders at Raytown City Hall can best
be compared to the listing of a ship at sea. The boat will stay afloat, but if
the problem is not corrected the ship will be swamped and all will be lost.
The rest of the city’s departments have literally been
stripped to the bone.
How bleak is the financial picture at Raytown City Hall?
The reason given the public was that city wanted to combine
two years of projects into one. So they skipped a year of street maintenance.
The reality is there was a major street failure caused
by sinkhole that burned through all of the funds set aside for street
maintenance. There was not any money left to pay for regular
maintenance of streets.
The maintenance performed on streets is of questionable
value. The city has opted to go with a slurry seal of oil, tar and gravel.
Press releases proclaim the new surface treatment will last from eight to nine
years.
The preferred way to maintain an asphalt street is to remove
the old asphalt and replace it with a new asphalt surface. The end result is a
superior street surface with a life expectancy of 30+ years.
Raytown no longer uses asphalt to repair its streets because it
cannot afford the asphalt.
Jim Lynch’s Roll is Critical
Chief of Police Jim
Lynch is faced with some difficult decisions. The numbers on the balance sheet
do not lie. He is well aware of the financial difficulty the city is facing.
It is clear the tactics of previous Mayors and Boards use of “smoke
and mirrors” to make a budget appear balanced will no longer work.
Lynch has two paths to choose from. One has a future for
Raytown. One does not.
He can try to blunt the efforts of the Board to pull back on
expenses. Tactics, such as, deferring maintenance on vehicles may appear to
save tax dollars, but only serve to create a larger deficit.
The directive from City Administrator Tom Cole was very clear
when he wrote, “The Board of Aldermen
strongly desires for the required reductions to NOT impact those officers who
serve in a patrol/on-the-street capacity. As such, the reductions will need to
occur elsewhere.”
So that is not an option. Leaving Raytown’s Chief of Police
with one viable option.
That option is cooperation. The effort to right the good ship
Raytown can be successful. But it will not be without sacrifice. It is time for
all or our elected officials to set aside their differences and work together
for a solution to bring fiscal sanity to Raytown City Hall.
The Board of Aldermen has taken the first step to find a
solution. The ball is in Police Chief’s Jim Lynch’s court. It is up to him make
the next move.
To leave a comment use this link POST A COMMENT
Jackson County
Paul’s Rant! BY PAUL LIVIUS
I’ve been reading the near record entries to our blog lately and have to say I am impressed. It can honestly be said that apathy is not a word that describes Raytown. Many readers have thrown their two cents worth onto the page. Some are thoughtful, many are concerned, and, as we have learned to expect on the internet . . . some are less than friendly.
I’ve been reading the near record entries to our blog lately and have to say I am impressed. It can honestly be said that apathy is not a word that describes Raytown. Many readers have thrown their two cents worth onto the page. Some are thoughtful, many are concerned, and, as we have learned to expect on the internet . . . some are less than friendly.
By far, my favorite is those who write passive aggressive posts.
They try to hide their hostility behind concern for “decency, morality
and compassion”. But generally are incapable of keeping the masks on their
faces for very long. Eventually the façade comes crashing down.
You can spot them a mile off.
They generally start with how they are “shocked, yes! . . . shocked!”
at the negativity off some of the posts. Why it bothers them soooooo much they
vow never to visit the site again. Then comes the aggressive part . . . it is
usually what has been called a “drive-by” of accusations followed with talking
point of whatever side they are on in an argument.
Somewhere in the rant they lose sight of the fact that they were doing
this for everyone’s good.
Oh well, wasn’t it once written the road to hell is lined with good
intentions?
We at the Raytown Report see all of the noise in a different light.
People are interested. They are concerned. Some spend an inordinate amount of
time placing blame. And sometimes the blame is justified.
But it is clear that nearly all want to see a solution to the city’s
budget concerns.
Our advice, speak up, loud and clear. You have every right to become
part of the discussion.
To leave a comment use this link POST A COMMENT
Jackson County
Combat Commission
Combat will be hosting
a Family Day at Coleman Park located at 59th 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.
Comments
I received the following post this morning:
Thank you, Sue Frank, for having the conviction to stand by how you feel by actually saying your name. I too will use my name when I voice my stance on a particular issue. Just an observation This time on RAYTOWN'S LEADING NEWS SERVICE
I post it here, to illustrate a point. One sentence has been removed from the post in which the author makes a blanket statement condemning anyone who posts on this page.
We routinely delete posts that make blanket untrue statements. Sometimes we edit the post (as shown above).
In the past we have experimented with requiring signatures on posts. Each time we have done so, the number of posts is reduced dramatically.
Paul and I believe the flow of information and discussion in a community is important. We will continue to allow unsigned comments on the Raytown Report. We will also continue to delete those comments that we feel go to far in their zeal to press a point in a discussion.
As with all things, this copromise is the best we have been able to come up with.
As they used to say in radio . . . keep those cards and letters coming!
You realize other cuts have been made before, watch the last BOA meeting, so your math and logic is off bud.
When the Police have never made any cuts before and they are top heavy that's what happens.
There's lots of caring and reasonable people in this city, but this blog has the reputation of full of angry anti-raytown govt people. I typically avoid it once the vitriol starts. Good post Greg, I hope you find an answer to bringing civility into this place. Sue's efforts are a great start!
"We routinely delete posts that make blanket untrue statements."
Or if you disagree with the post it gets zapped too.
Seems obtuse to say that. I'm not sure what would give you that impression other than being a troll for PD. It seems that the BOA is in a position of fixing problems that have existed long ago. They have demonstrated the past two years they are willing to take on these challenges. I support them!
I like to get along with those across the fence but this has really become a nuisance.
Is it against the law do do this? Who would I report it to? Not a 9-11 for sure, maybe a code violation?
If anyone knows, please post. TIA
I guess you need to go back to your high school and return your diploma bud. Because when you divide 2,789,565 by 3,135,606 you get....wait for it 88.8%. Do you really think I'd post figures without doing the math?
Andy Whiteman
I used to have a neighbor that burned his leaves in the fall. I mentioned to him that this is illegal. He told me what I could do to myself. The next week, when he was burning his leaves, I call 9-1-1 and reported a fire. The fire department and the police department both came. Needless to say, he hasn't burned any more leaves.
People want $15/hr to flip burgers. Fast food should not be a career goal unless you are the manager of the store.
If you are over 25 and still working at fast food, something's off.
Go to vo-tech school, college, or join the military to improve your skills. It takes some effort to succeed in this country.
The real tragedy is that they have stopped wanting to improve themselves and are willing to settle for menial jobs.
You are not allowed to burn trash or yard waste like grass and leaves in any container.
You are allowed to have a chimaera or outside fire pit with a spark arrester lid.
You are allowed to burn sticks wood and other items of that nature.
You should take into consideration of your neighbors and wind and dry conditions.
Have a hose and do not leave unattended.
If you call us and we show up and find that the occupants have a illegal fire we will ask that it be put out.
If it is legal and in approved container we will NOT put it out.
Please employ common sense some neighbors like to sit outside and enjoy the evening with a small contained fire. If it bothers you try speaking with the neighbors.
Thank You
Captain Doc Summers
Raytown Fire Rescue
I'm trying to understand the animosity toward the police brass. Is it just that you feel they make too much money?
How is this any different then a person who works 25-30 years for a company and is now a Senior Vice President or CEO? Isn't that the whole point--work for years, get promoted, and then put your experience to work running the organization?
Thanks for your input.
Over 2 million?
Put all the brass hats together and no way their salaries and benefits come up close to that
Seems by then they could come up with some measure to run slimmer budget and put some updates to the property levy in place and maybe get some other ideas out there to help us grow not kill our ability to grow by taking as huge a chunk out of the police and lose cops
Sorry but that's rediculous
I understand the need to allow people to speak up. However, I expect the public comments to be heavily slanted one way or the other.
If 30 people speak and 25 support leaving the police budget as is, will the Aldermen take that as a referendum to do just that?
IMHO... The Aldermen have been elected to do what's best for the safety, health and well being of our city. This includes funding the PD at a level necessary to provide adequate services and also funding the other important functions of the city. We also deserve functioning streets, sewers, and parks, et cetera.
All this must be done while working with fiscal responsibility which is in the taxpayers best interest.
So BOA... please do not be overly influenced by the emotional appeals you hear tonight. Please work for a compromise which serves us all the best in the long run.
You miss the point, must had a GED. Cuts have been made to everyone BUT the PD for years...guess what no where else to cut but PD. The reserve budget numbers are down to nothing, so the real number is zero.
With that, PD top brass give themselves a promotion rank, i.e. Captain to Major, an undeserved pay raise. i.e. Lynch received a pay raise when other city employees did not, Sports cars and large SUV including gas, insurance, maint. to take home for personal use.
Wait and see what happens when PD, (the city's spoiled child) doesn't get their way and takes their ball and leave the game.
One of, if not thee hightest paid chief in Missouri. Strong arm dirty politics to keep get and keep his job, including inciting fear into the citizens if the police don't get their way and all the money that they can. Not accountable for his time, including driving a city provided sports car with city paid for insurnace, gas, tires, maintenance, etc. Not accountable for his travel expenses.
Really! and please tell us just how has the citizens of Raytown benefited from Lynch.
NO MORE TAX INCREASES UNTIL PD SHOW FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY.
Do you understand the 4th class status for a city and corresponding requirements for running for city marshal?
I have to believe NOT or you would know that first of all you must be a police officer and live in Raytown for at least a year. There are a few other pieces, but you should now understand it is not as easy as your believe.
Considering our current force only has about 5 officers living in the city that really drops the population. There are a couple of officers from other agencies, but all are happy with their current status and/or don't want retaliation for one of Lynch's friends who is their boss.
Yes, there are those of us in the city who have been out looking and understand this is my we need the Board of Alderman to bring forward a vote of the people to make the job appointed.
Andy Whiteman
I was there for the whole town hall. To me the crowd was OVERWHELMINGLY for the cops.
It would have been nice for the aldermen to be quiet and not run their mouths and instead listen to the citizens but that didn't happen. I am glad the one lady pointed that out to them as I was thinking the same thing.
It wasn't "cops vs aldermen", it was "citizens vs aldermen".
I was there and most of the crowd were citizens. I saw some around the perimeter but they stayed quiet. Of course they were there! It was about their jobs. If you were there you could tell the alderman were not satisfied that those people were there. They are still Americans and still citizen so I don't see why it was so horrible. I guess if it doesn't fit ones political agenda now days it makes it automatically something wrong or some type of intimidation. Really?
If it would been like the old days everyone on the board would've been in jail by now duh 🙄
And no- the aldermen did not receive a raise in pay. Neither did the mayor. Both the alderman and mayor are entitled to a cost of living raise. All of them said they did not want a raise and the BOA voted to keep the rate at the previous level.
The mayor doesnt have a vote youre right but he does have a voice and he played scare tactics and threw the council under the bus, knowing what they knew. Why even have a mayor then? This guy posts on facebook complaining about his board and offers no solutions. I watched the meeting, heard Mr. Cole's explaination, we are in a dangerous spot folks, literally there is no money to give and yet the mayor fills people full of lies instead of being an executive. I agree with the person who said voter regret, I voted for him too because the other guy was part of the old system that helped created this mess. My fear was the mayor as a candidate was too close to his pals at the police, looks like I was right. We have a couple on the board that would be a better mayor than this guy, I hope that Green or Meyers runs, no more excuses Mr. "I dont have a vote" Mayor!
After listening to the figures and information from the city it just boils down to the fact that the budget has to be cut. You can not continue to take from the reserve fund as was explained to all that were listening.
Lynch invited the big guns to the meeting to try and make him look good. They were very arrogant individuals sitting there telling us how to run our city not theirs.
I am glad that we have the board that we do, they seem to be all on the same page other than the mayor.
After this budget is approved the city does need to propose a increase in the city property tax , this should help in more ways than one.
Comment was made of salary that the aldermen make, it is not worth what they have to go thru.
The chief should give his last pay raise back to the city.
It will be a rough couple of years if all can work together to accomplish something that is good for the city.
Mayor McDonough made a very bad decision to send out his letter to the citizens concerning the meeting. I know he was being pressured to make a statement supporting the Police Department, but this made him look bad in the eyes of many Raytown residents who voted for him. He is very personable and does a great job out in the public attending so many functions. I wish he would not have tarnished himself and stayed neutral instead of taking the side of the Police. I have heard from a number of people that they lost respect for him because of this.
I know that the decision of the BOA is a very difficult one. I understand the financial implications of not balancing the budget. As a individual, I do not live beyond my income and I expect my City not to either.
Cutting the Police budget will not affect City services as we have few police officers on the street. The majority seem to be all in the lower area of the City Hall. Things need to be changed if we want the police protection we are entitled to as citizens of Raytown.
We have a great City and we need to make sure it remains solvent.
You make some very good points. Well said!
I noticed all the Raytown folks, including Gregg, gave their Raytown addresses. Some PD employees mentioned being citizens (no mention of where they live) and then rambled on how their jobs were critical to the cop on the street. They all got standing ovations. Very PD friendly audience. Extreme emotion for some speakers.
IMHO... Only Raytown residents should be allowed to speak at "town hall meetings".
BOA. Stay the course. Please.
Once again, only Raytown residents should be at the podium at a "town hall meeting".
The mayor should think long and hard on that question.
The Aldermen kept asking him back up to answer questions and they engaged him
He was there representing the police officers
I also saw several union representatives there from the fire union and one from the auto workers union
It should be "you SAW in Facebook" not "seen."
Why do people keep saying "I seen" when they should say "I saw"? Anybody?? I hear that all the time on the news when people are being interviewed. Do they not teach proper grammar these days in our schools?
"I seen the tornado" "I seen the car"-- it's like nails on a chalkboard to those of us who know how to speak properly.
So people are probably not going to tax themselves goofy for a city that gives cars to its personnel to take home, and helps underwrite junkets for people like Mayor McDonough and Police chief Jim Lynch. If you are looking for them you can find them down in Ozarks today. No doubt on a taxpayer paid trip to learn new ways to govern more efficiently!
To the men and women on the BOA. Keep up the good work. Now is not the time to sit back and wait for someone else to clean up this mess. You were elected for a reason. Do your job.
It is the only way to quickly save the city.
We all know there was never a reserve fund it was the bond money that was paying the bonds back is the that crazy or crocked.
You are correct about the meeting, but the citizens are like sheep listing to the Sue, Ted, Mike and Jim.
Those four have put are city in this mess.
Mike telling us last year the city had no financial problems. He is either a lair or doesn't want to be informed with the truth.
Sue lead this mess with her wanting the 350 live project as well as Jim as Chief so her husband could get one heck of a promotion and than look at how spending for toys took off as well as all those top heavy do nothing officers.
Just say "NO" to corruption and any new taxes!
I am sick and tired of scare tactics used by police to gain access to millions of tax payer dollars and still it is never enough.
I think the two top fat heavy brass use the bravery and hard work of the blue on the street and support staff to kick back in their $22,000 office furniture chairs, drive tax payer provided sport cars and large SUVs and figure out to line their own pockets with even more tax payer dollars.
They have made a mockery of the Police Department and of the Citizens of Raytown for their own selfish greed.
Never elect an EX Police Officer for Mayor...Lesson learned.
Remember they were told by the raytown times and some others "don't micromanage and trust your staff ????
I do!
No one likes taxes but do we want a city that is in default?
Gives us a break. The chief is extremely qualified and so is the mayor. The BOA is the real issue.
If the fact that there is not enough money in the reserve fund to run a deficit every year does not grab you then you would fail any accounting course. Tuesday evening was the first time that I have seen all the aldermen even Aziere come to the realization that the city is very near default.
A major ice storm like in Jan of 2002 would really cause damage to the budget. Severe snow storms this winter would also do damage to the budget.
Enjoy your trip to the Ozarks
Tell another joke. Ever watch a council man meeting? Lynch can't speak without someone else. The mayor doesn't have an ideas or questions. Those two are the problem. Both need to resign.
Yea that sounds similar to the Mayor's ridiculous "alternative solution" from T Hall Mtg... Until City gets it's financial mess and the promised Capital Improvement projects (83rd st bridge, 59th st sidewalks etc etc etc), no way citizen's would support a levy increase!! Nor should they. But the BOA getting the budget balanced is a great start and message to the Citizen's that things are getting worked on efficiently.
But. I remember all the empty promises made and instead see wasteful spending by people in charge that are more interested in their own benefits than that of the citizens of Raytown.
City hall/PD has shown no fiscal responsibility and taxing the way out of the problems that they have created will never be the answer.
police budgetthat they would have to wait to discuss during the Town Hall meeting and not utilize the Open Comments portions of the forvthe ouncil mtg which makes sense. Then he promptly calls Chief Lynch up to the podium to let him comment on?? The Police Budget. My God the Mayor isn't even attempting to hide his blatant bias!!!
That was no town hall meeting. In a real town hall meeting you don't have cherry picked question written out before the meeting starts. Much like a town hall meeting with politicians running for office all softballs to answer.
The city is broke has been for 20 years every board member, mayor and politicians is responsible for passing the buck onto the next person until it comes to this and there is nobody to pass it on to.
Crime is up house values are down(in Raytown) most business is avoiding like the plague we are chock full of rentals rundown apartment complexes and churches and don't forget title loans smoke shops and convenience stores and you still have not offered up a way to fix a burnt out ,overworked and underpaid and under funded EMS service that turns into a taxi for people that don't pay the bills.
The city council spent that meeting kicking the Patrol guys in the midsection and with no real thought to retention and maintaining a responsible police force.
I have talked to as many cops as I can over the last couple three days and if we only lose ten I will be surprised as everyone I have talked to are looking at Lees Summit ,KCPD and Jackson County and even some out of state spots as everybody is begging for street cops.
Most of you so concerned citizens don't care about them or their stability as long as we get rid of the "chair warmers"
Most of you don't understand what a can of worms you have opened up
And you wonder why we are in the boat we are in.
Worth saying twice. Excellent post! Thank You