Lessons Learned BY GREG WALTERS
Judging
by the number of newspapers that are not in Raytown yards each morning it is a fair guess most people in Raytown do not subscribe to the Kansas
City Star.
Of course, this is the digital age, so it is possible many are
reading it on their computers or even their cell phones. Though I am willing to
bet most use those devices more for social media, not for catching up on hard news.
Last
Friday the Kansas City Star’s lead editorial was about Raytown. Unfortunately,
it was not an editorial most would want to read because it painted a fairly
dismal picture of Raytown’s current budget crisis at City Hall.
However,
the editorial does have value because it validates what many critics of the
economic disaster known as the 350 Live TIF Project has become.
Think
about it, the current City Budget Crisis will lead to elimination of positions
within the police department. The lawsuit between the Fire District and the
City of Raytown, even the deterioration of our streets through lack of proper
maintenance, can trace their beginnings back to the failing TIF District
that brought us Walmart and a never ending drain on our city’s tax base.
The
following link will take you the editorial published last Friday in the Kansas City Star
USE
THIS LINK: KANSAS CITY STAR EDITORIAL
To get a crime-ridden
Walmart,
Raytown gave away the store
By The Kansas City Star editorial board September 28, 2017 6:00 PM
Here’s what not to do if you now hold
local office, or aspire ever to serve the public in that capacity: Do not — Do.
Not. — hand out the enticements known as tax increment financing, or TIF's, as if they
were Halloween candy, to anyone who shows up at the
door in plastic fangs or a sparkly tiara.
Otherwise, you could wind up like Raytown, giving away the store to get the superstore.
For a decade, the town
has effectively subsidized Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, giving it a
pass on about $300,000 in taxes every year. That’s the deal then-officials made
to get the store built. READ MORE
 |
| BY GREG WALTERS |
The final word . . .
Special
Recognition is due former Mayors Sue Frank and David Bower. Without their
leadership and the lack of a backbone by those who were sitting on the City
Council at the time, this nightmare would not be happening to Raytown.
It
is interesting to read the thoughts by some on the blog portion of the Raytown
Report and on social media as well, who are so very quick to blame the current
budget crisis at City Hall on the current Board of Aldermen.
Nothing
could be further from the truth.
The
Board of Aldermen are taking the only path open to them keep the city solvent.
As painful as this correction is, it may be an opportunity to right the good
ship Raytown. Out of reform comes re-birth. Many of our leaders on the Board
and other leaders within the community are beginning to see this as an
opportunity to rebuild Raytown into a better city.
It
is also important to remember that only one member who cast a vote in approving
the Walmart TIF, Ward 2 Alderman Jim Aziere, still holds a seat on the Board of
Aldermen.
The
mistakes that brought this economic nightmare to our town cannot be undone.
But
going forward, lessons have been learned at a high price. More than ever, our
elected leaders on the Board of Aldermen, who ultimately will have the final
say on how to move through this crisis, need the support and understanding of all
of us.
Paul’s
Rant! BY PAUL LIVIUS
The
Clock is Ticking
Raytown’s city officials have a little more
than two weeks to resolve the city budget crisis. Here are my thoughts on what
has transpired.
POLICE CHIEF JIM LYNCH IS IN AN UNENVIABLE
POSITION.
Jim
Lynch is in an unenviable position. The Board of Aldermen specifically detailed
that Lynch was not to eliminate any patrol positions to balance the police
budget.
As the
Department Head it is Lynch’s responsibility to make recommendations to the
Board for consideration. The Board does not have to follow the recommendations.
However, it would make more sense, given the reality that the money is not
there to fund everything the police have asked for, that Lynch cool the
rhetoric, roll up his sleeves and get to work with the Board of Aldermen to
find a solution.
THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN ARE IN THE SAME BOAT WITH
LYNCH
Anyone
watching the proceedings at Board meetings can clearly see the frustration of
the ten members of the Board. They have had to make some very difficult
decisions because of the budget crisis. Their hands are tied on this one. State
law is very clear in this matter. It is illegal for them pass a budget that is
not balanced. They are required to hold money in reserve by state statute. They
cannot use those funds to bail the city out of the budget crunch.
It is
important to note that the Board of Aldermen stand united. They understand the
gravity of the situation. They also understand the limitations placed on the
city with its Fourth Class City status.
SOLUTIONS?
The
city’s economic woes can find its roots in legislation passed during the Sue
Frank / David Bower terms of Mayor that brought the 350 Live TIF (commonly known
as the Walmart TIF). That ill-advised move costs the city $300,000 annually in tax
a pass given to Walmart worth $300,000 annually.
Ward 5
Alderman Eric Teeman has suggested that Walmart be designated a “public
nuisance” because of all the crime the police have to answer at that location.
It is
a creative thought. But even if the city were to impose some sort of fee on the
retail giant, it would not happen immediately. It is very doubtful the move
would generate the 2.5 million dollar deficit facing the city.
STEPPING UP . . .
The
Board of Aldermen has shown unique solidarity in facing the crisis. They have
endured criticism for trying to fix a problem they inherited from previous
administrations.
But
there have been some disappointments.
Mayor
Michael McDonough has done little to help the situation. Before being elected
Mayor, McDonough was a career police officer on the Raytown Police Department.
It would be helpful if he would try to bridge the gap between Jim Lynch and the
Board. So far, he has thrown in very strongly with the police department. Ward
5 Alderman Bonnaye Mims expressed her disappointment recently when she said, "Mr. Mayor, either put your badge on and policeman or lay your badge down an be a Mayor."
So far, his addition to the debate has been a
letter he released condemning the Board of Aldermen’s recommendations to
balance this year’s budget. The letter was sent just prior to a public hearing
on the budget crisis. Board members expressed surprise the Mayor would
blind-side them in such a public way.
Jim
Lynch has a responsibility as well. He is the city’s second highest paid
employee (second to the City Administrator) in Raytown.
He
makes the big bucks to make difficult decisions. So far he is done little more
than lead an effort to undermine the Board’s authority to govern the city. He
is a seasoned politician. He should know better. Going rogue during a budget
crisis is not a responsible path to take.
All the hyperbole, accusations and political maneuvering meant
to divide the Board can only be described as a
failure. The actions of the Mayor and Chief of Police seem to have galvanized
the Board with a rare show of unity in facing the crisis.
Freedom of Information Act filed
Former
Raytown Post owner/editor Lee Gray used to begin a column he called “The Games
People Play”. Lee is gone, but it has come to light that the games he spoke of
have continued.
We
have learned through sources at City Hall that a member of the Police
Department’s Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) has filed a Freedom of
Information request for copies of all email correspondence between City Hall
and members of the Board of Aldermen regarding the city’s budget.
Shades
of Hillary Clinton! Do you think the Russians are involved? Doubtful . . . but
it does illustrate the level of frustration and distrust being acted out by at
least one volunteer connected to the Raytown Police Department.
What
is hoped to be accomplished with the emails in unknown.
As Lee
would write “. . . oh the games people play!”
Fire
District, City reach
agreement on lawsuit
The
Raytown Fire Protection District and the City of Raytown have reached a
tentative agreement to end two lawsuits between the governing bodies.
The
lawsuits were over payments made by the Fire District to the City for money owed
the 350 Live TIF District. Fire officials had claimed they had already
fulfilled the terms of the agreement.
Details
of the agreement have not been released as of this story’s deadline.
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175 comments:
When does the BOA vote on the new budget?
The agenda on the city's website says they are voting on it on Tues (10/3) but I had heard they were going to postpone it to 10/17.
I see there is a work session on 10/10 as well.
Does someone know the real deal?
Thanks
Attention City Hall - Chris Rathbone is NOT Park Board Chairman, as stated in the minutes from the last meeting. He is chairman of the Finance Committee.
Be careful placing so much faith in the BOA. This whole thing is a carefully orchestrated effort to raise taxes. Crisis management and political theater. Half the board has been here since 2015 and should have addressed the budget two years ago. For all the grief that chief Lynch gets, he appears to have been preparing for this by not filling available positions. Lynch’s primary responsibility is to the citizens first, then the board.
Chris Rathbone is VP of the Park Board. Only Aldermen are on the Finance committee. Odd comment.
Based on most every department in the country, I think it’s more of a problem getting qualified people wanting to be be police officers. Thanks to Obama they have bigger targets on their backs and there isn’t a single Department that is not short officers. This will cost this city dearly. Not only do people not want to be officers to begin with, but now they definitely won’t want to work in this circus of a town.
They have made budget cuts the past two years. The main difference is that Mahesh Sharma is gone! I stand with this board!
2:15
That's what you bring up with all going on hahaha, you're a trip. Maybe Chris needs to be the parks president, seems like an educated passionate person. Something that is needed as president of parks.
I hope people understand that the real problem is not the Wal-Mart TIF, it is indeed the mismanagement of the TIF that caused all these problems, way to Mark Laughry.
This is the same Board and Mayor who called the Fire Chief a liar last year after he went on TV and exposed the fact that the City is in a financial crisis and would have no choice but to cut essential services. The Mayor even went so far as releasing a public statement refuting the claims made by both the Chief and Greg Walters that this was going to happen. Why should the Mayor or any member of the Board ve trusted now with more of our money?
So I'm kinda new to the Walmart TIFF troubles but surely there's a bigger drain on the Raytown budget than the $300K mentioned in the blog.
The budget is millions short so the $300K to Walmart can't be the biggest problem. Other than the many, many police calls to the store, what are the other "real" Walmart TIF costs?
Somewhere it must be in the 7 figures, to be causing our problems, otherwise The TIF is just a convenient "whipping boy"
The fault lies entirely on the past city administrator, Curt Wenson and especially past finance director, Dan Estes. Maybe Sue Frank was in on it, or was bamboozled like the rest of us, who the hell knows. What I do know is she publicly campaigned and supported a friend of her and her husband to get him (Lynch) elected as chief, which then allowed her husband to be promoted to the highest rank within the police department, as well as pass a sales tax to rack in millions of dollars to the police department, for with higher wages, take home vehicles, unaccountable out of town trips, bloated pension plan. etc.
Totally unethical behavior by people who were and still are entrusted by the citizens of Raytown. I am completely disgusted and embarrassed by this whole mess.
The problem is 25 mil to the school district.
The school district doesn't generate any taxes.
There was no vote of the people.
look at who was on that school board and tie to Sue Frank and David Bower.
Just a thought...........Do the former city employees who are being accused of mismanagement on this blog have liability insurance or a bond? It seems to me that maybe a claim could be filed with the insurance or bonding company.
Andy Whiteman
9:29 am -
It isn't $300k to Walmart that is the problem. The city is on the hook this year for $3.5 million in principal and interest for the TIF payments. A lot of that is generated through the sales tax that Walmart collects. The problem is that instead of the $3.5 million going to pay for police, asphalt, and street lights, it's going to bond payments.
No, Andy, there is no liability insurance or bond. The liability insurance and/or bond would only protect the city if the employees or elected officials stole or diverted money from the city. No insurance company is going to protect an entity from lack of judgment or poor decisions. That's the voters' job.
Andy,
You are correct. The former city administrator had a bond and the city can and should go after that money.
Daryl miss the point that the city administrator didn't file required paper work as well as a few other things that does allow the city to take action.
9:32 a.m.
What's wrong with the pension plan?
That’s very interesting but once again where is your proof
11:32,
There are a lot of conversations on this blog therefore what are you asking about that you want poof.
Shouldn't we talk pay and justify it before we get to the pension plan as the plan participation is based on the pay (salary) of the member.
If one person get paid $60,000 why did they in one year make over $40,000 in overtime?
At 60K they would make 28.85 an hr.
28.85 at time and a half is 43.27 an hour.
That is around 925 hours.
The question for Lynch and the command staff is what is the starting salary.
Clearly if 40K was spent on overtime for just one officer we should have been hiring additional officers.
Maybe better would have been to adjust staffing and put folks on the street and not behind a desk. Desk jobs should be for non-commissioned staff to save money.
Why are senior staff anyone above a Sargent not on a salary with the expectation they will be working 50 hrs a week at a minimum. This is the way the rest of the world works and these individuals are no better than anyone else.
Now how does this impact pension - looks like someone is helping to pad the pot for a few hand selected individuals.
Yes, this mess is James (Jim) Lynches and it MUST be cleaned up NOW!
Personnel above sergeant never get Overtime anywhere in the Emergency Services field including Raytown
Man you all really don’t know what you are talking about before you speak
@ 2:30
It is my understanding that the starting salary for a Police Officer in Raytown is just under $20.00 per hour. Overtime is to be expected in law enforcement. Second, nearly all police forces across the country are unionized and employees are eligible for overtime. Retaining public safety workers is a key problem for many cities, so perks must be offered. Good pension, good health care, overtime pay, etc. Otherwise the Police force becomes a revolving door. You need officers who are experienced in suicide and crisis management so that people don't jump off bridges on 63rd St. This takes training and retaining those officers who bring critical skills to the table.
Mayberry type policing is not going to work in Raytown. Good policing cannot be done on the cheap.
So a poster on here is claiming a police officer made $40K in overtime. And that he was singled out for this because he is a friend of the chief and it inflates his income which in turn will raise his pension.
Do I have his accusations correct?
That is a pretty serious allegation. The truth needs to come out and changes made if the story is true. It may not be illegal but it sure does not seem ethical.
How about you know what you’re talking about before spouting off. There are 4 captains and 2 majors, as well as the chief who are on salary and don’t get overtime. The city knows exactly what the overtime is for based on the coding in their payroll system. And it’s not like people are knocking down the door of any police department due to the line of work and the stuff the liberals are doing to it.
You are so right! We need officers who want to come to Raytown and put down roots. Make the city their home. Whoops! Guess it is nice to dream but the reality is very few of boys in blue make Raytown their home.
Subsidizing Walmart is right up there with subsidizing the Plaza in the annals of dunderheadedness. Can we designate the next local official who does that as a public nuisance, too?
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article176008586.html#storylink=cpy
4:28 nice half response. How many hours per week do they work and how much of that time is spent patrolling the streets and not holding down chairs at city hall.
Regardless of the sides in this police issue one common issue is where are the cops on the street and why does the city 10 sq miles need some many in charge of chair detention.
Hey 7:10... The reason most of the police officers live elsewhere is so they don't have to run into someone they arrested at a restaurant here in Raytown.
It was all explained by a poster on here last week.
Sounds somewhat reasonable to me. (NOT REALLY)
The boa is on a very slippery slope. Adding an agenda item at the last minute to try and take power from the elected chief could be a bad decision. The charter hasn’t passed for a reason-the people want control of who the chief of police is, not the boa.
Why buy a house where your only going to work for a year or so? RPD officers don't live here because they only work here long enough to be able to go on to better paying jobs elsewhere.
6:22 are you sure they leave because of the pay or could it be the corruption in the way the department is ran.
Hi 11:03
It sounds very reasonable to me. The police are a target these days. Why wouldn't you do everything in your power to keep you and your family safe? Sounds like you don't have any family in law enforcement or don't know any cops.
Head honchos of departments and the city administrator should live here. Regular rank and file employees can live where they want to.
We should have never let that previous city administrator get away w/ living in Raymore for so long.
I sit here looking at a chart of starting salaries in the Kansas City area. Here is an interesting fact to mull over. Raytown LEADS the following communities with the highest starting salary compared to the following cities: Grandview, Belton, Blue Springs, Lee's Summit, Gladstone and Liberty.
Now let's address the supposed situation where an officer is confronted because he arrested someone when he was at a restaurant in Raytown. First, you have to name the restaurant. That pretty much narrows it down to about three places you have to avoid in Raytown!
Quit making weak excuses for the ills that face our city. Start looking for solutions.
Thats exactly what big business and government wants...... fight among ourselves about someones pay being more than mine. Strive to do better, not to tear everyone else down.
Hi 8 AM
If it's ONE restaurant or FIFTY restaurants...makes no difference to me.
Cops and their families must be kept safe!!
Have you ever spoken with a cop or are you just reading blog posts? Education is a mighty fine thing.
Also, if someone wants to make a million bucks working off duty, good for them! Our officers are in demand because they are so awesome!
Looks like a lot will be quitting thanks to our not-so awesome aldermen.
Lynch and the Mayor both deserve each other, time for both to go and clean house.
Raytown, I hope all of you are happy. Raytown is once again the laughing stock/butt of joke through out K.C. area do to all of this fighting about the how to run a Police Department. You should all be ashamed of yourselves and so called leaders on the B.O.A. Once again all of this is an embarrassment!!!!!
New post on RPD News Room
Juvenile Transported To Hospital After Being Stabbed By Family Member
by growneyn
Juvenile Transported To Hospital After Being Stabbed By Family Member
Raytown, MO – On 10-03-17 at approximately 7:15 a.m., Raytown Officers were called to the 7900 block of Hunter on a report of a stabbing. When police arrived they found that a 12 year old juvenile boy had been stabbed by a family member. The suspect left the scene by the time police arrived. The victim was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries. Raytown Detectives were contacted and are at the scene.
If you have any information on this or any other crimes please contact the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).
17-3414.
That was reported on Raytown Unleashed on Facebook 3 hours ago. You're behind, Andy.
If Raytown is being the laughing stock of the metro area you can thank the police chief and mayor. Stay strong BOA and finish the job you are doing great.
Interesting documents in tonight's board pack.
Officer were required to live in Raytown and those not living in Raytown were given a year.
When and why was this allowed to change?
Raytown became a city in July 17th, 1950 therefore it was several years later when a form board decided officer living with those they serve was a benefit to the community.
Trump says "Make America Great Again" and it is time Raytown leads the way!
12:26PM, Sorry, I share police reports when I receive the email. I read them in the order received; hence, new emails may be delayed. If something is on social media, it is pure accident if I see it.
The RPD is very active today. They are a top notch Police Department! Raytown citizens and the BOA should be thankful to have these dedicated men and women!!!!!
Andy Whiteman
New post on RPD News Room
Raytown SWAT Team Responds To A Barricaded Suspect
by growneyn
Raytown SWAT Team Responds To A Barricaded Suspect
Raytown, MO – On 10-03-17, while Raytown Police were on the scene of a stabbing they received a call at approximately 9:20 a.m. from the Veterans Administration about a suicidal person at a home in the 8000 block of Hedges. Officers arrived, contained the area and requested the Raytown Swat and Crisis Negotiations Teams respond to the scene.
Negotiators arrived and began talking to the man. The man’s wife was inside and assisted with ending the situation. Around 11:00 a.m. the man was taken into custody without incident and transported for an evaluation. The female was not harmed and currently there will be no charges filed pending further investigation.
12:38
You stated the packet shows officers used to be required to live in Raytown (ordinance 1909,V-C-7, passed in 1967). Are you advocating all RPD be required to live in Raytown now? To what end?
James Barrow,
I know it is hard to understand things without fake news leading the way, but studies have been done that show having officers live in there community is good for the community.
So cities actually assist with the purchase of a home to get officers to move into specific areas that don't have the community interaction of an officer living in the area.
If you truly want Raytown to be a leader and on top of crime reduction having officers move back into the city is a first step.
God Bless this great Nation and those that work to move it forward.
Interesting to learn that Doug Hall had to cleanup Raytown Police once upon a time.
I hear that when he was Mayor he put the city first, but again he wasn't a former employee of the city.
Interesting reading on which officers live in the community they serve.
Sounds more and more like we have other issue in the police department that go back to the dark days of Raytown.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/most-police-dont-live-in-the-cities-they-serve/
Makes me support requirements that officers live in the city.
My neighbor has been with the Raytown police department for longer than I can recall.
It is nice to know he cares some much for our city that he made it his home.
I and the rest of the neighbors feel safer know he is here and I don't understand if he can make Raytown home why other offers won't.
Guess that is why he is just genuinely concerned about our city, which is something you don't get from this younger generation that just see us as a stepping stone.
Alice
Yes but like other small cities and ours is only 10 square miles, very few cities have residential requirements anymore except Kansas City Missouri
James Barrow,
That is a great idea and glad you brought it up.
yes, our police officers should live in Raytown.
Dear Alice,
Bless you. I have been posting here for over a year on and off about the many good reasons we should require our policemen and women to be Raytown residents.
Your post very eloquently says it all.
Thank you!
2:35 PM, SOME cities/counties have programs to help officers buy homes in their cities. They want a police presence with a take home car parked in the driveway because it may deter crime and the officer may respond faster than if he/she has to drive to the station to get a car.
Andy Whiteman
I hope at tonight's meeting they only let Raytown residence speak.
It is a shame that last time it was all of Lynch's out of town follower.
Reminds me of Jim Jones and we all know how that ended on 11/18/1978.
Will history repeat itself this Nov 18th?
Sounds like "Jim" Lynch is heading several down a distinctive path!
Hey 6:47
your post:
Anonymous said...
I hope at tonight's meeting they only let Raytown residence speak.
It is a shame that last time it was all of Lynch's out of town follower.
Reminds me of Jim Jones and we all know how that ended on 11/18/1978.
Will history repeat itself this Nov 18th?
Sounds like "Jim" Lynch is heading several down a distinctive path!
Really?? Please get back on your meds and stay away from the computer. You add nothing to the conversation with your utterly stupid post.
Looks like the part finance director mark loughry saw the financial crises and instead of working to resolve it, he simply left the city, came back for seconds and then left again, hopefully for good. Total professional misconduct on his part, but the Walmart deal is really the nail in the coffin for the city finances.
Lost a lot of respect for this Board tonight. You talk about doing what's right and you talk about making the tough choices, and then when it's time to put up or shut up you kick this down the road for another week and back down from the first real piece of legislation grained at taking control back we have seen in 20 years. Shame on you guys, I have news for you, don't think for one minute we are going to approve any tax increase till your sttart to be accountable for what you already get.
The mayor stated at the first of the meeting that there would be no disrespect or accusations allowed. He allowed this to happen numerous times when people were speaking to the Board of Aldermen and especially with the out-of-town man who represented the police who was allowed to go on for 10 minutes accusing the Board and calling them liars. You can tell what side he is on. I am so disappointed in him.
Good ideal Andy. Mandate PD officers live in Raytown. Also department heads and especially the city manager so they feel the pulse of Raytown instead of drawing a paycheck and going homes to safer neighborhoods, nicer roads and sidewalks, better schools, etc. it won't happen, but still a good ideal.
Then why not all our City employees then?
None of the professional staff live in Raytown
Really? Why?
This city is only 10 square miles. Nowadays no one anywhere expects their people to live in the city they work in. Just have to be in the metro area. That’s the way the business world is nowadays. Why should the police,public works, fire or even the City Administrator be any different
The Mayor needs to be removed from office. He is nothing more than a puppet bought and paid for by the police chief. Does anyone remember how passionate the mayor was last year when EMS needing at 30% pay adjustment just to be competitive? Does anyone remember how vocal the Mayor was when the Public Works dept cut their staffing by 40% in 2016? I bet you cannot remember, you know why? Because he wasn't passionate or vocal, why because they don't matter to him....they are not cops. One thing is clear now, attention all Raytown employees unless you are a cop...you are expendable to the Mayor. It's time for people like Steve Meyers, Mark Moore and Jason Greene to stand up and demand the Police Department play by the same set of rules the rest of the City follows, inspite of the actions by the puppet master police chief and his trained pet mayor
11:20 Just another reason for an investigation into the police department and an independent study to validate the true number of officers needed.
Once the Board is proven correct they need to contact that individuals mayor and make sure they know if he is lying to us he is lying to them.
By the way if he is from Lee Summit he has behavior of habitual or compulsive lying as the FOP out there supported keeping a guy on their board who was in all kinds of trouble.
Doesn't say much for the police other than legalized thugs.
Weak (See Raytown Board of Alderman)
My oh my what a mess and waste of time last nights BOA meeting was. A steady stream of the mayor and chiefs fans spouting off their praises. Well beware the BOA will finish the job they started. The mayor gave his speech admonishing Alderwoman Mims for the truth she spoke, all it did was make him like a bigger fool than what he already is. She spoke the truth either put on your badge or lay down your gavel. To the woman who got up and gave a speech that the wise woman Susan Vorbeck wrote, I have heard that Susan doesn't live in Raytown. Can someone answer that question for me? In my book she just needs to continue looking for rocks because it appears she is missing a few. Last comment the fat FOP guy that's keep coming back, if your the polices big gun they have to fight with they are loosing the fight. Good day!!
Alderman Greene didn't you make a motion to give the chief a 7% raise which he got? Shame on you and now you want to penalize the rest of the hard working people at the city by not giving them a raise. Don't sit up there and cry how you want to save money by not giving raises when you did what you did for the chief. Double standards.
Have you ever thought that most of the public service workers who serve Raytown don't live here for a reason?
Maybe they see all the reasons not to live here while on duty.
Something for you to think about.
11:13
They moved the budget to next week because Green brought up more cuts. Go back to bed clown.
thought the voters voted for the mayor how was he bought and paid for
Hope you understand the FOP guy is a friend of the mayors so he can disrespect the BOA just not the chief or policeman. Again double standards by the mayor. How can somebody be on the police force for 40 some years and never attain a rank higher than traffic sergeant?
We all know or at lest should know that the chief has played the shell game for years. When there was a freeze on giving raises the chief got around that by giving promotions and then giving a pay raise to that officer. How the jig is up and Lynch has to pay by down staffing and he crying the blues. It is your own d=== fault. Learn to obey the rules and this wouldn't have happened.
#gotcaught
In attending the Council mtg last night and listening to the Finance Director explain all the vital and legal implications from not balancing the budget it seems that all the Board firmly grasp the situation and tough decision. Except one. The Mayor??
Hi 9:15
As many will tell you, higher pay and fancy titles many times do not make up for all the AGGRAVATION a promotion provides.
How many times have you been promoted? Are you CEO yet? Why not????
SLACKER!!!!!!!!! HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
8:11
Greene voted with the board for a 2 percent pay rate for everyone including the chief last year not 7 percent. Stop spreading fake news!
Why would you want to go above the rank of Sergeant when you can get all the overtime you want and make more than the Chief? Then PD brass all pow-wowed and came up with the ideal of backing an Ex PD Sergeant for Mayor to support PD on all issues and to maintain PD status quo in getting the majority of tax payer dollars. Sounds shady to me, but hey, since the Walmart deal, this whole town has gone to shade.
It's wonderful that so many Raytown citizens appear to genuinely, unconditionally hold their elected officials in such high regard.
However.
We're thinking of at least two individuals currently in office. Prior to their respective retirements, neither one of them would have likely progressed very far (and likely not at all) within the standards set by a larger, more diverse rank and file.
Sometimes it's best for certain worker bees to remain worker bees.
How effective have some of these current elected officials in Raytown actually been?
Talent is waiting in the wings in Raytown. These need to be convinced and recruited to run for office to replace some of these people.
9:27,
no surprise about the mayor once a cop always a cop.
Look at the National news and all the problems with the police it comes as no surprise we have a bunch of self centered folks on are department who clearly don't care about Raytown or they would live here.
It's time the BOA quit playing with the P and pass their budget. You know and so do I they are just stringing you along with this da== talk about flow charts. Pass the budget and move on to other things that need to get done.
#playing BOA for dummies
I saw on the news that one of the officers was crying to the board about the upcoming cuts.
I hope the board asked him if he is one of the officers still agreeing to work security at Wal-Mart being they are the starting point that put the city in this mess.
Notice how Greene and Azierer won't bring up anything about the school district and the 25 mil.
I guess making sure their boss is happy before doing the right thing by the citizens of Raytown.
Maybe they now have a better understanding of why Jim's employees are speaking up about him being a great leader and manager of money.
For years people have searched the earth for the tree of live and the knowledge it provides to those that eat it's fruits.
Lee Summit is bleached with the magic tree and it's wonderful holiday lights that bring joy to so many.
The secret is now out about the real reason Raytown has so many police officers always up at city hall for locked in the basement in a corner grows the greatest tree of all the money tree.
It is no wonder Jim and Mike want all of us not to worry about having a balanced budget as our city will soon have streets of gold and silver sidewalks.
"Only in Raytown" would citizens of this great Nation be so blessed!
I saw a brown spot at the end of Greene's nose last night. Really all the grand standing you did was quite a show. The cuts you came up with wouldn't buy enough paper clips for a year. So get the budget passed. If pd won't give you a flow chart in reasonable time pass the budget without it and make them live with what they got. Get some back bone, you guys have become all talk and no action.
What is up with the local grocery stores in Raytown.
I went into my normal store to by eggs today and found only 18 count eggs.
This seemed very odd as I didn't recall as sale last week on a doz eggs.
When I picked up the first carton to enspect for craked eggs, it felt extra light. I opened it to find 8 eggs missing and thought some kid was playing a joke.
However, at opening the 5th carton of eggs and finding the same thing I decided I wanted to talk to a manager.
When I asked what was going on with the eggs being they only had the 18 count and of the 5 I had check each was missing 8 eggs.
He said I don't understand the problem.
I once repeated the issue and tone of voice was on the raise as this was becoming crazy.
He said, "Mister do you live in Raytown"?
I yelled back, "What does that have to do with the eggs you are selling".
With a smerk on his face and calmly said, "You do know since 2009 you have been paying a special sales tax for eight extra police officers you don't have".
Again I yelled, "What does that have to do with eggs".
His eyes grew large and tapped the counter with his fist and the top of his lungs, "If you have been paying the salary and benifits for eight officers you have not have since 2009 then you shouldn't having problem buy an 18 count carton of eggs with 8 eggs missing should you."
As I walked out of the store waving my hands in the air, I slow let his comments sink in and decide he was right. I mean who was I to question the way he was selling eggs when I the night before had been at city hall and speaking up that we needed to take care of the police officers.
I felt like my next meal should be crow and I owe the rest of the residence of Raytown a big I sorry or not speaking up against the way the department has been staffed since 2009 when we all voted to make the streets safer and add 8 more officers to the street. Here we have been paying for this additional staff for almost 10 years and not receiving the service we were promised.
I know wonder what other ways the police have been taking advantage of all of us.
Tom
I am sorry I didn't vote for Ertz, sorry never thought I would say those words, but it's true. I wasted my vote on a spineless guy who has no business in a leadership position
I was watching from home. I did not hear any disrespect by either side, just passionate pleas and suggestions. I heard no one accusing or calling anyone bad names but did hear a guy say the word liar in regard to something one of the board said. Don’t think one word was something the mayor could have stopped once the man had said it.
Thought for what a hard topic that all were dealing with everyone was pretty respectful except those on the board constantly playing with their phones or busy eating
Hmmm
Saw a lot of interested citizens there and some Aldermen who were interested in what their citizens had to say
When you all don’t have a police department because of this board, you have no one else do blame. Maybe you all can sign up and try to do the job.
A recent former resident. Thank goodness. What. Mess.
Last night's meeting was interesting. First of all, most of the people in the audience were pretty good in their behavior. But not all of them. This pretty much painted a partisan crown (extremely pro police)from being painted with a broad brush. The loud applause, the cheering, the laughing out loud at speakers. All of that reflected poorly on the crowd.
I am sure many were sincere in their concerns. It was also painfully evident that many were very mis-informed. Acting like Walmart has not had a negative effect on our community is just plain nuts. The manager from Walmart was there. To him tell it, the city MAKES Walmart pay their sales tax revenue to pay off the bond debt! In a twisted sort of way I can understand what he is saying. But face it Mr. Manager. If Walmart was not there Raytown would be in a lot better financial shape.
A lot of have written about the FOP Executive who made some pretty nasty remarks about the BOA. He is a good reason to restrict public comments to Raytown citizens. He does not pay taxes here. He does not vote here. Yet the Mayor gave him twice as much time for him to spew his negativity at the BOA. And I hate to say this, the delight of many in the extremely partisan crowd.
To the BOA. Stay strong. Do not plunge Raytown into the nightmare of insolvency. If the city goes broke, and it is close to doing so, there will be hell to pay. The courts will come in and rule by edict. They will not hold public hearings. They will squeeze the good people of Raytown to pay off the debt.
You are on the right track to solving our city's financial problems. Seize the moment and stay strong.
Despite your spin, the majority of the citizens were against the change to the ordinance. Everybody knows the City is broke. The BOA is not going to allow the city to go insolvent. They will find a few extra dollars and save a few jobs. Then they are going to raise fees and get a levy on the ballot. The harder decisions come if the citizens vote no. I hope that nightmare scenario does not happen. People are ticked at the game playing and Alderman telling citizens the crime problem is not bad.
Although he came on a bit strong...the points about much larger cities with fewer aldermen is a great point! A bit more accountability and less infighting would be a good thing. 10 aldermen seems excessive.
I found the live stream about 9PM CT and watched until the static made it impossible to hear. I felt that Alderman Greene had many good points about unnecessary budget items that could be deleted. One that has always annoyed me is "Holiday" meals. Totally a waste of $2,300 paid for by the citizens! If city employees want celebrations, let the meals be pot luck or every one chip in for a deli or caterer! A lot of waste could come out of every budget!
Andy Whiteman
If you think the pd will survive this, I’ve got some swamp land i will sell you. How are you going t survive with less than 20 officers when the dust settles after they all go to other departments? Good luck.
Don’t feel sorry
The positions may have been there but the money would have stayed in the General Fund budget since no one was there to receive the funds
Not sure how you think anyone got screwed
Theee have been other positions like that in other areas of the city budget over the years if you follow the budget
OMG!!! When you all don't have any money to pay the police department what are you going to do? Pay them with warm fuzzy thoughts. A number of cops have announced they are leaving the city for other employment at the meeting Tuesday night. Sounds like they are making Jim Lynch's job a lot easier. Anyone who has ever been in a management position and had to made the decision of down sizing knows all to well it is not a fun thing to do.
You all folks have a bigger problem. The city is out of money. All the nonsense I have seen written in some of these posts will come up against the hard wall of facts. Rule Number 1. You cannot spend what you do not have.
It's time for the Mayor to step down. There is work to be done and he is just taking up space.
I understand the idea behind having our officers live in Raytown, but think of the position they'd be in now if cities required residence. Not only would many of them be losing their jobs, but they'd have to move their families out of their homes to find another job. That means we're requiring them to take on risk that none of the rest of us have to take on when accepting employment somewhere. One of the other posters asked if Susan Vorbeck Brown lives in Raytown. She does not. She used to and owns a house somewhere in town. She also appears to put a lot more of her own time into the community than many residents do. Residency isn't always a deciding factor. Back to the cops, I'd rather make finding quality police officers a bigger factor than their street address.
From the posts I see on this page, a lot of you don't understand that the mayor doesn't have a vote on the board or the budget. Even if the RPD did put him in place, it does nothing to increase their power. He doesn't vote on their budgets and he wouldn't have had a vote on the ordinance change taking power from the Chief.
The budget was up for a vote on 10/3, but during the meeting Aldermen Green proposed several areas where cuts could happen that wouldn't result in termination of staff. Those items need to be reviewed for potential adjustments to the budget so they've set up a special session for Tuesday the 10th. I'm not sure if a vote will take place on the 10th or if it will wait until the 17th, but Tom Cole expressed his concern about the budget deadlines and is pushing for a vote sooner than later. Do any of you go to these meetings? If not, they are recorded online. You should watch them.
Maybe I'm wrong but I think the reason no one on the board is talking about the school district is because they are a separate entity. The board doesn't have control over their funding, can anyone verify that?
Good Morning! I haven't followed this blog in the past but was made aware of it. I see someone has asked about my residency status. I do not currently live in Raytown. I own a home in Ward 1. Greg Walters knows this because I allowed him to put his sign in my yard. At any rate, I did not run away from Raytown. I met my husband. The conversation was brief. His house is bigger and we wanted a family. I love my Raytown home and it was perfect for me being a single career woman for a decade. I was 4 months old when my parents moved to Raytown. My father grew up here and hunted rabbits in the field where their home is now located. They still live in the home where they raised me. My grandparents both passed away here. I went to Southwood Elementary, South Middle and graduated from South High. I'm in Raytown several times a week, if not daily. I plan my class reunions and unlike many other classes, I make sure those events stay in Raytown. I run the Raytown Unleashed page and the Raytown Rocks page. For those of you that would like to mock the Raytown Rocks program, what have YOU done to get thousands in the community to get off the electronics, get out in our parks and share quality family time with each other? I've run fundraisers for the Summer Meals Program for school kids, for residents with cancer or other financial hardships. I'd argue that I devote more hours to improving this town than some or all of you, but that's difficult to do when you all hide behind anonymity. I've been deeply involved in this community for my entire life and have asked for nothing in return. So please, get back to me when you aren't going to hide in the shadows with your keyboards while not actually doing anything to better this community. Thanks, and Happy Thursday :)
6:05
Greene explained the situation well, he said there was no money, because he brought forth some cuts he is grandstanding? Or has a brown spot? Sounds like you have a personal problem with him that clouds your judgement. Did he not call your daughter back after a date? Whats the deal? I thought him, Teeman and Meyers made some great points.
D.K.
So 2:31, what can anyone do to change the TIF and the bad deal that Aziere supported ten years ago? You dont watch the meetings very much, everyone on the board has complained about that deal and the negotations of it for over a year now going back the the hoax "secret meetings" that Mr. Battagler and Creamer made up. The only one that doesnt seem to be running from that deal is Aziere. Dont throw rocks when your blind.
Once again the mayor proves there is a conflict of interest between him and his former job.
Tuesday night he let the FOP speak on behalf of the police officers of Raytown and gave him 10 mins because the man was representing a group.
This wouldn't be an issue accept for at least one police officer got up and spoke too, which mean the the FOP individual was not truly representing the group.
Mims is correct that the mayor needs to step up and act like a mayor or put his badge back on and be a cop.
Raytown will not move forward until we clean up this mess Sue Frank created in an effort to advance her husband.
All future meetings related to the topic of the police need to be turned of to Jason Greene as President of the Board to run to stop this conflict that the mayor has created.
8:53.
Why is Aziere who also likes to contact the AG's office on his fellow board members not calling the AG now and asking how much trouble is he in?
Why is Aziere not pushing for a law suit and what every else needs done to collect the 25 million back from the school district?
Aziere needs to act like a man or step down for being the remaining problem on the BOA that created this mess
The BOA needs to put a levy increase on the ballot for April 2018. Then there needs to be a YES committee formed to finance and organize the election campaign. This will help the city to recover from mistakes of the past. Regardless of how you feel about a levy increase, there needs to be greater citizen involvement and oversight into the affairs of Raytown.
Some members of the BOA have been very good at creating distractions, much like a child would do when they get into trouble. " It's not my fault, pay no attention to me, look at what the other kid did." That's what blaming Walmart and the PD has been about. The BOA has ultimate responsibility over the budget and they have dropped the ball, and I don't appreciate the blame game that has been going on. I don't appreciate the Mayor bashing. Last Tuesday I was glad to see him assert leadership over the BOA. This is RAYTOWN, and the citizens are not stupid. We have no problem calling the politicians out. The people are waking up.. Proud of my fellow citizens and my town. BOA, get your act together, stop the blame game, tell us the truth, no more power grabs, no more bragging, no more stonewalling, and get this city back on it's feet ASAP. The citizens are watching, and although it is early in the game, I have no doubt the citizens will organize candidates and platforms to reform Raytown if you don't.
Way to go Susan!!
Loved your post here and your letter to the BOA that was read.
Please keep up the good work. Raytown needs more people like you.
9:52,
Why would anyone support a increase!
We are not getting answers of where the money went in 2009.
Maybe you invest in companies that fail, but I don't.
I believe a group needs formed to fight any tax increase until we get answers.
We don't even have an answer on what all the police officers are doing and everything I keep hearing is we are over staffed.
Maybe your group needs to do bake sales and go fund me efforts being you are buying the lies and not asking for proof.
There are other options:
Validate the number of officer truly needed.
Reduction of pension along with officers paying half the cost
Stop paying the Bonds
Sue the school district for violation of Hancock
If all of those are done and we still need money we can talk until that time stop letting the police hold you hostage.
ALL LIVES MATTER!
Susan,
Nice to hear you have rental property in Raytown and that you are proud to still be part of Raytown.
Do you also support and willing to speak up for an ordinance to charge rental property owners a $50 year fee. The fee would be to have the property fully inspected by city staff and help address the slum lord issue our city is facing.
Mary Smith
9:52
Reform Raytown hahaha how funny. This board was just elected and the folks that created this mess through mismanagement in the PD you want to give the keys to. I support this board trying to hold the budget and PD accountable. Get over yourself.
The Chief of Police, I mean Mayor pens a letter to the public and gives statements calling the board reckless and says he disagrees with their cuts, but offers no cuts of his own. Not a leader of men. Watch the meeting and hear his response after Greene asked him if he had suggestions. He had none! He looked over to his treasurer and asked if the city could dip a couple into reserve funds, she said no not legal, then he just got quite. His mayor pro tem at least offered something but sure doesn't run his mouth with press releases. Wrong person running the ship up there.
The rock idea came off the internet. There was another city doing it and boom you came up with the idea. Don't think so
Mary Smith, I've actually spoken out IN SUPPORT of rental fees on rental properties in Raytown. As a side note, while you may consider my property to be a rental property and I'd be happy to pay the fee every year, I don't make any profit on my house. I have a friend that's been living there since I moved out. It is still fully furnished with all my things. All of the utilities are still in my name. Hell, I'd be willing to pay twice that every year.
When those who should know and enforce the law don't understand the law it is time for an investigation.
In Raytown the Board of Alderman have awaken the beast and every time the beast speaks it is clear it doesn't understand the law.
Now the Board needs to contact DOJ and AG and call out this ugly beast and bring law and order back to Raytown.
Stay strong Board of Alderman!
Mary Smith,
Great idea and did you know it will also help reduce crime and is that not what every one is fearing right now.
12:35 -
Susan never once said it was her idea. When she proposed the project, she said she had seen it at other cities around the area. She asked if anyone would be interested in starting something like that. And BOOM - Raytown Rocks got started. Now - crawl back under your rock and leave the rest of us alone.
If you were paying attention he said to the City Administrator if he had offered the board to use a couple hundred thousand from reserve to help as a cushion
Administrator answered yes from what I could hear
Recently, the owner of a well-read Raytown Facebook group was awarded a proclamation by "His Honor the Mayor of Raytown". If he's the sole decisionmaker, we're hoping that this recognition wasn't his attempt to garner favorable treatment from the blog owner online. (Blog owner Susan is indeed a very intelligent person, and we're pretty certain that she would pick up on this...but just in case.)
Online groups are very valuable, as is Susan's. We're DEFINITELY not denigrating her blog in the least. It's awesome. And it's definitely WORTH commendation, undoubtedly based upon the all the guff she has to deal with on a daily and probably hourly basis alone.
And her note, which was read to the city council the other night, was absolutely brilliant.
Please stay with this, Susan.
Mayoral candidates must -reside- within the city limits of Raytown, correct?
Any chance you could move back in, Susan VB? You'd have our support thousandfold.
9:52 The board that we have now did not create this mess as you call it. If you would do research you would know that it was created by previous boards such as the ones that Mr. Aziere was on. When you do not have the funds to use to run the city or your own self drastic measures have to taken such as reduce your spending and live within your means. The police chief was asked to submit a budget that had reductions in it. Guess what he submitted a budget with increases in it. Now that is the same as given someone the finger or bird which ever one you understand. I feel sorry for the police on the street because they did not cause it, it was caused by the Chief of Police and maybe with the help of the Mayor because he just doe not understand budgets. If you do not have the money you can not spend it. HOW HARD IS THAT TO UNDERSTAND.
We are in for some hard times.
Maybe we have to do as ex mayor Frank said to start carrying your concealed weapon, yes she did say that.
11:44
Your ideas are just silly and not worth my time. Why don't you appear at the board meetings and voice these ideas? The audience needs a good laugh.
9:52
Right now, for the reasons I mentioned, I have serious doubts this board can govern Raytown, but I am willing to give them a chance. What I am saying is that the citizens need to be prepared to organize if the Alderman fail.
1:06
I love fiction. You should write novels.
7:09 I am sorry you don't understand the best cops live in the city where they work.
They understand the impact on the taxpayers for increased taxes.
They get to know many more people, which is key to community policing.
If we go down your path why don't we have millions and let the county patrol Raytown.
The mayor said he would look for money to help the pd. Haven't heard a peep of anything he came up with except take money from the general fund. Seems to me like Jason Green is looking harder than the mayor. Another prime example of him just running his mouth which he is really good at.
1:59
Yes, past boards and mayors are responsible. Yes there is no money. We get it. This board is playing games. All departments ask for things. There is asking and getting. The board could of said no at any time in the past and did not. Not the fault of the PD for asking. Fault of the BOA for giving. I fault this BOA for the game playing.
1:17,
The answer is no.
The board did say no...watch any meetings prior to budget? hahaha.
If Lynch and is officers are doing nothing wrong why has he not asked the DOJ for an investigation like the chief of ST Louis did.
Leader and a Conman that is the difference!
While I'm certainly humbled by your compliments, I'm not sure that I'm qualified to hold a high ranking public office. I'm learning about much of this at the same time as many other members of the community by following the Unleashed page and asking questions of many of our aldermen and, on occasion, our mayor. I've spoken with the mayor many times about the rock program and I have a pretty good BS meter. I don't get any hint from him that he's attempting to garner any favor. I think several of the aldermen can speak to the fact that I'm easy to get along with socially, but that I don't pull any punches or play favorites. While some of the aldermen likely have a strong distaste for me and my opinions, it's not personal. I will be just as pleasant with them if I encounter them in public as I have with all the others. Managing a Raytown community page has only given me a small taste of what it's like to be in the public eye, especially when others don't agree with your stance. I don't envy any of our aldermen, our Police Chief or our Mayor in the current climate. Will I ever move back to Raytown? I'm not sure. Certainly not back to the same house as it's far too small for my family. That decision isn't mine alone to make. My husband does not have any ties to our community and he has reasonable concerns about raising our daughter here. Walmart is going to be a financial drain on the economic stability of Raytown for many years to come. The drastic cuts to the police force don't give outsiders a warm and fuzzy feeling about the safety of the community. Ultimately, I may not hit snooze on the alarm clock in Raytown, but I do consider it my home. It's where I take my daughter on the weekends to have Doughboys donuts, where I grab my coffee at Benettis and where we walk through the parks and hunt for or hide rocks. It's where my parents live, and will likely live until the end of their days. It's where I met my husband, where we had our wedding reception and even where we held our baby shower. I don't know if I'll ever move back to Raytown, but I'll never be gone....
Nice letter Susan. It seems there are more than a few who understand the city does not have the money to pay for all the police want. This is a fight the police cannot and will not win because the fact is the money is gone. It goes to pay the debt of misguided ideas of how to become a player in the metropolitan area as a city. As our current situation shows, going into debt to underwrite large box stores like Walmart was a boneheaded idea. It amazes me that only one of our elected officials at the time had the nerve to say "no, this is a bad idea, don't do it.
It is all history now. But we are having to pay for it.
From what I have read on this page and on Facebook, there is a hard core group of people in Raytown who believe that shouting at the BOA and calling them names like liar is going to create money for the city.
It will not.
Mayor McDonough pretty much as shown he understands this through his actions. He wrote there were solutions. But he does not offer any! He orchestrates public meetings that turn into a bitch fest by supporters of his buddies in the p.d.
Playing to the crowd will not create any more money.
Raytown's situation is not hopeless. But clearly, the old ways of doing business are over. Accept it and move on.
I'm not friends with the mayor on FB, so maybe I'm missing something. I'm not aware of any public meetings he's orchestrating. If you're talking about the town hall or public comments at the BOA meetings, I think that was all pretty much orchestrated on the Raytown Unleashed page. After hearing his comment about Tom Cole and him not being included on the email regarding the last minute amendment to the agenda and the proposed change in the ordinance, I checked out the copy of the email in the agenda packet. They were not included. That makes me wonder if they are including him or Tom Cole on any of their discussions regarding this budget. I mean, in the end, neither of them get a vote, so maybe that's their reasoning. It's not necessarily shady and I'm not attempting to accuse anyone. I just feel like the entire group of them should be working together and communicating openly during what can only be described as a financial nightmare for the city. A bird's eye view of our finances says it all. $10 million is not enough money to successfully run a city no matter how you carve it out.
Really 6:05...grandstanding? The guy actually gives a damn and you complain and call it brown nosing? It eliminates waste. He is doing his job! When he apoke he actually gave an idea unlike Mims or Vanbuskirk who just spoke to speak and said nothing. I call that grandstanding.
Funny! But it was all right for the board of alderman be shouting and acting like they were to the people in the crowd weeks before?
Simple, raise the tax rate for both personal and real property taxes. It has been stated that they have not been raised in over 40+ years. I know, a lot of people will scream that they cant afford that, that they are on a fixed income like social security (ever hear of COLA otherwise known as cost of living adjustment), or living from paycheck to paycheck ( surely you get a raise on occasion). People can get on here and go back and forth saying he lied, they lied, etc. Frankly I have not seen anything productive as to how to create the extra funding necessary to correct the current problems at city hall, not just with the police department. Wages have increased, cost of supplies, materials, vehicles, maintenance, upkeep, utilities, even rock salt prices have gone up. Obviously if the money is not there then you cant afford to spend more, but fact is if taxes haven't been raised they need to raise them.
BTW, really digging the new "country" feel of the chip seal streets. They suck! Not real happy with how my portion of the tax money has been spent, just getting by isn't working folks. I would send the city a bill for the cleanup of my vehicles and repainting of all the rock chip places on my vehicles but they would probably just say that they are not responsible for that damage, plus they don't have the extra money to pay for it anyway.
11:44 you are spot on!
I would add contacting the eithic's commission to round off your list.
The police promised additional officers as part of the 2009 Public Safety Sales Tax, but never hired them, which is a violation of the law.
A six item might be that Lynch has to step down before any new tax is passed, unless one of the investigations you wrote about forces him out.
Click on my name and read about another city that had out of control spending on police overtime and retirement.
It finally bankrupt them, which is where we are heading.
Stay strong Board of Alderman and don't let us repeat other cities path because of greed.
It has amazed me that the changes under Sue Frank's term of Mayor that sweetened police pensions greatly in Raytown has not been mentioned as part of Raytown's financial problems. A dirty little secret they do not like to talk about is that some in the police department are eligible to retire with not one, but TWO pensions!
The Walmart deal on 350 is a lot of the problem. But the pension plan the police have is way too rich. Couple that with an over-time policy that defines logic and you run out of money real quick.
The Board of Aldermen seem to be approaching the problem head on. They are so close to solving some of our city's problems. I hope they are strong enough to finish their work.
I've heard the pension plan mentioned several times now. I'd like to know more about that. Where do we find the details on that information? I've been told it's a benefit meant to retain our officers since their pay is lower than it would be in surrounding areas. Also, it's my understanding that there is a shortage of officers across the metro and the positions that some of the positions that were supposed to be filled by the RPD were cut in the past by the board in previous budget cuts despite the agreement with the special sales tax. Basically, I was told that the board told RPD the positions weren't filled so they were being removed from the budget. I meant to ask our aldermen for more details but there are literally so many items being tossed around right now it's hard to keep up.
There is always friction between other entities and city hall, i.e. parks, EMS/fire, school, private water companies/city sewer and Police. Everybody wants to be in charge so they can dictate their own course and doesn't want the BOA to tell them what to do. This conflict has costs the taxpayers and citizens of Raytown through the nose. Redundant duties, efficiency, legal action, etc. I can't say I blame them. You got 10 people (Alderman) trying to agree on anything and it becomes a mess. Those 10 people are given bias facts from multiple sources and have to come to some sort of agreement/compromise. Well, being broke and having to cut millions from PD is a no brainer. If you don't have the money you don't have the money.
Too many years of out-of-control spending by PD and a horrible TIF with Walmart put the city in this financial crunch, and as usual, it will be the citizens of Raytown who has to take it in the shorts for the incompetence of those hired, paid-for and entrusted to run our town and police department. Self greed and entitlement is a fool's folly and Lord knows the city has seen it's share come through the doors.
Aldermen Greene had a good ideal, cut pennies to save dollars. Something Cityhall/PD should always have done instead of buying $22,000 furniture, over priced computers, and those damn wasteful out-of-town seminars, conferences, whatever you want to call them, resulting in nothing more than paid for vacations on the tax payer's dime.
You did it to yourself Lynch. You costs your department jobs and the city public safety. We hope you're happy at your next conference and driving your fancy take-home sports car, while your subordinates are out seeking employment elsewhere.
7:28
The old pension plan for Police is a frozen plan. Meaning, that new benefits cannot be accrued. There are 47 participants and 8 are still working.
Pension formula for the old plan was the average of the 5 highest working years. Salary x years of service x 2.5%
Lagers Plan is Salary x years of service x 1.75%
So, the new plan does not pay as well as the old plan. The 8 employees are now paying into the new plan and when they retire both pensions will kick in.
So, what would this look like?
Old Pension plan: 10 years x $50,000 x 2.5%= $12,500 per year
Lagers: $60,000 x 20 years x 1.75% = $21,000 year.
For a combined total of $33,500 per year.
This is a simulation, but this is how it might work for those 8 officers with 30 years of experience.
New employees are in the new plan only.
Why don't you go to a board meeting and ramble about two pensions. I dare you....
this whole town is full of stupid millennials and snowflakes
Don't blame me I voted for Ertz
10:52
Ertz was no solution either, he WAS and IS part of the problem. Did nothing and contributed to this mess. Sat around and allowed Sharma to screw Raytown over.
Apologies if these items have been addressed on this website in prior remarks, but if not, we were curious if anyone was aware of the following:
How many "sabbaticals" has "The Chief" taken since he has been in office, and at what cost?
What is the current ratio of command staff vs patrol officers in Raytown? Are there any comparisons to similarly-sized/situated departments?
Ertz is no better
So basically the 2 pensions are just like if you left employment there, went somewhere else, and earned another pension. Well that's not so shady. My assistant retired in December. She had already retired from a job in California before relocating here. She was bored, got a job and retired again, Now she has retirement from both jobs. It's pretty common. Now, if the pensions both were calculated by total years of service (not just total years in that plan), then I would understand the outrage.
9:11 How much do the officers pay to fund either of the programs?
How much money is paid monthly to fund the old plan?
How much money is paid monthly to fund the new plan?
Who is the administrator of the old plan?
Also are you asking individuals to contact their elected officials and asking for cuts to the pension to save officers on the street?
How do we get a chart that says the pay level for each rank within the department?
It was said that Lynch was using the ranks to increase pay does either side have proof?
Also regardless if when someone went from a Capt to Maj any pay increase what is the uniform and other related cost?
1:21 PM
The old pension plan is frozen. Which means that the 8 remaining employees no longer contribute to it. They would be contributing to the new plan if the city elected to do so. LAGERS is the new plan. Up to 4% if the city elects could be paid by an employee. They do not have the best plan in LAGERS, but a 30 year employee would get close to half of salary, which is not something out of the ordinary.
It is possible that the City might be paying into the old plan to maintain it for the remaining participants. Pensions costs should be listed in the budget proposal. It is possible to select a different pension level within the plan. YEARS OF SERVICE X FINAL AVERAGE SALARY X 1% for example, instead of 1.75% But this low level would make the pension unattractive.
If we look at $60,000 final average salary, multiple by 30 years of service, multiple by 1% that is $18,000 per year in retirement. Not that great for a police officer. This would be a temporary way to reduce costs, but no police office would stay for 30 years with such a low retirement.
I think they said the 10/17 meeting was moved up to 10/10 for the vote
Dear 1:21
You are a great smoke screen. What a load!
If we had an up to date modern 401K. That 60K a year officer could retire with a half million in the bank with no sweat. And the city would be saving money.
BTW that $18K a year is not so puny when you add in the social security benefits. And the other savings a normal couple would have including the spouses retirement.
And you know what? It's what we can afford!
Susan. There is nothing unusual for a person to have more than one pension. But it unusual for them to receive two pensions from the same employer covering the same employment time. That is not a little over the top. It is way over the top.
But then, in a city that paves its streets with gravel and actually has people who say it is an improvement over asphalt, are your really surprised?
There are problems in this town. The biggest one of them is denial. The city is going broke and despite that fact, there are still people claiming the city council is not being honest.
They are being honest about the problem. They are doing what any sane money manager would do to cut costs. Maybe you can explain that away. I sure can't.
So going by the formula expressed above.
"average of the 5 highest working years. Salary x years of service x 2.5%"
If the officer made $75K (in his last 5 years) and retired after 30 years.
His monthly check would be :
75,000 x 30 = 2,250,000 x .025 = 56250 / 12 = $4687 per month
Holy Cow! that's pretty awesome. Now add SSN benefits and spouse retirement and you have a pretty cushy setup.
BTW... this is only for eight of the PD employees that it pertains to. Dang... it's pretty awesome! (If you are one of those.) Question? Is our current chief one? Oh Yeah!
And his majors and so forth. And I'm sure Sue's husband.
How many Raytowners have that kind of setup? Probably not many.
They don’t collect two pensions from the same time. If they have in the old one they will get it from when they started until the pension system changed. The new one goes from that date of change until retirement.
Hey! Do Not Blame ME!
I voted for Ertz
He's no better?? Oh yes he is!
When 65%+ of the police department leaves to a more stable work environment, you all should be happy. Too bad the city will be screwed.
6:55
What proof do you have? I carefully explained this and you seem to be in denial. Pension 1 is frozen and no further benefits are accrued. I am starting to think that YOU refuse to see reason. Do you not understand that pension 1 is frozen and what that means? Pension 1 does not pay out for years worked after it was frozen. Now if you insist on lying about this come to a board meeting and make your claim. You’ll be laughed at.
Let me get this straight. If the BOA doesn't agree to let the Police Chief keep his power and money, then the women will be raped in their homes and the children will be murdered in the streets. That about it? What a load of horse hockey.
^^^^^ What they said:
"But then, in a city that paves its streets with gravel and actually has people who say it is an improvement over asphalt, are your really surprised?"
We were driving westbound past the dance studio on 79th St today. It appeared that it had just been "resurfaced". My husband: WT* is that?! It was a rather noisy, rumbly experience. Somewhat medieval.
Is this the "gravel"? Perhaps the surface may need to set up and settle a bit, or the street department might want to wander over that direction and reevaluate.
A harbinger of what is to come for Raytown? We hope not.
Your interpretation is flat out wrong. Again, I dare you to go to a board meeting and make these absurd claims. The pension stops when it was frozen. They don’t get paid for 30 years of service for both pensions. That’s an absurd claim. Support it with facts or come to a board meeting and make the accusation there troll.
Oh wow 8:45
Where the heck did you come up with that insanity
715 Ertz created a lot of this I wouldn't trust him babysitting even.
It is exactly as I wrote and a lot of the push back confirms it. There are officers within the Raytown pd who will receive payments from two different pension funds when they retire. Throw your tantrum. Continue with the scare tactics. It will not matter. They will still receive two pension payhments from the same city at one time.
Yes. But again, the old one is frozen, they already were vested in it, now the rest of their time will be covered by LAGERS. This was done and approved by Mahesh and Mark Loughry oh and the younger officers are all under LAGERS system. It also increased the type of LAGERS the other employees are under so their pensions are better too. Now they are under one system with better benefits
I asked. City had information really available
Nope, don’t see anything wrong here
4:18
You are unreachable. When presented with facts you bend the truth. You should go to Russia and work for Pravda. Listen, it is technically true. Some officers are getting two pensions. The first one is frozen and picks up a portion of the officer service. While the second pension picks up the remainder of service. What is not happening and what YOU have strongly been implying is that if an officer has 30 years of total service they get credited 30 years on each pension and that is absolutely not true. Again. Please come to the board meeting with your beliefs. Tantrum, no. I strongly dislike liars and lies. Again, come to the meeting.
I think you are a senior citizen, You believe $18,000 per year is a lot of money. I can forgive you for this. Ma’am, I don’t want to argue with you.
And they will both reflect the time paid into by both the city and the employees. AKA at a reduced rate. Not that hard to truly figure out.
So the reason officers are allowed to pad over time is to back load the five year average salary.
Let's say like the mayor some one retires after 40 years.
Actual salary is 60,000 and we use the 1.75 % under new pension
60,000 X 40 = 2,400,000 X .0175 = 42,000
However with Lynches back load officer gets 40,000 in over time or 100,000 in avg salary for last 5 years.
100,000 X 40 = 4,000,000 X .0175 = 70,000, which is actually 10,000 more than they have been working normal pay.
Clearly back stacking the books. Keep in mind that extra 40,000 was earned at time and half. This means more money for less officers on the street. It also brings support to those that believe we a way fewer officers on the street than what Lynch would like use to believe.
Back stack the books, bloated pension plan, take home vehicles, questionable ethics with Sue Frank - Lynch - Bowman political and personal relationship. It all Makes me wonder who the real criminals are in Raytown.
Bloated pension my butt. They don’t get enough for the job they do. They don’t get enough either.
There you go again.... It is not uncommon in most pension plans to include overtime in the calculation. Most pension plans take the average of the highest three or five years out of out of the last ten years. Then take the final average salary times years of service times a percentage. 1.75%. Federal, State and local workers, police, fire, teachers get pensions. That’s just how things work. Nothing criminal about pensions or including overtime in the calculation. Not sure why you are fixated on this. But as long as you keep cranking out wrong information, I will correct you.
I never in my life seen such a dumb group of people. If there is no money there is no money. What the he-- is so hard to understand about that. I would bet most of you go around writing hot checks to pay your bills or are on welfare. Raytown unleashed is the dumbest blog I have ever read, you people need to get a life of better yet a job.
Keep correcting officer. It does not change the fact the well has run dry. Do the city a favor and work for a solution. This tantrum throwing, threatening city employees with lawsuits and citizens with something just short of Armageddon is tiresome and solves NOTHING. Do something constructive.
Hi 4:45
Ummmm....This is the Raytown Report blog. Raytown Unleashed is on Facebook.
Ciao, baby!
7:15
Not an officer. I am a informed citizen of Raytown. No connections to the PD. I am not a former Alderman, nor am I a blogger, or a member of the press.. Everybody should know the well is dry. You keep banging that tired old drum. You know what’s coming and you know what it’s going to take to fix Raytown and you don’t like it. So you are rambling on about two pensions, and names of public officials that nobody remembers. And alleging every manner of falsehood you can. And when the election comes you will fight it tooth and nail with every excuse your mind can dream up.
Hey 7:15
What is your solution?
Save as many jobs as possible, put a tax levy in April on the ballot. I say this based on infrastructure needs first then the police. This is the best way to save the city. If the voters do not approve a levy increase then more drastic measures will be needed. Outsourcing city services. Etc. I don’t see how the economy would grow us out of this situation fast enough.
I hear the frozen pension is in serious financial trouble and the Board wants Chief Lynch to take it back to Lagers. I guess they raked him over the coals for poor fund supervision and turned down his request for additional money needed to shore up the Pension Fund annual contribution since the investments had once again under performed.
12:13
Under a recently passed state law, Lagers is now able to assume control of frozen government pensions like this. Lagers is one of the best public sector pensions in the nation. Highly regarded, usually stays anywhere from 90% funded to 110% funded depending on the stock market. Meets investment targets consistently.
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