RAYTOWN'S LEADING NEWS SOURCE
The Tyranny of the Minority
Okay. I bastardized the saying. It is actually the Tyranny of the Majority. The Tyranny of the Majority is unofficially an explanation of when the majority refuses to hear or brow beats their opposition into submission on public issues.
I call this story the Tyranny of the Minority because in these strange times it is often the minority who take over the bully pulpit and browbeat their opposition into silence. On the national scene you saw this last summer at the University of California (Berkley) when a minority of the student population rioted to keep public speakers from making addresses at the campus.
In a way, we have a Tyranny of the Minority playing out here in Raytown.
Facebook, a tool that is marvelous for informing the public can also be used to subvert the public. Case in point . . . Mayor McDonough’s veto of the Board of Aldermen’s vote to establish the pecking order of who does what at City Hall.
The Board voted to establish the order as Mayor/Board of Aldermen / City Administrator / Department Heads (elected and appointed).
In so doing, they have adopted a measure already mandated to them by Missouri State Statutes.
So what they have done is nothing new. They merely adopted a law they are required to follow.
The vote was eight yes with one abstention and one position vacant. The Mayor vetoed to the amendment. The Board will now vote on whether to over-turn the veto. It will take seven yes votes to overturn the veto. So unless one of the Aldermen does a flip-flop with their vote, the veto will probably be over-ridden.
It all makes for good theatre. But even if the veto is upheld it will not change anything. Raytown is a Fourth Class City. A fourth class city is a statutory city. That means it must follow the laws established by lawmakers in Jefferson City.
The Board of Aldermen will remain the ultimate decision maker in Raytown.
Let’s go back to the Tyranny of the Minority.
A couple of posts on the blog section of the Raytown Report proclaimed the majority of Raytowners are opposed to the Board’s actions this past six months. One went so far as to say the public speakers at Council meetings ALL support the Police and are opposed to what the Board of Aldermen have accomplished this past year.
I disagree.
I watch the video feeds of the meetings. The “anti” crowd at Board meeting has shrunk considerably. Only about 15 showed up at the last meeting of the Board. When the speakers speak they only need to give their first names. That is because it is always the same speakers. I think Tony and Kathy would agree with me.
Here is a reality check. Most people do not itch for a fight. When someone sits quietly at a meeting and does not wildly applaud when someone giving their point of view speaks, it means they do not agree with what was said
I do not blame people for not standing up and speaking out at meetings. Here is why.
I review all the meetings in my Paul Livius Report. The microphones at city hall are pretty sensitive. Turn up your speaker if you want to check this out. I have heard the reception speakers who are not in tune with the crowd called vulgar names, racist names. Shouts of “sit down” and “shut up” do not encourage anyone with the opposing view from speaking their mind.
I am well aware of how a few can make their voice sound like many on Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat. Those same few are often viewed as threatening by many folks. My point in this rather lengthy rant is this . . . Do not take silence as a sign of support of your position. You will be surprised at how wrong you can be.
4th
Class City Tutorial
“These
times are strange”, so said Paul Livius to me the other day. Paul went on to
say he had never seen so much disinformation being fed in an unending stream in
Raytown. Recent actions at City Hall, and outside of City Hall back up what he
had said.
So
I offered to put together a short tutorial on what my 27 years on the Raytown
Board of Aldermen taught me about the workings of a Fourth Class City like
Raytown.
To
back up my conclusions I did a little web search and found a source (I hope)
will be unimpeachable from critics of what is written here. That source is the
University of Missouri. You will find it to be extremely user-friendly and full
of all sorts of information Bold type is language taken directly from the
website.
ABSTAINING
FROM VOTING:
bring this up because at the last meeting Ward 2 Alderman Jason Green abstained
from voting. His vote was improper. I suspect he used the abstention as a way
to soft-sell his “no” vote.
There
are circumstances in which a member must abstain from voting, but this should
be kept to a bare minimum. Each member has, by swearing in, made a commitment
to represent citizens on all questions. So, unless voting creates a conflict of
interest or constitutes nepotism, all members should vote on all issues. When
abstaining, the member should leave the room and not participate in pre-vote
discussions.
In
other words, if Mr. Green did not agree with the motion on the floor he should
have voted “no”. It is really that simple. In Green’s defense he is not the
first to make this mistake in protocol. He will probably not be the last. The
Mayor has a duty to remind Board members of their duty to make clear votes on
motions.
ALDERMEN POWER OF THE COLLECTIVE:
The board of aldermen is empowered by voters to collectively make decisions that are in the best interest of the city. However, sometimes this goal is overlooked as each alderman is elected individually. As individuals, each alderman should strive to best represent his or her ward — proposing ideas, debating issues and even objecting to others' ideas. But once a vote is held (even if it's a close vote or tied), it becomes the whole board's decision and the city's position.
POWER OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN:
Only the board of aldermen can make decisions for the city. The mayor can propose, suggest and encourage adoption of a proposal, but the mayor only votes to break a tie vote. Only an alderman can make a motion and second a motion.
But this doesn't mean that the mayor doesn't exercise considerable control as presiding officer of the board. The mayor chooses who is recognized, who is ruled out of order and which motions Procedure following veto.
The mayor only has a vote if there is a tie vote on the Board. A Fourth Class City is often referred to as a weak Mayor, strong Council, form of government. Make no mistake about it. Collectively speaking, the Board of Aldermen is the most powerful force in a Fourth Class City.
VETO POWER OF THE MAYOR:
If the mayor opposes an ordinance passed by the board, he or she may return it to the board immediately upon passage and state his or her objections. The board should direct the clerk to enter the mayor's objections in the minutes and then vote on the ordinance again. The motion is: "Shall the bill pass, the objections of the mayor thereto notwithstanding?" If two-thirds of the elected aldermen agree, the bill becomes an ordinance without the mayor's signature (79.140).
The mayor may also choose to return the passed ordinance and state his or her objections at the next regular meeting. At that time, it becomes an ordinance without the mayor's signature or another vote.
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Comments
Is there any way the board of aldermen can pass an ordinance limiting section 8 properties or the number of rental properties in Raytown?
We need to increase home ownership and decrease rentals.
Being poor doesn't make you a criminal, but a lot of criminals are poor. They are too lazy to work so they'll take your money or stuff.
Less crime=higher property values=better quality of life. I am sick of reading how people are so glad they don't live here anymore. We need to turn that around.
The following information will discuss pupil eligibility for transportation services, private school attendance areas and allowable methods of providing transportation.
PUPIL ELIGIBILITY
Section 121.54(2)(b)1., Wis. Stats., specifies that in order to be eligible to receive transportation services from the school district in which the private school pupil resides, all of the following criteria must be met:
1. The pupil resides 2 miles or more from the private school he/she attends;
2. The pupil resides within the private school's approved attendance area; and
3. The private school is located within the boundaries of the pupil's resident school district or not more than 5 miles beyond the boundaries of the school district measured along the usually traveled route. In a union high school district, with underlying elementary districts, the 5 miles from the district's boundaries is measured from the union high school district boundaries, not from each of the elementary school district's boundaries.
Example : 2005/2007 Raytown School Board in regards to 25 million dollars it charged the city.
Sure is a lot more money taken than by little Johnny in the section 8 housing.
Citizens asked for the veto. The mayor listened. This is why I have been banging the drum to get some of the folks here to go to board meetings and express your views. If you want your view to be supported then you are going to have to peel yourself off the couch and come to Boards meeting because obviously anonymous posting is not working for you.
Instead, when I encourage people to participate in Democracy, I am given weird stories about how people are scared to show up. Folks, these board meetings are relatively quiet affairs. The only time there has been a problem is when an Alderman choose to use the N word during public comments. Naturally, this was not well received. This Alderman abused the 10 minute rule and people were saying to sit down and to bring the floor to order. I got news for you all here, we want all citizens to participate in Democracy no matter what your view is on an issue. The citizens all want very similar things when it comes down to it.
"I got news for you all here, we want all citizens to participate in Democracy..."
And it's not your place to tell us by what method or at what time we should elect to "...participate in Democracy..."
You need to check yourself. Immediately.
Say, since you are a big fan of standing up at the podium and speaking your piece. Please tell me your name so I can look for your important comments at the meetings.
We have contacted our aldermen PRIVATELY and expressed to them that any instrument that will regulate -this- chief needs to be formally recognized and firmly, consistently enforced.
And if we, for whatever inane reason, ww would feel compelled to express our opinion on FACEBOOK of all places, it's up to US if we wish to be drawn into an extended debate. Our points may indeed be more valid than a certain page moderator's, but it's very unlikely that she could respect any narrative other than her own, despite her statements to the contrary. Any discussion would likely dissolve into remarks such as "....you are going to have to peel yourself off the couch...".
There is evidence of this already. This page moderator of this group has previously indicated that the wife of a alderman is "hateful". In an open forum, no less.
Having passion for a subject and speaking often of it is one thing, but in the process of continually attempting to ram home her point of view, this group moderator has instead started to redirect attention onto herself.
And if any alderman bases ANY part of their vote on the antics of this Facebook moderator, we will really start wondering about them too. As likely will the balance of other area city officials and administrators that may be looking in at this debacle.
Lame duck this mayor and please move ahead with putting the wheels back on this wagon, Aldermen.
That amendment was likely going to be vetoed without anyone's input anyway. We've grown exceedingly weary of this "chief-mayor" for precisely these reasons.
Despite numerous compassionate hints, it hasn't and probably will never dawn on this group moderator that the perhaps the majority of us simply do not agree with her. We will continue to choose to not be drawn into the continuous drama that she has created regarding this Amendment. The exchange would be merely circuitous, and ultimately of little to no benefit to anyone.
Even laser focus has its limits. Our advice would be to build up a brand new head of steam and champion something else far more beneficial to the community outside of your "group" than this amendment.
This moderator has gone so overboard with her opposition of a simple item, it's become surreal.
And if such a term as "unintentional dishonesty" exists, what has transpired on that Facebook page in the last few weeks would be a classic example of it.
To consciously or unconsciously make a handful of voices sound like so many? Under either circumstance, that's either wishful thinking or OUTRIGHT dishonesty.
Now please excuse me. I need to get back to my couch.
Yes, a group of citizens asked for the veto. I do know some of the names, but not all. The mayor can reveal the quantify of the feedback he received if he so chooses. The people who petitioned are residents, voters and taxpayers. This should be good enough for anybody, but apparently not you.
I am not asking you to express your opinion on Facebook. I am asking you to come to the board meeting and exercise your Constitutional rights. If you are not willing to fight for what you believe in, then the "couch" might be the best place for you. I hope to see some of you at the Board meeting. I actually find it very disturbing that folks do not want to stand up for their rights, regardless of views that might be different.
Save it for something important Mike. You cannot fight Jefferson City and win on this one.
"I am asking you to come to the board meeting and exercise your Constitutional rights. If you are not willing to fight for what you believe in, then the "couch" might be the best place for you."
We don't need you to instruct us as to where, when or how to exercise our constitutional rights. You're overstepping. Again.
December 4, 2017 at 7:43 PM:
You are electing to sit on your rump and whine here. Your right to do so. I have heard more excuses why none of you can go to a board meeting and address the board. It’s sad. It varies from being “scared” to bogus notions of being threatened. Some have even brought up fear of the police. Brave bunch that hangs out here.
This is getting interesting. Keep talking. You're exposing your extraordinarily weak argument.
And WHO is doing the whining? ;-)
The problem is the mayor is still wearing his badge.
By the way we are a 4th class city so any petition can be used to wipe with as that is all it is worth.
#1 the mayor #2 Jason Green #3 Out of Town Susan
If the Aldermen don't step aside and allow "Hizz Honor" to veto a BASIC AMENDMENT, the ENTIRE CITY will lose faith in them and be so darn angry that they will vote down a tax increase this Spring.
Cue the violins.
Trust? GONE. Infrastructure? GONE. Police Department? GONE. Facebook girl and her super tiny contingent are being disregarded, therefore the end of Raytown is drawing nigh! We're DOOMED! The community will be SHATTERED if a minor (in the scheme of things) police department amendment is allowed to stand. Citizen revolt is imminent, according to her. She speaks for the entire community, you know. She knows what is best for us all. She recommends the "appropriate solution".
What a pathetic attempt to get one's way. Speaking for others, threats, scare tactics?
Hilarious. Reeks of desperation. All of it.
Don't tell us how we feel, don't tell us WHAT we feel ("ignored"), don't tell us what to support, don't tell us that we don't "trust", don't define "reason", and don't claim that there are "consequences". And we don't need to "heal" and we're not "slowly backing away" from anything.
Council discussion, consideration and hours of conversation do not equal "bulldozed".
Most of us are certainly not going to hand over any additional funds to the City when a "few" entities have an ironclad history of blowing through our money like drunken sailors and have blatantly disregarded and abused their peers. We need this city manager and layers of oversight to be in control before we would remotely even consider a tax increase.
Stay on course, Alderman. Reaffirm that this City needs a clear chain of command, especially over this police department. Override this "mayor", police chief, whatever he is.
The board should override veto of of the mayor there should be no issue other than the mayor going home and taking his police badge and put it away in a drawer. After that he should start by being a mayor for the voters of Raytown and not the lackey of the police chief. His friendship for the chief should be left at the door of the city hall.
Come on mayor you are better than this.
Did the Board of Alderman take a stand for the citizens and stop the police abuse?
Best way to make a difference... contact your Aldermen directly, talk to your neighbors and continue to post online and say something.
Saying something does not include sniping at posters who you disagree with.
Back in the days before the internet, a personal visit to the podium may have meant something. Today not so much.
BTW... I have spoken at a couple of BOR meetings. Waste of my time.
And which City would you propose should annex Raytown? It would have to be either Kansas City, or Independence as these are the only two cities that share a common border with us. Independence shares a very small border area to the north and it does not make sense to merge with it. What you are really talking about is merging with Kansas City. Nobody in Raytown wants to have a 1% city earnings tax on their income. That's the cost of living in KC. 1% of your income goes bye bye. Never going to happen.
Given that this vote involved his office and the police department, one would think that he would be in attendance without reserve. To listen, to accept, to plan, represent the Department and to pledge to work as a team with our city government, regardless of condition. Especially given the severity of several factors that we're now compelled to deal with.
Or am I reaching?
This is your chief, ladies and gentlemen. But I guess it's okay to gloss over this type of behavior.
In lieu of attendance, we would be overwhelmingly happy to accept a resignation letter, with the "chief's" little scribble scratches at the bottom.
Onwards and upwards, Aldermen and City Manager. Exceptionally pleased with your decision.
ONLY IN RAYTOWN - We keep everyone and loss the offset money form the county.
Poor management that doesn't need anymore tax money until they start managing our tax dollars without waste and with signs things are improving.
Greedy!!!
This “with the approval of the board “ doesn’t seem to match up with that at all as it doesn’t say what the board is to approve.
I can see why the mayor was leary of it
Too bad Board overall could not
If someone has a position opposite yours, just make personal attacks over and over again. Yeah! That will fix things huh?????
Bad political move for the both of them and best political way to show it is "NO NEW TAXES".
They first need about 2 years to show they can manage money, Lynch needs to step down and move on and the city needs to look at better oversight and other taxing options.
And what part are you referring to?
Full-Time Employees 1,437
Schools: Ten elementary schools, three middle schools, two high schools, one alternative school, early childhood services, a school for students with severe disabilities, and a vocational school serving six districts
No doubt the biggest enterprise in Raytown. Easy target for flat earth types.
I think they do a darned good job with educating our kids.
Never can be replaced with home-school or even private schools.
But parents have always had the option.
Lets get back to basics and lets lift the tax burden.
You want an extra football field, two baseball fields and whatever else that board dreams up that has nothing to do with the classroom you have a fundraiser or get sponsors.
Some of the same old, same old, Board of Aldermen bashing from the speakers. That was expected.
What I did not expect was to hear the City Clerk read into the record a letter from someone named Susan who could not make the meeting.
Can anyone do this? Can I, or for that matter, any other citizen send their letter to City Hall and have it read into the record.
Mr. Mayor. You allowed it last meeting. Will you allow it in other meetings. I am sure there are plenty of people who will want to mail in their comments for the City Clerk to read.
Please respond on this forum.
Oh, and for the record I love this community as much as anyone else. I am proud of the brave stand the Board of Aldermen have made this past year. They have saved our city from bankruptcy. If you have ever been through the living hell of going bankrupt, you know exactly what I mean.
Keep up the good work guys and gals on the BOA!
We may not parade up to city hall to chew out the opposition. But there are many of us who will stand with you for saving our city!
Most surprising was the reading of a letter by the City Clerk to the Board of Aldermen from someone named Susan. Could this be Susan Vorbeck. An absentee owner of property in Raytown who actually lives in Independence?
Can anyone mail in their comments for the City Clerk to read into the record during public comments?
I am very proud of our Board of Aldermen. Th
Suzie works hard on her Facebook groups. All day long. Apparently even when she's drawing a salary working for someone else.
She owns a house in Raytown, therefore she is entitled to her opinion. She makes certain that everyone is aware of her opinion, and it's very important to her that your opinion matches her opinion.
Her Facebook groups have many people in them. The mayor gave her an award. The mayor frequently posts messages to her groups.
Anyone can read Suzie's opinions at council meetings, as long as the mayor says that it's okay. They appear to get along really well and probably have the same opinions, so when Suzie has an opinion and cannot be at the meeting, someone else reads her opinions.
"You want an extra football field, two baseball fields and whatever else that board dreams up that has nothing to do with the classroom you have a fundraiser or get sponsors."
I agree.
We need to get the test scores up. The Raytown School district is never listed as one of the top districts in the area.
I think they should take out "Quality" from "Raytown Quality Schools" until they can prove it is quality education.
never mind, don't answer that. I read the paper, follow blogs on Facebook and watch the nightly news.
I remember last summer. or so, the then Kansas City Police Chief unexpectedly resigned. He turned in a request for unpaid overtime for half a million dollars!!! I sometime wonder who the real criminals are...
Raytown needed cooperation. Instead it received political maneuvering by the mayor and chief of police. I cannot think of one thing they did that helped the situation.
The rallying of an extreme element on Raytown Unleashed really hurt Raytown's image. There was an ugly pattern of comments spewed on Raytown Unleashed that somehow became news stories on the nightly news. I wonder if the news directors have figured out how much they have been played in their news coverage of Raytown during the budget crisis.
The Board deserves credit for hanging together in a situation they inherited from the irresponsible decisions made during David Bower and Sue Frank's turns as mayor.
The healing will take some time.
A bit premature..... Things are in flux. What we really have to see is how the national economy does for the next few years and how this impacts Raytown. If the revenue stream remains flat or continues to fall, then yes we have a problem. One of the things that we could look at to save money, and that's if things go south, is to disband the PD and contract with the Sheriffs Department. Potentially, this could give us more bang for the buck and reduce costs. But, we are a long way from this happening.
Be honest. You do not like social media because it is upending and changing how local politics is conducted. Social media is empowering the people to challenge leaders and question decisions like never before. Even this blog, and I rarely agree with it, is challenging how traditional politics is conducted in Raytown. If you are affiliated with the old political system in Raytown, then no, you are not going to like it. How dare the citizens question anything!
Once would think with all the going on in Raytown that the Chief could pull himself away from a tax-payer sponsored vacation. I mean really, how many out-of-town seminars are needed to do one's job? I guess as many as you can take if there is no oversight and you do as you damn well please...
I would wager if a low rank officer requested all the out-of-town trips that the Chief and his buddies in PD take, that they would be laughed out of the building.
That's why I against Lynch and all for the blue on the street.
Tom, if possible, please review his tab. (Man it feels GREAT to say that!)
A "seminar". Awesome timing!
We would love to have an accounting of the last, oh, 7 years to determine how many "seminars" "chief" and his upper brass have attended, and itemized expense statements.
This either might prove our point, or actually assist this "chief" in retrieving a modicum of credibility.
Andy Whiteman
Stop patting yourself on the back.
You fervently attempted and failed this week to convince anyone that the opinion of several dozen people represented the majority of citizens in this community. The mayor mindlessly camped right onto the same propaganda technique with his paper folder show and tell act at the latest meeting. You two are two peas in a pod, apparently.
The author wasn't addressing your weak argument, but rather the intentional misuse of Facebook to sway the opinions of other people.
Did you hear the good news the mayor has set precedent that allows you to write a letter to the board of alderman to be read in public comments.
"Oh. Your 100 years old? Good. You are becoming more irrelevant by the day. No, by the hour."
And 3 minutes later @ 11:02 AM:
"And you would have us believe that a few couch dwelling keyboard warriors who are to lazy to write emails, call, or attend a board meeting represent the majority in Raytown?"
--------------------------
Oh c'mon, Mr. or Ms. Helper! No cogent argument is evidenced in either of the above entries.
How in the world is your stinky attitude consistent with all that "...the community needs to heal" hokum that y'all were yammering about nonstop last week?
Take a time out. Let's just all agree that you should consider staying in quarantine over at Unglued until you feel that you can be more respectful of the opinions of others.
The sting of not getting your way will lessen with time. We promise.
Silly neophytes.
Only In Raytown
Creamer? Others like him?
The only reason I could understand for a written comment is if someone is unable to attend for a valid reason.
Andy Whiteman
Please define valid reason. Ms. Brown had been all over town painting rocks and collecting food and money for REAP. Yet, she couldn't bother to come to a BOA meeting? One has to set priorities.
I'm compelled to agree. If Susan Brown were handicapped or had any other accessibility issue, no one would mind if a member of staff stepped in for her. But for no other reason.
Now I guess we can anticipate a tiresome memorandum from Mrs. Brown alleging one prohibitive, dire circumstance or another.
She cajoles everyone else for not voicing their opinion at Council, and she may be the one that consistently uses the term "keyboard warrior". Rather hypocritical behavior,in the scheme of things. But apparently Mrs. Brown's circumstances are of far more significance than anyone else's.
In my opinion, when it comes to recent issues that involve the City, Mrs. Brown has caused far more harm than good.
Andy Whiteman