RAYOWN'S LEADING NEWS SOURCE
KC mayor ‘tired of this banging on the city crap’ by police officials
over spending
By Glenn E. Rice grice@kcstar.com Updated February 13, 2018 03:48 PM
Kansas City Mayor Sly James on Tuesday lashed out at police officials’
repeated demands for more money.
The takedown came during what was supposed to be a brief budget
discussion during the monthly Kansas City police board meeting Tuesday. James
said city workers are being forced to curb spending — and the police department
must do the same.
“You want more money, you want more officers, find more inefficiencies
in how the money is being used,” he said. “I kind of get tired of this banging
on the city crap when at the end of the day I don’t see anybody coming up with
any solutions.”
READ MORE . . . Sly James comments
READ MORE . . . Sly James comments
Mayor Cancels
MeetingBY GREG WALTERS AND PAUL LIVIUS
Sec. 2-491. - Regularly
scheduled board of aldermen meetings.
The board of aldermen
shall meet regularly on the first and third Tuesday of each month at the time
and place established from time to time by the board. Regular meetings may be
rescheduled by the majority of the board for good cause. Regular meetings will
be rescheduled to the following Tuesday if the scheduled meeting falls on a
national holiday or any election day.
REPRINTED FROM THE RAYTOWN CODE OF ORDINANCES
REPRINTED FROM THE RAYTOWN CODE OF ORDINANCES
Sec. 2-492. - Quorum
designated.
A quorum of the board of
aldermen shall be a simple majority of all the aldermen duly elected, qualified
and serving. A quorum of a board, committee, commission or other subunit of the
city shall be a simple majority of the members duly appointed, qualified and
serving, but excluding ex officio members.
REPRINTED FROM THE RAYTOWN CODE OF ORDINANCES
REPRINTED FROM THE RAYTOWN CODE OF ORDINANCES
Last Tuesday’s regular meeting of
the Raytown Board of Aldermen was cancelled by Mayor Michael McDonough. The
notification was posted on City’s website the day of the meeting. The decision
to call off the meeting is alleged to be that too many of the Aldermen were
unable to attend that evening. Ward 3 Alderman Ryan Myers and Ward 2 Alderman Jim Aziere were
out of town. Ward 5 Alderman Bonnaye Mims was ill with the flu.
Ward 4 Alderman Bill VanBuskirk was also said to be out of town. We have since learned VanBuskirk was in town on Tuesday. And, that he sent word to the Mayor's office that he was available to attend the meeting.
Ward 4 Alderman Bill VanBuskirk was also said to be out of town. We have since learned VanBuskirk was in town on Tuesday. And, that he sent word to the Mayor's office that he was available to attend the meeting.
Somewhere along the line
of communication was broken between the Mayor and Board members.
At this point it is all water under
the bridge.
But it still remains that eight items of business were supposed to be conducted last Tuesday. One of those items was the swearing in of two new officers to the Raytown Police Department.
But it still remains that eight items of business were supposed to be conducted last Tuesday. One of those items was the swearing in of two new officers to the Raytown Police Department.
 |
| BY GREG WALTERS |
Ward 5 Vacancy
Needs to be Filled
Usually, when there is a
vacancy on the Board of Aldermen, the process to appoint a new Alderman to
finish the current term is moved along quickly.
Here is how the process
works.
The Mayor appoints the
position to finish the term of office until the next city election. The
candidate’s name is placed on the agenda for the Board of Aldermen to approve
or disapprove the appointment. Six votes are required for approval of the
appointment.
The current vacancy has
been open since early November . . . over 90 days has passed . . .why hasn’t
the position been filled?
This is not first
vacancy to go unfilled by Mayor Michael McDonough.
In 2016 he left two
seats vacant for extraordinary lengths of time. In July of 2016, a seat on the
Board of Aldermen became vacant due to the sudden death of Steve Mock. Mayor
McDonough did not fill the seat, opting to allow the position to go unfilled
for nine months.
In that same year, the
Alderman Josh Greene resigned his seat on the Board because he was moving to
another town. As in the case with Mock vacancy, McDonough did not make an
appointment. The seat remained vacant for five months until a new Alderman was
elected in April of 2017.
The cancelling of last
Tuesday’s meeting shows the consequence of not filling vacancies on the Board
of Aldermen. As the events played out it shows city business hanging in limbo.
Even worse, it breaks down the communication between the public and City Hall.
Hopefully, the Mayor will
understand the need to fill every position on the Board of Aldermen and take appropriate
action.
 |
| BY PAUL LIVIUS |
Paul’s Rant!
The Rest of the Story
(with apologies to Paul Harvey)
The word on the street
is that Mayor McDonough plans to ask the Board to approve the appointment of
Melissa Beall. As of our publishing deadline, we have been unable to confirm
when the appointment would be made.
Beall is said to be a
strong supporter of McDonough. This could spell trouble for the chances of her
appointment gaining enough votes to be seated. The Mayor has been at odds with
the majority of the Board over the past year.
Six votes are required
to approve the appointment. Since there is a vacancy on the Board, that means
that four Aldermen could block the nomination.
Accusations that the
Mayor’s nominee does not actively vote in Raytown City Elections have surfaced.
No better way to set the
record straight than to check with Jackson County Election Board. Here is what was learned.
According to records
from the Jackson County Election Board, Ms. Beall first voted in the November
2004 election and continued to cast votes is national elections up until 2016. She
did vote in the Presidential Primary in 2016 but did not vote in the
Presidential Election in November of 2016.
Ms. Beall has voted
twice in city elections since she registered to vote in 2004.
As Paul Harvey would say
. . .
Comments
I wish Missouri had early voting like Kansas does. I think voter participation would go way up.
Something is wrong in Raytown
Andy Whiteman
I thought absentee voting was only to be used if someone was going to be out of town, they are disabled, or having surgery. I thought that they had to attest to the reason.
Lots of folks would be doing absentee voting for "whatever reason" just because we didn't want to go vote on a Tuesday. I wouldn't lie just to get an absentee ballot.
Where have you been? We've had crimes being committed, signs going up in the right of ways seeking to buy houses, vacant houses everywhere, pawn shops, liquor stores, booze joints, tattoo parlors, convenience stores every hundred feet, and gravel roads since Sue Franks was in office. Nothing has changed. It might seem to get worse because there are the same dozen or so people who post an unlimited number of comments on a social media page about the same incident. Point in fact, there were 183 posts about the one incident at Walmart Saturday. If you look at the crime statistic page, you will see crime hasn't really increased in Raytown. And, it's much worse in Independence and Lee's Summit. Put down the Kool-Aid.
As for crime in our city, it is rampant everywhere in the metro area. Heard on the news this morning. A shooting out by the Legends shopping center. Another one in South Kansas City. Seems South KC has the most -- but who is keeping track?
By the way, I think the guys that put this blog together do a pretty good job. There articles are timely and most of the time on point. keep up the good work.
No. Crime is not much worse in Lee's Summit. Sorry, I used to live there and have family there now, and they don't have the problems we have.
Well this weeks topic was timely, irrelevant, and boring!
Andy Whiteman
I do miss the fact that we no longer have a newspaper in Raytown. I know that a lot of people did not like Randy but it was better to have some information rather than none.
So when we have problems in our city we really do not have any way to know about it. I do not have Facebook, snap chat or any other of social media forms.
Mr. Mayor please start thinking for the good of the city, forget about keeping the Police Chief happy. Let us have a transparent government in city hall. Do not do as Frank White does, take 6 months to study the problem.
Rental houses all over the place. Some residents are fine with this.
I'm not fine with rental houses either.
One of the rental houses by me has a family of several people yet no one can bring in the big trash bin from the curb after trash day. Also we're lucky if they mow once a month. (Actually, they don't mow. Several teens live there yet they pay to have someone come over and mow.) Sometimes I wonder if they know what is involved in living in a house. I wonder if they are section 8.
Renters don't care how things look because it is not their house.
7:18 pm
I don't know of anyone who is fine with a lot of rental properties in Raytown.
Who are these folks who don't mind rental properties? Are they living in apartments themselves?
Rentals bring property values down.
These so call "professionals" Cityhall hires have no skin in game when it comes to what's best for Raytown. Their only concern is for themselves and their family, who are living in a nicer, safer community and school districts like Liberty and Lee's Summit.
Get what you can while you're employed with the city: $$$$$$ and kick the can down the road until your departure. We've seen this in the past city administrator and finance person, and nothing has really changed since they left for greener pastures. Just a different face to the same old crap.
I think it is a good idea for certain City positions to require residency in the City. It would be easier to achieve if the school districts in the City(Raytown and Hickman Mills) were actually places you would want to send your children to. The City administrator should be one position where City residency is required.
I think Tom Cole is doing an excellent job. Dealt a bad hand and is trying to turn things around. We, the citizens of Raytown could make his job easier by supporting the City and raising the levy,--a levy that has not been raised in close to 4 decades.
Probably because the police are part of the city and he wants to be sure he shares things that make any portion of city operations more efficient
It is titled: "Mayor Blasts Police Official Over Money".
No newspaper here anymore but you wouldn't see that story about Raytown.
"Dealt a bad hand...."? That's the understatement of the year. Tom Cole deserves some kind of national public service award. He is indeed doing an EXCELLENT job.
Can you imagine what Tom Cole is compelled to confront each day when he's sitting behind his desk at City Hall?
"As he sits at his desk, he hears footsteps...voices in the outer alcove....his pulse accelerates..."
Sorry it is not showing up so maybe the police took it down
It was not about Raytown but another city
You think with the stuff the board has had to deal with the mayor has had much success finding quality people to step into office You wish him to appoint just anyone just to fill a spot
Oh plueeze. Hiya, Mikey.
Syntax, punctuation... -> we gotcha.
It's by far not your first go-round "en anonyme".
And we beg to differ.
Dispense with spending so much time on social media and resolve the alderman issue.
Wow. The negativity. I actually know something about the funeral industry as I considered becoming a funeral director at one time. Funeral directors are in short supply. If she changed jobs every few years it’s most likely to earn more money. Believe it or not, being a funeral director is a good job that allows you to live anywhere in the U.S.A. Not everyone can do this job. I am amazed at how people speak so negatively without knowledge. In the end it makes you look foolish.
If that’s the advice she was given, it was probably sound advice to withdraw. Your concerns are really overblown. Local politics is pretty basic and usually non controversial. It’s roads, bridges, and police. Not the kind of issues we see at the state or national level. I am glad Ward 5 will have full representation on the council and I hope the BOA will do the right thing and approve the nomination.
Oh come on. You already know the answer, it’s just politically incorrect to say!
cro·ny·ism
/krōnēˌizəm/
noun derogatory
"the appointment of friends and associates to positions of authority, without proper regard to their qualifications."
Cronyism. Same verse, different town, era, whatever.
Raytown, however, is the worst. The absolute WORST. We elect a few unqualified people, who in turn lean on their equally unqualified friends and associates from decades past.
The results of falling back on this tiny, aged, sinister, sneaky, inferior gene pool are now laid bare for all to see.
It's laughable. It's sad.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're not offering any "solutions". Really?
First "solution" is to vote out a few of these disingenuous, manipulative, unproductive, repugnant fossils. Perhaps they didn't create "the problems", however they've always been completely incapable via a dearth of a number of items, including intellect and BEHAVIOR, of remedying anything here.
We need a clean slate. Those people will make mistakes too, and will learn along with the rest of us, but hopefully they'll be the type of folks with heart and sincerity that will raise this city back up. People that we can all wrap around and fully support.
Start fresh. There is no other way. I can't believe that we keep doing this.
Mrs Beall, did you write this?
If/when this person is appointed, they'll be met with open minds. If their behavior is the polar opposite of some of the current characters in office, they'll do just fine. Otherwise, best that she carry on with her "public And volunteer service" without crossing the threshold at City Hall.
There should and will continue to be zero tolerance for the actions and behavior of some of the current officeholders.
Wrong. And funny.
It’s really not that hard to figure out who wrote the Ward 5 post. The evidence is out there. :) What concerns me is your apparent lack of concern that Ward 5 is underrepresented on the council. I am concerned about it. I have every right to be.
Huh?
WRRRRONG! Where?
Fill the thing already. We need as many bottoms as possible planted in those seats. Just fill the Ward Five seat with a productive, level-headed individual.
Next time read. READ! Too funny.