About
Town . . . WHAT MAKES RAYTOWN
SPECIAL
A stroll on
the walking trail located at Colman Park (59th and Lane
Streets) took us to this Little Free Library. The “library” was a gift to Raytown by Raytown Rotary. The handsome wood shelves hold a treasure of books covering
all sorts of subjects.
Doughboy’s
Restaurant (67th and Woodson Road) has been recognized by
Channel Nine Television as one of the top five donut shops in the metropolitan
area. We did a little investigative reporting and found out the truth.
Doughboys was not rated in the top five. It was rated in the top two! We would
have found out if that meant first of second place . . . but we ran out
doughnuts to bribe our informant! |
| BY GREG WALTERS |
City
Administrator Tom Cole
tenders resignation
Raytown City Administrator Tom Cole tendered his resignation in writing to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen last Friday (4/6/18).
Raytown City Administrator Tom Cole tendered his resignation in writing to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen last Friday (4/6/18).
In a statement
to the Raytown Report Cole said he wished to explore other career paths open to
him. He said he appreciated the friends he had made in Raytown during his nine year
long stint with Raytown.
Cole
gave credit to the Board of Aldermen for having to make some very tough
decisions during last year’s budget process and was impressed with the
professionalism the Board demonstrated during the process.
Mr.
Cole will serve the rest of the month of April as City Administrator.
Tom Cole will be
Missed BY GREG WALTERS
“Tom
Cole was an able and capable Administrator for Raytown City Hall”. It is fair
to say those thoughts are shared by all the members of the Raytown Board of
Aldermen.
He
shepherded the Board through some very tumultuous times during last year’s
budget. The situation was always tense. On one side he had a unified Board of
Aldermen (the budget did pass unanimously). On the other side a Chief of Police
and Mayor who were adamantly opposed to change.
Tom
Cole showed all of us what can be accomplished by working with elected
officials toward a common goal. Through his efforts and the efforts of the
Board of Aldermen, the city is now on fiscally solid ground. The result of
their teamwork is something that has not been done in Raytown for a very long
time . . . a abalanced budget.
He deserves
every bit of the praise he is receiving for his work in Raytown.
Revolving Door a Problem BY PAUL LIVIUS
Mr. Cole
is the ninth management team member at City Hall to leave his position since
the last Mayoral election.
In just
one year the following Department Heads have left City Hall.
MAHESH
SHARMA (City Administrator)
TOM
COLE (City Administrator)
MARK LOUGHRY (City Finance Director)
BRIANA
BURRICHTER (City Finance Director)
KATIE
HORNER (Public Works Director)
JOHN
BENSON (Community
Development Director)
KEVIN
BOJI (Parks and Recreation Director)
TED
BOWMAN (Major in the RPD)
BRENDA
GUSTAFSON (Public Information
Officer)
No
doubt, those individuals left for varying reasons. Still, the
overwhelming truth is that such a large turnover of Senior Staff is an
indication of serious trouble in any organization. It speaks of an environment
that does not nurture the desire for management employees to stay.
Such an atmosphere is like a cancer that spreads. When other office employees
see their peers bullied and forced out they begin to wonder, “am I next?”
The
Raytown Board of Aldermen did a respectable job cleaning up years of abuse in
the city’s budget last summer. Now they have a more arduous task before them.
They need to root out those who would use their position and power to
intimidate and threaten employees at City Hall.
TRUTH
WATCH BY PAUL LIVIUS
This past week has seen a number of
contradictory statements in the Blog portion of the Raytown Report. Though
contradictory, the statements are timely . . .
and, judging by the response from our readers, of local interest.
So we thought we would clear up some of
the issues.
SPEEDING TICKETS: How many speeding tickets does the Raytown Police write annually?
Ward 3 Alderman Ryan Myers set the record
straight. He told us that according to a Grant Application compiled by
the Raytown Police the Raytown Police Department issued an average of 2
speeding tickets a day in Fiscal Year 2017.
 |
| DOUBLE CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE |
Myers pointed out the statistics covered
Fiscal Year 2017, which ended October 31, 2017. This year’s budget cuts did not
take place until November of 2017. His point being that the Department was not
short-staffed during the ten months covered by the Report.
We wondered how many speeding tickets
other area cities of similar population and size wrote each year. Here is what
we found:
Alderman Myers never received an answer
from Lynch as to why Raytown only writes two speeding tickets a day.
ZIP
CODES: How many Zip Codes does Raytown have? One writer said there are five
zip codes serving the Raytown area. Another wrote there were only two. We went
to the source, the United States Postal Service official answer is . . . three. Those zip codes receiving mail
in Raytown, according to the USPS are 64129, 64133 and 64138.
INTERNET
SALES TAX ELECTION RESULTS: There has
been contradictory information as to how many cities held elections on April 3rd
with an Internet Sales Tax question on the ballot. We did a check of area
Election Board data bases and found three Internet Sales Tax questions on the
ballot. Those elections were in Blue Springs, Independence and Liberty.
Here are the results:
BLUE
SPRINGS: Shall city impose a 2.5% local
use tax on out-of-state and on-line purchases?
YES . . . . . . . . . 1810 (42.93%)
NO . . . . . . . . . . 2406 (57.07%)
INDEPENDENCE: Shall the city impose a 2.25% local use tax on on-line
and out-of-state retail purchases?
YES . . . . . . . . . 2406 (38.5%)
NO . . . . . . . . . . 3705 (61.5%)
LIBERTY: Shall the City of Liberty impose a local City Sales
tax rate, currently 3.75%, provided that if the local sales tax rate is reduced
or raised by voter approval, the local use tax shall also be reduced or raised
by the same action?
YES . . . . . . . . . 2839 (70.13%)
NO . . . . . . . . . . 1209 (29.87%)
BAFFLING
BALLOT LANGUAGE: You may note the
Liberty ballot language is, to say the least, convoluted and somewhat
misleading. It effectively masked that fact that by voting yes voters approved
a new Internet Sales Tax of 3.75% on all internet sales in the city. . . .
SNEAKY, SNEAKY!!!
120 comments:
So which is it...Mr. Cole was a great leader or it's an environment of bullying?
Were these people forced out or did they just get better jobs? Seems like a point is trying to be made, I just can't figure out what it is.
We know why half the police department left and it wasn't for being bullied.
Wow! Like the changes in this weeks Report. You actually mentioned some non-political topics. Keep that up. Then you went political. It’s hard to know the motives of why people leave an organization unless you actually ASK the person. Most of the time it’s issues over pay I am sure. Does Raytown pay top dollar on salaries? Competitive to the market? I doubt it.. If we don’t know why these folks left how can anyone just assume it was for negative reasons?
2:15am People don't voluntarily quit their jobs because of the company or organization. They quit because of the people they work with.
If Brianna claims on her LinkedIn profile to have been the City Finance Director for a year and 5 months, how can Mark also have left in the last year? Something about that isn't adding up. People leave jobs because of management and better opportunities, but if it's management, isn't the city managed by the BOA, because we have a weak Mayor system so all the ordinances and actual control is the from the BOA. "Mr. Cole is the ninth management team member at City Hall to leave his position since the last Mayoral election.
In just one year the following Department Heads have left City Hall.
MAHESH SHARMA (City Administrator)
TOM COLE (City Administrator)
MARK LOUGHRY (City Finance Director)
BRIANA BURRICHTER (City Finance Director)
KATIE HORNER (Public Works Director)
JOHN BENSON (Community Development Director)
KEVIN BOJI (Parks and Recreation Director)
TED BOWMAN (Major in the RPD)
BRENDA GUSTAFSON (Public Information Officer)"
This city is a sinking ship financially and getting the needed tax increases in November will be difficult at best. Government is a different business model than a regular business as even the people at the top tend to move in and out of their positions. It’s the nature of the beast whereas in private business, typical the big bosses are there for decades. My boss has been there 40 years. Our mayor? He’s brand new. I think it’s far more likely tht these people left for a job with a better financial outlook. If it was the people, I think it’s far more likely the blame would fall on either the board or Chief Lynch; not the mayor. Change of any kind often results in turnover. It should also be taken into consideration that some of these people (certainly not Cole) we WANTED out. They were part of the problem our mayor inherited from past administrations. I’m sad to see Tom Cole go. He has been an asset to our community. One last thought, while the board was unanimous in their approval of the budget, they were absolutely not if a singular mind about how and why this happened. What they all would have to agree with (and some have verbally confirmed) that these cuts were due to a failure of past boards to do their jobs and keep spending under control. It cannot be denied that our current mayor and board were handed a train wreck they are trying to navigate through. Most of this problem already existed long before the mayor and several board members even had an elected seat.
YES . . . . . . . . . 3759 (38.5%)
NO . . . . . . . . . . 2406 (61.5%)
Vote counts reversed?
Looking at that list I would say some of those names that left many included people that were pushed out or part of the last admin that did a poor job. I wouldnt put them all in the same category at all.
Half the police force left? Seems like somebody has taken a whole handful of exaggeration pills. If HALF actually -- the number was actually 13 that would mean the department has more members now than before HALF of them left!
I get the feeling any bullying at City Hall was not aimed at Tom Cole. I do not know him well, but it is hard to imagine Mr. Cole being bullied by anyone. My guess is that other employees have been the target of harassment and bullying tactics.
Whatever the reason, given the high turnover in management, it must be unpleasant place to work.
In our interview with Mr. Cole he told us . . . he wished to explore other career paths open to him . . . He also said . . . money was not an issue . . . in his decision to resign.
Important information about the misleading ballot language in Liberty.
Liberty is the same city where two of our former leadership work and just happen to be the two that helped take the citizens of Raytown for a ride with the Walmart TIF.
If you really think those two can be trusted you too deserve to be taken to the finance cleaner.
Mr. Cole you will missed.
Paul Livius said. We have received a number of comments contesting the timeline on the departure of past departments heads at Raytown City Hall. In the opening paragraph of the story on revolving doors I wrote the number Department Heads since the last election who have moved on from Raytown at nine.
In the following paragraph I wrote -- in the last year -- in reference to those same individuals.
A number of people have jumped all over the typo.
GOOD NEWS!!! The typo has been corrected. The timeline is correct. There have been nine senior staff departures from city hall since the last mayoral election.
Another writer pointed out I transposed the numbers on the Independence vote totals. Apologies in that case as well. It too has been corrected.
On the bright side, I have not found any miss-spelled words in the story.
Not an exaggeration at all...but don't take my word for it. Pick up the phone.
Sharma left Juneish of 2016 that's not within a year of Tom Cole leaving. Your section is still incorrect Paul Livius, just as Brianna was in her position for a year and 5 months which by any calculation is over a year.
The nail in the coffin, good luck trying to pass your taxes in August now Mike
With the traffic unit disbanded, I guarantee the numbers will be a lot lower. How long was Cole the city administrator?
2:15
Half the list left to avoid being held accountable to both the public and law enforcement. The actions and fraud committed in the administration of the 40 million dollar TIF fund was the reason they left. The problem is the City has never accounted fo how the money was spent and now they want more
Lets see will Bowman run for police chief the next time or maybe mayor?
Hey Greg, a very informative article, thanks.
They are proposed taxes to give the voters a chance to decide the future of Raytown. All the Alderman will decide if they go before the voters. Then it’s up to we, the people. There are many choices being proposed so that the voters can pick and choose what they like, or don’t like. And if nothing passes, then the residents/voters will be responsible for any funding problems/service failures in the future. The BOA and the Mayor do not own this. The voters do.
The ongoing shame of doing business with Wal-Mart is still alive and doing well in Raytown.
I have been reading the post on this blog as well as listening to the old buck conversations at the local morning coffee gatherings or late night adult beverage kick offs.
All the conversation have that same Wal-Mart theme of how the city had to move forward with a partnership with them or we would have no steady sales tax revenue.
For those new to Raytown or missed these same conversations several years ago as the Sue Frank administration force feed the 350 live project down everyone, we are just look at the same old song and dance.
Few dared to speck up against the attack on social justice and corporate welfare at that time, but based on the outrage and turnover of the Board of Alderman in 2013 the voters of Raytown are no longer silent .
With several questions on the ballot to increase taxes, now is the time to carefully review and justify the need of these tax increases.
Let me start with the property tax, which will clearly having you paying 195% more to the city.
More money to subsidize Wal-Mart!
Let's do the math together so that you my fellow taxpayers will understand how we are paying this corporate giant for the privilege of have them in Raytown.
1.) If you have not heard they have paid their property tax under protest, which means the county is holding the funds until the protest is ended. During this time they still get all of the city services including those services provided by the police department.
They are receiving city service without paying for them!
Doesn't sound fare to those of us who pay or fare share!
2.) If you have not heard they are the largest single user consuming our police services
Let's break that down on known facts. At the last board of Alderman meeting in March it was stated there are more than 850 arrest a year, but there is a struggle to obtain actual numbers along with other figures to justified an ongoing relationship with Wal-Mart.
Therefore for simple math we will use the following numbers:
1,000 arrest per year
$200 per arrest for any related cost, which would include court cost as well as payroll for the corresponding personal in the police departments and courts.
100 arrest serving time (10% of those who cannot bond out)
$135 daily cost of housing a prisoner
90 days the amount of time same prisoner spends in jail waiting on court
1000 X $200 = $200,000 just for the initial processing
Now here is where is gets costly to the taxpayers
100 X $135 X 90 = $1,215,000
Using those two figures we are spending close to 1.5 million as the figures didn't include transportation related expense being we do not house prisoners in Jackson County.
Wal-Mart would then have to bring in more in sales tax and property tax than 1.5 million before the city makes money on them and that is on top off the debt on the TIF.
NOTE: I would be nice to get the actual figures from the city along with a break out of how many of those same arrest are for less than $100.00
Please, Please. please, Board of Aldermen go out and find someone willing to buy a home in Raytown. I don’t care if they have all the letters after their name like Sharma or they have a cool and exciting charm like Cole. Just hire the person willing to invest in our community
The tax increasees proposed by the BOA if any new money just goes to go back to the bad old days of a bloated police department. I am so tired of the fear-mongering going on at city hall. Particularly by the Mayor. Bonnaye Mims is right. He should take off his badge and start acting like a mayor.
"bloated police department" seriously?....it's ok to want change...but lets keep it real. 50 cops for a city like Raytown isn't bloated by any stretch.
I would love for some sensible debate to occur here, even if we disagree.
Of course those comments are ok with the blog admin..so maybe this is the wrong forum.
You say 50 cops for a city the size of Raytown isn't bloated by any stretch. That many cops for Raytown sounds good to me. That's 5 cops per every square mile.
It’s a real shame that we cannot find anyone willing to work for the City longer than a year. That is universal across all departments, all of them seem to struggle.
10:20 you want a debate for a subject that has long been covered.
You go and do the research and bring "FACT" of other departments that have as many officers as you want per sq mile.
While at it make sure you have a clear proof of their actual duties along with the number of daily tickets that are being written.
Don't forget to ask have they be caught giving over time not worked as well as having the senior staff take all the overtime to pad their retirement payouts from their pension plans.
I'll miss Tom Cole. I felt he had an interest in tackling code violation concerns that many of us voice over and over. Based on the complaints I see on Raytown Unleashed from those targeted with fines, I imagined some progress was being made. I hope the city continues to show interest in improving blight issues.
Why would ANYONE want to buy a home in Raytown? With a poor school district, city hall in a mess, poor streets, crime all over, vacant houses and buildings I wouldn't want to live here either.
I am about to fall out of my chair. Those old ladies and one who call himself a man are all excited about the news of Tom Cole leaving. That is old news. Maybe you should read a different blog that actually gives you real facts and news.
So I am just trying to catch up on the local political scene.
Is the newly retired Major Ted the husband of the former mayor?
If so, it looks like (as a previous poster predicted) he will be going for mayor or chief soon.
Just keeping the good old boy train moving, I suppose.
5:13 pm
Where is that on Raytown Unleashed? It's not there.
Not good to lie. Shame on you.
160k a year with salary and benefits and the three people in the last 18 months have walked away from it... Why??????
@5:13
As nasty as your attitude is, falling out of your chair might make you a nicer person!
So one Alderman can use staff time for their own townhall...seems like a waste of taxpayer money, maybe it should just be a town hall with ALL aldermen? But that wouldnt fit with the I....I...I...I..attitude.
I have heard it said that the mayor can be very hateful to employees at city hall. I know he has a pretty big head so this may very well be true.
I find it interesting that in 2017 when our police department was overstaffed and included an actual traffic division that only 2 speeding tickets per day were issued.
What would be interesting is to see how many per day were issues the year before Lynch took office.
I beat there is a story within those numbers that will have Lynch doing a lot of explaining what his department has really been doing.
Ugh
Senior staff don’t get overtime
Haven’t you paid attention
None made 160K
I wish more of our Aldermen held meetings for the public to meet department heads. Communication is always good. Your comments are not. I bet you are one of those unleashed people who seem to glory in spreading their hate.
I think people are beginning to tire of boorish behavior.
Senior police staff are salary, no overtime. Next question...
There needs to be a full investigation into why there aren’t more traffic tickets being written to us. The police need to stop responding to home and car breakins and child abuse, and stop more of us while we drive home from work. C’mon, think!
I am pretty sure there are two MC patrolmen. They should be lurking around intersections or running radar. If they are not, then what do they do?
I have even seen them out all winter long. So what gives?
What would happen if when Walmart called to report a shoplifter they had captured, our Raytown PD just informed them that due to manpower constraints, they would have to wait a couple hours until someone could respond?
Quite frankly as a Raytown citizen, I am more concerned about drivers running through red lights and barreling along residential streets 10 to 20 mph over the limit, than I am about some cretin shoplifting at Walmart.
C'mon, THINK!!!
Apologists for mis-steps at City Hall amaze me. Credible evidence is shown that the police department writes an average of two speeding tickets a day. The evidence is based on a report given in an application the police department made for a grant. There is not any question, the pages of the form are in front of us in black and white.
Next thing you know, there is a small avalanche of apologists rushing to defend the indefensible.
The Board of Aldermen, with the exception of maybe two members, act like they have not seen or heard the evidence, even though it was given an discussed by one of their members in a public meeting. The time line in the application/report shows the low speeding ticket production was going on for ten months BEFORE the police department was reduced in size.
The Chief of Police offers not credible explanation for the low speeding ticket production.
Then come the apologists. They blame Ferguson, they blame Walmart, they blame a guy hiding behind a tree. I would not be surprised if they blamed a guy on a grassy knoll!
Is there any level some of you will not stoop to instead of fixing a problem?
No there are not. There is no longer a traffic unit in the department.
you want more speeding tickets written but if its you that gets pulled over want a pass because you are a working man and there is real crime you should be investigating. Most of you amaze me at little you know about anything public service related. You want code enforcement but when its your house targeted you blow up about somebody else's property You want street repair sidewalks and street lights but you don't want to pay for them you don't like the Mayor because he is a former police officer you wont like the next one because he/she was a (insert occupation here). You want the police to do their jobs and enforce warrants and arrest people but we have no place to house them few detectives to find them and no tactical team to start going around and kicking in doors. why you say ? because all of that costs money. Most of you are spoiled brats and keyboard warriors.
so 5:41 lets hear you solutions to fix the problem? or are you guy on the grassy knoll or the guy hiding behind the (keyboard) tree?
10:00 PM
Word from city hall is we have not traffic division and the MC your speak of are up for sale.
Doesn't make sense, but what does when Lynch is part of something.
7:34 Are you willing to pull back the books and let the citizens take a look?
Could be they don't get overtime as they don't put in enough hrs.
Word around town is Ted Bowman spent most of the last couple of years at his house and Lynch is always doing something else.
Should either of them been getting paid to start with
6:28 I too would like to know the true figures starting with the number of arrest at walmart for a total amount under $100
Notice how quickly Lynch and is unleashed are hush on getting to the truth.
The moforcycles actually have not been used since August of 2017, because of no cameras.
Staff has it arranged that extra hours at other city functions can take hours off their daily 9-5 hours as credit, thanks for playing.
Why are you arguing for more speeding tickets? 20 years ago, I’m sure more tickets were written. They had time to do so. Well, it’s not 20 years ago. It’s 2018. The Raytown Police are having to respond call to Call just like KCPD has for years. Crime has crept across city lines and your “good ole days” daydream of the officers having a bunch of free time, was over years ago, no matter what the staffing is. Move on to an actual problem.
You can’t fund a city on traffic tickets. It’s illegal. Just ask Randolph, MO.
The most telling statistics are the ones that compare Raytown to other cities like Grandview and Gladstone. Both cities are about the same size in area. Both have populations very close to Raytown. And their police departments are comparable in size to Raytowns. But somehow, they manage to write more speeding tickets. Perhaps the leaders in our police department should go talk to their counterparts in those towns and find out the secret of writing more speeding tickets.
I know this goes counter to the unhinged facebook crowd, but perhaps there have been mistakes in how the Raytown PD is run. Do you think that maybe, just maybe, they could do better?
Exactly. Part of senate bill 5.
8:17 am
Agreed!!!!!
So...we're arguing FOR more commuters being ticketed here? Just trying to keep track.
I thought "we" wanted fewer police. Or maybe we just wished we lived in Grandview? this is nuts.
7:15 It is comments like yours that have no proof other than to justify why the position of police chief needs to be appointed.
This would allow Raytown to hire a true professional.
If you would take the time to educate yourself and not listen to the lies from Lynch you would learn the following:
1.) The police blotter doesn't support the officers are as busy as some want us to believe.
2.) The police officers like to hide in the back of parking lots and write reports.
While other cities too write reports officers are required to do it at the entrance of streets, which makes them highly visible and they can set the radar to identify speeders while working on reports.
All the blotter tells you is what REPORTS were taken not all the calls they go on. Yeah a board of ten is better at picking a Chief is better than all the people voting. They’ve done a bang up job on all he city administrators they’ve hired over the years. And it’s about officer safety. One less side you have to protect. Unless you’ve done the job, don’t act like an expert.
There will be a Coffee with a Cop on Friday, April 13, from 9-11 am at the McDonald's on 350 Hwy.
Come meet Raytown's finest and bring your questions! Ask them about radar, tickets, writing reports. We would love to see you all there.
Also I would like to invite you all to the next Citizen's Police Academy starting in the Fall. FREE on Wed nights at the Raytown Library.
4:55 Let us thank about what out spoken police sergeant works that shift.
Sure makes one believe it was you or a fellow officer as who else thinks the poor police officers are over worked.
Never did you making any comment about the issue with tickets and the options to better this issue.
6:27 Will they be hocked up to a lie detector when answering questions
Just got thru catching up on the Council meeting. I recommend people watch this but it’s a long one. It has became clear why the Gang of 5 didn’t approve the young lady for the Vacant Ward 5 seat. They wanted voting control and it was very apparent Tuesday night as the split is readily apparent and their voting agenda is not in the best interests of the people of Raytown. As you watch the meeting the amount of legislation that was being presented and approved by items that apparently Alderman Steve Meyers introduced and has been working on was impressive. His leadership qualities have been prevalent for several years and he seems to be constantly engaged and working on projects and services that are good for the Citizen’s of Raytown. Alderman Steve Meyers the leadership you and several other outstanding Alderman provide is appreciated and we thank you for your continued service.
11:09 P.M.
Hmmmmm.. Let me get this straight. You want officers to write reports, with their heads down, while at the same time leaving the radar gun on??? Unless radar guns take photographs, how is the officer going to know what car is speeding if multiple cars are passing by?
Not making sense here.
I don't think we are in any danger of violating the so-called Macks Creek Statute, even if the Raytown PD wrote 20 tickets a day. Here is what the law provides for:
Under the so-called Macks Creek law, which state legislators stiffened in 2009, cities are restricted from deriving more than 35 percent of their operating revenues from fines for traffic violations on state or federal highways. If the revenues from traffic cases go over that cap, the cities must send the excess revenues to the Department of Revenue.
The state is then supposed to send that money to schools in the county where the fines were collected.
Maybe the BOA need to set a new policy establishing that 100% of fines levied would go to PD costs... then watch and see if more tickets are written.
I keep hearing talk around town that time cards tied to the police department have had hours padded.
One time was when the 16 officers showed up at the Board of Alderman meeting.
The last time I checked padding a time card (pay) was a crime and would fall under fraud.
Now those who took part in the the act need to have criminal charges brought against them.
Here is were it gets even more concerning is if the time cards are padded so would be the overall hrs / pay as related to retirement, which now is fraud against the retirement / pension plan.
Sounds like we really might be paying way to much to former officers if in fact the reporting of their salaries wasn't correct.
Sounds like it should be reason to kick them out of the plan without any additional pay outs.
I hope someone from the state reviews this and those guilty just loss their pension as that would hurt worse than anything.
Looks like Alderman Ryan Myers got hung out to dry today on Raytown Uninformed by out of town Susan. Sounds like sour grapes from the mayor, Meyers and Green. At least he doesn't grandstand while yelling like Steve does, or ramble like Green. I am sure he will do fine as pro tem.
So long time Raytown resident, David Jungerman, who lives next to Coleman Park, was charged with Murder this week, and you all are complaining about traffic tickets? You'all need to get some perspective of what is really going on.
Someone said that the police have time to write tickets because the police blotter only shows so many incidents. It's my understanding that the blotter only shows the reports taken. In fact, over 23,000 calls were responded to by police last year (from the police website.) I did a ride along a couple years ago and noticed that the vast majority of calls that they go to do not result in a report.
Why are we allowing labor union proxies to waste our time at our aldermen meetings? They have their objective, which is to unionize WalMart. They don't care about Raytown. They couldn't find Raytown on a map before now. They are trying to use our city and our city's leaders as a tool and leverage for their purpose, not ours. We cannot allow it. We have our own business to take care of.
I’m not sure what dreamland you live in. Retired officers don’t get paid by city anymore, but by a plan the board agreed to along with officers contributing. Get real and stop trying to make things that aren’t true seem real.
Congratulations Ryan Myers! Don't pay too much attention to the haters. They are angry because the most qualified man, the one with most experience, the one who is a proven leader, could not even gather together five out of nine votes to prove his leadership ability. Darn! I wonder why he did not get the votes. I see there are lot of conspiracy theories being formed by the haters. Maybe, just maybe, the Meyers/Greene/McDonough message was not a good one.
From what I have seen you are good at doing your homework and taking care of business. I wish you the best in your new position as Mayor Protem!
By the way, who is this Raytown Unhinged group? Is it true their leader does not even live in Raytown! I don't know about the rest of you out there, but never have had much use for carptebaggers!
7:59 am
Some comments are so outrageous (like yours) that they deserve to be ignored.
We'd still like to see you on Friday! :)
It is obvious through your rambling that you are either a Ryan Meyers plant or completely uniformed on these matters.
Alderman Meyers refused to campaign or beg for votes for Mayor Pro Tem. Seems maybe he should have taken a page out of Ryan Myers playbook and had Mims make his calls for him. Usually there are favors expected in the political world for that kind of assistance. And Meyers don’t play those games.
Interesting blog...mostly trolls but some trying to have an actual discussion. It's the golden corral of discourse. There's something for everyone.
so why are we discussing traffic tickets when the police are having to deal with house burglaries and murderers that live next to a city park. I want the police to keep doing a good job and deal with the big crimes, not petty traffic tickets.
6:37, that makes sense, think of all the false alarm calls, suspicious cars, and disturbances, where the call is handled without a report.
6:41, I agree, we cannot give the out of state union reps an audience. They couldn't care less about Raytown. They will move on, that's what they have done before, when not given an audience.
There was another shooting today. Please tell me that Myers will recognize that there are much bigger issues at hand and put the speeding ticket thing to rest. He cannot be that naive to really think that is our biggest problem. He is smarter than that
Memo to the whiner who is against proper traffic law enforcement:
The "murderer" living near the city park committed his crime in the tony Kansas City neighborhood of Brookside. An attorney, shot dead on his front porch in a revenge killing. Plenty of PD in Kansas City and it did not stop the crime. At least he has been apprehended and is not a threat to any Raytowner.
To suggest that someone commuting to work should not be obeying speed limits and other traffic laws is inane.
Oh and the other shooting today? Double or triple the Raytown PD and the shooting still happens.
Moderators:
All comments are not published on this blog.
Perhaps the position of the poster doesn't agree with your position???
Why don't you publish all comments?
You probably should listen more.
10:59
Make that two shootings, in one night. The discussion about the number of speeding tickets is like rearranging the chairs as the Titanic goes down
Good for Alderman Van Buskirk for recognizing the walmart union's effort to use our city as a tool for their goal and standing up and refusing to allow it.
10:54
good point. keep up the great job, RPD!
So did anyone catch when during the public comments part of the boa meeting that the union speaker, when questioned by Aziere, didn't know where Independence was?? He referred to the Independence Walmart as the 4000 Bolger one, when we all refer to it as the 291 Walmart. He even looked over to his handler in the crowd, for how to respond. He clearly was from out of town too.
It might behoove Alderman Steve Meyers to take a page out of Alderman Ryan Myers play book which is quit grandstanding and do your homework on issues. BTW a street sweeper was a item on the agenda long before you came along. Get over yourself. As for Mr. Jungerman he was convicted of a murder committed in Kansas City not Raytown.
I love to read about those people on Raytown Unhinged getting their panties in a wad over city items. Wonder if they know how stupid they sound?
6:41 So you like paying more and getting less
I know I don't and I support Walmart paying for shoplift under $100.
Maybe here is the solution the tax collecting entities on a set day and set location. Individuals bring their property tax reciept alone with and sign a form that states as long as they own the said property they agree to substidise Walmart.
At the end of the day all those individuals will be sent a bill from the city to cover the extra enforment expense divided by number of individuals like yourself who signed up for the program to get your portion due.
Those not paid by a set date will have the value added to the property taxes so that if your tax bill is not paid the normal process starts.
You know why it wont fly because you are all talk until you and individuals like you put your money where your mouth is.
Well you took PD's slush fund and now they don't wish to contribute to the city's, or even their own department's budget. Spoil children and Lynch is the worst of them.
Steve would have been a much better choice.
Does anyone but me find it interesting that the ones complaining about their lack of representation in Ward 5 are unhappy with the mayor but he brought someone forward over a month ago and Mims, VanBuskirk, Ryan Myers, Aziere and Hunt voted her No. Moore voted no with a reason to do with a constitutional issue. Whatever!
Anyway the Mayor has tried to do his job and the above voted no. Sounds like their problem not his. Oh and information from City Hall was that he gave them several months to talk with her before he brought her forward. Shameful!
I see on the city website the Mayor has a new person to bring forward, Derek Ward. Let’s hoe the board will do the right thing and give their approval
7:55 am Sigh, I am shaking my head at this. People showing interest in their home town is something to make fun of? Dear God in heaven, I hope you are not an elected official saying this!
A lot of these comments seem to have migrated over from the Raytown Unhinged facebook page. You can usually tell by the one sentence blast from the writer. And then, no more! I am surprised at the attitude they demonstrate. From an outside observer let me tell you this. Ryan Myers was elected Mayor Protem. Good for him! He saw an opportunity, has the ambition and cares for his community enough to take a leading role at city hall.
Steve Meyers lost. Just as Mayor McDonough lost when he tried to force an unqualified candidate for Board approval.
Please tell me where the "smarts" are in that attitude.
Steve Meyers did not beg for votes. Here is a news flash for you. He did not ask for them either. His arrogance cost him the election. I wonder if that has settled in yet.
Oh well. Ryan Myers is a fine young man. He does not deserve the hatred and an angst demonstrated by the Unhinged faction. Give the young man a chance.
One final note for the unhinged group. Has it occurred to you that you are not in the majority in Raytown? Do you know that Mayor Michael's value as a leader has dropped dramatically? Perhaps it would be better if you were to focus your attention on solutions instead of a constant stream of anger and hate.
What do the blog writers suggest should be done to bring the town together? Please give us a non-partisan answer. I am interested in knowing your opinion. From bringing the Alderman together to restoring the confidence of the people in their elected officials. Thank you.
Umm, sounds like you need to get the facts straight. He’s been arrested, not convicted. There’s a BIT of a differnce. We’ll see who they let operate the street sweeper. Because if it’s the same guy, they are dumb. He’s the reason it went bad way before it was supposed to. He doesn’t know how to operate it.
"One final note for the unhinged group...Perhaps it would be better if you were to focus your attention on solutions instead of a constant stream of anger and hate."
Certain parties on Unglued are supremely overconfident and keep falling deeper into the rabbit hole, in our opinion.
We hope that their comments are being archived for future legal review if their behavior escalates to a point in the future where it negatively impacts an officeholder or a citizen.
7:50
You say look for solutions not hatred????
And you say that on this blog with a straight face I bet
Wow
All the Aldermen and Mayor have turned them down. Legally they have to let them talk according to what one Alderman said their legal advisers told tgem
I like all the want to be police officers on this blog.
So many misguided.
More things than speeders are caught writing speeding tickets (traffic stops), but you just keep dreaming how the world really works.
Alderman Meyers has been on the street sweeper replacement since the other burned up apparently several years ago. If you watch the meeting video on the purchase you can tell by the other Alderman that was the case. Even the queen of the motions to approve Alderman Mims yielded to Meyers to approve the purchase. That ought to tell you everything you need to know!
So "outsider" how do you know steve didn't ask for votes?
10:30 That is a great point!
Didn't the police catch Stones killer from a traffic stop where a gun was found.
7:48 AM
I noticed. Also, Mims said, during public comments, that she was a union member and the union stressed that to her when they went to her. IF a vote is ever taken about this union and walmart, Mims cannot be allowed to vote due to the very clear conflict of interest that she pointed out, herself.
Way to go Raytown Police for getting to the shooting so quick!
so, the quarter million dollar transfer to cover projected police payroll excess last October was wrong, and not ever needed. They stayed within their budget after all. Will there be an apology to the police department for the beating that they took, unnecessarily? probably not. The board could only go with the information presented to them, so it isn't their fault.
The money wasn’t needed, but the reason they thought it was is because of poor accounting and questionable purchases by the police department. If you read the audit that is explained. The finance department didn’t make a mistake and the comments by the Board during the request was more than justified.
Wait, what?
The finance department is responsible for all monies and all the budget in the end game. The board and PD aren’t responsible they go by what Finance tells them they need to do. Clearly you didn’t read the same audit notes
It falls on the shoulders of the finance director
Yeah, the one who doesn’t work there any longer as well as the soon departing city administrator. Great job boa, some great choices.
Loll that’s a good one, it falls on the shoulders of the City Marshal who has had 7 phantom FTE’s on the payroll. The reason why the 250k wasn’t needed was the fact the overtime was less than projected for the year. This might have something to do with the fact 9 officers quit because of the scare tactics by the Chief
Is it my understanding that Alderman Mims chided both Greene and Meyers for meeting with the Wal-Mart Union group yet met with them prior and discussed and took their action demand letter. Seems her justification was she is a Union Member? I guess it’s fair for the Citizen’s to request she lay down her union badge and pick up her Alderman badge.
10:29 am, A quarter million dollar is a pretty big mistake to make. what other "big mistakes" will be discovered? of course, that person has moved on and is no longer with the city. I just wonder if the budget cuts city wide last year were even necessary? Time will tell.
10:24 AM
yes, love our guys (and girls) in blue. That's one of the reasons we moved here.
10:28, Yes, the board can only make decisions with the information presented to them. this huge mistake probably shakes their confidence in the accuracy of other financial information. I'm sure it must be frustrating for the board and the departments that are affected (the police that time.)
First, what is an FTE? And maybe you should get your facts straight. No scare tactics, they were going to have to lay 17 off, but so many decided to go to other departments that they didn’t have to lay anyone off. And it was more than 9, from what I heard.
FTE = Full-Time Employee
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