DISCUSSES TRANSPARENCY
IN RAYTOWN
RAYTOWN, Mo. — Two days
after aldermen approved a new budget, Raytown's administration is
answering questions about the city's financial situation.
Our
interview with administrators was scheduled for Thursday after both declined to
discuss the proposed budget until aldermen approved it.
"For me to talk about a proposed budget to you really
didn't give the citizens any more than my perspective on something that
somebody else is getting to vote on," Assistant City Administrator Missy
Wilson explained.
At
least one citizen felt there wasn't much outreach or opportunity for public
comment.
"I actually attended those meetings, and still there's
other stuff in the budget that wasn't discussed during those meetings,"
Tony Jacob said.
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MORE |
| BY GREG WALTERS |
Re-Financing of TIF Bonds
The Raytown Board of Aldermen will hold
its first reading of an ordinance to re- finance the 350 Live TIF Bonds at
Tuesday night’s meeting. The anchor of the TIF project on 350 Highway Walmart.
The TIF bond obligation is the main
reason Raytown has had tight budgets since the bonds were issued in 2007. The
original amount of the TIF project was $39,990,000.00. Despite over ten years
of payments on the debt, the City still owes $31,240,000.00.
The proposal before the Board of
Aldermen would re-finance the loan at a rate of 4.5%. Most municipal bonds in
Missouri are offered around 3%. The high rate reflects the amount of risk
investors expose their funds to by investing in the bonds. Unlike the current
bonds, the new issue of bonds will not be backed by the good faith of the city.
The length of term for the new financing
extends the debt period required by two years (moving the final payment from
2028 to 2030).
This is a very important decision that
will have a huge impact on everyone living in Raytown. The people of Raytown
and their representatives on the Board of Aldermen have had little opportunity
to explain and discuss this very important vote publicly.
RAYTOWN, Mo. — Two days
after aldermen approved a new budget, Raytown's administration is
answering questions about the city's financial situation.
Our
interview with administrators was scheduled for Thursday after both declined to
discuss the proposed budget until aldermen approved it.
"For me to talk about a proposed budget to you really
didn't give the citizens any more than my perspective on something that
somebody else is getting to vote on," Assistant City Administrator Missy
Wilson explained.
At
least one citizen felt there wasn't much outreach or opportunity for public
comment.
"I actually attended those meetings, and still there's
other stuff in the budget that wasn't discussed during those meetings,"
Tony Jacob said.
A
Little Transparency Please
The information given in the city’s
official Ordinance Packet does little to shed light on the additional costs
taxpayers will be liable for if the bonds are re-financed.
It is understood the Board is taking this
action to lessen the cost of future TIF payments. What has not been released
is how much more the city will be paying due to a higher interest rate and an
extended timeline on the debt.
The people in Raytown deserve to know
answers to such questions. Those answers should be made publicly by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen.. They should do so in a timely manner and give the people
they serve at least a week to learn of the commitment elected officials are
making for them.
The following story is about an editorial
the Kansas City Star published on Sunday, October 14, 2018). It’s title . . .
KC
voters keep raising their own taxes. When
will it be too much?
“The owner of a $200,000 home in Kansas
City, Earning $50,000 in salary, and spending $12,000 on taxable goods inside
the city, will pay an additional $800 this year for local taxes approved by voters
just since 2013.”
We wondered, where does Raytown match up
in this equation? The answer was surprising. We compared the sales tax and
property tax rates of the cities.
Kansas City’s sales tax rate . . . . . 8.6%
Raytown’s sales tax rate . . . . . . . .
8.35%*
*The sales tax rate is misleading. When
you consider that the sales tax rate at Walmart on 350 Highway is over 10% --
AND – that Walmart creates close to 30% of the sales tax revenue in Raytown, the
true sales tax rate in Raytown is considerably higher.
We compared Kansas City’s property tax
levy to Raytown’s property tax levy. We took care to include the Raytown School
District levy in the equation for those living in Raytown and Kansas City.
Kansas City’s property tax levy . . . .
. . 9.2446
Raytown’s property tax levy . . . . . .
. . . 9.1526
Then we checked other area cities and
found that Raytown is in the upper tier of tax levies. In general, Kansas City
leads the pack with the highest tax rates. The only exception(s) are lake
communities in the metropolitan area.
The Star wrote, “as a result, Kansas City ‘s
overall tax burden is high. According to a well-respected study, the city ranks
eighth in the country in overall state and local tax burden for a family
earning $50,000 a year.”
“In Kansas City, that family paid $5,444
in state and local taxes in 2016 – more than Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston,
Atlanta, even New York City.”
Given Raytown’s ranking in tax rates in
the Kansas City area, the statistics show how deeply we are affected by high
taxes in Raytown.
Remember these facts next time someone
tells you how low your taxes are in Raytown.
Speaking
of Taxes . . . VOTER BEWARE!
There is a state-wide Missouri Gasoline
Tax increase on the November ballot. Voters would be wise to carefully read the
fine print. The gasoline tax is not a low impact tax.
The first year of the tax increase will
cost the average driver about $26 a year. However, once the tax is fully
implemented the cost per year balloons to $104.00 annually.
USE THIS LINK TO VIEW THE EDITORIAL: KC STAR
Comments
I wish the Mayor and Council would treat the public with more respect.
The last meeting I attended was very disturbing when the Raytown Ambulance Service was formally handed over to the Fire District with out any input from anyone from the Raytown Ambulance Services. These people have worked in our city for many years. Some of them live right here. To watch then all be treated so coldly was shocking to me. I find it hard to believe this will save the people of Raytown money. To top it all off in order for it to all go through the voters must vote on this yet the board just gave them all their walking papers with out the voters blessing. The Kansas City Star said we had financial mismanagement and a lack of accountability. Now we are going to watch them spend one brief meeting talking about the Raytown budget and how they are going to refinance the very worst TIF the state of Mo. has ever seen. Again it looks like it will be another very disturbing meeting. Hope to see a room full of people who care. Thank You! Elisa Breitenbach
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Let me get this straight, The board wants to refinance the Walmart deal and pay interest of 4.5 % all the while now we are paying around the 3% figure. Now we are paying 3 dollars for one hundred dollars and under the new configuration we will be paying 4.50 per hundred dollars. If these anticipated amounts are correct we are paying a lot of extra interest. Apparently under the new arrangement we (the city) will not be liable if the project (Walmart) goes belly up in Raytown. I would not refinance my house under that arrangement, am I missing something here? What kind of rose colored glasses are our 10 aldermen and 1 mayor using?
It's kinda like if you wanted to give your kid $100 for their birthday and went to the bank and got a cash advance on your credit card to do it.
I know it's just business as usual, but it still makes me wonder.
We have a perfect example of the lie that it is right next door in Kansas.
Mahesh Sharma became the County Administrator in Iowa. David Bower and the rest of them went back to being private citizens. Except Jim Aziere, who's still on the BOA. There were no repercussions from this. They still claim it's a good deal for Raytown because Raytown was able to keep Walmart in the community.
Absolutely no discussion by Board members on the city budget. Not as word about re-financing $30 million dollars of the city's debt.
Folks, this is not how city business is supposed to be conducted. Public meetings are held to inform the public. In Raytown it looks like they are to be a good old boy meeting with absolutely no intention of informing the public about anything.
One other note. Alderman Meyers, perhaps you should check with some professionals about anger management. Alderman Aziere's comments did not deserve the fit you threw after he spoke.
Yeah we've also witnessed a great deal of pantomiming from the one up front and center. Gotta wonder about what goes on in the mind of someone who is obviously completely incapable of equitable conduct in a public forum.
As for Mr. Meyers, all I can say is that vulgarity has no place in a public meeting, particularly one that is televised. Try to learn how to control your potty mouth.
Jim Aziere at your doorstep coming soon!
Just another Sideshow Meyers moment.
Aldermen Night. So much material, so little time...
Come on his comments are an admission that he does not know what is happening. There still is
no endless supply of funds. They have to keep the reserve large enough to cover any large expenditure
The city still owes 30 million dollars in the next roughly 10 years, we just have to hope that
revenue stays high enough to cover that.
Jim Aziere please do not run again all you do is fill an empty seat at least part of the time.