Paul’s Rant!
FUZZY MATH . . .
A local website named Raytown Digest published
a letter last week from Raytown Park Board President Chris Rathbone. In his
letter, Rathbone made questionable assertions regarding the current sales
tax split between the City of Raytown and the Raytown Park Board.
Rathbone wrote . . . The revenue from our
current 1/8 cent sales tax is distributed as follows: TIF payments first with 75% of the
remainder to Parks and 25% to the Storm Water Fund.
The “TIF payments first” is what caught
my attention. It leaves the impression the Storm Water Fund is receiving 25% of the
sales tax revenue with Parks receiving 75%.
His comment is misleading. If you add in the
25% TIF payment . . . then 75% of the tax to the Park Board, and finally 25% of the tax to the the storm water fund you end up with 125%. A simple reality check. If you have 100% to divide, it is impossible to end up with 125%.
Let's say you have $100 in sales tax revenue. Using Rathbone's numbers, here are the real percentages and dollar amounts you can expect.
TAX SPLIT
TIF PAYMENT. . . . .
$25.00 (25%)*
PARKS . . . . . . . . . . $56.25 (56.25%)
STORM WATER . . . $18.75 (18.75%)
TOTAL . . . . . . . .
$100.00 (100%)
*estimate based on past TIF payments.
As you can see, the sales tax is not the solid
revenue producer some would have you believe.
25% of the
sales tax does not serve the people of Raytown. It goes directly to pay down
the TIF debt created by the 350 Live Development District.
Raytown already has one of the highest sales
tax rates in Jackson County. All city sales tax revenues share this same
burden. The Parks Department, and for that matter, the city, should look for a
better way to raise revenue for the city’s needs. Clearly, a sales tax increase for Parks is not the way to go.
Raytown Survey . . . Ward 5 Alderman Derek Ward has put together an interesting set of poll questions in an attempt to get a read on the public’s wants and needs in Raytown.
Participants need not identify themselves.
To take part in the poll use the following
link to connect to Mr. Ward’s survey:
Results from the survey will be published in a
future edition of the Raytown Report.
To leave a comment use this link
It may be too early to plant flowers in the ground, but the trees around Raytown are showing us their best color in years.
25 comments:
I am disappointed in the quality of this survey.
The questions with only two possible answers did not allow any sort of nuance to be expressed about these complex topics. I care about both parks and infrastructure. Both must be maintained, developed, and modernized to keep Raytown competitive with other communities.
Having modern, well-maintained parks, respectable roads, and better community safety all contribute to maintaining and increasing property values.
I think our police and streets should come first. Parks should be someplace where you can go back an relax. Raytown really does not need a splash park. The one at Crown Center had to be closed down because of health problems from polluted water. And that is in one of the most policed areas in Kansas City. What makes someone think those same problems will not happen in Raytown.
Mr. Ward. I like the idea of your survey. I appreciate your putting it out there for us. Thanks to Greg for allowing you to use his page to do it. We may not have a print newspaper anymore but it looks like you two may have come on a way to get news out to the people in Raytonw. Good job!
That's not really a fair assessment. Wait until the survey is completed before you start criticizing. At least they are doing something to get the word out to people.
Mr. Ryan Myers,
I think you are heading in the correct direction with your rental property ordinance.
However, I would suggest that you first need to address the lack of leadership and inability to enforce code violations from the current individual head of the department.
They are either clearly in over their head as the apparently cannot manage anything or just don't care.
In either case code violations have to be addressed before adding new things to enforce when simple things like mowing grass, painting houses, and tree limbs go unnoticed and enforced.
This should be a top area to cut funding and the jobs as part of your additional hunt for revenue if the leadership and members of the department cannot and will not do the job they are paid to do. I would also be asking the city administrator why by now the codes department head is still on the payroll and maybe he needs his walking papers too.
Raytown citizens pay alot in taxes, but are not getting are monies worth in return.
Something has to change or like the poster last week, I too believe it will be along time before the city gets any new taxes passed.
Finally a way to tell aldermen in mass how we feel. Yes the questions were slanted, but not near as much as the Yahoos on parks board. They think they run the whole city and can tell elected officials what to do.
I saw all 6 of the past meetings the parks was at. They started at 1/8 cent and said the mayor and staff asked them to go all the way to 3/8 cent. This Mayor has always tried to raise taxes sewer bills, permit fees and everything else to take more money. Must be nice getting over 100k a year from Raytown taxpayers, meanwhile pulling every cent from their pockets.
I was impressed with Greg and the other members calling out city staff for jamming through the extra 160,000 dollar healthcare cost. I hope staff will use that as a lesson and the Board will start making them allow time for thought on issues instead of always scrambling at the last minute.
I need some help in understanding this Parks vs BOA fist fight. So if the % of sales tax revenue is reduced down to 60% for the next 10 years vs previous 75% for the last 4 years,and 100% for 5 years prior to that, how does that create a sustainable revenue stream to simply maintain aging infrastructure upkeep and identified overdue maintenence. Less projected revenue with increased and expected overhead, salaries, insurance, etc can't be a feasible solution to long term viable funding for an outstanding parks group that delivers a high quality parks system. Or is attempting to!
@April 28, 2019 at 6:46 PM - You are correct that the survey isn't nuanced. I would love to create a longer, more robust survey, but: (1) I fear most people wouldn't want to take the time to participate and (2) Doing so would cost at least $40 using survey monkey.
If there is high interest in this short form, I may be willing to spend the money to make a longer version. But if only a handful complete it, I don't want to pay for it.
Finally, I agree that parks are important. However, I believe now is the time to focus on roads and police. Hopefully, once we have some progress on those, we can come back to expanding and improving our park system.
The Parks Department has been able to build up a large reserve because they are no longer throwing away money on super splash. The income stream that helped prop up the failing water park is still there. But they are not spending it. That is how they end up with 1 million dollars plus in reserves.
I did no realize the parks and storm sewer sales tax was hit so hard by the TIF payments. In my view it makes the tax a loser. There should be a better way to raise revenue in the city than a sales tax that loses 25% of its value once the TIF payment is satisfied.
You would have to be an economic moron to say such a tax is a good idea.
Y'all still don't understand, the mayor refinanced the TIF or we'd be in real trouble. Lucky for us he's at the helm, or we'd be in real trouble.
"Y'all still don't understand, the mayor refinanced the TIF or we'd be in real trouble. Lucky for us he's at the helm, or we'd be in real trouble."
Those statements are inaccurate and an enormous overreach of epic proportions, IOHO. Unless, of course, they were an attempt at humor. (Kinda difficult to tell sometimes.)
Thank goodness we have a couple new (and okay, one not so "new"!) alderman "at the helm". Very appreciative of Mr. Ward's experience and participation also.
I have some public comments I would like to make a board meeting, but normally have to work Tuesday night.
How can I get a letter read at the board meeting by the city clerk like the mayors friend from Independence was allowed?
Gee when did the Mayor refinance the TIF? or anything else for that matter.
Beyond the refinancing look at the reduction in properties with code violations.
Raytown is really looking up under his leadership.
I am sure all kinds of individuals are wanting to invest in Raytown.
"How can I get a letter read at the board meeting by the city clerk like the mayors friend from Independence was allowed?"
That was blatant favoritism, IOO. It was widely addressed after it happened, especially since it favored the organizer of a well-defined handful renown for skewed motives and malicious behavior.
It wasn't an access issue. This person had all their fingers, toes and faculties. Obviously, it was a convenience and a "look who -I- know and look what I can get away with" thing. Doubt very much that that will be happening again.
If you need to address the aldermen and cannot attend, you might consider having a friend or relative speak for you.
We need to increase funding to police and infrastructure, this upcoming year, even if it’s not an enormous amount. Parks are nice but they are a luxury not a necessity.
So what are you all going to do when the audit is done and they find nothing criminal was happened and the city is just hurting for money because you will not give the city a bump in their portion of the property tax? You don’t have a problem doing it for the school district or fire district. And inflation bumps etc don’t count. Those are minimal and don’t even cover inflation costs. 41 years and counting on the portion the city gets was raised by a vote!
Dear Alderman Who Don't Read this Blog,
I recommend that you take a little road trip across the old rail road bridge and ask yourself as I did "Is Raytown bridge falling down".
Maybe the Raytown Water Co just made so changes to it so 59th street is not the only roller coaster within our city limits.
"We need to increase funding to police and infrastructure, this upcoming year, even if it’s not an enormous amount. Parks are nice but they are a luxury not a necessity." says the troll who never leaves the house.
Sorry the police are overpaid. We start out at 2 dollars an hour more than anywhere around. Add in bonuses and it's almost 100 a week more, may not sound like a lot but that is for a person just starting and how we've been able to get so many officers. By the time we get to Capt the package is almost 20k more than competitors, which is why they stay (and lack of need to do work).
""We need to increase funding to police and infrastructure, this upcoming year, even if it’s not an enormous amount. Parks are nice but they are a luxury not a necessity." says the troll who never leaves the house. "
"Troll?!"
A bit harsh, don't you think?
And yet you offer no solutions.
I think that their comments are practical.
Tough times call for tough measures.
Sounds like you have plenty of time on your hands, keyboard warrior. How 'bout you get to work?
We're waiting!
We need more police just like we need more input from property owners who live in other cities.
It is nice to know that the professionals at city hall plan to reduce crime in Raytown is working.
Yes, the streets are in such a mess that the criminals don't believe they can quickly and easily exit the city.
Problem is we are all suffering from additional automotive experiences from this master plan.
"We need more police just like we need more input from property owners who live in other cities."
Why yes we DO! I've been saying this for quite some time! Glad we agree!
1. You're most effective when you grew up in this City, rode a bicycle on the streets as a child and profess to love love love it. Your experience is far more important than anyone else's. Any distance from "your" City only accentuates that burning passion and further sharpens your vision.
And Raytown, like a sea muse with long, come hither fingers, continuously, softly, almost imperceptibly calls back to them "....come back, come back, my homechild....the ides of destruction are at our doorstep. We need your exclusionary, arrogant, controlling, snarky behavior to align groupthink in this beleaguered city..."
2. You're so enamoured with your childhood home that you verbally beat down anyone with a dissenting opinion. You start in and you don't s-s-s-stop. You have a city to save. The man at the top of the mountain ascribed this to you as your birthright and ordered you to prevail at any cost, after all.
3. And if you're temporarily unavailable, your 4-5 ever present exquisitely-trained, personally-consecrated muppets stand at the ready to take care of business for you, instantaneously report back to you, and then hit the "ban" button.
Have you ever thought about this? If the medium that hosts this out of town individual and their minions simply pulled the plug on their "helpful" enterprise with no notice, each individual, including the "admin", would go through a profound phase of physical withdrawal. Hospitalization may be required. Excess adrenaline and cortisol are like drugs...stimulants. They forge new neural pathways. Over a period of time, they're nothing to mess with.
Nevertheless, as they read my message from their out of town monitors, sitting in their out of town seats next to their out of town families, they ever-vigilantly scan for any opinions or activities in a town that they no longer live in so they can jump right in and correct them to match their own. These birds of a feather really DO crave this degree of control over total strangers. For the good of society and all.
We hereby set you free, enlightened ones. Go forth and proliferate your extraordinary gifts even further out into the digital milieu. Don't confine your ethereal abilities to a mere 10 square mile city. The Universe needs you.
Before I would be in favor of an increase in the police budget I want to see a
chart of how the department is structured example now many captains, sergeants ect. I am not in favor of a tax increase for parks. they haven't shown me a good reason for an increase. They contract out the mowing, they can't take of what they have and now they want to add more. I think the parks needs to be put under the city then maybe we can get this mess fixed for good.#FromMissourishowme
That's who the mayor caters too. That's where ALL the dept heads including the police Cheif live. That's where almost every employee lives.
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