. . . BREAKING NEWS . . .
BY GREG WALTERS

School Board member Rick Thode has released his “Notes on Collins Matter”.

Mr. Thode’s notes address how the Raytown School District Administration has handled certain policy matters in the wake of the resignation of former School Board President Dr. Christie Collins.

Dr. Collins resigned her position after she was charged by Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters for felony stealing.

According to Mr. Thode, “The School District is seeking restitution of $37,000 from Collins which includes fraud losses, professional fees and internal costs”.

Thode continued . . . “in my opinion, District policy was repeatedly violated by the Administration. The policy contains a standard stating that the “letter and intent” of these policies must be obeyed. There must be reasons why the Administration repeatedly and willfully failed to enforce policy and pull the card.”nion, istrpolicywas repeatedly violated

Mr. Thode’s reference is to PCards (credit cards). , which are provided school board members for use in their duties as members of the Raytown School Board. Use of the cards is voluntary. Thode said not all members of the school board use the cards.

On October 14th the School Board is scheduled to discussion Thode's motion in open session.

Mr. Thode’s notes on the "Collins Matter" follow:

Notes on Collins Matter

August 30, 2019

Mr. President, before explaining my support for the motion, I

would like to spend a few minutes to briefly read a memo which

contains six points from my personal notes that were taken

during two open meetings with Dr. Markley on August 19 and

August 26. On those dates, Dr. Markley and I reviewed and

discussed District public financial information pertaining to the

alleged criminal activities of Dr. Kristie Collins.

1. Dr. Markley stated that his Administration was aware that

Dr. Collins used her Pcard as early as 2014 for personal

expenditures. He showed me a binder containing her credit

card activity from 2014-19 and drew my attention to a

personal expenditure by Dr. Collins of $97.00. Dr. Markley

stated that the expenditure was not related to educational

purposes for the District. He stated that in 2014 the District

knew the transaction violated policy, demanded and

received full payment for the personal expenditure, and the

matter was closed. He stated that other similar transactions

were contained in the binder. Dr. Markley then confirmed

again that the Administration was aware that Dr. Collins

had used her Pcard for personal expenditures as early as

2014 and made no attempt to cancel her Pcard.

2. I then provided Dr. Markley a schedule that I prepared from

the Districts’ books and records showing that Dr. Collins

was repeatedly past due on her District Pcard account

during the period from January 2018 through April 2019 in

monthly amounts sometimes greater than $2000. Dr.

Markley stated that the administration was aware of these

past due balances. During that period of past due balances,

the Administration did not cancel her Pcard.

3. Dr. Markley listened to my concern that the

Administrations’ decision to not cancel Dr. Collins Pcard as

early as 2014 could have contributed to Dr. Collins

continuation of her alleged activities. Moreover, her

repeated past due balances were a series of red flags that

could have led to her cancellation. Those past due balances

were essentially an interest free loan provided by the

Administration with no penalties for delinquencies. Dr.

Markley did not object to my assertions.

4. I reminded Dr. Markley that the Auditors issued a

management letter in 2018 and told the Administration and

Board that Board members should review individual Board

member transactions on a monthly basis. I stated to Dr.

Markley that such an unusual request from the Auditors

could have been a wakeup call to the Board. Dr. Markley

did not object.

5. I reminded Dr. Markley that the Administration paid

$10,000 in investigation fees to the Auditors in May 2019

for an investigation of Dr. Collins’ transactions in 2018-

2019. Those fees were spent after Dr. Collins made a minor

charge in May 2019 of roughly $300. Additionally, her past

due amounts had been cleared up. I asked Dr. Markley why

the Administration was willing to spend $10,000 after such

a minor charge had been incurred and she was not past due.

I explained that an expenditure of such a minor amount

could lead one to a conclusion that the Administration was

willing to spend $10,000 because they had a good idea

what they would find. He agreed that the amount was large

in relationship to the bill of $300 but did not elaborate.

However, the Pcard was finally cancelled. I suggested to

Dr. Markley that the expenditure of $10,000 may not have

been necessary to cancel her card because she had violated

policy as early as 2014. He offered no explanation.

6. After asking Dr. Markley these questions, I asked for his

thoughts. He expressed and displayed significant and

genuine regret and remorse. I asked him if he would be

willing to publicly apologize for the Administration’s

failure to cancel Collins’ Pcard. He agreed that the apology

might warrant calls for his resignation, but he agreed to do

it.

That concludes my personal notes. After two weeks of

deep reflection, I have offered the motion that the Board of

Education must continue its assessment of the Collins

matter by immediately engaging a forensic attorney and

auditor. The goals will be to determine why District

policies were violated, to assess responsibility, to make

improvements in policies and internal controls governing

Pcard transactions, and to provide appropriate safeguards

over taxpayers’ money.

I urge that the motion be approved without delay.

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BY GREG WALTERS

Board to Decide

Fate of Sewer Tax Increase 

Raytown taxpayers face the reality of a 7% sanitary sewer tax increase in the next year. This is the third year in a row in which City Hall has increased the sanitary sewer tax. 

• In 2017 the Sewer Tax was increased by 15%.
• In 2018 the Sewer Tax was increased by 10%.
• In 2019 the Sewer Tax increase under consideration is 7%.

The proposed increase has raised an alarm not easily ignored by some Raytowners.

As someone who recently visited with people in my Ward (during my campaign for election) I can tell you there are many good people in Raytown who are struggling to keep up with the tax increases they are expected to pay this coming year.

Jackson County has re-assessed property taxes to historic levels. This third increase of the sanitary sewer tax creates a total of over 40% in increases in just three years. In November, voters will be asked to approve a renewal of the Park/Storm Sewer Tax.

Here are some ideas that would help soften the blow on those who can least afford another sewer tax increase.

• Raytown is served by two water companies. Both have a minimum payment on the first two thousand gallons of water purchased by residential customers.

• The City of Raytown bases its sewer use charges on the first one thousand gallons of water treated. The city could follow the water company’s  lead by discounting the cost of treating the first two thousand gallons of water. This would lessen the impact of the rate increase on those who try to save by using less water.

• Mayor Michael McDonough has as seat on the Little Blue Valley Sewer District Board. The city should begin serious talks with the two sewage treatment entities (Kansas City and Little Blue Valley Sewer District) to find ways to ratchet back on the ever increasing cost of treating sewage. Insist upon an audit of the sewer system to determine if Raytown is being treated fairly.

• Make certain every resident and commercial property is paying their fair share of sanitary sewer use charges. This year the city is expected to write off $70,000.00 as “uncollectable”. City Hall must do a better job on collections to make certain everyone is paying their fair share.

• Hold off any increase until after the winter months. Sewer bills are based on water purchased by users from the utilities. Those figures are gathered during winter months so people are not charged sewer treatment for water used to water lawns, flower beds, wash cars, etc. Wait for those usage amounts to be set in the winter, and then use the new water usage numbers to create more accurate bills.

• City staff provided the Board of Aldermen a report that showed a reserve of $547,416 dollars in the Sewer Fund. This proprietary fund can only be used for sanitary sewer costs. The city could tap part of that reserve to fund a portion of the tax increase.

A WORD ABOUT SEWER LINE UPKEEP IN RAYTOWN: 

Some politicians at City Hall complain the city has not kept up maintenance on the sewer upkeep in the past. That is not accurate. The taxpayers in Raytown approved Municipal Bonds to fund re-building of entire sewer systems in 2006, 2007 and 2013.

In the last 13 years those bonds funded over $11,000,000 (million dollars) in municipal projects for needed repairs to the city’s sanitary sewer infrastructure.

Two huge watersheds, White Oak Creek on the south end of town, and the Wildwood Lake watershed have had extensive work done on sanitary sewer lines. When you consider that those repairs have a lifetime of 50 plus years, it is significant.

Raytown voters approved and are paying for those improvements already. It is now time for the city to step and help the voters facing these  increases.

The Mayor and Raytown Board of Aldermen will hold a public hearing on the rate increases Tuesday, September 24, 2019. The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. Any Raytown citizen will be allowed to speak at this public hearing. There will also be a public hearing on the new tax levy amount for personal and property tax levels for next year.

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

Sanitary Sewer Tax Increase

Tuesday, September 24, 2019        6:00 PM

Raytown City Hall       10000 East 59^th Street

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED TO ATTEND

AND SPEAK AT THE PUBLIC HEARING.

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