To view the January 7, 2020 Meeting of the Raytown Board of Aldermen, click the following link: 

JAN. 7th BOARD MEETING LINK

BY PAUL LIVIUS

Fickle . . .

At last Tuesday night’s Board of Aldermen meeting Ward 4 Alderman Jim Aziere commented “this Board is fickle”. We were not sure what he meant until later in the meeting when three Board members reversed their vote on a controversial $32,109.00 electronic billboard/monument sign to be built in front of Raytown City Hall.

. . . to say the least it was an interesting ride for the monument sign issue. At the beginning of the meeting the Board of Aldermen turned down the resolution by a vote of five NO, four YES, one ABSTENTION.

. . . about two hours later, the Board reversed its vote when Ward 3 Alderwoman Janet Emerson made a motion to reconsider the vote. This time the vote passed by a vote of seven YES, three NO.

. . . or did it pass? Ward 1 Alderman Greg Walters noted that Emerson had abstained on the earlier vote. He then filed a complaint with the City Administrator and the City Attorney’s office.

. . . Walters wrote . . .

“According to Roberts Rule of Order, a Vote to Reconsider can only be made by a person on the prevailing side of a question. Mrs. Emerson’s vote was not a NO vote. She abstained from voting. Under Roberts Rule of Order an abstention cannot be counted as a “YES” vote or a “NO” vote.

The motion to reconsider may be made only by a member who voted on the prevailing side in the original vote (such as someone who voted "yes" if the motion had passed or voted "no" if the motion was defeated).*

*ROBERTS RULE OF ORDER NEW REVISED EDITION

Given these facts it is clear the motion and the ruling from the Mayor to call for the vote was Out of Order. Therefore the vote is void.

My concern is should the Mayor sign the contract before the next Board  meeting it could put the city in an embarrassing position as to the legality of any vote taken that was not properly authorized by the Board of Aldermen.”

As of this writing, there has not been a formal response from the City Administrator or City Attorney.

HOW DID THEY VOTE?

On the first vote Board members voted as follows:

Should the Board spend $32,109.00 on a electronic billboard/monument sign in front of Raytown City Hall?

VOTING YES:          Bonnaye Mims, Ryan Myers, Bill VanBuskirk, Frank Hunt

VOTING NO:            Jason Greene, Greg Walters, Derek Ward,

                                  Mary Jane VanBuskirk, Jim Aziere

ABSTAIN:                Janet Emerson

On the second vote Board members voted as follows:

Should the Board spend $32,109.00 on a electronic billboard/monument sign in front of Raytown City Hall?

VOTING YES:          Bonnaye Mims, Ryan Myers, Bill VanBuskirk, Frank Hunt,
                                 Janet Emerson, Mary Jane VanBuskirk, Jim Aziere
VOTING NO:           Jason Greene, Greg Walters, Derek Ward

                                

ANALYSIS PART ONE

Some will look at the fiasco that was the monument sign (two) votes as a victory of sorts for the Mayor and his supporters. Some may say what was done was clever and smart.

During debate on the issue Ward 2 Alderman Jason Greene made a very interesting comment. He said he viewed the electronic monument sign as a question of “wants and needs”.

In his view, the needs of the city’s infrastructure was far more important.

We agree. The $30,000 slated to be spent on un-needed signage in front a building that is already clearly marked as City Hall . . . on a street that carries very little traffic . . . by comparison to major roadways* in Raytown . . . is a waste of $30,000 of the taxpayer's money.

The losers in this battle of words are the taxpayers in Raytown. They deserve better from their representatives.

*Raytown Trafficway, 350 Highway, Blue Ridge Boulevard, Blue Ridge Cutoff, 63^rd Street, 83^rd Street and 87^th Street all carry more traffic than the intersection of Old Raytown Road and 59^th Street.

ANALYSIS PART TWO

One of the hats City Attorney Jennifer Baird wears is that of the Board’s Parliamentarian. It is the Parliamentarian’s job to rule on questions of procedure according to Roberts Rule of Order. The most important job of Roberts Rules is to keep what is called the “tyranny of the majority” in check. 

The Parliamentarian’s role is essential to have a fair and balanced discussion of issues.

Unfortunately, Mayor McDonough does not make use of the Parliamentarian. He frequently refuses to ask for or heed her advice.

November 19, 2019 meeting: The Mayor ruled a motion to reconsider by Alderman Frank Hunt was not debatable and only required a simple majority to pass. He was wrong on both counts.

January 7, 2020 meeting: The Mayor ruled a motion by Alderman Emerson to table a proposed ordinance on tethering animals required a simple majority. A two-thirds majority was required. Alderman Bill VanBuskirk corrected the Mayor’s error by making a subsequent motion to bring the item back onto the agenda.

January 7, 2020 meeting:The Mayor attempted to rule a “privileged” point of order by Alderman Derek Ward on a point of information matter as being out of order. To Mr. Ward’s credit, he was able to persuade the Mayor the motion was in order and proper.

January 7, 2020 meeting: On the Monument Sign debacle, the Mayor allowed Mrs. Emerson’s Motion to Reconsider to stand. In fact, Mrs. Emerson had abstained on the previous vote. Her previous vote to abstain disqualified her from making the motion.

Mr. Mayor, let’s make a deal. You concentrate on being the Mayor. You have a Parliamentarian . . . Let her do her job. 

Bits and Pieces . . .

. . . Park Board Director Dave Turner tells us the Park Board has decided to re-institute last year’s private security patrols at Raytown Parks during the summer months.

The Board voted to appropriate $15,000 to pay for the private security patrols. Last year the Park Board approved a similar contract. This move by the Park Board is viewed as a successful program to curb curfew violations in Raytown City Parks.

. . . Private Security was not the only program initiated last year. The Park Board also agreed to increase lighting by installing solar powered LED light poles in area parks.

. . . The Raytown Park Improvement Committee was organized by Alderman Greg Walters last year in answer to a deadly shooting at Colman Park in the summer of 2019. Walters said he was encouraged by the Park Board’s recent decisions for additional lighting and continued curfew patrols.

BY GREG WALTERS

. . . Speaking of Special Committees. At about the same time the Raytown Parks Improvement Committee was formed, Mayor Michael McDonough formed a committee to look into public safety throughout Raytown. That committee, which was working with members of the Jackson County Combat Committee, held three meetings.

A member of the Mayor’s Committee told us the Committee has not held any meetings in several months.

. . . The debacle over the monument sign came as quite a surprise to Raytowners who had high hopes of more street improvements with the money. Opponents to the bill can take solace in the fact that they were able to shave over $7,000.00 off what was originally a $40,000.00 cost.

One local wit said, “I guess we Raytowners will just have to continue dodging pot holes, putting up with radically uneven road surfaces and take cmfort in the fact that we have a new monument sign to read as we drive by City Hall.”

. . . BOA to consider new tethering law at January 21^st meeting. The Raytown Board of Aldermen will come to a final decision on a new tethering law for Raytown pet owners at their next meeting. The proposal calls for all tethered animals to be accompanied by a responsible party within line of sight of when the dog is tethered.

City Prosecutor Ross Nigro made a rare appearance at the last Municipal Committee meeting to explain the need for the change in the ordinance. He told committee members the current ordinance is not enforceable.

In fact, the prosecutor’s suggested language was chosen to be used as the amended language by the Committee in its recommendation to the Board of Aldermen for approval.

Raytown Municipal Court Records back up the Prosecutor’s words. In the last year, there were only two tethering violations that came before the Court.

Committee members spoke of personally observing animals being tethered for extended periods of time. As one member pointed out, the worst violations become apparent when Animal Control is off during the weekends and evenings.

One solution may be to go to more flexible hours during summer months so animal control can patrol in the early evening and on weekends.

On the issue of what to do when our furry friends need to answer the call of nature some Committee members have suggested allowing a ten minute window for pet owners to allow their animals to complete their business in privacy. This short time period would allow Animal Control officers an effective way to make certain dogs are not left tethered all day.