Carpe Diem

The City of Weatherby Lake is a Class IV City according to state statute.  It is often referred to a "weak mayor" form of government.  Former Mayor Henderson lamented this fact, publicly and privately through his travails while he was in office.  The Board of Aldermen has the ultimate power, especially when it comes to funding/finance to control what happens in the City, with the Mayor being relegated to a tie breaking vote should the BOA deadlock.  This doesn't happen very often (although the July BOA meeting had two situations where the Mayor broke a tie-more about that tomorrow) so the BOA can be a driving force in the City. 

My observation is the trend over the past 6 years is a gradual abdication of power to the Mayor's chair.  Some might say that it has been a picture of harmony, my view it has been a default to auto-pilot, the Mayor has been allowed free reign of government, and that is not good.  No I am not advocating the acrimony of years past but the lack of active engagement by the BOA has led to where we are now.  To be sure, part of the blame resides with the current and past Mayors.  Their lack of communication with the aldermen has gotten progressively worse.  The City has had six years of virtually no outside scrutiny of City finances...no I am not alluding to any misdoings, but it is common sense to have a third party review of our financial management...no it is not enough to have a City Treasurer or City Clerk assure us that everything is ok.  Again I am not suggesting they are not doing their jobs, other than the Mayor saying they are.  Bos quickly crafted an Audit Committee (mostly FOJ-Friends of Jerry) constructed primarily to determine if the previous administration had irregularities.  Not long after the committee was formed, the last real review of finances initiated by York, found the City administration of finances to be superlative.  Faced by the fact that only the smoke of innuendo was present, the committee seldom met and was eventually dismissed at the suggestion of Bos.

It is time for this Board of Aldermen to seize the day and become actively involved in the City conduct of business.  Mayor Botbyl, while having some experience of being a mayor in a much larger city in NJ, is a rookie as a Mayor in a class IV city in Missouri.  Be prepared for meetings, know the laws that govern our class of City, take responsibility and not abdicate because it is convenient.  The performance of the Mayor, BOA, City Attorney and staff was in my opinion sloppy at best.  We deserve better governance than that.

Disturbed

If my last post didn't make you a little uneasy regarding the financial machinations of the Mayor and BOA...well, skip the rest of this post.

I understand if you don't have time for attending the BOA (kind of) but I hope you might be stimulated to get more information, after all, it is your money.  My advice is go directly to the source, the Mayor and Aldermen.  You can email/call them, just check the City web site or phone book. (Note: West Ward Alderman Richmond was not present for the proceedings but certainly should be well informed on the issue)

They have the ability, as elected officials, to raise your taxes up to a limit...so they are accountable to you.  Questions you might ask:

• Were the aldermen fully informed, with all materials, prior to the vote on the levy?
• If not, why not?
• Was there an alternative plan formulated, especially for the bond levy, if for whatever reason, questions from the aldermen and/or public did not support the levy rate?  If there was not "Plan B", why?
• What exactly are the interest rates for the bonds?  The Mayor could not give specifics other than "around 6 to7%".  Why wouldn't the staff know this if the plan was to retire debt with "higher interest rates"?
• Alderman Stevenson brought up the city's ability to borrow money through bonds.  When asked the question as to how much the City had available to borrow, nobody knew.  What is available borrowing capacity of the City?
• If "Mayor Jerry" is the architect of the pay down scheme, was he invited to support the current administrations plan to carry on the plan?
• Why weren't bond officials at the meeting?  I can remember meetings were they were invited and attended to explain the details of the bonds.

Smoke from a distance. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Fair warning...be prepared for a bit of smoke and haze, plenty of that was being generated at the meeting.  The Mayor and BOA live a pretty sheltered life, away from the scrutiny of the media and the public.  In my opinion it leads to the sloppy state of affairs witnessed (by a few) last Wednesday night.

Blame "Mayor Jerry"

Watching the governmental process has often been described as sausage making, you really don't want to watch.  After attending last night's Public Hearing and Special Board Meeting to consider an increase in your taxes for next year, I can truly say it was by far the worst performance I have witnessed by the Mayor, Board and Staff that I have witnessed in 14 years of observing the proceedings, both as an alderman and citizen spectator.  Sausage?  More like baloney.  But first the bottom line.

Your taxes are going up next year compliments of your Board and Mayor.  The City joins a number of other taxing entities dipping into your wallet, The WL Fire District is proposing and will surely raise their levy as well as Platte County and the Park Hill School District.  Those of you who experienced an increase in your property appraisal will now get the added bite of increased taxes to go along with that bump in property value.  Nice.

To be sure, the levy proposal had some mundane components, the levy for the general fund and parks was straightforward.  The controversial part was the proposal to increase the levy regarding the debt service on bonds.  Basically the Mayor asked the BOA to increase the levy to pay off bonds sooner than the payment schedule to pay off higher interest bonds.  Yes, that is right, increase taxes to pay off bonds, not due.  When asked for specific interest rates for the bonds the Mayor responded between 6 and 7 %, he did not know exactly...nor did the City Treasurer...nope none of the Aldermen either.  As he was pushed for more details regarding "calling the bonds" an exasperated Botbyl tossed the hot potato to the previous administration, saying the process was put in place by "Mayor Jerry" and the "previous board" (note, Botbyl was a member of that board). 

Details were sketchy and misinformation was flying fast and furious...example:

Another member of the audience asked if any other City money could be used in paying off the bonds?  Answer from the City Treasurer, "only monies from the levy for the bonds could be used", while the Mayor's head bobbed affirmatively, the City Attorney sat silent.

When it appeared a vote on the levy might fail, and responding to a direct question regarding this, the City Attorney advised at the very least to recess the meeting rather than adjourn...at which point Alderman Clark commented he felt he "had a gun to his head".  No discussion on alternatives, no discussion to the fact the BOA in fact could approve the bond levy at a lower amount. The BOA was never presented with a plan B by the Mayor and staff, basically positioned as all or nothing...silly.

The audience was in the dark as staff, BOA and Mayor shuffled through papers, none of which were made available to the public.  I surmise had copies been distributed more questions would have been asked like,  "Is there a cost to calling the bonds?"

Another odd circumstance was the non-appearance of any representative from the companies holding the bonds, the so called experts.  They have appeared in the past, not last night

All in all a very unconvincing performance by your elected officials and staff.  As I walked out a former alderman, also in attendance, commented on how disorganized and unprepared the meeting appeared.  I couldn't have said it better. 

CC Redux

The Official Unoffical Minutes of the WL BOA
August 5th

The new Community Center Manager, Bonnie Mazza, gave a summary of her review of the Center as the incoming manager.  She commented on the state of the floors saying, "it broke her heart" to see the poor condition of the floors and the need for them to be "professionally cleaned".  She submitted a five page "Maintenance and Cleaning Update - Proposed Projects to the Mayor and BOA".  Included in her report were "Wish List" items such as new one piece counter sinks, light fixtures, fresh updated paint, add 2 nice framed mirrors, commercial refrigerator, commercial stove, rope lights for outdoors.

She ends her written report with, "This Center has so much potential but, it's just outdated.  I feel that with some TLC, elbow grease and updating, the community center will shine!".

Of course we have been here before, and not all that long ago.  A significant amount of money was infused to "update" the CC.  Still, according to the City budget, the CC is slated to lose between $15-$18,000 this year...as it has for the last any number of years.

What is the saying about lipstick on a pig?  That should rile some of those staunch supporters of the CC.  My question to you is this.  How many truly community functions occur at the CC?  Okay, the Irish American Club hosts their annual beer bust there.  There are a couple of fish fries conducted by the Fishing Club.  We do vote there.  What else?  Some folks who live here have private parties there, nice.  A fair number of people who do not live here have private parties there as well.

Competitive venues for events continue to pop up in the vicinity, including the new Pavilion at C Point as one alderman observed. 

Maybe the BOA needs to take a more analytical approach to the business of running the CC.  Could it ever break even...should it?   Before we embark on another round of investments in the CC there are many considerations to think about.  I hope the BOA takes a deep breath before moving forward with any substantial investments.

No Parking @ C Point

The Official Unofficial Minutes of the WL BOA
August 5th

The BOA passed an ordinance restricting street parking on the city street that leads up to the entrance to C Point for approximately 400 feet on either side of the street.  Signs will be posted both upon entering the area near the Pierce residence and exiting C Point.  Apparently a number of functions with high numbers of participants required street parking which in turn caused problems with in/out as well as access for the two homes at the entrance.  Additionally, temporary signs will be used on high volume days like the 4th of July.  This past 4th, two vehicles were ticketed for improper parking, per the Chief.

English: Road sign no parking (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The new configuration of C Point does have less parking as opposed to the former "park on the grass" setup, and I think it is fair to say the new Pavilion has been a hit.  Combine that with ad hoc beach events by members, the Point can be crowded...so if you have to park on the street pay attention to posted signs.

Galloping Gourmet

We are always looking for new spots to eat close by to WL, a bit of a challenge.  Recently we discovered two restaurants worthy of a look, if not a taste.

BC Bistro
Not exactly a premier site, in the strip of shops in the area of Pizza Shoppe and Dominos on Prairie View, but the menu is good, with great tasting food.  We ate there twice, both times excellent.  Casual dining plus a bar.  Take a look.
http://bcbistrokc.com/ 

Nick and Nino's
Off Ambassador, across from the Embassy Suites, again in a strip, with Luna Azteca and the Smoke Box (two of our favorites).  Different atmosphere, more of a bar with honky-tonk feel, has a pool table.  But make no mistake, after eating there twice, it has good food.  Our guess the clientele changes as the evening wears on, they have bands/dj and other stuff going on.  Open 7 days a week, Luna and Smoke are not.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nick-and-Ninos-Pub/534229003361705

Both locally owned, we try to support the locals when we can...give both a try.

Jalapeno Stuffed Burger from Nick and Ninos

City Wins Cash Award

The Official Unofficial Minutes of the WL BOA
August 5th

Todd Foster of Midwest Public Risk gave a short overview of MPR to the BOA.  It is a cooperative of cities and public entities that forms a non-profit cooperative to cover workcomp, liabilities and other like issues.  Their focus is to assist their participants in promoting safe work conditions that avoid what can be costly claims against public employers.  The excess in premiums after payouts is returned to the co-op members in the form of dividends.  Another way to recover some of the premium $ is through Recognition Awards, for achieving or exceeding certain metrics.  Mr Foster was happy to present a check, $879, to the city for the past fiscal year as a Recognition Award.

City Clerk Gwen gave Nan, her assistant, a shout out for being the driving force for the city to achieve the award.

BTW, if you have an inquiring mind, the city has received back from MPR over the past ten years, $14,700.

English: Dollar/Peso sign (not a symbol of the Church of Scientology) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I'm Baaaaaack

Has happened a couple of times in the past, lethargy, work and bad karma settled in, disabling my blogging digits.  Good news this too passed, well at least some of it.  Have had quite an ambitious travel schedule for work, I hate that when it happens...in any event, I did attend the BOA last night and will begin breaking it down for you...okay?

English: Zombies (Photo credit: Wikipedia)