Old Drum

The University Inn flap

2012-01-04T15:29:00.000-08:00

I want to make clear how I stand on the flap about granting Jerry Franklin tax credits to redevelop the site of the old University Inn. As a Libertarian, I oppose any action by the government to pick winners and losers in the marketplace, whether by subsidies (incentives) or by regulatory favoritism. At the local level, if the subsidized establishment is not to hurt existing stores, it must attract new customers not doing business in town. If all it does is change the way the existing pie is cut, then there is no gain for the town and will hurt current firms.

That said, if Jerry Franklin presented a proposal for a TIF, his request should be considered by the TIF commission and reasons given for the rejection. If TIF is never to be considered, the city ordinance establishing a commission should be repealed. It's something called "due process."

Who's Getting the Tax Credits?

2011-09-06T16:40:00.000-07:00

Over $10.5 million in tax credits have been issued in Johnson County since 1999. I guess there's a way to check this out, and I doubt if it includes the TDD (aka Walmart tax) for the virtually empty and definitely incomplete commercial development that includes the new movie house.
The Department of Economic Development has one heck of a list of credits available

Hawthorne - I Told You So

2011-06-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

So, we've extracted $2million from Wal-Mart shoppers to pay for infrastructure at a virtually- empty development. I argued against it, saying that the free market would provide development when it was economically viable, but city leaders were so blinded by the grandiose visions, they went along with the scam. As Sandra quoted back then reading the stories; "it's a cookbook."

Now, maybe they need to rethink backing the pie-in-the-sky plans for a convention center & hotel proposed by Jerry Franklin. We have two high-quality motels in town that struggle to maintain occupancy outside of the peak events associated with UCM - motels built with private money and which pay taxes without asking for goodies from the city. Is this another "cookbook?"

What's so hard about asking?

2011-02-01T14:00:00.001-08:00

"No answer to question on jail bond spending" article in DSJ

I supported the jail tax issue on the assumption that NONE of the money would be used for current expenditures until the bonds were paid off. Now, it appears the County Commission will siphon off $160K per year. That isn't what we voted for.

Our County Auditor, who was swept aside in the November Republican landslide, asked our county officials to get an Attorney General's opinion on the legality of this diversion. They wouldn't do it. She asked our local State Representative to request the opinion - he didn't think it was worthy of asking.

Think about it - if they can take $160K this year, what's to prevent them from taking as much as they want, as long as the bonds are paid off in 25 years? Did Mr. Brenner pull off a final bait and switch before leaving office? Do the current commissioners & our State Representative have a reason for stonewalling the request? Do any of them even have a clue what this looks like?

Prescription Sudafed

2010-12-15T07:33:00.001-08:00

It appears the governor wants to make all us sinus sufferers get prescriptions for the most effective non-drowsy remedy. We're already treated like suspicious persons when we buy it at the pharmacy. I heard the Deputy Atty Gen on the radio talking about its effects the way they used to talk about marijuana ("Reefer Madness").

I wonder if anyone considered that meth labs & the property crime associated with obtaining ingredients would disappear if users could obtain the drug legally? Squeeze the balloon with restrictions in one state (or all states) would just drive up the costs for users & brewers, result in more property crime to get the money, and further enrich the bloody drug cartels/gangs who would step up & fill the demand.

Warrensburg's "Social Justice Film Festival"

2010-09-13T06:56:00.000-07:00

In addition to the various other reports (links below), Sandra attended some of he events associated with the festival. Here's her report:

More on the film festival: I have to speak up here. I see the word "craft" show pertaining to the festival. Obviously, some of the "invited" attendees including those associated to the film group, might have been at the film screenings and not attending the craft show. However, I was at the Showcase, Black Lot, and E. Culton St., locations. Friday, 12:30 PM no crafters. Only someone selling candles, hospital, a tourism representative of northern Missouri, etc., but no, no crafters. Do not know what happened at that location - the sign to find the location behind the old theater location had blown around and no one checked on it - hired employees, I heard 20 needy individuals would be hired in order to meet the grant specifications. Most were standing by entrance door smoking, cigarette butts around the front entrance. Remember, I was only there for a few minutes. Saturday, went back to the location and ran into unhappy individuals: candle person, really upset tourism person (not Warrensburg), book seller who said she had no visitors at her table but me, and the EMT fellas who were very happy to talk to someone. And, some of those hired employees were doing nothing next to a table over-loaded with teeshirts of the event. Maybe, as time goes by, I can pick me up a Festival teeshirt for 25cents at a local thrift shop. The so-called art show at the E. Culton St. location was exhibit by a husband and wife and the toilet was over-flowing. He said I was the only one visiting on Saturday, about 1:30PM.

No one outside 6 local folks, myself, a Hist. Soc., volunteer and Lisa were at the Hist. Soc. for the film of the play at the Hist. Soc. However, I left, went downtown and saw 4 adults and one dog at the Old Drum statue. The dog looked like Old Drum, and the group were trying to read out loud the speech below Old Drum's paws. Quickly, I went up to them and told them to go to the Hist. Soc. and courthouse for the film of the Old Drum story and their dog was invited. They were tourists and no idea where the Old Courthouse was. They took off for the courthouse to watch the film. In going home, I felt I had contributed to promoting Warrensburg and didn't need any Film Festival to do it.

DigitalBurg.com story
Conservative website story
Another conservative website

"Certificates of Participation"

2010-07-04T06:26:00.000-07:00

Warrensburg is issuing "certificates of participation" - a fancy way of saying they're issuing bonds without a specific vote of the people. Just another way to get what they want without bothering to ask for it. BTW, I can't find a link to the DSJ story.

From the LP Convention

2010-05-29T07:40:00.000-07:00

I am at the Libertarian National Convention in St. Louis. One of our MO LP members is streaming video from the event. Also, the MO LP has created a video. Part 1 is posted on Youtube. Enjoy.

What's the city up to now?

2010-01-25T09:08:00.000-08:00

After the City of Warrensburg decided it wanted to micromanage bars & restaurants by passing a smoking ban that's not effective for a year, now they want to micromanage our trash collection. It's just too inefficient to let people make their own decisions about when they want their trash picked up, so the city is considering telling citizens who they must choose to be their haulers. Never mind if it creates a monopoly, raises costs (which follows from a monopoly) and puts people out of business.

I'm told the reason is that "they" don't like multiple trash haulers on the same street - it tears up the streets. Then, talking to an insider, it appears that the main culprit who won't cooperate on scheduling, etc., is the largest corporate hauler. Now, who would have the advantage in a bidding process? The big corporate hauler (duh!) who has the resources to bid in at a loss until the other folks are out of business.

It's working just fine now. We have actual free market competition. All we need to screw everything up is a little government interference.

Anti-smokers have an organized camapign

2009-04-15T05:17:00.000-07:00

See the comment to yesterday's post. The anti-smoking forces have a 20-page campaign plan on how they intend to use the "law" to suppress the rights of property owners. It even says something along the lines of 'if they can't get their whole agenda, don't accept a partial step - it increases pressure.' Reminds me of prohibition - the temperance movement got their way and created big time organized crime. The drug war created big-time drug cartels and drug gang wars. Will tobacco prohibition create 'smoke-easies' and a new type of organized crime? Or will the existing gangs find an opening here?

Warrensburg smoking ban?

2009-04-14T06:02:00.000-07:00

Before I start - I quit smoking in 1969. My wife smokes, but not heavily. I prefer non-smoking or well-ventilated venues for meals; if a bar is too smoky, I'll leave.

The people who want to control our lives in the name of "common good" are resuming their push to ban smoking in Warrensburg. The "health" teacher (I don't remember having a "health" teacher) at the local middle school instigated a letter-writing campaign by her students to force the City Council to move away from their willingness to let the market decide which restaurants & bars would and would not be smoke free. A free-market member who was term-limited was replaced by an academician who advocates a smoking ban.

Let's look at some issues:

1. Fairness - Depending on how an ordinance is written, some restaurants & bars could be more adversely affected than others. Bar/restaurants that have completely separate smoking sections (Player's Nathans's, Heroes'), generally with separate HVAC systems, would suffer because the extra expense they incurred to do so would be negated. Restaurants that failed to spend the capital for physical separation (Applebee's, County Kitchen) would be rewarded. If the ordinance allows smoking on outside patios, small places like the Checker Tavern or Joy's Donuts would suffer.

2. Safety & the Public Peace - Bars and restaurants outside the city's control, such as the strip bar at Skyhaven or the places in Montserrat, would draw smokers. That would increase the number of imbibing drivers on US 50 at night. Draw the conclusions yourself. If smoking at outdoor drinking venues is allowed, would that lead to noise complaints from neighboring residences & downtown apartment dwellers?

3. Money - Warrensburg appears to be doing a good job managing its finances despite the economic downturn. I wonder how much tax revenue is generated by the businesses along West Pine Street? I wonder if they've run an economic profile of the effects of various smoking ban scenarios? I suggest reading this study: Economic Effect of Smoking bans.

4. Property Rights - Is it fair for government to take someone's property without compensation? While the U.S. & Missouri Supreme Courts seem to think that government has the right to do anything it wants with your property, a smoking ban does take the property (economic potential) of the bars/restaurants/establishments targeted.

My conclusion - If you don't like smoking, don't patronize establishments that allow it. Tell the owner/management why you're not frequenting their establishment. Instead, patronize non-smoking establishments such as Mary Jane's or one of the fast food restaurants; have lunch at the Senior Center or Sheltered Workshop. Don't ask the government to suppress the rights of the business owner to accommodate your desires.

Zoning was smashed

2009-04-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

Yes, we (the people of Johnson County) did it. We beat zoning 78-22%. I will post the by-precinct results and other info at www.olddrum.net/zoning as I have time. Meanwhile, thanks for your support.

And don't forget the Tea Party at the courthouse at noon on tax day (4/15).

SexOffenderGate

2009-03-21T02:50:00.000-07:00

That's what I'm calling this whole zoning effort. First the bogus sex offender halfway house to get zoning initiated. Then, during zoning commission meetings, almost no talk of zoning for industry or to get industry here, mostly about preserving what people have. Now, the Johnson County Economic Development Corp, a not-for-profit partially funded by taxpayer dollars, is campaigning solely on the basis that they claim industry won't come here without zoning.

Does this raise suspicions for you, too? Are we being scammed and bamboozled? Do they think we are a bunch of hicks? Did the Temporary P&Z Commission put in 18 months of work under false pretenses? Should w be royally ticked?

Vote NO on April 7th!

Government agency to promote zoning

2009-03-15T07:11:00.001-07:00

Yes, the Johnson County Economic Development Corporation voted to spend money to promote the zoning issue. Yes, they get most of their money from government agencies (County, Warrensburg, UCM, etc.). Yes, their board includes the County Clerk, Presiding Commissioner, Warrensburg Mayor and Warrensburg City Manager. See DSJ Article for details on what they're doing.

We've also learned that the Warrensburg City Manager addressed a class at UCM on County Zoning. We don't know what he said yet, but are looking into it.

These actions may violate the prohibition against spending public money to advocate issues, and may violate the rules of the Missouri Ethics Commission. We shall see. Meanwhile, there's nothing wrong with expressing your outrage.

Zoning Update # whatever

2009-03-04T03:09:00.000-08:00

I missed last night's anti-zoning meeting but understand it was productive. Sign placement around the county is taking off with the warm weather - I have 31 ready to go. I also understand I've been volunteered to talk to some anti-zoning folks at a meeting in the Knob Noster area. Talk is good, but the lead committee can always use some more donations - see Johnson Liberty website. You can't print quality signs and bumper stickers, much less ads in the paper & on TV, without money.

Zoning Update #11

2009-02-21T06:58:00.000-08:00

We have only 6 weeks until the zoning election. The anti-zoning committee Johnson Liberty is raising funds for signs, bumper stickers, door hangers and ads. I have painted out the date of the 1997 election on 31 large signs stored in my barn - they're ready to add the new date & hit the streets.

I've added a "Zoning Facts" page to OldDrum.net and updated the Johnson County Libertarian Party's participation in anti-zoning efforts.

Meanwhile, we've learned that some people are passing out a rumor that zoning will be mandatory if Johnson County reaches 1st Class County status. That's not true - the specialist attorney hired to advise the temporary P&Z commission stated that to the group.

Please, if you want to preserve your liberty, pick up some fliers at Affordable Tax Service or at Joy's Rise & Shine Donuts, and pass them out to your friends & neighbors. Campaign contributions are always welcome.

Zoning and the County Commission

2009-02-02T15:44:00.000-08:00

Have you been following the flap about allocation of hours to various offices by the County Commission? It seems that they cut hours for the female officeholders' staffs, but not for the male ones. A rather telling editorial comment today - "Under such circumstances, officeholders and anyone else should think twice about the worth of a commission agreement." Think about it when considering your vote on P&Z.

See Daily Star Journal editorial

Zoning Update #10

2009-01-31T06:42:00.000-08:00

Now that they've certified zoning for the ballot, it's time to get to work opposing it. I understand that a campaign committee is being formed; the site JohnsonLiberty.com has information on 13 reasons why you should vote against zoning. I'll add a few more:

- if you're somehow missed, you have a year to get it straightened out - the administrator may waive the fee (if he feels like it).

- It won't clean up anything - trashy trailers, raw sewage (they already have an ordinance about that), etc. There's nothing in the plan on enforcement of the rules.

- The County is really, truly broke. The officeholders are in a squabble because some have followed direction and cut their employees to 35 hours a week, while others have ignored the request. The County Commission seems to be blowing off the complaints. Interestingly, the officeholders who complied are all female, and the ones who didn't are male. See the Daily Star Journal website for stories & editorials.

Too bad we were put into this position by a scam, the temporary P&Z Commission was forced to waste it's first 6 months without any support from the County, and the plan was rushed through without adequate public input along the way (at least that's what I've heard around town) to save the cost of a separate election.

Zoning Update #9

2009-01-16T07:02:00.000-08:00

Everything is in place for a vote on April 7th. I ask anyone who wants to help defeat the zoning to contact me. I will have more info on what it does & doesn't do shortly.

BTW, I was buttonholed by 3 commission's officers and asked if I was going to oppose the issue; my answer - "But of course." They tried to dissuade me, then asked that I stick to facts. I will - but I told them there are other committees and I can't control what they say.

I Told You So!

2009-01-12T14:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, I did. Back in 2005, when the Hawthorne development was pushing through their Transportation Development District (AKA the "Wal-Mart tax"), I questioned the both the propriety of asking taxpayers to back a for-profit development and the assumptions involved. Sure enough, the economy turned sour and Hawthorne is back asking for more taxpayer support. See DSJ article, 1/12/09 for details of their request. It seems they want the city to back them to over $1/2 million instead of the agreed $150K per year. WOW! Meanwhile, the DSJ Editor suggests that the city ought to be prudent, yet compromise (DSJ editorial, 1/12/09).

I wonder if anyone in the city has seen the TDD's books? If anyone has requested information under the Sunshine Law?

For background, visit OldDrum.net.

Zoning Update #8

2009-01-03T06:24:00.000-08:00

Latest news: The Public Hearing will at 7 PM on Tuesday 1/6, at the Fairgrounds. It will be preceded by a P&Z Commission meeting at 6 PM, same location. If you wish to comment on the proposed draft (latest versions available at OldDrum.Net you will be limited to 5 minutes, so plan your comments accordingly. The agenda & ground rules are posted there, as well.

If you saw the Daily Star Journal article on county finances, you'll know that it's pretty tight. I'm still waiting to see how they budget for P&Z if it passes.

Zoning Update #7

2008-12-23T19:08:00.000-08:00

The "staff" has completed a new draft of the Johnson County zoning rules based on the commission decisions after the public meetings. It's posted at www.olddrum.net/zoning, along with the transcribed comments from the three public meetings. The zoning maps are also available; they're large so I only posted a link to the website where they're displayed.

If you're opposed to this zoning attempt, write me at liberty@olddrum.net and I'll see about getting you in touch with the "No Zoning" organization to be established. The opposition will be looking for money (naturally), sign locations, letter writers and people to talk to groups and stir up folks at coffee. Oh, and feel free to comment on the blog.

Zoning update #6

2008-12-05T14:01:00.000-08:00

The public meetings are upon us, starting Monday AM. See Olddrum.net for the schedule. I've also posted the most recent versions of the zoning rules and county plan, as well as adding a page about zoning horror stories (additional stories are welcome).

The zoning chair & vice-chair will be on KOKO magazine Monday A.M., probably starting at 8:30, to promote the meeting.

A few FAQ's on this plan:
+ The zoning commission is to be elected.
+ Agricultural activities are completely unregulated (including megafarms - the state "takes care" of that).
+ If you have more than 8 dogs and/or cats other than pets or hunting dogs & are selling them, you're a kennel and that's not Ag, that's commercial.

More later.

Zoning Update #5

2008-12-01T06:29:00.000-08:00

The zoning plan is getting ready to go public. Meetings start on Monday, 12/8,and we don't have a finished product to show them. Also, it's not available on-line anywhere yet. I asked again for info in electronic format so I could post it - we will see. If at tomorrow's meeting they can't promise it the next day, I will hand them a request under the Sunshine Law. In that case, I'll ask for all files relating to the P&Z efforts thus far, excluding graphic files & maps.

Better get to work writing out what I want and what my questions are.

Zoning update #4

2008-08-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am posting the minutes of our planning & zoning meetings at OldDrum.net so local folks can find them. All the June & July meetings are posted. Meetings are the 1st & 3rd Tuesday of each month in the Extension Office conference room, at 7 PM. Comments by visitors are no limited to the the end of the meeting, which stifles both objections and good ideas.

I've talked to other members of the commission and they share my impression that we are being steered toward a specific outcome. It doesn't really matter, since no matter how acceptable our final plan may be, a future commission (& County Commission) may change them at their whim. We will see how things shake out.

Libertarian Candidates

2008-07-03T17:32:00.000-07:00

The Libertarian Party has a list of candidates for national, state & local office. If you are concerned about the two "major" parties' failure to support our civil and economic liberty, please vote for Libertarian candidates.

For President - Bob Barr - GA
For Vice President - Wayne Allyn Root - NV

Statewide Candidates

Governor: Andrew W. Finkenstadt, St. Charles
Lieutenant Governor: Teddy Fleck, Springfield
Secretary of State: Wes Upchurch, Columbia

Congressional Candidates

District 1: Robb E. Cunningham, St. Ann
District 2: Thomas L. Knapp, St. Louis
District 3: Kevin Babcock, St. Louis
District 6: Dave Browning, Oak Grove
District 7: Kevin Craig, Powersite
District 8: Branden C. McCullough, Cape Girardeau
District 9: Tamara Millay, St. Louis

Missouri Legislative Candidates

State Senate

District 5: Robert Christophel, St. Louis
District 13: Eric S. Harris, Florissant
District 19: Christopher W. Dwyer, Hallsville

State Representative

District 18: John R. Alsup, St. Charles

District 39: Lance Weber, Kansas City

District 54: Bobby Foster, Blue Springs

District 55: Kevin Parr, Grain Valley

District 59: Michael J. Peters, Jr., St. Louis

District 69: Julie Stone, St. Louis

District 154: Larry S. Busby, Poplar Bluff

District 158: Robert Roland, Cape Girardeau

Zoning update #3

2008-07-03T17:05:00.000-07:00

Things are moving along (unfortunately). I've started posting the minutes of the meetings at OldDrum.Net in order to give folks a better chance to see what's going on. Please stay informed!

Zoning Update #2

2007-11-08T07:37:00.000-08:00

After fits and starts, the process appears to be moving (although glacially). The County Commission will commit money toward the effort in January, and the zoning board has some guidance. See the www.olddrum.net/zoning reference to get the latest documents.

BW

Warrensburg Gazette

2007-10-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

The Gazette folded about 2 years ago. It had been gradually going downhill for some time, due to failure to give it any support. Becky was left as the only person there and they couldn't find a buyer. With the demise of the Free Press and Digitalburg.com as independent entities, there's no longer any place to expound thoughts counter to the official line.

BW

Eminent Domain Petition

2007-09-13T05:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend, local Libertarians will be at the Holden Fall Fiesta passing out info on libertarian ideas and gathering signatures for the Stop Eminent Domain Abuse petition. If you're not involved in this effort, you ought to be. See MO-CPR.ORG.

We'll also gather signatures during Warrensburg's Chautauqua.

Zoning update

2007-09-13T05:23:00.000-07:00

The commission has been going for almost 3 months and we're just getting started figuring out what we're doing. Some of the folks want to have some sort of plan before having township meetings, I think that's a ticket to losing another election - so I probably shouldn't argue with them.

When something substantive happens, I'll post it.

State Fair and Proprty Rights

2007-07-28T06:38:00.000-07:00

I work a bit at the Libertarian Party's State Fair booth. This year we'll share the booth with an organization gathering signatures to change the state Constitution to stop eminent domain abuse. I've signed up to collect petition signatures, so anyone in Warrensburg who wants to sign it, give me a call. To learn more, go to Missouri Citizens for Property Rights

July Udate on Planning/Zoning Commission

2007-07-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

We've had 4 meetings now, and I don't think the group has even started to get its act together. I don't have anything to post on Olddrum.net to keep people informed. It'd be best (if you want zoning) to get the County to kick in money to hire the RPC to work on it - but they're hurting (rumor has it they told all their employees not to say anything about what's going on in the Courthouse). If you don't want it, the pace of work is just fine.

Stossel Column on Eminent Domain

2007-06-13T05:18:00.000-07:00

A new John Stossel column addresses a specific case in Illinois where Target pulled out of a development due to opposition to the use of eminent domain to sieze th eproperty involved. The article also has very good arguments why eminent domain should not be used. See the column.

Zoning coming back

2007-06-12T06:21:00.000-07:00

I was appointed as "alternate" representative for Montserrat Township in the latest attempt to put P&Z in Johnson County. I had asked to be placed on the committee - not because I support zoning, but because I want to make sure that we can live with what comes out, should it end up passing.

The first meeting was yesterday afternoon; I was assured the only thing that "alternate" reps lack is a vote. OK, I can live with that for now. Most of the township reps at the meeting are fairly large farmer/landowners; at 112 acres, I'm the small fry. That means there will be a lot of protection for agricultural enterprises. I hope it also means there'll be a lot of interst in protecting their ability to sell property for development if they so desire. We know that Cass & Jackson Counties have very restrictive urban-type zoning, while Lafayette County's zoning is anti-development. We shall see how things develop.

In any case, I will use my political website, www.olddrum.net, to keep everyone informed on what's happening, in case the county website doesn't.

BW

More on TDDs

2007-04-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

It seems that Rolla is pressing on with their own Wal-Mart tax to support a rich developer at the expense of the everyday citizens. See http://www.rollanet.org/~rwnash/nsn.html for more info. The article shows just how unaccountable a Transportation Development District is.

JCBS

2006-12-20T06:48:00.000-08:00

The Johnson County Board of Services has parted ways with their Executive Director. I'd really like to know what the "differences in direction" cited inthe DSJ article were. I paid a lot of attention to the situation at the JCBS several years ago when they were fighting and overcoming the "Enron" setup with ADD & ISCI (see writings at www.olddrum.net under Free Press articles). Now I wonder what direction the current Board is going. Too bad we don't get real investigative reporting around here. Meanwhile, we're pating for everything with our property tax dollars.

In Liberty

Catching Up, December 2006

2006-12-13T05:58:00.000-08:00

OK, I've not posted for over a month. With the election, deer season, and assorted other priorities, it didn't seem that there was time. Or, with the lack of a link from digitalburg.com, worth the effort. I've let a lot of government shenanigans slde by, but it's time to satrt commenting again. We have:

+ The election challenge & "irregularities" involving the County Auditor race, decided by 4 votes.
+ The county spending a bunch of money on a new "industrial park" - about $5,000 an acre. What's more, they're going to issue bonds to pay for it, and we never got to vote on the bonds.
+ The city wanting to extend a 1/2 cent sales tax, to pay for an ambitious public building program. Meanwhile, we have 24 more years to go to pay for their giveaway to the Hawthorne development (what I call the "Wal-Mart tax").
+ Local elections for school board and city council coming up.
+ Local agencies deciding they need a lobbyist in Jeff City.
+ The legislature will be in session again. Time to watch for sneaky & pernicious bills (& those few that are actually beneficial).

If you, dear reader, want me to comment these, or any other, issues, you may post an anonymous reply to this post. Once I've initiated the topic, feel free to weigh in. Anonymous comments are acceptable if you need to protect your position - the only way anyone can find out where an anonymous post comes from is with a court order. However, anything you say has more weight if you post your name. Please, no ad hominem attacks.

In Liberty

Proposition B, Miniumum Wage

2006-10-28T05:57:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm against this one, too. For both economic and philosphical reasons.

1. The minimum wage was designed as an entry-level wage for those building work skills, not for a full-time life-time living wage for those who never bother to gain the skills or education needed to move up the economic ladder. Very few people who make minimum wage one year are still at minimum wage 5 years later.

2. A wage increase will drive up wages based on the minimum; you can't pay an experienced worker the same as an entry-level one. That drives up prices. If it passes, be prepared to pay more at restaurants, grocery stores, virtually everywhere.

3. This proposal will cost jobs. If competitve conditions prevent a business from raising prices, the business will have to cut employees. Businesses will be more circumspect at hiring lower skilled entry-level employees - which will happen to hurt minority group more.

4. The indexing part of the proposal will hurt Missouri's competitive position in relation to other states.

5. It will make it more attractive for the less scrupulous employers to hire illegal immigrants, as long as immigration enforcement and penalties are so lax.

Amendment 7, Felon office holders

2006-10-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

Vote against this one! It's a scam by the legislature. The main part of the amendment is unobjectionable; it says that if an officeholder is removed for a felony or impeached, they can't get the pension from holding that office. It's the other part that's a scam.

Currently, the so-called "citizens' commission" docilely recommends whatever pay raise the legislature wants. Then it hits the news and legislators hear from their constituents and vote down the pay raise by a simple majority. What's the change? If this thing passes, 2/3 of the members of both houses will have to vote against their own pay raise. So, if this passes, 65% of them can vote no, and still get the raise. Sneaky, huh?

Amendment 6, Veterans group tax exemption

2006-10-28T05:42:00.000-07:00

Most veteran groups make money from facility rentals, bingo, donations, dues, and other fundraisers. The money goes to upkeep & utilities on the post building. Profits are supposed to be used for charitable purposes, such as the Legion baseball teams, donations to the Veterans' Homes, etc., since they are exempt from Federal tax under certain portions of Sec 501. However, some vet groups were not deemed to be fully fulfilling the charitable part of their charters, so local assessors decided to charge real/personal property taxes on their property. This amendment would give them an exemption (maybe).

Since I attended the local American Legion memebership night, and they weren't concerned about the situation, I'll probably vote against the amendment.

Amendment 3, Tobacco Tax

2006-10-28T05:35:00.000-07:00

I'm definitely against this on, on several grounds.

1. It's a regressive tax, preying most heavily on those who can least afford it.
2. It's a constitutional amendment, enshrining government-funded health care in the state constitution. If the money provided by the tobacco tax isn't enough, it will take money from the general fund. It will be a huge, never-ending money pit.
3. The numbers don't add up. There's some slack in there someplace, and who knows where that will go.
4. Have you ever seen a program that the legislature couldn't find a way to siphon off?
5. The hospital lobby is strongly supporting it, because they can get more money.

Enough is enough.

Amendment 2, stem cell

2006-10-28T05:26:00.000-07:00

OK, I've made up my mind on all the amendments.

Amendment 2, Stem Cell research. I'll vote against it because it's just too complex to include in the state constitution, not because I opoose stem cell research. On trhe other hand, I would also oppose any attempt by the legislature to ban the research should the amendment fail. On the other hand, I do not think that it is the government's function to fund research.

I think ads for both sides are highly misleading (they have totally differnt definitions of cloning), but the anti-2 forces are probably stretching things more. This was the hardest one to decide on, but it comes down to what ought to be in the constitution.

Political Cronyism

2006-10-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

The Missouri Tourism Commission caved to Gov. Blunt and named a totally dubiously politician as Director of the Missouri Tourism Commission. According to a press release (see the link here), former 3-term State Rep Blaine Leutkemeyer got the job. Leutkemeyer runs an insurance agency in the hinterlands of Miller County at St. Elizabeth (pop. 297).

The Tourism Commission was initially reluctant to appoint Leutkemeyer, preferring instead someone with 25 years experience in the tourism industry. Gov. Blunt exercised some muscle by not reappointing the (Republican) chairwoman of the Commission, Rae Ann Pressley of Branson's Presley entertainment family, replacing her with the wife of a big-time contributor from SW Missouri.

My take? I'll be darned if I'll vote for a Republican with any direct association with Gov. Blunt. Every once in a while I get tempted to skip my Libertarian nominee in a tight race, but forget about that now. I wonder how many tourism industry folks are going to change their political contribution pattern?

I wonder why the Republicans at state and national levels have been so inept in generating public support for their programs (except when it comes to pork barrel spending); this is another prime example.

BW

Another move toward zoning?

2006-09-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

According to the 9/22 DSJ, the Warrensburg Economic Coordinating Board wants to "educate" students and military that they should report themselves as local residents in the 2010 census. Seems they think that prospective businesses don't take those folks into acocunt when estimating if they can make money by locating here.

Buried deep in the article, however, was this statement: "Hudson cited the need to have some level of legal control over development around the Highway 13 Bypass area which is scheduled to start construction once the right of ways have been completed." Essentially, they want to hire a lobbyist to lobby the legislature to give them that control. If they can just get county zoning, state law would allow them to have that control without having to annex or provide services to the area. If they can get the legislature to let them set up a zoning area without a vote (like was done for the Knob Noster area), they'll have exactly what they want - control with no responsibilities.

Come on, folks. Those will be high-value intersections and will attract businesses that can generate money. If you want to control what goes there, annex the area - and provide services to it! Meanwhile, we'll be watching for more zoning shenanigans.

In Liberty

"Economic Development"

2006-09-23T07:45:00.000-07:00

Yep, it appears it's full steam ahead for the "economic development" folks here, at least if the stories in the DSJ and digitalBurg.com are authoritative.

The Warrensburg Economic Coordinating Board wants to "educate" students and military that they should report themselves as local residents in the 2010 census (yes, I wrote more about that article in another post). From my experience, military generally do complete the census where they're permanently stationed; if they're on temporary duty (TDY), then they're likely to report their residence as their home station. Students are often transitory, as well, and they may just wish to promote their home towns instead of Warrensburg. A lot of the students are communters, anyway. What I don't understand is what retail businesses are so short-sighted as to not take into account the large semi-transitory population here? Industrial entities are a different sort; they need established non-transitory workers and students or military don't fill those needs. Ironic, isn't it, when the Warrensburg brand emphasizes the local population turnover - "Made Fresh Daily."

Meanwhile, the Johnson County Economic Development Corp. is going to have an out-of-town consultant prepare a "road map" to gain development. It's the usual stuff - figure out where we are and what we want to do - couched in the argot used by consultants. At least this is only costing $7,500; Warrensburg spent $60,000 to come up with a slogan that has to be explained to people (who are left with that glazed look on their faces after said explanation).

{An aside -I wonder why we have to go out of town to get consultants. Doesn't Warrensburg have enough brains here to come up with a plan written in language everyone can understand? Or is it the need to get someone outside so no local person or organization gains or loses status?]

Meanwhile, west of town in the little town of Centerview, an area entrepreneur is promoting his biomass energy project in the brand new industrial park being created there. Whle I'm sure there's bound to be some public money involved, it appears that this project is being driven by a private enterprise. Good for them!

In Liberty

Catching Up

2006-09-15T05:31:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted for a while, in part because I lost a hard drive and had to rebuild more important files - and in part because digitalBurg.com dropped the links to blogs - which is how most people found me.

So, what's happening? The city inspection idiocy continues. The city is being sued over the failure to grant a variance for a minor set-back violation on a completed house, after the hosue had been inspected numerous times (See dB article). Meanwhile, property owners in a neighboring subdivision are complaining about shoddy worksmanship and below-code construction - on properties that supposedly had been inspected by the city during construction (see dB article). It's typical - government makes rules and then enforces them capriciously.

The City renewed its contract withthe GWACC&VC for the "tourism tax" subsidy. I've not had a chance to look at the contract, but I imagine, like the old one, the GWACC&VC doesn't have to show any hard results. That's why I call it a subsidy. Those towns that have a separate entity administering their tourism fund show actual creative efforts to promote tourism - real tourism brochures, subsidies for event promotion, even constructing new attractions. In towns where the money goes directly to the Chamber, without effective guidance or demand for results, end up a genral subsidy for Chamber efforts. If you want to see what's happening in another city where the tourism tax is a subsidy, see No Standing News, from Rolla.

Speaking of tourism, a controversy has arisen because Governor Blunt is politicizing the highly effective Missouri Division of Tourism. While, as a Libertarian, I might question the use of tax money to promote a private industry (tourism), if it's going to be spent I'd like to see it spent effectively. For more info, see Springfield News-Leader article.

In Liberty

Branding Again

2006-08-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

A while back I wrote about Marshall grabbing onto something from their local heritage to focus efforts around. In their case it was Jim, the Wonder Dog; they came up with a slogan "Smart Dog, Fine Folks" as a basis for marketing their town. Previously, Marceline has promoted itself as the home of Walt Disney. Now, I see another Missouri town has latched onto something from its heritage - "Chillicothe, Home of Sliced Bread." An article in the electric co-op magazine, "Rural Missouri" ends with the quote from the local visitor center director, "we hope people will think of us as the greatest town since sliced bread."

Chillicothe came up with a slogan relevant to their history, one that also relates to an old saying about something really good. And they did it on their own. Marshall, I believe, came up with their slogan on their own. But we can't do that here in Warrensburg; we have to bring in someone from outside to tell us what to think. Then, we have to deny our heritage and refuse to use anything related to it. That $60,000 spent on the consultant for a "brand" that has to be explained even to residents could have been better used for promotion of something understandable that we could all buy into enthusiastically.

For some reason, Warrensburg sneers at anything locally invented. We give tax incentives to out-of-town developers who will compete with locally-owned businesses. Instead of pride in the town, its history and local creativity, Warrensburg has a municipal inferiority complex. Despite that, I still think Warrensburg is a dog-gone good town.

BW

Gas Price Ponderings

2006-08-22T04:56:00.000-07:00

I'm a confirmed believer in the Free Market as a mechanism for pricing and allocating resources, but the variation in gas prices across the state has even me wondering. I drove to the St. Louis area last weekend. Gas was $2.85 to $2.89 in Warrensburg before I left. At the same time it was about a nickel lower in nearby Sedalia. As I got within 60 miles of St. Louis, prices fell below $2.80. Along the I-44 strip from Eureka (6 Flags park) to their I-270 loop, prices ran from $2.69 all the way down to $2.64.

Frankly, I don't understand it. St. Louis has air quality restrictions that affect the blends and should make gas more expensive. Sure, there's more demand in areas with larger populations, but I doubt that the cost of supplying the gas to a station in Beaufort or Rosebud is that much less than the cost of supplying it to Warrensburg.

Perhaps someone who really understands gasoline marketing can comment on why we pay so much more than motorists in so many other areas of the state.

BW

Addicted to Subsdies

2006-08-17T04:56:00.000-07:00

I visited the Libertarian Party booth at the State Fair yesterday and got to talking property rights issues with a Libertarian from the Bolivar area. Seems that they're having a big flap down there on a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) project at one of the new interchanges on the new 4-lane MO-13. A big developer convinced the city to give him a sales tax TIF. The Polk County Commission and Sheriff are dubious about supporting the development by giving up their share of sales taxes and are apparently going to sue the City to get out of it.

Their county officials are a bit slower than ours were back in 1998 when a local proposal was shot down - Ray Fitterling (not to mention his election opponents) all let the city know where the County would stand before the city council voted, and it failed 3-2. There, Bolivar has already approved the TIF before the Polk County commissioners got excited (probably after hearing from constituents in the rest of the county).

Why is this of interest to us in Johnson County? Well, guess who the developer is - yep, it's CEAH - the same folks who are sucking that 1/2 cent extra tax out of Wal-Mart shoppers to support their Hawthorne development. It appears they specialize in getting the rubes in small towns to underwrite their speculative developments (I don't care if you have a PhD, whenever you let the sharp operators fast talk and scam you, you are a "rube" by definition). I wonder where else CEAH is playng this game.

In Liberty

YES and Tax Credits

2006-08-13T04:32:00.000-07:00

A digitalBurg.com article on 8/11 reports that Youth Excited about Sports (YES) received a $190,000 check from a construction firm working on their new youth activity center. Private donations to support privately-run good work are good. Actually, the growth of the YES organization shows that youth sports can be provided without direct support of local taxpayers, something that I find commendable. So what's my beef?

Take a look back a few months at a November 21 digitalBurg.com article - YES has received tax credits in the amount of $1.3 million, leading to a potential direct reduction in taxes of $650,000 for the various donors. In other words, the donor of this $190,000 will reduce its state income taxes by $95,000 - at Missouri's 6% top bracket, that would be worth only $11,400 as a regular deduction. The remaining $83,600 comes from taxpayers across the state. Pretty good deal for the donor-taxpayer and for the qualifying charity. Not so good for the people whose favorite charities don't qualify.

What's wrong with this system? It allows government to pick which charities get its official blessing and which don't, which makes government a player rather than a referee. It favors large donors over small ones - the people who give the most in comparison to their incomes can't even itemize deductions, so get nothing at all. Back in November I commented on the intitial announcement of the credits (see archives), saying
"Perhaps if we'd do away with the income tax and replace it with a consumption-based tax (the Fair Tax), we could let people make their charitable decisions without tax policy skewing the decision process." I stand by those comments.

In Liberty

Primary Thoughts

2006-08-10T04:34:00.000-07:00

Turnout for the primary election was expected to low, but even the low forecats turned out to be optimistic. And when races are close, turnout can have a critical effect. Two races were decided by under 80 vote (that's 4 per precinct) each. There was adequate information out there to help people make informed decisions, so I don't know why people didn't take it upon themselves to vote.

All Politics is Local - as Tip O'Neill said, local races drove the turnout. In Johnson County, where the Republicans had several contested local races, about 1,000 fewer votes were cast in the Democratic primary. Similar patterns occurred in Pettis and Morgan Counties. On the other hand, Henry County had 8 times as many Democrats as Republicans go to the polls, with hotly contested local races.

Name Recognition is Key - at least in most cases. How else can one explain the Republicans in the 4th Congressional District continuing to nominate Jim Noland to be Ike Skelton's designated electoral victim? This dspite a well-funded campaign by a credible younger opponent. Locally, Karl Timmermann was able to overcome the name recognition of Mary Ann Young, possibly thanks in part to a negative campaign by an unknown outside committee calling attention to some of Young's prosecutorial problems. Alice Mistler ran a very strong race to come so close to Teresa Collins, already fairly well-known from serving on the Warrensburg R-VI School Board.

It's now about 90 days from the general election, in which most races will be contested by both Democrats and Republicans, with even a few Libertarians thrown in. It's to be hoped that the media will do a good job in getting plenty of word out well before the election. During my time in the military I often had to vote by mail; I found it difficult to get any information about local & even statewide races and issues, which in turn made it difficult to vote intelligenetly on these offices and issues. Since I doubt that the DSJ will change its timing, it's up to digitalBurg.com to make information available on a timely basis.

BW

County Committee Meetings

2006-08-08T03:55:00.000-07:00

It may seem silly to have state law govern how political parties organize themselves, but it does and our local Libertarians will comply. So if you consider yourself a Libertarian and would like to get involved, please read the announcement below:

"The Johnson County Libertarian Committee will hold its 2006
reorganization meeting at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, August 15th, in the Action
Realty Conference Center, 618 N Maguire St (Action Realty Bldg next to
Hardees). Anyone interested in the Libertarian Party or in serving on
the Libertarian Party’s County Committee is invited to attend. For more
information, contact Bill Wayne, 660-747-5728 or Randy Langkraehr,
660-429-1099."

There's also a meet-up link from the local party website or you can post a "reply" to this blog entry.

In Liberty

Primary Election

2006-08-05T05:25:00.000-07:00

There's a primary election on Tuesday, and maybe we'll get some local turnout. If we do, it'll be on the Republican side. My Libertarians have 4 uncontested candidates on the ballot, and the Democrats don't have any serious contests. Ah, but the Republicans!

Statewide, they have an interesting race for the State Auditor nomination. A couple of legislators, a county auditor and at least 1 more person. I wish I knew more about these people, their voting records in the legislature or performance records in their county, so I could decide among them intelligently.

(added Saturday AM) There's also a race for the sacrificial lamb to oppose Ike Skelton forthe 4th COngressional District. I really hope they pick someone besides the their "Harold Stassen" - Jim Noland. Parnell is a strong supporter of the Fair Tax, so that gives him a small plus.

Locally, the County Auditor race (Alice Mistler vs Teresa Collins) is also interesting. While I've met Mistler a couple of times, both of them seem to have decent qualifications. This one may be decided by who has the best connections over in Holden.

The Associate Circuit Judge race between Karl Timmermann and Mary Ann Young is getting quite some attention. As Prosecutor, Young certainly has the name recognition - and some negatives that come with the job. Since the code of ethics pretty much prevents judicial candidates from saying anything except "I'm Qualified," some other committee is running ads on KOKO making sure that everyone knows about Young's negatives. Personally, I'm impressed with what I've seen of Timmerman.

The other contetsted race is for the Prosecutor spot being vacated by Young. Two assistant prosecutors are running against each other - Tom Hendrix (whom I know) is opposed by Lynn Stoppy Brackin (whom I don't).

The other items on the ballot are the 0.1% state Parks & Conservation sales tax and a local 5% cabaret tax (on people who frequent our strip clubs). I already voted, since I'll be out of town on Tuesday. While I voted a Libertarian ballot (& as the LP County Chairman welcome anyone else who does), I fully understand that many libertarian-leaning people will next week want to vote where there's a contest.

So, please read up on these candidates. The Daily Star Journal had a set of articles on them, and I presume the Holden paper did, as well - and possibly papers from neighboring towns close to our border (all available at Trails Library). Also, don't forget to look at the coverage in digitalBurg.com.

In Liberty

Frustrating Things

2006-07-31T17:10:00.000-07:00

A totally non-political posting this time. I find 2 things with local "media" very frustrating.

1. The peson who delivers the DSJ throws it into the deepest patch of weeds he can reach. My driveway is all of about 10 yeards wide, you'd think he could drop a paper into that size space.

2. I-land internet dialup. It's become highly undependable lately (since the 800-number debacle). We get dropped, connected at very slow speeds, etc. If anyone has any experience, good or bad, with any of the many other dial-up ISPs around, plesae let me know so I can do something while waiting for WIld Blue to be available. And they have to compatible with Firefox, Thunderbird and Opera.

Bill

All the News follow-up

2006-07-28T04:20:00.000-07:00

Kudos to digitalBurg.com for investigating the Scully case dispute in detail. The article provides a lot of background information. I do not see why the Daily Star Journal could not have conducted a similar in-depth reporting and saved themselves a lot of criticism.

Well, actually, I do. They,like most print news, are understaffed in the reportage department, and there's a lot of local activity to cover. It's too bad that there is no way for the regular citizen to access the agendas and minutes of the dozens of committees, boards and other organizations subject to the Sunshine Law.

In Liberty

Candidates on the radio

2006-07-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

If you want to learn more about the candidates for the 121st District legislative seat, listen to KOKO. That's right, there are 3 candidates for the seat, which represents the Holden, Centerview, Warrensburg, Montserrat and Knob Noster areas. Each of them has a program on Warrensburg's KOKO 1450 AM radio, where each talks with local radio icon Marion Woods.

Here's the schedule:
Republican incumbent David Pearce - Fridays at 8:30 AM
Democrat Jeffrey Alvorado - Wednesdays at about 8:45 or 8:50 AM
Libertarian Bill Wayne (yup, that's me) - Wednesdays at 9:10 AM

So y'all come, listen and hear where each of us stands!

Bill

Prosecutors and Judges

2006-07-19T05:33:00.000-07:00

Last night at a local Libertarian Party meeting, we were discussing the various races in other parties (since our candidates are unopposed in August). We reached the conclusion that it's kind of a shame that candidates for judge aren't allowed to actually "campaign." Last week I commented on Robin Scully case, pressed by the local prosecutor who is running for Associate Circuit Judge. That brought to mind the Raymond Wood case, in which the same prosecutor was chastized for "coercive government misconduct" when the cofession, gained by Wood's minister, was thrown out see Gadfly 203 [link corrected]. Somebody else thought they remembered a problem with the CMSU dorm fire case. I wonder what else is out there?

Those are the kind of thing a judicial candidate should be asked to discuss, even under current rules, since they bear on judicial philosophy and temperament. Even those who vote based on name recognition ought to at least have the information available to ignore if that's their desire.

BW

All the News They See Fit to Print?

2006-07-07T19:21:00.000-07:00

Did you see the letter in today's DSJ? The one from Robin Scully's atttorney which essentially accused the DSJ of shoddy journalism? In essence, it says that they printed a press release from the Prosecutor's office as a news story and, not only wouldn't check with the defense attorney, but wouldn't print anything showing a second side to the story.

This isn't the first time there's been some questionable material presented as news. Back in 1997, during the run-up to the zoning election, the DSJ printed a series of "factual answers" about the zoning plan, written by the chairman of the zoning board. The opposition had to buy ads to refute these "factual answers." If you're interested, I still have the info at Olddrum.net. A few months ago, an article criticizing President Bush was printed without identifying it as opinion or identifying the author as a local Democratic Party activist and "strategist." These are a couple off the top of my head.

Now, I don't know any more about whatever details of the Scully case may be under dispute. I do know that the evidence gathered was thrown out, and with it the case against Mr. Scully. It would have been nice to know the details.

I've never claimed to be a journalist and was always more comfortable doing "commentary" than news in the infrequent items I wrote for the late and lamented "Warrensburg Free Press." Nevertheless, when doing news or candidate interviews I tried ot keep my personal opinion out of the article (and yes, it's hard sometimes). I believe that the press has the duty to present unslanted news (vs. opinion or "analysis"), and that it has even a stronger duty to balance what it may inadvertently slant.

BW

July 5thThoughts

2006-07-05T05:04:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that E-10 ethanol gas is no longer cheaper than regular? Demand increased as more E-85 stations opened and more consumers decided to take advantage of the lower price of E-10. Increased demand and static supply equals higher prices - it's an immutable law of economics. Normally, additional production comes on line and prices eventually return to competitive levels. However, this doesn't happen when the government meddles - Governor Blunt is going around the state bragging on his new state law to require all regular gas to contain ethanol. He thinks that supply will grow enough in 18 months to meet demand; we'll see about that. I'm well aware of the economic squeeze affecting farmers, but they were doing well enough on building the ethanol market without state "help."

Warrensburg's Zoning Commission approves a replat of one property that was laid out improperly, while the Board of Adjustment is forcing another property owner to tear down part of a garage that was laid out improperly. Application of zoning rules seems to be highly arbitrary, which is a good reason to oppose zoning in the country.

Great fireworks display last night. Good crowd over by the Multi where we watched the show; I heard that not so many people went to crane Stadium (the ballpark) to listen to the concert first. It's supposedly paid for by donation, so I tossed in some money when the contribution box came along - entertainment shouldn't be a function of government (although city and county emergency services were definitely there, just in case).

In Liberty

Persona non grata follow-up

2006-07-03T07:06:00.000-07:00

(see my 6/13 post before reading this)

Well, Sandra did get an email from the Mayor stating that she had attempted to call Sandra and the line was always busy (must have used the phone book - that's the line I use for internet!). Mayor Arwood also said that her appointments were required to be city residents. OK, we can accept that. However -

We're still personae non grata with the Chamber, otherwise maybe they'd have tried to get us to join. Despite my lack of enthusiasm about the quality of their efforts to promote tourism, we'd join if we thought it would create a reasonable amount of business for our B&B. Unfortunately, they couldn't answer some basic questions about their website traffic - it turns out they have no tracker on the site.

It's essential for a commercial website to have a tracker that tells how much traffic each page gets and where it comes from. That's just a basic part of the internet marketing budget, and it's CHEAP! I work with a program called SuperStatZ which is widely used by the B&B industry - only $120 per year. Then, there's Google Analytics, which is free. I don't know exactly what it does, but almost anything Google does works well.

As we travel throughout the state & country (see our travel website at MissouriDayTrips.com where we just posted info from our trip west back in March/April), we pick up brochures for various localities. Without fail, they do a better job of presenting attractions that people might want to stop and see than does anything Warrensburg puts out.

Isn't it time that the GWACC&VC started using its $90,000 room tax money to promote Warrensburg tourism instead of just responding to requests? Isn't it time to get "proactive?" Create an "attractions" page at the website? Create a real tourism brochure? Create a group travel and convention page on the website (plus a brochure)? Prove to the in-town lodging owners that they're doing something to bring in the guests who pay the bills? Isn't it better to earn more more than to beg for it (the Chamber's "Twilight Cruise" event).

For Tourism and Accountability

Why I Oppose Zoning

2006-06-27T04:57:00.000-07:00

According to an article in the Daily Star Journal (6/26/06), the Warrensburg Board of (zoning) Adjustment decided that a homeowner has to tear off 3.7 feet of his brand new home to meet a technical requirement of the zoning ordinance. Now, this is not a house on a main thoroughfare; it's on a side street in a rather expensive subdivision. The very restrictive homeowners' association said that waiving the "setback" requirement was fine with them. The neighbors weren't upset. City functionaries approved the plans, inspected the footings, the slab and the home. The contractor said it would cost $70,000 to move the garage, city building officials said changing the building would be destructive and that city zoning objectives would not be compromised. Nevertheless, the "Board of Adjustment" exercised its "authority" to enforce the rules without regard to equity. And that's what I fear when county-wide zoning is suggested.

When people make rules, it's easier to enforce them as written than to make rational exceptions. Remember that, you country folks, when someone again suggests that Johnson County ought to have zoning!

In Liberty

Gone to the Dogs

2006-06-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

Marshall's gone to the dogs while Warrensburg remains half-baked. Yes, the nearby city of Marshall has adopted a new slogan, specifically to encourage tourism - "Smart dogs, friendly folks." This, of course, is based on Missouri's second most famous dog, Jim, the Wonder Dog. Meanwhile, Warrensburg, home to the statue of Missouri's first most famous dog, shuns Old Drum.

Yes, we've had plenty of opportunity to go for the dog-lover niche, but have barked up other trees, instead. Our brand, costing us a lot of dough, was developed under orders to make it "not just the dog" (which obviously meant "don't use the dog"). Somebody decided that our "dog don't hunt" while Marshall obviously has other ideas. So we're going to sit up and beg for tourism while Marshall says "sic 'em."

For years I wrote an annual letter offering ideas to make a dog-themed Old Drum Days festival a real attraction. Maybe Marshall will find the ideas interesting. For more information about what they're doing, see The Marshall News.

Bill

Random Comments

2006-06-13T04:54:00.000-07:00

Did you know that E85 ethanol (85% ethanol) is now available in Warrensburg? The Break Time station on South Maguire has added it and it's about 50-60 cents a gallon cheaper than regular or E-10. I wonder how much it'd cost to convert my cars to take E85?

----
The digitalBurg.com account of Monday night's City Council meeting raised some random thoughts:

I still don't know what the GWACC&VC wanted by asking the City to be a "trustee sponsor" for its events. It appears the City Council didn't want any part of it either, saying, in effect, "don't we give you eough money already?"

On the other hand, the City & County are so afraid of losing a few pennies that they won't give people a break during the state sales tax holiday in August. I'll do my best not to buy anything taxable during those dates (August 4-5-6). Maybe I'll take a trip - to someplace that does give the break, even if I don't buy anything covered.

I hope the consultant hired to prepare a Warrensburg comprehensive plan comes up with something more palatable than the one that came up with the new logo. Any consultant can do no better than the information & guidance provided - garbage-in, garbage-out applies to studies as well as to computers.

----
Warrensburg goes another year without any real community festival. If you want to see a real festival (& one that doesn't depend on 'adult beverages") visit Clinton's Olde Glory Days, on June 29-July 1. How does a much smaller town like that do such a great festival with the entertainment it provides, while Warrensburg does nothing. Heck, even Leeton & Chilhowee do more than Warrensburg.

When You're Persona Non Grata

2006-06-13T04:30:00.000-07:00

I've been persona non grata with the Greater Warrensburg Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center (GWACC&VC) for a long time, due to my tendency to ask hard questions about how they spend the $90,000 per year collected from the room tax (see OldDrum.net/tourtax). Apparently that now extends to my wife, Sandra, as well. Last month, seeing a blurb that the City was looking for volunteers to serve on various boards, she made her name available to serve on the city-appointed board that oversees/advises on use of the room tax dollars. She even offered to join the Chamber if necessary.

Now, she's got some pretty good credentials - 18 years in the tourism (B&B) business, a Master's in Mass Communications, our membership in the Missouri Travel Council, contacts in the Division of Tourism, etc. She's also done a lot of PR for Blind Boone Park, has a monthly tourism program on KOKO, and has sucessfully written up 2 award-winning nominations for state tourism awards (Town of Blackwater and Sandy Irle). Didn't help - she wasn't appointed last night and she's not even gotten a "thank you for your interest" call (if it's in the mail, I'll give them a pass on that part).

My only conclusion is that people who might ask tough questions about the GWACC&VC aren't wanted anywhere near where they can see what's going on.

What are they up to now?

2006-06-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

Two things recently got my attention. One is the County purhase of a large tract of land along US-50 for another industrial park. The second is a little blurb garnered from the DSJ's announcement about Monday's City Council meeting.

On the land purchase, I'm not sure who bought the land, the JCEDC or the County - not that it makes much difference. The Economic Development Corporation is one of those quasi-private outfits that gets money from government and private sources to lure new employers to the area. They supposedly sell the land to these new companies, sometimes putting up buildings "on spec." My questions are these:

1. Where does the money come from to buy land and put up buildings?
2. When a buyer or tenant is found, who gets the money?
3. Does the land (and building) go back on the tax rolls at some point after it is sold?
4. Of the existing industrial park, how much of it is on the tax rolls now? And how much of it is occupied by tax exempt charities and governmental organizations?
5. Do any of the companies in the existing industrial park have any tax abatements or incentives? If so, what are the details (company, type & amount of abatement/incentive, when it expires, taxing districts affected)?

The other item that I noticed was a little blurb that said the Warrensburg City Council would consider a request by the GWACC&VC (Warrensburg Chaber) that the City become a "Trustee Sponsor" of Chamber events. What in the Sam Hill does that mean? I don't know, but I'm always suspicious when the GWACC&VC (which already gets $100K per year from a room tax) wants something from the City.

In Liberty

A Time for Reflection

2006-05-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

This is the day we observe Memorial Day, set aside to honor those who died in our various wars. The U.S. is suffering casualties in a continuing war in Afghanistan & Iraq and the media is rightly focusing on ceremonies in our national cemeteries and on the wounded veterans who have returned.

According to Antiwar.com, U.S. combat casualties in Iraq since 3/19/2003 are 1987 killed and about 18,000 wounded. I want to reflect on casualties in the war that led to our needing a Memorial Day - the war fought on American soil from 1861-1865. As we look at these casualty figures, it is well to remember that medical science then could not save nearly as many of those wounded as can be saved today, and that the "missing" figures might include many whose bodies were never found in addition to those made prisoner.

Here are a few of the major battles of the "late unpleasantness," Federal casualties only:
1st Manassas (Bull Run), July 21, 1861 - 481 killed, 1,011 wounded, 1,216 missing.
Shiloh, April 6-7, 1862 - 1,754 killed, 8,408 wounde, 2,885 missing.
The Seven Days, June 26-20, 1862 - 1,734 killed, 8,062 wounded, 6,053 missing.
Antietam, September 17, 1862 - 2,108 killed, 9,549 wounded, 753 missing.
Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862 - 1,284 killed, 9,600 wounded, 1,769 missing.
Murfreesboro, Deceber 31 1862-January 2, 1863 - 1,667 killed, 7,543 wounded, 3,686 missing.
Chancellorsville, May 2-3, 1863 - 1,575 killed, 9,594 wounded, 5,676 missing.
Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863 - 3,155 killed, 14,529 wounded, 5,365 missing.
Chickamuga, September 19-20, 1863 - 1,657 killed, 9,756 wounded, 1,468 missing.
Wilderness-Spotsylvania, May 5-12, 1864 - 4950 killed, 15,400 wounded, 5250 missing estimated -source - Ominpelagos.com.
Cold Harbor campaign, June 1-3, 1864 - 1,800 killed, 9,000 wounded, 1,800 missing (almost half in 40 minutes on June 3rd) estimated -source - Answers.com.

The figures above, most taken from "The Civil War, Volume II" by Newman & Long (1956) have probably been revised some since, but they clearly show what the American People were willing to accept in defense of the nation. Confederate battle casualties were generally similar to the Federal casualties, if not greater, and they were Americans, too.

Like now, a lot of the media of the time flamed with criticism of the President and the war effort. Like now, factions in Congress opposed the war effort and did everything they could to hinder and investigate the conduct of the war. Like now, the President held firm against the critics in his belief that it was necessary to prosecute the war to a finish to achieve the national objectives. Even 140 years after the war ended, that President & his efforts are resented in much of the conquered territory. Like now, those who fought the war, by and large, believed that the cause they fought for was just and resented the meddling of press and politician.

I believe it diminishes the sacrifice of our dead & wounded when we question the value of that sacrifice while they are in harms way. Principled dissent is one thing; public posturing to promote a political program is something else, so if you disagree with what I have said, do it with civility (and sign your name).

Someone Made a Mistake?

2006-05-25T04:57:00.000-07:00

Our Hancock Amendment restrictions on state government spending aren't working as well as some folks would like, so a group put together a petition drive to put even stricter restrictions on the ballot. They had no problem gathering way more signatures than required. But now advocates for unlimited government spending have sued to have the amendment taken off the ballot because of an error in the fiscal note. Who prepares the fiscal note? The State Auditor's office. The functionary who made the "mistake" says yes, he did reverse some tables. Yeah, right.

What a concept! Any time someone submits a petition the powers that be don't like, all they have to do is screw up the fiscal note, then sue to get the petitions thrown out. And I bet there's some reason why the functionary who made the "mistake" can't be fired (or sued by those who spent thousands to get the petitions in).

You take away their money, you take away their power. And we know what power does.

In Liberty

Gleanings from City Council "work seession"

2006-05-14T07:22:00.000-07:00

I read with interest the digitalBurg.com article on the City Council "work session." A few of their hopes and fears ned some more discussion:

1. City wide trash service, run by or contracted by the city. This presupposes that Government can do things better than private industry. Their main rationales are reducing truck traffic and people sneaking their trash into commercial dumpster. I suspect the most of the truck traffic problems have already been alleviated since there is now only one major commercial hauler in town. The night-time dumping problem will likely not go away - human nature being what it is. However, once the city takes over trash hauling, they can foist mandatory recycling upon the citizens, instead of the voluntary program that now exists.

2. The need to provide incentives for retail businesses. Is htere a reason why most of the attempts to bring "fine dining" to Warrensburg have failed? I think so - it's because going to the city makes the occasion more special. Similarly, other upscale shopping (like clothing) also pulls people to make an event of it. or any type of business, once the market here is right, the chains will come, much to the regret of the local folks put out of business. That's the marketplace, but why do we want to subsidize the outsiders?

3. The article said Mayor Arwood's greatest fear was "that the City Council would lose the community's confidence and would not support tax increases for some of these plans." Uh, you're damn right - we shouldn't be taking money from the people to give to developers!

Looking at all this, it gives me pause to reflect on the nature of our city government. We have a non-partisan system with 5 councilpersons elected at large. Currently, three of them are CMSU-connected, one is a prominent residential developer and the other has a large retail business. Major segments of the population are not represented. Perhaps as the city grows, it's time to reconsider the merits of this system as opposed to one in which councilpersons are elected to represent specific areas or constituencies?

In Liberty

Fair Tax Book available

2006-05-06T19:06:00.000-07:00

The Fair Tax Book is now available at Hastings for about $11 (including tax). It's the paperback, and it includes a new section explaining some of the misconceptions and questions that have cropped up since the hardbound was published. If you're intersted in getting rid of the current system, the Fair Tax is the only way to fix things. The book is by Libertarian talk show host Neal Boortz and Republican Congressman John Linder.

You can't miss the book - it has a big "ban the IRS" symbol on the front cover.

In Liberty

CMSU name change

2006-05-06T18:39:00.000-07:00

CMSU is considering changing its name to University of Central Missouri. They've provided a website explaining the options. It goes ino a lot of background and detail, but the analysis indicates to me that they will back the change. I have no objection to the new name, and only a couple of reservations.

+ First is that they should pay for it out of donated moeny, rather than taking it from the students (the legislature already said that the annual appropriation can't be used). Since I attended classes in 1986-89, the cost per credit hour has skyrocketed. I paid about $60/hour ($750 per semester) for 12 hours with no charge for addiitonal hours; now it's almost $195/credit hour. So it would be unfair to make the students, who already pay out the nose, pay for something of doubtful real usefulness to them.

+ They're concerned about lack of growth in enrollment as compared to other Missouri universities. Because of its proximity to Kansas City, CMSU has a lot more competition for students than do the other regionals. CMSU admits its pricing strategy hasn't really worked to increase its prestige or population. I don't think a new name will make a significant difference when dealing with supply and demand.

In any case, we all have the opportunity to submit comments on-line. CMSU is important enough to our community that we all ought to make our voices heard.

BW

Random Thoughts

2006-05-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

We watched the Texas Ranch 1867 series on PBS this week. As one who has done a little living history of the 1860s, I found the way the people tried to live to the era (or didn't try) really interesting. I think I was on the side of the cowhands rather than the rancher (although I liked the Comanches best). One question, though - they supposedly rounded up a bunch of wild cattle and sold them to the Cavalry. The herd included a lot of steers. How'd those critters get to be steers, anyway? They don't get that way by themselves!

----

The KC Royals are ontheir way toward smashing the Mets' all-time single-season loss record. Why are they so bad? I don't know which ones (or all) of the many reasons cited, but I do think I know why they slipped so badly in the early 90s - the Death Tax. That's right, had the team been included in Ewing Kaufmann's estate, the estate would have been forced to sell it since it had appreciated maybe $90 million while he owned it. To keep the team in town, it became the chief asset of a charitable trust and was managed very parsimoniously by a group of directors whose chief charge was to generate the maximum $$ for charity. The actions since then haven't done anything to start the team back toward respectability. For old-time KC baseball fans (I don't go back that far), it's deja vu all over again. At least we don't have the mule.

Our Confusing Laws

2006-04-26T10:54:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post (Back Door Zoning), I reported that Rep. Shannon Cooper's HB1976 would allow zoning without a vote of the people. He called me up and said that wasn't true. So I did some more research.

Rep. Cooper's bill only mentions a vote of the people in conjunction with planning initiated by a petition. His bill creates a group of new sections (64.1000 to 64.1042) in the Missouri Revised Statutes. However, the bill does not repeal any existing sections, such as 64.530 which requires a vote for any planning or zoning. His bill appears to provide a lot more detail than does existing law on what a county planning commission may do. Also, current law allows planning/zoning commission members to be appointed rather than elected (which I think is a change from what existed back in 1997, when we fought the issue here).

I apologize to Rep. Cooper (and the other sponsors) if I misrepresented his position. However, it's pretty easy to see why I read the bill as I did. Here's what the key part says:

64.1006. 1. A planning commission may be established by the procedures provided in subsection 2 or 3 of this section.

2. Any county in this state may make, adopt, amend, and carry out a county plan and any county commission may establish and appoint a planning commission with the powers and duties as set forth in sections 64.1000 to 64.1042.

3. Any group of registered voters from any county not having a planning commission may circulate a petition for the formation of a planning commission. (this part goes on to give details and require a vote to set up a planning commission).

Our legislators should recognize that, like eminent domain, planning and zoning is an emotional property rights issue out here in the countryside. I'd suggest clarifying this bill before it goes any further to make it absolutely clear that a a public vote is required if a county commission initiates zoning under para 64-1002 described above. Even if Rep. Cooper and the other rural sponsors don't intend that planning & zoning be shoved down our throats, many supporters of P&Z do.

In Liberty

Back Door Zoning

2006-04-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

Shame on you, Shannon Cooper. You've sponsored a bill that will allow counties to shove planning and zoning down their citizens' throats, without a vote of the people. Instead of convincing a majority of the voters in a county that they need zoning, all that would be needed would be 2 out of 3 county commissioners.

Thanks to the Missouri Farm Bureau, I've learned that HB1976, sponsored by Shannon Cooper (R-120, Clinton - also southern Johnson County), actually sneaks in this egregious violation of our right to at least have a say on whether or not some appointed (yes, appointed, not elected) officials control how we use our property. Cosponsors include Rep Todd Smith (R-118, Sedalia), Jim Avery (R-95, Crestwood), Brian Yates (R-56, Lee's Summit), Charles Schlottach (R-111, Owensville), Steve Hunter (R-127, Joplin), Michael Parson (R-133, Bolivar), Ron Richard (R-129, Joplin), Vicki Schneider (R-17, O'Fallon), Kenneth Jones (R-117, California), Tom Dempsey (R-18, St. Charles), Mike Sutherland (R-99, Warrenton), Sally Faith (R-15, St. Charles), Gary Dusenberg (R-54, Blue Springs) and Rodney Schad (R-115, Versailles).

Why would they want to take the power to decide from the people? Why would the Committee on Local Government vote it "Do Pass?" Why do the Republicans want to put property control decisions in the hands of an appointed elite? I don't know, but I do know what citizens of Johnson County should do - tell our State Representative(s) and Senator that WE WANT A SAY!

In Liberty

Aquila Rewards Failure

2006-04-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

I have a few hundred shares of Aquila, the electric company for Warrensburg and much of western Missouri. They'v ebeen in financial trouble for some time, because their leadership tried to get into the energy trading business. Sinc that collapsed, they'v ebeen busy selling off assets to pay their debts. To top that off, they're under court order to dismantle a peaking power plant they built without regard to Cass County regulations.

One of the key people in this despoiling of a once-dependable company (and its stock) is its current head honcho, Richard Green. What's infuriating is that the Aquila Boar dof Driectors keeps rewarding him for his misfeasance, with bonuses for selling off assets and most recently a fancy enhanced pension plan.

I just got my proxy notice and passed on my intruction to withhold a vote for Green as a corporate director. If enough of us do that, will Aquila get the hint? I doubt it.

BW

Fair Tax worth a look

2006-04-17T04:54:00.000-07:00

Tax time again - parking will be scarce by the Post Office.

Are you tired of spending big bucks to have someone prepare your income tax - and then not being quite sure that it's correct? Tired of not getting a big hunk of your paycheck because it's being withheld for "taxes"? Tired of worryinmg about audits, interest and penalties? As an employer, do you hate filling out all those forms to withhold those taxes? Do you hate exposing your private financial life to the government? Well, there's an answer on the table. It's called the Fair Tax.

There's a very good article on the Fair Tax in DigitalBurg.com. Take a look at it.

In Liberty

Comments on a Brand

2006-04-15T06:51:00.000-07:00

I read the DSJ's article on Scott Crist's presentation to the Chamber luncheon. He adressedthe people who say, "Huh?" when they see the brand, wondering what it means. Part of his comments related to other cities whose slogans he finds obscure. Now, I always thought that a slogan should take off on something a city is already known for; let's see how a couple of hte "obscure" ones he mentioned do that:

"Cleveland Rocks" - Cleveland, OH, is the home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which I understand is a significant tourist attraction. The slogan itself says that the city is a young, vibrant place with lots to do.

"Rare, Well Done" - Omaha, NE, is associated with steaks and the beef industry, and the slogan builds on that while, saying (I guess) that it's hard to find a city that does things so well.

"Keep Austin Weird" - This slogan associated with Austin, TX, puzzled me, so I Googled up Austin TX. It looks to me like one of their real slogans is "Go live in Austin" - a clever play, since the CVB's logo says "Austin - Live Music Capital of the World" (or maybe that's the logo/slogan).

Well, we're stuck with "Made Fresh Daily" which has no natural association with the Burg. I hope that their marketing plan makes something happen with it, because I really do want to see Warrensburg succeed.

BW

The Power of Incumbency

2006-04-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

Local election results again prove the power of incumbency and name recognition. I would point out, though, that getting 2/3 of the vote should not be viewed by the incumbent as a ratification of the Hawthorne TDD deal. The margin came against an unknown newcomer and the incumbent's name is on the radio and in the paper every day (from her business, not her political ads).

Even though it appears that the State Legislature's eminent domain "reform" movement will kowtow to the development interests with a watered-down bill, the issue of property rights is NOT going to go away.

In Liberty

Election Tomorrow

2006-04-03T06:11:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow Warrensburg voters will decide whether to keep the incumbent councilperson or to replace her with a newcomer to local politics. Please look at whatever information is available, see which one reflects your opinions on such issues as the Wal-Mart tax, and vote accordingly.

In Liberty

A Scary Poll

2006-03-27T05:03:00.000-08:00

I've been following the results of the current informal poll at digitalBurg. It seems that a majority of those participating think that government has the right to ban smoking where-ever government and anti-smoking zealots please. That's scary.

Why is it scary? First, it says that government knows best for you. That's a common problem among those who think that governemnt has to keep people from doing things that may be bad for them. It's intrusive, it's excessive.

Second, it says that anti-smoking zealots will slant things (such as stacking a poll) to get it to turn out as they want it. That's an "ends justify the means" aproach.

I don't smoke and I prefer to patronize non-smoking establishments. I don't allow smoking in my own business. I fully support voluntary limits on smoking. I support the government, acting as an employer, when it bans smoking on its own premises. I do not support government meddling in the private lives of those who want to indulge in this particular form of stupidity just because soemone else on the street may be offended.

In Liberty

Audit Raises LOTS of Questions

2006-03-23T16:49:00.000-08:00

I visited the Courthouse today (on something completely different) and got to look at State Auditor McCaskill's report on the "problems" at the Recorder of Deeds' office. You can read the story at digitalBurg.com so I won't go into details here. My reaction as I read through it? First it was "oooh," then "OOOH," and finally with the disclosure of the sweetheart deal with a title company - "OOOOOOOH." Trust me, there are some pretty egregious findings there.

I am very curious as to which title company was involved and what, if any, the political connections of that company are. I'm sure the Attorney General will be aggressive in his investigation, since he's running for Governor in 2008 and nothing makes him look better than uncovering and prosecuting government corruption.

If there's any local political hay to be made of this scandal, I'm sure some candidates will come up with some proposals; I may even do so myself. I understand that the bonding requirements for these positions are ridiculously low, so an update of the statuory requirements may be in order. A little more sunshine on government never hurt anyone, either.

In any case, it will be interesting to watch as the matter unfolds.

In Liberty

TDD Abuse is Epidemic!

2006-03-20T07:13:00.000-08:00

If you haven't read the dB article on the state audit of Transportation Development Districts, do so now! Our local $6,000,000-plus TDD is just a drop in the $800,000,000 bucket of taxes impsoed without a vote of any real citizens, just that of the retail developers who benefit from the tax.

Isn't this sort of thing why we voted the Hancock Amendment? How did our legislators decide that people who pay the tax can't vote on it? Isn't it time to do something to stop this abuse?

The City Council election in Warrensburg is only 2 weeks away. Your choices are the incumbent who supported the Hawthorne TDD (the extra 1/2 cent you pay every time you visit Wal-Mart) or a relatively unknown individual who says she opposes the tax. I certainly hope she gets a chance to bring her issues to the public, now that absentee voting has already opened.

In Liberty

Making Employees Happy

2006-03-14T06:42:00.000-08:00

I see that the City Council decided to reward city employees by reducing the proposed pay increase from 2.5% to 1.5%. That ought to make them happy and help reduce turnover. Sure it will.

Einent Domain "reform"

2006-03-03T17:20:00.000-08:00

The state legislature has come up with its new compromise bill to "reform" eminent domain and TIF. This will probably be the one that passes, since virtually all the Republicans seem to be co-sponsors. It's a pretty long bill, and I haven't had the chance to reflect on the details, but it is certainly an improvement on the current open season on private property. Whether it's adequate remains to be seen.

To read it yourself, it's HB-1441.

In Liberty

City Regulating Resale?

2006-03-01T05:42:00.000-08:00

I've been doing some more thinking about the City's desire to require resale businesses to keep detailed logs of everything they buy for resale. I know the intent is good - to find theives and return stolen goods to the rightful owners, but ...

I wonder - do they understand how the resale business works around here? Do they want to limit it to certain types of property or include everything? Would there be a certain minimum value? Would it apply to all the people who have booths at antique malls and flea markets within the city or just to management? Would it apply to items bought by booth owners for resale at garage sales? Would it apply to items sold within the city limits if purchased outside the city limits? What about trash picking for resale? What kind of proof would they have to keep of where they actually obtained the goods? Who'd pay for the administrative burden? How many staff people would the city add to compile the weekly reports and compare them to the "hot list?" What's to stop the resellers from moving their businesses outside the city limits and costing the city sales tax money? Do we really want this level of intrusion into our business lives?

Missouri has a law that requires state agencies promulgating administrative rules to estimate their effect on small business and to prepare a small business impact statement. While this law (536-300) doesn't apply to cities, perhaps Warrensburg should follow its precepts before opening this can of worms.

My wife, Sandra, has a booth at the Those Were the Days mall and has written her own thoughts; I'm posting them as a comment to this topic.

In Liberty

Filing Season

2006-02-28T07:53:00.000-08:00

Filing for political office opens in a few minutes. Candidates for state offices, the legislature, etc., are lining up in Jeff City, while our County Clerk is gearing up to take all the local filings. One of the lesser-known offices open for filing is committeeperson for each political party. People who will have been registered voters in their precinct for a year come August 8th can run for committeman or committeewoman for their preferred political party - Libertarian, Democratic or Republican. There's no filing fee, financial disclosure or anything like that.

If you're a Democrat or Republican and want to get involved in your party (or just shake up its establishment), go file. If you're a Libertarian, give me a call or drop me an email first - filing is open for most of March. Meanwhile, I'm going to file for Libertarian committeeman from Montserrat Township.

In Liberty

City Council Stuff

2006-02-28T07:43:00.000-08:00

The City Council report in dB (see article) had several interesting items.

City Manager Jeff Hancock reported on the demographics of the "greater Warrensburg" area in conjunction with the Hawthorne development. My question: if there's that much of a market, why do they need a subsidy?

Is the City doing some creative accounting ala Enron? They're going to borrow money from themselves for the sewer project, until they can borrow money from the state? I wish I'd taken a lot more accounting & finance classes when I got my MBA; I didn't know that kind of knowledge would be important just to understand what our governments are doing.

Finally, a proposal is onthe table to make all resale stores, not just pawn shops, identify who they buy stuff from. Pawn shops have systems for keeping records; resale shops don't. I understand that the police would like to more easily track stolen merchandise, but isn't this a bit excessive? Kudos to the Council members who held it up until affected businesses can comment; I expect they'll get an earful.

In Liberty

Hospital Sunshine - a Follow-Up

2006-02-28T07:24:00.000-08:00

Rumors get around. I've heard that the heart of the WMMC Board of Trustees closed meeting was a Powerpoint presentation showing some rather off-putting conditions in the OB/GYN area. If it's as-described, I can see why they don't want the public to see it - it could run off a lot of their business. If it's as-described, I think the public absolutely needs to see it. If it has protected information about specific patients, the Sunshine Law allows that material to be excised before release.

So, how about it, WMMC board? Are you going to comply with the Sunshine Law or not? BTW, you do know that you can be held personally liable for failure to comply?

In Liberty

Sunshine on the Hospital

2006-02-25T08:50:00.000-08:00

Administration at our local hospital (WMMC) wants to expand. The elected Board of Trustees wants to delay the expansion because of concerns about professional staffing (see dB articles on 2/24 and 1/30. Is there anything wrong with this? No - it seems to me that both the Administrator and Trustees are doing their jobs.

However, part of the most recent meeting was held in "executive session" (closed to the public). I would like to see an explanation of know what the legal justification was for closing that part of the meeting. The Sunshine Law allows very few instances, so unless they're discussing actual individual employees or patients, litigation, "leasing, purchase or sale of real estate where public knowledge might adversely affect the amount paid in the transaction" I believe the meeting should have been open.

If anybody on the WMMC Board is listening, it'd be nice to hear the justification.

In Liberty

Libertarians will meet

2006-02-20T15:09:00.000-08:00

The local Libertarian County Committe will have a meeting at 7:30 PM tomorrow (Tuesday, 2/21) at the Action Realty building on North Maguire (that's MO-13). Park behind the building and come to the door on the north side (that's across Furmeson St. from Hardee's).

If you're tired of large, intrusive government taking more & more of your tax money, come see us. Sign-up is optional, but you can do so thru the link to the Johnson County Libertarian Party website - see the link on the right side of the Blog.

In Liberty

Keeping Things Quiet

2006-02-20T12:59:00.000-08:00

Jim Skelton, who has been quite outspoken in his disapproval of the Hawthorne TDD, wrote another letter to the DSJ. If you remember, to get one of his earlier ones published he had to buy an ad! Well, this one hasn't been published either, so he emailed a copy to me and said I could go ahead and post it someplace. It's far too long to post here, but you can read it, just as he sent it to me, from a link at Old Drum Net. It's in MS Word format, so you'll have to download it to read it.

In Liberty

dB's Hawthorne Interview

2006-02-14T07:21:00.000-08:00

I read the digitalBurg.com interview with one of the Hawthorne development's principals. I must say, the developer is getting better at explaining his position - maybe that's from getting lots of practice. It also seems to me that portions of the story keep changing.

Back when the TDD popped out of its hidey-hole and didn't see its shadow, one of the reasons given was that excessive rock caused construction costs to exceed original estimates. We haven't heard that reason restated for quite some time now. Nothing in the original information said anything about the State wanting to close the frontage road by Wal-Mart; while it may be true, it's completely counter-intuitive. Why wasn't that information ballyhooed initially - or is it a result of the other changes proposed under the TDD? And were the members of the small church that is to be cut off allowed input into any DoT decision?

I'm taking anything the developer and the City say with a grain of salt. Meanwhile, we need to reform TDD along with TIF and eminent domain.

In Liberty

More Incentive Needed?

2006-02-12T10:25:00.000-08:00

Everyone's laughing about the "Made Fresh Daily" brand and ignoring the rest of the report. Maybe that was the strategy. The report (per published accounts) praised the relationship of the city and CMSU, and said that Warrensburg needs to get closer to Whiteman people and draw them into the city. OK, that's fine. The report is also reported to have said that Warrensburg needs new incentives to get more business here. That's worrysome. "Incentives" is a code word for tax breaks and giveaways. "Incentives" includes such things as TDDs and TIF, eminent domain and other means of taking from the citizens (& thier schools, hospitals, streets, etc.) to give favored developers.

If Warrensburg is so poised for growth and has so many advantages, why do we need to pay businesses to come here? Why shouldn't they pay us, instead, for the opportunity to come here and make a profit? No, that's a disincentive. The best way is to welcome those who want to pay their own way, cutting the red tape and getting extraneous government restrictions out of the way. i.e., let the free market work.

In Liberty

HELP

2006-02-10T17:59:00.000-08:00

HELP is the acronym for a local agency to assist the homeless, another agency with good intentions backed by a government grant. And it appears to be another agency that has trouble with oversight and financial controls. The DSJ article says that the bylaws "had been suspended for several months..." A new committee will hire an accountant to review their books and handle their taxes, since they haven't paid their withholding taxes since June.

This isn't the first time a local organization has gotten into trouble because of poor fiannacial oversight by its directors. CASA, which was actually a governmental unit under the courts, is defunct after financial irregularities were discovered. I seem to remember that Survival Adult Abuse got into some real trouble for not paying its payroll taxes. The Sheltered Workshop was a money pit under a previous management; it's now doing more, with less tax money. I reported on all of these earlier episodes and more 3 years ago - see Gadfly 175 and Gadfly 176.

In each of the above cases, a board of some sort was charged with oversight. In each of the cases, the borad memebrs didn't perform. Is the problem peculiar to Johnson County or is it wide spread? Who knows!?

Hey, if you can't (or don't want to) understand the financial activities of your organization, don't join its board.

In Liberty

Who owns Old Drum?

2006-02-09T04:36:00.000-08:00

Last week at the Warrensburg Sesquicentennial banquet, Warrensburg's mayor siad that he'd told the brand-designing consulting firm that he "wanted more than just the dog." That started me thinking about the issue - who really "owns" Old Drum? Warrensburg has claimed him for years, but seems to have relinquished that claim.

Let's see - Old Drum lived and died in the western part of Johnson County. The trial that made him famous was held in the Johnson County courthouse of the time; that courthouse is now a museum owned by the Johnson County Historical Society. Old Drum's official statue is on the lawn of the Johnson County Courthouse. Eureka! Old Drum belongs to ALL of Johnson County!

Now, if Old Drum is property of the county as a whole, rather than just the city of Warrensburg, perhaps the County would like my offer of a free "Brand" that would apply to ALL of us, not just the Burg. "Johnson County, A Doggone Good Place" - add "to live," "to shop," "to build a business" - the possibilities are endless.

How about it, County Commission? Are we going to grab it by the collar and unleash our creative forces, or are we going to let Marshall & Saline County get the jump on us with their Jim the Wonder Dog?

Made Fresh Daily 2

2006-02-04T07:05:00.000-08:00

Best I can tell from listening to the radio and reading the DSJ, Warrensburg's new "brand" is the greatest thing since sliced bread. The radio story said it's supposed to show that we're a Holsum® town. The logo even has a Sunbeam® on it. With the new brand, nobody will loaf in their search for new industry, businesses and residents, and they're going to put some real dough behind the effort. Yes sirree, Warrensburg will be a new Wonder®, and those of us who question the effort as half-baked will be labeled as crusty or even heels by those sitting up in the Manor® called City Hall.

I've always worried about what the government has in the oven - maybe it comes from my great-grandfather, who wore the Butternut® and grey. That's why I try, in my writings, to separate the whole wheat from the cracked variety. The brand was unveiled at Thursday night's Roman Meal® where I heard some wry comments by others as we left. Was it a Smart Choice® showing off our Home Pride®? Or is it Nature's Own® mistake? The brand is wrapped and the label slapped on the end; we shall see if the logo serves as the yeast for stronger efforts or if it falls flat on its buns.

Entrepreneurs, subsidies and garbage

2006-02-04T06:17:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, I attended Wendell Bailey's symposium on the future of small business - it was part of the sesquicentennial events. One thing he said struck me. Essentially, it was this:

Cities used to go to manufacturers in Chicago and Detroit (and maybe KC & St. Louis) to try to get the big boys to open a plant in their town. That's a waste - the big boys are looking for the "low-cost solution" and we're not it. Thge "low-cost" solutions are in Central America, China and South Asia. Instead, towns should be working to encourage their local entrepreneurs. They're the ones who will create the new jobs locally, more so than national firms.

That same evening, the DSJ had an article about a local start-up company that has essentially outcompeted a major international corporation. Of course, it's a service industry, but Allied Waste has sold all their local routes to a locally-owned and managed company, Heartland Waste. Heartland has aggressively marketed it service; I suspect it had taken enough market share to hurt Allied's profitability, so the big boy punted. It's a victory for local entrepreneurship, and I'm sure Warrensburg's new logo will look good on the side of their trucks.

I don't believe in government subsidies for business, especially retail business, but if Warrensburg is going to expand its participation in the pratice of subsidies, it ought to work on behalf of local entrepreneurs, not subsidize outsiders.

In Liberty

Made Fresh Daily?

2006-02-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

The new and much ballyhooed Warrensburg brand was unveiled tonight, to moderate applause. Made Fresh Daily. Yeah, just like a loaf of bread. The logo even has a little sunbeam on it. I'm disappointed. It's what I was afraid it would be - something non-descript and generic. But, it's not all bad - there's plenty of opportunity for humorists. Remember, businesses are supposed to use it in their advertising...

Would you be confident of dealing with a bank displaying "Made Fresh Daily?" How about shopping at a liquor store or frequenting a bar - might the Revenooers be interested? And I can't imaging a funeral home advertising its services that way. An antique store? Hah!

Of course it does fit certain types of business - too bad we don't have any bakeries or brew pubs. Tomorrow, we'll tell Sharon down at Joy's Donuts that they've finally come up with something to market her!

It's late - plenty more fresh-baked ideas tomorrow.

Who's Handing Out Misinformation?

2006-01-31T19:21:00.000-08:00

Golly, I'm uninformed and handing out misinformation! At least, that's what the Hawthorne developers said in their cosy little interview with the DSJ. [That's the same DSJ that published the "factual answers" about the zoning issue in 1997 (see www.olddrum.net/zoning for how true those facts were). It's the same DSJ that published an "article" lambasting the President by a local Democratic Party official without labeling it as "opinion."]. So I guess I'd better respond, since I've been one of the most vocal of local citizens on the issus.

First, I'm not opposed to the project or the development; it would be nice to have more retail choices so the marketplace could sort out the winners and losers. While I might not be up on allthe little details, I understand the basic difference between the Neighborhood Improvement District (NID) and the Transportation Development District (TDD). And I understand the difference between a tax abatement and directly taxing citizens. Let's look at some specifics from the DSJ article.

The DSJ cited the developer, stating "some people think this is a giveaway to them from the city." A direct quote was "Technically, we have been given nothing by the community." Technically, he's right: the city hasn't given the developer money directly; instead, it has allowed the developer to take money from the citizens without the city acting as a middleman. Practically, I fail to see any significant difference.

According tothe DSJ, the developer said he didn't go for Tax Increment Financing (TIF) because he was "told it would be unpopular here." I expect so, especially with the Mayor's wife, who is on the local school board that would be affected by a TIF. In addition, use of a TIF on undeveloped property is exactly the type of abuse that is likely to be curbed wither by the legislature or by voter initiative.

The DSJ also says the developers don't want to use eminent domain on the church. Now, I'm the one who made that issue public and I did so after a conversation with a member of that church. The developer may not have any long-term plans to condemn the property, but the church member certainly had that concern. However, any talk of condemnation is likely to be moot if the eminent domain reform efforts aren't derailed by "economic development" special interests.

The DSJ article further goes on to quote the developers lauding the city staff. It's now in the open - the city made the overtures to Wal-Mart, just as I suspected. I still think Wal-Mart signed on because the alternative was worse. While it is true that Wal-Mart is involved in a TDD down at Warsaw, their new store was the anchor of the development, not a well-established on-going operation.

A lot comes down to a question of values. If economic development is accepted as good, does it thus follow that otherwise-objectionable actions are ennobled? According to my values, it is objectionable to take money from the citizenry without their consent and give that money to another citizen. The ends, however worthy, do not justify the means.

More on County Sewage

2006-01-16T18:55:00.000-08:00

To expand on my earlier post, here's some parts of the draft ordinance, to apply to all unicorporated areas of the county, you should be concerned about:

1.4.3 - allows the health department to enter your property without proving probable cuse as long as they don't enter any buildings.

1.4.4 - the Board of Health rather than the County Commission sets the fees.

1.6 - Violating anyprovision of the ordinance is a misdemeanor.

2.3.10.2 - Defines "failing system" which allows them to require you to upgrade (& comply with their rules). A sewer backup is one of the items.

2.3.19 - the inspector has to do a "site visit" before any permits can be issues.

2.5.6 - Requires plugging old wells "located on the property" - doesn't matter if they're a half-mile away.

2.7.6 - Requires detailed plans done to scale.

2.7.24.1 - Allows them to deny a permit for violation of design or construction rules. So, would that mean you couldn't fix things so you'd just have to move out or pay daily fines?

2.7.24.14 - It's alsoa violation of the ordinance to violate building, subdivision or zoning regulations.

2.11 - Says the ordinance will be "construed liberally to the fullest extent permitted by law."

Read it yourself and then tell the commission what you think of it.

In Liberty