I support the County Executive’s regional rail system plan. The use of existing rail-lines will provide the infrastructure needed and save dollars in the long run. It is imperative that we continue to build on the momentum for the plan and take a very pro-active approach in working out the funding mechanism for such an innovative idea that would work well for Jackson Countians and the entire region

I do not support increasing the pay of Legislators. It is the responsibility of each Legislator to do their due diligence in improving the quality of life for all Jackson Countians including County employees before ever considering any salary adjustments for themselves.

Most state laws, including Missouri, have laws that prohibit convicted felons from holding public office since a felony entails a serious crime such as arson, tax fraud, robbery, laundering money or embezzlement. If elected, the person’s morals and intentions would have to be questioned, because the individual may still be prone to accepting bribes or committing other crimes in order to gain personal benefits that may be detrimental to the well-being of the County. Office holders, who create and enforce the law, should stay away from activities that can get them arrested for a felony charge. The County should follow State statues.

Due to the current economy, our residents cannot afford the burden of higher taxes. Last year, the County opted to maintain taxes at their current level instead of raising them. If the economy continues in the same fashion that it has for the past few years, I would again vote in favor of not raising them.

I support the overall concept of COMBAT and its mission. There is room for improvements to be implemented in the overall structure and manner in which it is carried out. We need a comprehensive audit to be conducted, in addition to putting some mechanisms in place detailing the community impact that COMBAT has its 4 key areas: prevention, treatment, law enforcement, and prosecution. Audits, performance measurements and evaluations are imperative for the long-term viability and success of COMBAT.

My support of good ethics laws has never waivered and quite honestly, its long overdue at the County level. The ability to rebuild trust and to continue to push for good government initiatives begins with the passage of the Charter Amendment proposal that makes the ethics reforms a permanent part of County Government.

The City of Kansas City, Missouri benefits from the stadiums being in Kansas City and from the earnings tax that is charged to professional athletes. There is also a benefit to the City of Kansas City due to the revenue generated during Baseball and Football season at the actual games and from out of state visitors staying in local hotels. Therefore, I feel the City is partially responsible for some of the upkeep and should live up to their promise.

Any time that the County can partner with any or all municipalities within our boundaries we should do so because it benefits the residents of Jackson County. We must seek ways in which to develop stronger partnerships and pursue policies that take the burden off of taxpayers by eliminating the duplication of services. We must explore ways in which to approach problems such as housing, job creation, land use, regional transportation, and social services with county-wide solutions.

I do support the current number of legislators. Each county elected official already has a large area to cover, so I am not in favor of lowering the number of legislators or taking representation away from our residents. As a countywide elected official, responding to constituents can be demanding when you are covering 18 municipalities and the unincorporated areas but depending on the individual elected and their willingness to put in the hours required, it can be accomplished. It is considered a part-time position with one full-time staffer; however, I view public service as a privilege not an entitlement and treat my elected responsibilities as a full-time position. Yes, Legislators can save taxpayers money in other ways by working with other municipalities and jurisdictions to see how we can eliminate the duplication of services. The combining of the County and Kansas City Jail is an excellent example of ways in which elected officials can save taxpayers money.

Absolutely! There is always room for improvement which is why we must have a solid evaluation process in place to monitor how we are doing and address concerns as they arise. We need to ensure consistency across the board when it comes to allocating funds in order for our departments to be able to carry out their functions. For example, the Sheriff’s office has an extremely outdated radio system that places the safety of our Deputies in jeopardy and places an unnecessary barrier to their response time on calls. The County must make it a priority to provide funding to the Sheriff’s Department so that their radio system can be updated thereby increasing the quality of service.

The County Executive has made some significant improvements regarding how the County conducts business which has resulted in a positive image of the County Executive. He has also maintained a good line of communication with all legislators, making him easy to work with on a variety of projects.

The County Executive has greatly improved services and in my office, I have made constituent service a priority but overall the County still has a long way to go in educating residents on the services that the county is responsible for providing. During the past four years, my office has worked hard on increasing trust by being accountable and accessible to the residents of Jackson County. Not only do we put out a monthly newsletter, which has seen a huge jump in subscribership since my first year, but we have an office policy that guides the way in which we respond to calls, emails, and walk-ins. As a countywide elected official, the importance of being accessible and providing follow through does two things: makes me accountable to the residents of Jackson County and helps me remain aware of the issues that are important to our residents, rather they live in Buckner or in Kansas City. This helps me best determine what role, if any, the county has in addressing those issues. I can only speak for my office and will continue to provide the same level and quality of responsiveness that people have come to expect from my office.

There are ways to boost revenues without raising taxes. The first way in which to address our revenue shortfall is stricter budgetary oversight. Second, the county needs to continue developing stronger collaborative partnerships with other municipalities and jurisdictions so that we can leverage ourselves as a whole when seeking state and federal funds. Third, there are also several fees the county collects that were established by state statute such as marriage licenses, land titles and deeds that require state legislative action to raise the dollar amount that we can collect. Finally, we need to be more aggressive on collecting delinquent property taxes on those that have not been paid for quite sometime, for example, any property that has been delinquent for 5 years or more. This would require working with State elected officials as well.

Tightening our belts and spending within our means can no longer be slogans during campaign season. Long after the final vote is counted, our elected officials must ensure that our tax dollars are being spent appropriately, especially, during these challenging economic times. The misallocation of funds is unacceptable and budgetary oversight is essential to being able to fund the core functions of county government. We must be able to continue to provide basic services and programs to a changing and growing population. By providing stronger budgetary oversight, opening up the process and allowing public testimony and longer hearings to take place during the budget process, the budget could be trimmed even more.

A YES vote will make the adopted Ethics Code a permanent part of the Charter. Additionally, it will mandate the restrictions that were placed upon no-bid contracts via an Executive Order by the County Executive from this point forward. It also gives stronger descriptions of the powers delegated to the Legislature, County Executive, and Department Directors. As with any living document, there is always room for improvement but this is a great step toward making County Government more transparent and accountable to the residents.