Race Matters

In the year plus since I have last sat down and written something here there have been plenty of intense news stories to consider.  There have been mass shootings, and foreign policy crises, and all kinds of things that could have been discussed here.  I came close to posting when the street car extension went down in defeat, if nothing else to dance a little victory dance, but even then, no.  Too much other stuff in my life.  Just keeping up on the Facebook is hard enough sometimes.

But then on a Saturday afternoon, a man was shot by a police officer in the town of Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis--and life has been off the hook since. 

Partly it is because I have this amazing Facebook friend.  I've never met her in person, but she is a talented writer and the kind of person who stands up hard for what she believes in.  She even appeared on national television after a certain Facebook post about mommy fitness went viral and she presented an alternative message so well that the media wanted to interview her.  Well, my friend became very intense about what was going on in Ferguson, and posted stuff from non-MSM sources that were more reflective of the black experience.  Most of them I was in agreement with and some I realized were treading in land I could not, as a white person, access.  They aroused emotion and some argument.  Other places on the internet were ablaze with commentary, from national sites like CNN to local sites like Tony's Kansas City.  Of course I could not go just half way with this stuff, but plunged in head long as usual.  None of it has changed my mind about the way I feel about race matters--stuff I have blogged about years ago.  But everything has been brought up afresh with the events in Ferguson.  I find that unfortunate, since we have struggled hard in this country to make progress.

The main thing that I want to say here is that the old narrative that fueled the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s is broken and needs revision.  Now, I am not saying that it needs to be thrown out completely.  Slavery was real.  White European people came to see black African people as less than human, something that just boggles my mind (and a stream of thought that is very much alive today, alas), and because of this white people could see their way to treating black people very badly.  The Civil Rights movement swept aside all legal bits of this inhuman treatment, and even put in place some things to force equal treatment. 

So what happened?  Something did, because parts of American society are badly dysfunctional.  Especially black American society. 

Maybe it is not so much that the narrative is broken, but that it is misused.  It is used to deflect responsibility for one's actions.  It is used to jump to conclusions.  It is used to lump everyone in a given group all together in one monolithic stereotype.  It is used to lower expectations and to allow for failure to become acceptable.  It is used to avoid asking hard questions and hearing hard answers.  It is used as an excuse.

Racism, prejudice and bigotry are alive and very well in today's society.  We are not past Race Matters by any means.  There are certain things that as a white person I will never understand, no matter how empathic I can be.  Yet we have to stop and ask, Is this current narrative and what we say to ourselves as a country about race and the history of black and white people in this country working?  I would propose that what we say is not working, not working at all.  The proof is in Ferguson, Missouri, and it is playing out live on your TV, on your computer or smart phone, in comment sections and blog posts, in anger and fear, in destruction and distrust.  

I am pretty hard to scare.  I recognize that the MSM is manipulative with its "if it bleeds it leads" mantra.  I look at crime realistically, rarely allowing news stories to frighten me unduly, taking me past doing common sense crime prevention and simply being aware of my surroundings.  But Ferguson scares me.  The profile of Ferguson is not far off from suburban cities in Kansas City and even south KC itself.  Communities such as Raytown, Grandview, Ruskin and even the older parts of Overland Park and Olathe have experienced White Flight and significant population changes. Have their polity and politics kept up with the change?  Do their police forces relate to the community as it is composed now?  Could a mob come into my neighborhood and destroy what me and my family have worked for in a night of terror?  I look around and see a lot of positive signs:  The Grandview police department is light years ahead of where they were.  KCMO has a black mayor and police chief.  My neighborhood is integrated. I have good neighbors.

I would hate to have the powerful outside forces of racial politics and fear transform good neighbors into people I have to worry about harming our community structure in the name of race.  It is time for all races, tribes, groups and statuses to look realistically at the way we talk to ourselves about Race Matters and to take responsibility for our own sins and bad actions.  That is one way to snuff the fuse of the race bomb. 

Mailers!

There is a vote coming up in Kansas City, believe it or not.  I am not attuned to politics in April.  March fits in my rhythm, from my days in Vermont and the tradition of Town Meeting Day on the first Tuesday of March.  So, on the day after April Fool's, we will be having some voting.  Hickman Mills, Raytown and Grandview school districts will vote in some School Board members and three questions are up for all to vote on.  Link to sample ballot right here.

So far, I have received these two mailers. Has anyone else gotten anything?  They're pretty big and ornate!

One large sheet--address side--plus a note from the mayor.

The message side...

Address side of folded and sealed 4 sided mailer...

Left side of inside

Right side of inside...

The other outside face of the mailer...

Tony's Kansas City has been on top of the health levy tax--revealing the rather large salaries of execs of Truman Medical Center and Swope Health Center--here is his latest post on the matter.
I would hate to do it at the expense of people who need help, but the folks at City Hall need to be reminded that they are accountable for the taxes they collect and how those monies are spent.  I would have preferred the message be sent with a defeat of the zoo tax or the street car tax.  Those opportunities passed us by and now we are left with the unpleasant choice of sending a "no more tax" message that may have some grave affects on people or allowing a political body the luxury of thinking that the electorate will pay for anything.

Lewie's latest...

You all read this, the latest by Lewis Diuguid in the Sunday Kansas City Star--or on line?  I'll link to it, and you should read it, because it is a truly breathtaking piece.  Here is the link to "The very wealthy are driven by a silent addiction for more." 
What do you guys think?  I found it a racially and economically charged piece, designed to divide and induce guilt, that is what I think.
Words fail me. Maybe when I am not trying to hurry I can take this failure apart more thoroughly.

Election Musing: No Fun to Take the GOP Ballot!

As I was looking at the ballot for the coming election I saw again the results of living in an area where one party dominates the landscape locally.  Once you get past the national and statewide races, the ballot for republicans in Jackson County gets very boring.  Many races feature that very busy entity, "No candidate filed."  Meantime on the democratic ballot, we have such juiciness as the Moreno-Runions race, with its dueling mailers and flying accusations. You just can't beat the Jackson County Sheriff race for silliness and drama...
It leaves the right leaning voter with a difficult choice:  take a GOP ballot to have a say in the 8 person race to be the republican nominee for the US Senate race against incumbent Claire McCaskill, the 4 person race to decide the nominee for Missouri governor, the 4 person race for lieutenant governor, and so on, down to whether or not to give Jacob Turk another crack at Emanual Cleaver or take a Democratic ballot as to vote on those local people who in the end might have more influence in the daily life of the voter but have no say in who will take on Claire, or Jay Nixon on the GOP side.
Too bad you can't split the ballot apart or run the local races non-partisan; it would be interesting to see if removing this annoying Hobson's choice made a difference in results or turnout in the end.

On John Sharp

John Sharp has been involved in something in Kansas City just about the entire time I have lived here--and never have I felt more ambivalence towards a politician.  So often he seems to have insight into situation--the reason I am writing this blog is his grasp of this city's need for a new animal shelter building.  His statements as reflected in this Kansas City Star article are very encouraging that he has a grasp of the issues.  I have seen Mr. Sharp reflect sensibly on some other issues as well.  Early on in the MAST/KCFD debacle, he was  a reluctant supporter of a city take over of the EMS; at first working  towards creating an EMS department, separate from KCFD.  Gradually, pushed by Louie Wright and the political power of local 42, Mr. Sharp caved, but  many of his early statements on KCMO's  EMS were pretty good.
In addition to his insights, Mr.  Sharp is visible in the sixth district, especially east of 71 highway.  His rapport with those in the east side of the 6th is obvious, and his fight to preserve the old council boundaries no doubt grew out of this personal comfort zone.  Still, rare is the event, opening, or dedication that does not have Mr. Sharp in attendance.  I have also seen him in such places as the neighborhood McDonald's.  I think that is pretty cool.
Yet...yet.  When John Sharp was involved with MAST, money became a problem, and most pointed at John   Sharp as the problem.  When John Sharp left the Hickman Mills C-1 school board, many were glad to see him go.  Many disliked his defense of the old 6th district boundaries, his advocacy for some of the plans to redevelop the Bannister Mall site, and the way he brought about the water spray park on Longview Road.  Sometimes when you observe Mr. Sharp it appears that he was more interested in promoting John Sharp and his agenda.  Sometimes, Mr. Sharp seems very sharp indeed, sometimes he appears quite dull, and other times, he seems most concerned with John Sharp.

John Sharp is termed out in 2015.  He has been involved in administrating government services, and making political decisions for over 20 years--closer to 30.  It will be interesting to see where John Sharp goes from here.  On the one hand, he is a perceptive, available member of government, who is at ease with the people who elected him.  On the other hand, his actual performance often falls short, creating problems that have to be fixed.  You watch him in action, you think he has some potential to be someone who can govern wisely and well, and then...you find yourself a bit disappointed.

Really, I Like This Place!

After reading the comments to the last post, I want to say something and that something is that this blogger does not hate all things Kansas City!  I love the fact that there are some world class amenities here, and some things that our city does very well.  I like our sports teams, our Plaza, our boulevards.  I like what comes here because of what we have here.
As one of the comments alluded to, it is a balancing act between insuring that essentials are taken care of and investing in things that look forward.  Anything that looks forward is by its nature risky, since we can't tell the future.  As anyone who has run a small business, or been close to a small business, knows you must look forward, as well as maintaining the quality of the work you do now.  If you don't, you run the risk of falling behind.
I do think that if we underestimate the risk we are at right now, we could end up in a bad spot.  Maybe not East St. Louis bad, or Detroit bad, but still in a place we don't wish to be as a city.
I have long felt that a prolonged diet of bad news, as provided by the "if it bleeds, it leads" media, is bad for one's personal outlook.  The news programming feeds fear.  I have long maintained that the decay of the Bannister Mall area was accelerated by the news coverage given to each and every incident.  This was compounded by the mall's poor PR efforts.  The enclosed mall might have eventually died anyway, as many have in the metro, but from the more natural causes of changes in consumers' habits.  The death would have been slower; thus easier to prepare for and less damaging to the self esteem and unity of the community.  When the movie theater opened at Red Bridge not long ago, I remarked to a friend that I hoped that folks from Johnson County would come over to enjoy the art films and smaller venue offered by the cinema.  My friend didn't think JoCo people would come over.  This startled me, and when  I said something, my friend said they were scared to come over.
Part of our quandary is trying to figure out our identity.  There was a period in the 1970s and early 1980s--paradoxically when eastern cities were really struggling--where it looked like Kansas City would become more then just a pleasant medium large city.  Along the way, sometime in the late 1980s or 1990s, something changed.  I am not sure what is was, but something changed in this city, and in the economic conditions surrounding it.  Kansas City stopped looking so go-go.  I think those go-go times are past--and that is not a slam on the city.  We are what we are.  We are not New York, Chicago, or LA.  Some of the things we've done may have been too big for our britches.  We need to learn from that, and settle on our identity, and glory in that.
What is happening on the East Side of town does impact all the city.  People don't take in the fact that that is just a small part of the city, and lump the whole town in to the East Side.  It requires our attention.  Furthermore, the trust issue with City Hall needs to be resolved.  City Hall needs to prove that it really is good with the money.  The grifters need to be stuffed, sent away empty handed.
So no, I don't have a grim view of the city's future. I have a cautious view of the city's future.  I have an investment of time and treasure here.  I have investments in the people here.  I want to see success, not failure.  I just think we need to be careful, and not reckless in the risks we take.
(A little choppy, but written in reaction to other stuff. )

Caring About Kansas City

I am trying to write this from my heart, and I am struggling to get started.  I want to talk about caring about a city, caring enough to fight for its future, caring enough to wonder why others don't care, watching divisions ruin neighborhoods with fear and distrust, watching leadership that is too busy sticking its nose in the trough to call people to account for their behavior, watching money wasted...
When we left New York City in 1974, the place was falling apart--at least that was the perception.  The grimy graffiti stained streets gave the impression of a city out of control, riddled with crime.  The news media and popular culture helped it along with their reporting and portrayals of the city.  If you are old enough, you remember them:  "Death Wish"  "The Warriors"  "Fort Apache: The Bronx" among others.  In 1975, President Gerald Ford vetoed the bill that would have bailed out the city as it teetered on insolvency.  (According to this article, Mr. Ford never did tell the city to "drop dead" as the New York Daily News reported.)
New York survived.  The feds did help out with loan guarantees, not unlike the bailing out of Chrysler, the city eventually paid it all back.  Gradually New York cleaned up its act and was once again a great city.  Not perfect by any means, but taking care of its needs and making priorities.  When 9/11/2001 happened, it did not happen to a city that would crumple under the pressure of the tragedy .
I have lived in the Kansas City metro since 1989:  The first years in Grandview, and then a home owner in South Kansas City.  It's not New York--only downtown reminds me of the city of my birth.  New Yorkers would be amazed at the openness of the city, the fact of yards and houses.  Kansas City would do well to remember that it is not a big city like New York or Chicago.  The Kansas City experience is not the big city experience.  Kansas City has its own unique vibe.  And it is still a place where people can succeed, can meet goals, can find a satisfying life.
However, each day that headlines blare out about violent crime, each time someone is affected by property crime, each time that the infrastructure fails, each time public safety is cut instead of projects, each time City Hall shows selfishness and a lack of common sense in its planning is one more time where people start asking questions about how viable the city is, and how it will thrive, how it will turn things around and whether it can.
There is much that is good about our great city.  However, we are suffering for a lack of people willing to take responsibility for their actions and hold communities to account.  We are suffering for all the divisions--Black/White, leadership/people, rich/poor, etc. etc.  It will not be easy to turn around, it will hurt and it will probably cost someone their political career.
I found it interesting that one of the conclusions of the article I linked above is that the way things worked out, it was for the best.  Many thought that if the president had given in then, New York might never have recovered.  But that big headline cost President Ford his reelection bid.  We need that kind of strength now in our town.
Just a few thoughts from someone who still gives a damn, who likes living here, and wants to live in a great city.

NO NEW TAXES!

Long ago I decided my vote on any new tax proposals would be no. Nothing said by the new gang at City Hall has changed my mind.
No to mass transit.
No to any tax that is not designated as to where it will be spent.
I would vote for a sales tax to help with the water system if three things are a part of it: 1) the water company comes under professional management 2) it sunsets or has an expiration date. 3) there is a moratorium on rate increases greater then 10% for KCMO water customers.
I do not trust this group at City Hall with a new pot of money provided by Kansas City's taxpayers! The fact that Kansas City's leadership has lost so much of the trust of the people IS eventually going to hinder the progress of this town. Too many promises have been made; too many projects have wandered off track; too much money has been spent where results have not been productive or worse-- we don't know where the money went.
So, as I said, no new taxes, with the narrow exception I noted above.
City Hall, you should take note. And note this: I am not alone. We don't trust you any more. Regular citizens are pretty much convinced that the government does not work for them--in either sense.

No Kill Kansas City?

The Observer took an evening and went to hear a man named Nathan Winograd speak.  Mr. Winograd is a former lawyer who has become intensely involved in the rethinking of how to work with homeless companion animals.  It was a very interesting and very challenging presentation.
In a nutshell, Mr. Winograd believes that if you do certain things whole heartedly and have leadership committed to the idea of not killing animals that can be placed in homes, you can reduce the number of companion animals that are killed in an animal shelters.  Over 4 million animals were killed in animal shelters in the United States in 2010.  Winograd believes more lives can be saved and the leading cause of death for cats and dogs is not being killed in an animal shelter.
Winograd has worked in several shelters around the United States, both as a leader and a consultant.  His formula for action is for animal shelters to do the following things and make a commitment from kennel floor to boardroom to not killing healthy animals for whom it is possible to find homes.
1. high-volume, low/no-cost spay/neuter
2. comprehensive adoptions
3. foster care
4. use of volunteers
5. marketing/public relations
6. medical care and rehabilitation
7. behavior care and rehabilitation
8. neuter and release (TNR)
9. working with rescue groups
10. pet retention efforts
11. proactive redemptions

Mom cat and kittens at KC Pet Project

Most of this list is pretty self explanatory:  reduce the numbers of cats and dogs born in a year, adopt as many as possible, use foster care as a bridge to adoption or further rescue, lots of volunteers to spread out the work load and give the best possible care to animals, making sure the community knows about the shelter and the animals therein, caring for the medical and behavioral needs of animals in the shelter, trapping feral cats and returning them to locations creating stable colonies,  working with other organizations in a cooperative manner, helping pet owners solve problems so they can keep their pets instead of having to give them up to a shelter, and helping owners find and be reunited with their lost pets.  After hearing and reading about the success stories, a person could think that this is possible.  I still think it is possible, but in this spring season of puppies and kittens, and watching many animals come in the front door of the Kansas City Missouri shelter, and not very many go back out that same front door in the possession of families and rescues, it seems like a very large task.  It was discouraging today to look around the KCMO shelter and watch the staff and volunteers of Kansas City Pet Project labor with the knowledge that not enough animals had yet found their way out the front door.  
I am still digesting what Mr. Winograd said and still reading his books.  One thing is clear to me.  You can't just do one of these  items listed above--you need to do all of them, and not halfway.  Some of them interlock as well.  However, the spring is when the scope of the problem is truly appreciated.  It's not just that there are many animals, it is just that it isn't their fault they have ended up in the situation they find themselves and it becomes a matter of proper stewardship and care to find a solution to homeless pets that does not involve killing them.
Kansas City Pet Project is less than six months old in operating the Kansas City Missouri shelter.  They are still building their base of donors, volunteers, and foster families.  If you are interested in helping the shelter in anyway, visit the website, www.kcpetproject.org or call 816-513-9821.
For more on the work of Nathan Winograd visit www.nathanwinograd.com.

Adoptable dog at KC Pet Project

Not Trustworthy

If you have been following along here in Kansas City, we are in a time of budget austerity with cuts all over city government as our city struggles with decreased revenue and increased costs.  However, at the same time, the city council and the mayor have been championing both a large infrastructure improvement plan and a downtown train.  Both proposals are attracting criticism for the spending of money (and tax increase) and the train is being attacked as being impractical at best.
This recent article in the Wall Street Journal documents the issues around the support of the Power and Light District downtown, that this project has not been able to support itself and is a continuing drain on the budget of the city.  A lot of promises were made concerning the downtown redevelopment--I admit I bought some of them myself.  No body is buying these types of promises anymore--well, almost no body.  It is funny to read the posts by transit supporters in blogs and news articles and just find yourself not buying any of it.
We have lost trust in our political leaders.  We just don't believe them.  If they tell us the sky is blue, we are going outside to check it for ourselves.  They have proven themselves not to be trustworthy.  For whatever reason, whether out of dishonesty, greed, graft, or stupidity, their word has become untrustworthy.
Someday, there actually might be a good idea out of 12th and Oak, but most of us wouldn't trust it.  We've been burned too much.
The city fathers might find that regaining trust is easier if you go back to fulfilling the basic tasks of city government first reliably.  Get back to basics.  And for goodness sake, do not ask for more money!

East Patrol Real Estate: Something Doesn't Smell Right

So OK, it isn't south Kansas City, but our so-called Mainstream Media needs to follow up this fine work that one of Tony's readers did Thursday afternoon and evening. If this is true about the land that the future East Patrol Police Station will sit on, especially in light of the fact that it wasn't KCPD's first choice, it may reveals a distressing degree of corruption in our city. Has this sort of giving with the left hand and taking with the right hand become the way things work these days?
So, KC Star, The Pitch, KCTV, KSHB, FOX4, KMBC--how about it? Is this just real estate savvy and a bit of luck for an east side land owner--or was this location for the patrol station selected with the knowledge that that land owner would benefit? Get to work, Fourth Estate!! Read the research work for yourself on the comments section of this post on Tony's Kansas City, or find the Reader's Digest version below:

If only they would build the new East Patrol where the KCPD wanted to build it. But that's what you get when you've got council members trying to grease the palms of a certain pastor that owns the majority of that land to be acquired. Yeah let's give the corrupt city council control of the PD. That ought to work out really well.

So,3:15, what is the minister's name? Give us a chance to check your assertion through the public records.

It's Morningstar Baptist Church, Reverend John Miles is the church at 27/Wabash. He owns a large amount of the land and property nearby. He is a KCPD Chaplain as well.

4:33, only one lot is owned by Morningstar Development Corporation.

It will take more digging or more info....

Oh, here we go 4:33. Search in the county's recorded documents under "Morningstar" shows several properties owned by Morningstar Church and transferred to Morningstar Development Corp.

Now, a cross reference to the Missouri Secretary of State's website shows that among the organizers of the not-for-profit Morningstar's Development Company are, TADA

John Modest Miles and Roy Anderson.

Coincidentally, they are also the ones who signed the Warranty Deeds transferring the property to MDC on behalf of Morningstar Baptist Church.

Now all that needs to be done is a cross reference of all the properties similarly transferred, pull up the IRS 990 filings, and write it up.

Let's see the 990 shows that from 2009 to 2010, the value of Morningstar's Development Company's land assets increased from $168,000 to $324,000.

Somebody went on a buying spree that year.

Had 10 minutes while the chicken cooked and used the time to review property transfer records.

Here's an ironic twist.

There are several parcels of property in the new East Patrol development area that the City will have to acquire from Morningstar's Development Company. MDC was either given the properties outright or bought them for a song ($100 for several parcels) from-you guessed it- THE CITY AND IT'S REDEVELOPMENT AGENCIES.

The land that Miles is selling to the City is land the City owned in the first place.

Miles persuaded the City to give him the land for a song.

THEN they condemned it to buy it back from him.

Smells kinda funny to me. Wonderful work by a blog reader doing research one afternoon. Like I said, just cries for follow up work from the established press...or is that the problem--that it is the established press? The established press that is afraid of certain power elements in the east side of this city?

Do You Think Kansas City Is Turning Around?

It has been a busy day, and I have not been able to examine Mayor Sly James State of the City speech in detail. I have looked at some of the news coverage and bloggy coverage, and I see a big contrast. In the newspaper, it is all roses and a positive review for Mayor James. In the blogs, it seems as if there is way more skepticism and mistrust. The newspaper is supportive of the downtown train. Most bloggers are not supporters, and feel that it would be a waste of money.

I am not really sure how the majority of Kansas City residents feel about the direction and state of our city. Some things clearly need work, such as our crime rate and homicide rate--I would say the majority of people believe that crime seriously impacts the quality of life in our city. It is hard to assess how people feel about putting more money and stuff into the downtown area, especially transit projects. I think people are fed up with the government spending too much money.

So readers, how do you and your circle of friends feel about this city's direction? Are our leaders making sound decisions or poor ones?

Next Item...

So, we've beaten the Limbaugh thing about to death, to the point almost of "wag the dog" (So what is going on with Iran and Israel, Syria, gas prices, the stock market, real unemployment, yada yada...) and it is time to see what the next controversy is. By the way, have you noticed in this day of the internet how quickly something can blow up to a size totally out of proportion to its importance?

The next thing is local, and it is a bit more important than Rush, but it is another lap around the same mountain--the mountain of race. I am, of course, referring to the story of the 13 year old boy that was burned when he was set on fire reportedly on Tuesday, February 28 as the victim was walking home from school in his northeast neighborhood. First reports of the incident came out over the weekend, and it has been linked on Drudge and picked up in the U.K.

There are still a lot of questions about the case and some are doubting the veracity of the victim's report. Apart from that aspect of simply investigating to see if a crime indeed did occur, a debate has come out about whether or not this is a "hate crime." Now, I really find the entire concept of "hate crime" sort of silly. If a crime was committed, it was committed. It is pretty hard to determine a suspect's state of mind when a crime was committed. Does a crime need the "hate" intensifier? Then we get all this BS that hate crimes can't be committed against the "majority race". Hate crime laws are one of those things that sound good at first, but when you apply logic, they rapidly stop making any sense.

Think about it: someone has to pick out what someone was thinking during the commission of a crime. If the victim is being truthful, a crime has been committed indeed. Attempted murder, assault, etc. are possible charges. If the victim is lying, and he made up the story to cover up something else, then he can be charged with making a false report. It is imperative that there be a thorough and impartial investigation into this incident and a search for the two other parties involved. Once all the facts are in, then prosecute the crime that happened. I am not trying to minimize the event--it is horrible enough as it stands on its own--regardless of which way it falls. How horrible is it to put fire on another, live human being? Or to be at a point where you would put fire to your own skin?

Not everything has to be about race all the time. That is the mountain we keep going around and around, like the people of Moses in the Old Testament. A lot of people filter a lot of life through the funnel of racial matters. The "hate crime" laws are just one example. Trick laws that look so good on a casual peek turn out just to be just another way to divide and separate us; just another way to pick at the scabs of all the hurts of acts of prejudice and racism over all the years. How in the world are we ever be able to come together if we erect all these laws that major in pointing out differences?

Find the crime, gather evidence, prosecute as indicated.

Proposed Fire Department Cuts and Changes

In response to the call to be prepared to cut 105 jobs out of the fire department, Chief Smokey Dyer of the Kansas City Fire Department brought the following changes of the operational configuration of the department to the city council this late morning, early afternoon:

1. In the northland, station 3 at 11101 N. Oak Traffic Way would change from a station with a pumper and a truck to a combo unit called a quint. So just one crew (set of crews really, 3 shifts worth of crews, and that applies to all of the following) would be required for station 3 instead of two.

2. Station 39, at 11400 E 47 street, would get the same treatment going from a pumper and a truck to a combo unit.

3. Station 36, at 99th and Holmes would get the same treatment as well.

4. Pumper 32, stationed at station 19 at 550 west 43rd street, will be eliminated. It was not clear if it would be incorporated or replaced by something else. It sounded like it would just be taken away and not replaced.

5. Station 1, at 155th and Holmes, the home of pumper 1, would be closed, with the elimination of the pumper.

6. Change the crews of the technical rescues, stationed in 3 separate stations, would each be reduced from 4 to 3.

7. The crew of HazMat 71 would be reduced from 4 to 3.

There was a lot of other conversation with Chief Dyer concerning the operation of the fire department, including questions about saving money elsewhere, "auto aid" and "mutual aid", examination of the mission of the department, and some words about EMS. One interesting note about that--Chief Dyer said at least twice that his department did not seek out the merger with EMS--that it was mandated by the political action of the City Council. KCFD was placed in the position by the council of having to take up the mantle of EMS after the votes of the council. It is interesting to me that he felt it necessary to say that.

Retirements will be sought from the twenty longest tenured people (no mention if that included any EMS people)--no mention if these were early retirees--and the rest of any layoffs would be from the bottom up. It was noted by the chief that he took in all former MAST employees and have only replaced them as needed due to normal attrition with newly medically trained organic KCFD personnel.

I was just reviewing some things looking for reaction to the day's activities when I saw a reaction to the statement by the fire chief that this years budget was "adequate" to run the department at approximately $131 million (2011-12) but that it would need to go to $144 million (2012-13) to be adequate for this year. My guess is that the difference is inflation. I also think that ye olde EMS Division is costing more then was anticipated and given steady or normally growing revenues coming in, the FD would like more money. Instead, the revenues are going down, and the city is asking for costs to be cut. It would be interesting to see a pie chart of FD expenses; I suspect the majority are in salaries and benefits and this is why the city jumped on the chief to reduce the number of fire fighters.

That being said, Smokey is very committed to continuing the staffing of pumpers and ladders at four people. His commitment is to the point that suburban departments must sent four people per firefighting apparatus even if that is not their normal staffing in order to provide mutual aid for KCFD. When the council pressed him on comparing expenses of fire departments in comparable cities to KCFD, he seemed to interpret this as an attempted attack on 4 person staffing. Thus the quote of the day:

"I will not be here if we have three person pumpers; whoever my replacement is can get that information."

In other department's notes, the police chief appeared to be requesting more money for salaries, to the tune of about $10 million. Chief Forte also noted that the All Star Game will cost an additional %250,000 or so in PD OT. From the public services departments, the main thing that seemed to emerge was a proposal to eliminate the spring leaf and brush neighborhood pick up.

This City Council meeting appeared to only concern itself with just the operating budget and the council reiterated its commitment to a "structurally balanced budget" in the face of a revenue stream that continues to decline in the area of TIF disbursements, gaming taxes, and miscellaneous revenues. There was no discussion of the big dream ideas with regard to a downtown train, infrastructure work and there was no discussion of the pension issues that are still outstanding.

If you want to follow along with budget fun, the rough schedule for budget hearings and such is as follows: The budget itself will be introduced today, March 1. There will be opportunities for discussion March 7 and March 14. I don't think there will be opportunity for more public comment. The budget will need approval by March 22nd.

What I Would Have Said If I Had Been There

Sports won out over civics.

Last night I had a conflict: Watch the Grandview High School Bulldogs as they started their quest for a state championship in basketball or go to a public hearing at the Hillcrest Community Center about the budget process put on by the Finance and Audit Committee of the City Council. Well, I hate to say it, but hoops won out (and congratulations to Grandview for its blowout victory over Lincoln Prep) I still have been thinking about the budget though and I thought it would be interesting to write down what I might have told the committee last night had I not yielded to my sporting instincts.

Honestly, I am not sure how much good these budget hearings do: they have not been very well promoted. I hope that you, the committee, have learned something about how the citizens feel about the city's budget and how the city handles money.

The budget reflects a tension that is visible in all economic planning and thought in these difficult days. Even the most casual study of economists reveals the rift between those who insist on austerity in order to reduce debt accompanied by a reduction in the size and scope of government to help the economy and those who believe that spending on projects funded by the government is a way to propel the economy forward. That rift is reflected in the Kansas City budget. On the one hand, you have a large plan that will cost a billion dollars that concerns itself with infrastructure and on the other hand, you have a budget that is austere to basic services such as police, fire and public services to the point that it may affect the quality of life in the city.

What emerges is a picture of a city that seems willing to spend money on new mass transit pieces, and the promotion of development but is busy telling the police chief, the fire chief and the head of public works to cut, cut, cut their budgets. Furthermore, citizens feel that neighborhoods that are still very viable and lively are left hanging, while the neighborhoods that are in very bad shape are having a lot of money poured into them. In addition, the attempts to revive the downtown area are continuing to require subsidies, and the citizens resent any plan that puts any more money towards projects in the downtown area.

I am as big a fan of mass transit as anyone. I grew up in Manhattan, New York City, where transit truly is practical (although it is still not completely self supporting); we have to face facts: Kansas City mass transit will not ever be practical unless this city contracts substantially and becomes much more dense. If gas ever reaches $10 a gallon, you might see that, but it would be more likely that the city would become dense in naturally occurring centers that already exist, such as commercial centers or schools. It may be that, other then small locally centered efforts, even in the face of European style gas prices, Kansas City may never look like it did in the 1950s. What you would see is neighborhood villages rather then a predominant downtown city center. It may be time for the city leaders to give up on the idea of one city center. In the end, Kansas City may become a city of hubs, with one larger one and many small ones.

I think the closer a government unit gets to the people, the more it needs to concentrate on the issues close to the people. That means catching criminals, preventing crime, putting out fires, providing help to the sick and injured, mowing the park, plowing the streets, patching the potholes, picking up the trash and all the other many details of running a city. Trying out interesting theories of Keynesian economics may be best left to larger and broader government entities. The quality of life in the city is directly related to the quality of the services rendered by City Hall. Poor service will kill a city. Police that do not respond to calls in a timely manner, that appear uncaring because they are overworked, lack of resources to solve crime and a dirth of resources applied to prevent crime by working proactively will result in a perception of a lack of safety in the city--this is just one example of what could happen if basic services are cut to the point of neglect.

The only place where there needs to be a substantial investment in infrastructure is in the water and sewer area. This area is seriously problematic to me, in that it appears in so many ways that the water department is not a competent department, having had a lot of turnover in leadership over the years. Frankly, before any more rate increases are done, and certainly before any other sources of money are given to the water department, the department MUST stabilize its leadership and obtain real expertise in its field. The water department in so many ways has the feel of a department in which patronage has taken precedence over competence. This is not acceptable in light of the task that is before the water department.

In short, it is time to concentrate on basic services. If we are asking ourselves what it is that we can and cannot do, then it is time to bear down on doing the things that make it nice to live in the city. If there is a perception that one is not safe in one's home, that the place is messy and not in good repair--it just looks bad--it matters little what development is provoked by tax breaks and subsidies to private and other entities. No one will stay in a unsafe and unkempt city. That is a fact. Thank you for your time and attention.

A Couple More Thoughts on KCFD and EMS

What is done is indeed done. The Kansas City Fire Department has taken over emergency medical services in Kansas City. The imperfect meshing of systems and cultures is still in process after two years--anyone who says this thing is working perfectly is fooling themselves at this point.

Somewhere is a line where non-support turns into hostility, and sticking it out becomes tolerating abuse. The only ones who know where that line is are the people experiencing it. Because we are all individuals, with different experiences and needs, that threshold will be reached in different places. It is also up to each person to make up their mind what they will tolerate, and what is enough.

Once the squishy stuff of morale is out of the way, it is time to ask tough questions about operations. That brings us to the qualifications and abilities of those running the system. There are 24 crews running ridiculous numbers of calls in the city. There are 24 hour shifts in fire houses not staffed. The irony of a lot of dynamic (i.e. not stationed in a fire house) crews is not lost on me--the reduction of use of the dynamic model was one of the points used to sell the merger/take over.

Whatever you think of response time as a measure of performance, there is no doubt that it is not up to standard in many respects. Changing the numbers by changing the status of calls from emergency to non-emergency only puts lipstick on the ugly pig. Better to be honest and ask the hard questions about the system, or to admit that with the resources given, this may be the best that can be done--if that is true.

And when you bottom line this thing at this point, that is the question you have to ask: Are we doing the best job we can or do we need to change some things to truly do as well as we can do? That question can be applied both to EMS performance and to those morale issues.

Musings on Kansas City's EMS...

It has been very difficult to watch the emergency medical service in Kansas City decay before my eyes since the merger/take over by the Kansas City Fire Department. I have access to priviledged conversation, giving me a bit of an inside view of the thoughts and concerns of medics of all stripes working EMS for the Kansas City Fire Department. I have sat on those communications, because of the nature of the media by which they come to me.

A while back I received an email from an anonymous source describing the situation in the EMS division of the KCFD. I never did post anything from that email, although I wrote a draft post.

A week ago, Tony's Kansas City posted about a situation involving the declaration of someone being dead in the field by non-EMS KCFD personnel. Within the past few days, I posted a link to an EMS journal's news of a study on response times for ambulances on the SKC Observer Facebook page. I received a comment in that forum that described some of the aspects of the case TKC alluded to in his post in more (and excruciating) detail.

Now, I can do one of two things: I can ignore--or worse delete--that comment on the Observer's Facebook page, or I can speak to it, and speak more generally to the state of EMS in our fair city at this time, and the fact that it ain't what it used to be.

Now we all know that MAST wasn't perfect--there were money issues with the service at times, and occasionally operational issues. However, it seems that the folks who worked there took pride in where they worked and cared about the quality of the service they rendered. If there is any more unfortunate casualty of the KCFD take over it is the loss of morale among those who provided EMS for Kansas City for many years as employees of MAST. Response times and save rates are measures that can be quantified--and response times are struggling to meet standards both in the north and south parts of the city but the morale of employees is difficult to measure. To hear of paramedics and EMTs who are struggling to keep their morale up and their desire to do the work at a respectable level is just about as unsettling as the operational issues that have required attention.

KCFD and KCPD: Heroes or Villains?

One of the great laws of municipal life is that the jobs of the police department and the fire department are not like other city jobs, that their jobs are different because of the risk involved in the work and the nature of the job. When hard times come, or when contracts are up for renewal and negotiation, that is when we see this most strongly demonstrated. The fire department and police department members are seen as either indispensable heroes or lazy, greedy villains.

So, as you know, the Kansas City Missouri city budget is dealing with needing to make cuts in costs throughout city government. Both the police department and the fire department are squarely in the cross hairs. The fire chief has been asked to reduce the department's budget by more then $7 million. Pension changes and benefit reductions are being eyed for the police. Modest raises in salary the police thought were coming their way are in danger of being canceled.

What has been more interesting then the various news stories about budget matters are the comments of readers, both in mainstream media (when allowed--shame on you Kansas City Star for being so stingy in allowing comments on both news and opinion pieces!) and on blogs. There are a lot of people out there who are down on both the police department and the fire department. They slam the police department for not stopping crime. They slam the fire department for not working hard enough and for being too big for its workload.

Are police and fire to be treated differently at contract time and when the budget ax comes out down at city hall? Threatening these services sets off alarm bells for many of the citizens of a city, and also makes the city look less stable for those with money to invest. It is very true that fire's load of structure fires has decreased, but EMS and other service calls, even before the merger with MAST, are increasing. On the other hand, the average police officer is a very busy person, responding to 911 calls almost all their shift. Crime stats are notoriously easy to manipulate, but there is no doubt that our city has too many murders and a lot of violent crime. Cutting back police presence on the street seems like a foolish move in the face of these realities.

The problem is that no decisions will be make without the politics getting in the way, without favors being promised and done, without palms being greased. It will not be a clean assessment, based solely on the science and experience of police or fire management. It will be contaminated by people wanting to protect their kingdoms and fiefdoms, by people who see more clearly the future for themselves than the future for the city. Whatever happens, it will be messy, it will not be the best solution, and it will probably cost too much--the price of politics.

Kansas City Budget Quick Thoughts

I just read over Sly James' letter about the proposed budget for the city--I had a few thoughts:

When is it good-money-after-bad? When is it enough money to the poorest areas of town and maybe some more for areas that are not at the bottom of the hill? Tell me, how many people are walking in the third and fifth council districts? I see people walking all the time here in the sixth! Send some of that sidewalk money down here--we'll use the walkways. (That's just an example. Do we want to spend a lot of money on parts of the community that have slid down the hill already or do we want to work to prevent other parts of the community from sliding down the hill?)

Can we cut non-frontline people? You can not tell me with a straight face that there is not fat in middle management in every department in the city, including police and fire. Don't cut boots on the ground. Cut the assistant to the associate assistant!

The water department: please get real managers there before we give them any more money!

If I read my info right, the infrastructure work would be financed by bonds, that would increase tax burden about $55 on average. More information please: remember all the rumors? 150% property tax increase, city vehicle tax returning...are those still in play?

A lot of verbage, a lot of good intentions, a developing story.

The major's letter linked here.

Of Beauty Contests and Choppers

Subtitle: Whatever I can blab about for 20 minutes.

Today Missouri is holding a non binding primary and it's just the dumbest thing ever. Missouri got played, both by the republicans and the democrats. The democratic governor could have stopped the voting charade, but didn't. The republicans could have pulled the vote, but did not. We will spend $7 million on a vote that means nothing. Shoot, we can have pollsters do that for us, that is, find out everyone's preference. In about two months, we will be going to the polls to elect school board members--could have just as easily done it then (although caucuses will be March 17 so it would have been kind of silly then too. Silly but cheaper.) I'll admit, I did not waste my time with this vote.

Kansas City's police department wants to buy a new chopper to replace the bits and pieces that make up one workable 40+ year old bird. Now, a while back a sale tax for capital improvements was voted in, and I would be interested to know if this money is new money or old money, per the ordinance language it is something called the Police Grants Fund. Is this sales tax money? If so, I am cool with that, as the chopper is a great tool for catching bad guys and KC's helicopter is very old and parts are getting hard to find. If we want a copter, and I think we do, and we have money without having to raise revenue or create new taxes, I am all for it. I think this is money well spent. The helicopter crews have not just chased bad guys but helped fire and EMS track down crashes. They are invaluable in following cars from the air, making it less dangerous to catch fleeing felons. There are a lot of money spending proposals floating around city hall. This one, if it is out of an existing fund, is a solid use of money that is already around, and an investment that will pay off in the future.

Observer photo of the current Huey police chopper and one of the crew at an event last October.