Let’s start this week with a quick tip of the cap to DJ Gehrt, who once again is the outgoing city administrator for Platte City. His last day as acting city administrator was last week. As reported a couple weeks back by The Landmark, the new guy, Tom Cole, most recently from Leavenworth County where he served as economic development administrator, is now Platte City’s administrator.
Though he is no longer city administrator, Gehrt was asked to stay on board for a transition through the budget workshop on Aug. 27. So you may still bump into him between now and then, though my guess is he’ll be keeping a low profile so as not to step on the toes of the new person in charge.
The city owes a debt of gratitude to Gehrt for his willingness to come in April 1 to clean up the mess left behind by Marji Gehr. You’ll recall Marji, previously the city’s financial manager, was tabbed last year to be the replacement for the retiring Gehrt. But Marji’s eight months in the big chair were marked by things like temper tantrums toward staff and the public, the aftermath of her presence at an ugly incident involving a city worker at a local restaurant, and eventually led to the resignation of the previous mayor, who pledged allegiance to Marji even while Rome was burning.
I mean, there was some other stuff but that’s the Cliff’s Notes version. Years from now when I eventually write a book looking back at my decades at The Landmark, I’ll include a few chapters devoted to Marji Mayhem.
Kevin Barry of Fox 4, the official rusty vent news station, was invited to an election night watch party at the Char Bar in Parkville, where the crafters of a $408 million Platte County tax increase proposal apparently anticipated happy news when election returns came in and wanted to have their smiling faces on TV.
Oops. Something happened along the way. Voters absolutely destroyed the Platte County Commission’s record setting tax increase proposal, voting it down with more than 62% opposed to the half cent sales tax for 20 years.
Voters sent a loud and clear message.
The proposal was bloated. Too much in a lot of ways.
Too many proposed jail beds. It would have been a major overbuild.
Too many proposed expenses that are already covered by existing taxes. Too much double taxation.
Too many years on the length of the tax.
Ridiculous to propose a 471-bed jail in the heart of Downtown Platte City.
Too much arrogance on the county commission.
Too much toxicity spewed by the presiding commissioner toward anyone opposing the tax.
Too many temper tantrums spewed on social media by the presiding commissioner.
Ridiculously exaggerated inmate projections that were 60% higher than their own jail expert projects.
The public doesn’t have an appetite for housing other agencies’ prisoners.
The public doesn’t want Platte County to run a corporate incarceration empire.
The county commission got caught negotiating secret side deals with other agencies.
Backlash over the county commission spending up to $84,000 in taxpayer money to do a “voter education campaign” for the tax.
The county’s non-stop barrage of social media ads promoting the ballot questions over the past several weeks was a major turnoff to a lot of folks.
The list could go on and on. There’s a lot to clean up before anything like this makes its way onto another ballot.
There has been speculation in some media that the county commission will propose something again in November. No way. Not in today’s climate. That would be political suicide. It got crushed in a low-voter turnout election. Put it on the ballot on a high turnout November election and the thing would get vaporized.
We’ve covered the jail tax topic in this space since May 22, two days after the commissioners voted to put the behemoth on the ballot. It started with a column entitled: “How much is too much? This is too much.” Because The Landmark has the smartest and most locally engaged readers, I’m sure you noticed the letters to the editor began rolling in. It has been a crazy busy summer here at this newspaper and we’ve enjoyed every minute of it. In the month of July, there were 244,000 impressions by internet users on our website at plattecountylandmark.com. Many of those internet users, I’m sure, appreciated the jail tax content.
Tuesday’s result shows that Platte County voters believe in fiscal conservatism and fiscal responsibility.
Platte County voters are consistent. In 2019, voters defeated a half cent jail sales tax proposal by a 62-38% margin. On Tuesday night, voters defeated a bloated $408 million 20 year jail tax by that same 62-38% margin.
What really is embarrassing for the county commission is that they spent up to $84,000 in public money and had at least $14,000 more in a political action committee to get the jail tax issue passed. And it still got curb-stomped. That’s how bad this proposal was. Nearly $100,000 to spend in campaigns by folks who wanted it to pass. Meanwhile, there was no organized opposition and zero dollars were spent by opponents.
At least in 2019 the jail tax question did not feature any spending of public money for “voter education.” Which is how it should be. Maybe we’ll get back to those days when the Jason Maki Sunshine request probe is done at Platte County.
As for the rusty vent featured by Fox 4 in the staged jail tour room, no worries. Solutions are in the works.
“Maybe I’ll buy a new vent and send it as a consolation prize,” a Landmark reader told me.
(Send your election thoughts to ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)
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