On Friday, Dec. 20 the price of a gallon of gas was $2.43 on North Oak in Kansas City. At the same time, the price of a gallon of gas was $2.69 at the QuikTrip in Platte City. Just fyi.
There have been a lot of complaints from Platte County commissioners Scott Fricker, Joe Vanover and Dagmar Wood about the voter-approved sales tax for children’s mental health services being a “forever tax” with no sunset, and according to the commissioners’ remarks, that’s a big reason why they overturned the will of the voters and killed the tax.
Do you know who does have a forever sales tax with no sunset? Platte County does.
Platte County’s half cent general fund sales tax does not have a sunset. By commissioners’ description, that makes it a “forever tax.”
The general fund, by the way, is the fund from which county commissioners are paid their $71,000-$77,000 annual salaries.
It’s funny that we never hear the commissioners complain about their own “forever tax.” How come Scott Fricker and Joe Vanover aren’t whining that “generations of voters” will allegedly never get to weigh in on the county’s general sales tax with no sunset?
But wait, there’s more. Platte County’s use tax (sales tax on out of state purchases) also does not have a sunset. So by the commissioners’ definition their own use tax is also a “forever tax.” I have never heard the commissioners complain about that one, either.
The commissioners who want to kill someone else’s “forever tax” actually have not one but two forever sales taxes of their own.
Seems contradictory and hypocritical.
A mind is beautiful thing to lose.
The Platte County government YouTube page may have set a record for number of viewers of a meeting. For the Dec. 16 county commission meeting in which the commissioners thumbed their noses at the will of the voters and overturned the children’s tax, at one point I noticed the YouTube counter said 34 people were watching.
Several weeks ago I had mentioned with all the mild weather our region had been having that I still hadn’t kicked on the furnace at home. A couple of readers have asked me in recent days “Have you turned your heat on yet?” Of course, the answer is yes. The date the heat was first turned on at my house was Nov. 21.
Seems likely that date will stand as latest ever for quite some time. I think. I’d love to see it broken next year but let’s not count on it.
Those of you with websites be sure to keep your security up to date and on alert. Our site at plattecountylandmark.com was under attack by wannabe hackers on Thursday, Dec. 12. When I first noticed our site was not responding, I notified our reliable tech guy, better known as Tech Guy Schneider. Schneider a bit later let said to me: “Your site is under attack. I’d ask you for a list of suspects but I know the list would be long and distinguished” or something similar, I’m paraphrasing here. Schneider then said no worries, “I’ll hold them off until they get bored with you.” And he did.
In reality, Schneider doubts it was specifically The Landmark’s site being targeted and it’s more likely anyone with a WordPress-built site was at risk that day.
Still. A good reminder that hackers never sleep so keep your web security up to date. And get yourself a Tech Guy Schneider.
Here’s a reminder that sports betting is legal in Kansas and around 40 other states, and actually legal now in Missouri and will be available here as soon as all systems are in place. You’ll recall voters narrowly approved the question at the November election. (No word yet on whether Platte County commissioners will try to overturn it).
If you’re a longtime reader of this column, you know the drill. Every pre-season I give out an NFL win total wager in which I feel so confident that I call it my “Pay Your Mortgage” pick. The good news is that since starting this tradition in 2021, every one of these NFL win total picks I’ve given you has hit. Undefeated is a pretty good record. You could have paid off your mortgage a few times by now.
In 2021, the Between the Lines pick was the Raiders to go over their projected win total. They did. In 2022, our pick was the Eagles to go over their projected win total. They did. In 2023, our pick was the Washington Commanders to finish under their projected win total. They did.
In our Aug. 28, 2024 edition, I gave you my Pay Your Mortgage Pick for the 2024 NFL season. In fact I was feeling so good about things that I gave you two wagers. Both of these unders:
- I said to take the Patriots to finish under their projected win total of 4.5 wins. The NFL regular season isn’t over yet, but as of this writing (on Saturday, Dec. 21 due to our much earlier than normal deadline for Christmas) the Patriots’ record is 3-11. They have three games remaining: against the Bills on Dec. 22, against the Chargers on Dec. 28, and against the Bills again on Jan. 5. The Patriots will have to win at least two of those three for us to lose this bet. Never count your chickens before they hatch but things are looking positive at the moment.
- Our second Pay Your Mortgage bet for the 2024 NFL season was to take the Bears to finish under their projected win total of 8.5. Ring the cowbell, this one is already a winner. Currently the Bears’ record is 4-10 and they only have three games remaining, so this one has already clinched. Keep in mind the casino won’t cash your winning ticket for you until the regular season is officially over, so be patient.
That makes the lifetime record on Between the Lines Pay Your Mortgage picks 4-0, with one pending.
Merry Christmas.
(You can reach Foley anxiously awaiting the next Platte County Commission jail tax question to hit the ballot. Email ivan@plattecountylandmark.com)
