Welcome back to Between the Lines. And now, without further ado–because, let’s be honest, nobody likes ado–let’s get on with the final column for the year 2025.
Good news for those of us who attend municipal meetings. There are now microphones in the meeting room of the Platte City Board of Aldermen. Now the audience will be able to hear, without straining and without the need for a bionic implant, comments made by city officials during session.
It was a long wait, but the much needed project is done and working. Or at least the system seemed to be working fine at the Dec. 16 aldermen session, which was the first time I had witnessed the microphones in use.
Now that the City of Platte City has microphones in the meeting room, maybe it’s time to start working toward the next step: get cameras and start livestreaming public meetings. The City of Parkville has been broadcasting its meetings for about 20 years.
At the Dec. 16 meeting of the Platte City Board of Aldermen, city administrator Bryan Richison reported the city has received about 15-20 resumes of applicants for the vacant position of city clerk. In the absence of a city clerk since Melissa Bazert accepted the city clerk job at Parkville, Richison has been serving as city clerk in addition to all his duties as city administrator. That’s a load.
As far as the applicants, Richison said he has been trying to narrow the field. He said there are some applicants with potential in the pool, but he explained to the board that “There is nobody with previous city clerk experience and nobody who has ever worked in city government,” Richison said.
Briefly looking ahead to 2026, it will be an interesting local election year. Still waiting to see if any races develop for the school and city elections coming up in April, with the filing deadline set for Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 5 p.m. Due to holiday scheduling, this edition of your Landmark went to press on Monday, a couple days earlier than normal, so we’ll have filing updates next week.
Several county offices are up for grabs later in the year, and some statehouse elections in area districts may be interesting as well. And expect there to be some issues of interest on a statewide ballot later in the year.
Noteworthy fact to keep in the back of your mind. You may have noticed this at the tail end of a story we wrote in November about the growth rate of general sales tax collections being lower than normal but use tax collections higher than normal in Platte County.
Platte County’s bond rating is still listed as junk status by the ratings agencies. Kevin Robinson, county auditor, notes that the county’s rating remains at Ba3 with Moody’s and “junk,” non-rated, with Standard and Poor’s and Fitch.
Here’s kind of a “where are they now?” tidbit for you.
Remember Siobhann Williams, who served as Platte County auditor during some drama-filled times from 2007-2010? I noticed in a newsletter from a CPA firm based in Prairie Village, Kan. that Siobhann has joined that firm in its audit and litigation department as a manager. Prior to joining the firm based in Prairie Village, “Siobhann was an assurance manager at a national firm,” the newsletter note reads.
Williams holds a bachelor of science in management accounting from Park University, graduating cum laude.
It’s a week for tidbits, apparently. Here’s another.
Platte County has basically been without an HR department for quite some time. Well, no more, sort of. The county has outsourced human resources services to a third party. The firm known as Executive Workforce Consultants gets the gig at a cost of $60,000.
According to the agreement, the firm will, among other things, establish HR services and training in conjunction with the county’s payroll operation; provide necessary resource services through HR augmentation; provide a HR call center hotline to which county employees can report an issue; and train and develop, managers, supervisors and individual employees on responsible resolution of HR issues, investigations and coaching solutions.
Briefly looking ahead to Landmark stuff in 2026.
In April, The Landmark will complete its 161st year of publication and begin year number 162. In May, I’ll be completing my 44th year at The Landmark and beginning year number 45. In August, office manager Cindy Rinehart will be completing her 34th year here and beginning year number 35, which seems weird because Cindy is still just 39 years old.
By unanimous 1-0 vote, Guy Speckman has been named 2025 Landmark Employee of the Year. He gets an ink pen, a free ticket to a 2031 Chiefs game at Arrowhead Stadium and a free ride on the KC Streetcar.
(At some point Foley may offer livestreaming coverage of the writing of his weekly column. Viewer discretion is advised)
