Independence, Missouri
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Portions of this article were taken from Wikipedia
Independence is the fourth largest city in Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson (primarily) and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. In 2010, The city had a total population of 116,830[1] and is the county seat of Jackson County, and is known as the "Queen City of the Trails"[2] because it was a point of departure of the California Trail, Oregon Trail and Santa Fe Trails.
[edit] Website evaluation
Last rated on March 14, 2012.
[edit] The good
- Budgets are posted.[3]
- City Council meeting minutes and agendas are posted.[4]
- City Councilors and the Mayor are listed with contact information.[5]
- Administrative officials are listed with contact information under their respective departments.
- Building permits and zoning information is posted.[6][7]
- Audits are posted.[3]
- Local sales tax information is posted.[8]
[edit] The bad
- Instruction on bidding[9] and current bids[10] are posted, however, no information on awarded bids are posted.
- The city does not disclose whether or not they lobby or are part of lobbying organizations.
- There is no information about making public records requests.
[edit] Budget
Source of Budget Dollars:[11]
| Description | 2009-10 Actual | 2010-11 Original Budget | 2011-12 City Council Adopted Budget | % of Total | Increase (Decrease) Over Last Year | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund Balance | 20,904,689 | 29,563,030 | 8,658,341 | |||
| Taxes | 56,490,485 | 54,917,782 | 56,640,034 | 20.5% | 1,722,252 | 3.1% |
| Payments | 14,225,248 | 16,545,408 | 17,620,123 | 6.4% | 1,074,715 | 6.5% |
| Licenses & Permits | 2,922,711 | 3,349,340 | 3,353,927 | 1.2% | 4,587 | 0.1% |
| Grants & Shared Revenue | 9,214,451 | 7,845,357 | 8,095,020 | 2.9% | 249,663 | 3.2% |
| Charges for Services | 2,498,283 | 2,374,432 | 2,536,493 | 0.9% | 162,061 | 6.8% |
| Fines and Forfeitures | 4,510,754 | 4,614,534 | 4,716,854 | 1.7% | 102,320 | 2.2% |
| Utility Service Charges | 150,000,410 | 173,490,635 | 182,695,307 | 66.1% | 9,204,672 | 5.3% |
| Other Revenue | 157,882 | 520,375 | 665,785 | 0.2% | 145,410 | 27.9% |
| Total Estimated Revenues | 240,020,224 | 263,657,863 | 276,323,543 | 100% | 12,665,680 | 4.8% |
| Transfers In | 58,195 | (58,195) | ||||
| TOTAL SOURCES | 284,620,747 | 305,886,573 | 21,265,826 | 7.5% |
Expenditures of Budget Dollars:[11]
| Description | 2009-10 Actual | 2010-11 Original Budget | 2011-12 City Council Adopted Budget | % of Total | Increase (Decrease) Over Last Year | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City Council | 405,888 | 410,135 | 409,522 | 0.2% | (613) | -0.1% |
| City Clerk | 349,256 | 384,342 | 366,678 | 0.1% | (17,664) | -4.6% |
| City Manager | 1,042,907 | 1,044,054 | 838,697 | 0.3% | (205,357) | -19.7% |
| Tourism | 1,208,327 | 1,028,661 | 1,375,508 | 0.5% | 346,847 | 33.7% |
| Nat'l Front. Trails Museum | 393,776 | 385,541 | 372,833 | 0.1% | (12,708) | -3.3% |
| Technology Services | 1,783,471 | 1,786,293 | 1,824,505 | 0.7% | 38,212 | 2.1% |
| Municipal Court | 763,593 | 803,174 | 751,614 | 0.3% | (51,560) | -6.4% |
| Law | 833,256 | 795,428 | 790,425 | 0.3% | (5,003) | -0.6% |
| Finance | 1,977,443 | 2,038,737 | 1,933,957 | 0.8% | (104,780) | -5.1% |
| Human Resources | 488,202 | 445,706 | 408,934 | 0.2% | (36,772) | -8.3% |
| Community Dev. | 3,829,722 | 2,816,337 | 2,749,748 | 1.1% | (66,589) | -2.4% |
| Police | 27,734,369 | 27,093,912 | 28,469,406 | 11.3% | 1,375,494 | 5.1% |
| Fire | 17,683,585 | 17,600,534 | 17,405,713 | 6.9% | (194,821) | -1.1% |
| Health | 3,260,342 | 3,047,409 | 3,198,743 | 1.3% | 151,334 | 5.0% |
| Water | 13,132,759 | 14,245,797 | 13,147,680 | 5.2% | (1,098,117) | -7.7% |
| Public Works | 6,728,265 | 6,444,574 | 5,760,843 | 2.3% | (683,731) | -10.6% |
| Water Pollution Contr. | 12,413,147 | 14,622,291 | 14,754,068 | 5.8% | 131,777 | 0.9% |
| Parks and Recreation | 4,859,485 | 4,588,959 | 4,301,304 | 1.7% | (287,655) | -6.3% |
| Power and Light | 90,134,520 | 101,273,935 | 105,330,629 | 41.7% | 4,056,694 | 4.0% |
| Non-Departmental | 20,276,178 | 31,584,181 | 32,407,982 | 12.8% | 823,801 | 2.6% |
| Debt Service | 13,247,801 | 13,229,280 | 15,735,804 | 6.2% | 2,506,524 | 18.9% |
| Capital Outlay | 562,765 | 513,200 | 374,848 | 0.1% | (138,352) | -27.0% |
| Total Departments | 223,109,057 | 246,182,480 | 252,709,441 | 100.0% | 6,526,961 | 2.7% |
| Utility/Sales Tax Funds | 15,201,307 | 24,145,350 | 8,944,043 | 58.8% | ||
| Net Transfers Out | 1,114,503 | 5,177,846 | 4,063,343 | 364.6% | ||
| Total Uses | $262,498,290 | $282,032,637 | $19,534,347 | 7.4% |
[edit] Public employees
[edit] Elected officials
| Name | District |
|---|---|
| Don Reimal | Mayor |
| Marcie Gragg | District 1 |
| Jim Engelman | District 2 |
| Myron Paris | District 3 |
| Jim Page | District 4 |
| Lucy Young | At-Large |
| Jim Schultz | At-Large |
[edit] Administrative officials
The City Manager is appointed by the City Council and is responsible for the implementation of Council policies. The City adopted the Council-Manager form of government in 1961. The City Manager serves as the city's chief administrative officer and directs all municipal operations. He or she appoints all department directors and oversees enforcement of city laws and ordinances.[12]
The current City Manager is Robert Heacock.
[edit] Salaries
The 2011-2012 budget spends $36,850,595 on full-time employee salaries, along with $681,549 on part-time salaries. Overtime pay totaled $1,180,737.[13]
[edit] Pensions
Employees participate in the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System L-6 Benefit Program. MOLAGERS members' benefits are vested after five years of service credit within the system. City employees contribute 4% of their salary to retirement benefits upon completion of a probationary period.[14]
City costs for MOLAGERS contributions in the 2011-2012 budget cycle totaled $4,286,638.[13]
[edit] Lobbying
The city does not provide details on membership in taxpayer funded lobbying associations.
[edit] Transparency & public records
[edit] Taxes
Breakdown of Sales Tax:[8]
| City - General | 1.000% |
| City - Capital Improvement (Police) | 0.125% |
| City - Fire Protection | 0.125% |
| City - Streets | 0.500% |
| City - Parks | 0.250% |
| City - Stormwater | 0.250% |
| County - General | 0.500% |
| County - Sports Complex | 0.375% |
| County - Anti-Drug | 0.250% |
| State | 4.225% |
| Total | 7.600% |
The 39th Street Transportation Development District tax rate is 0.125%; Events Center Community Improvement District is 0.5%; Crackerneck Creek Transportation Development District is 1.0%.[8]
Districts are located generally east of Lee's Summit Road, west of the Little Blue Parkway, north of US-40 Hwy, and south of 37th Terrace.[8]
[edit] Public Safety
The city provides annual reports for the Fire Department and Police Department.
[edit] External links
- See sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard
- Missouri on State Budget Solutions
- City Homepage
- Fire Department
- Health Department
- Visit Independence
- Independence Public School District
- Independence Chamber of Commerce
