Jackson County, Missouri

B-
Budget Y Meetings Y Elected Officials Y Administrative Officials Y Permits, zoning Y Audits Y Contracts P Lobbying N Public records N Local taxes Y Transparency grading process

Portions of this article were taken from Wikipedia

Jackson County is one of 114 counties in Missouri. With a population of 674,158 in the 2010 Census, Jackson County is the second most populous of Missouri's counties, after St. Louis County.^[1] Kansas City, the state's most populous city and focus city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, is partly located in Jackson County. Although Independence retains its status as the original county seat, Kansas City serves as a second county seat and the center of county government.

Website evaluation

Last rated on March 5, 2012.

Main article: Evaluation of Missouri county websites

The good

• Budget is available.^[2]
• County Legislature meeting schedule^[3], agendas, minutes, and videos^[4] are posted.
• County Legislators are posted^[5]. Individual contact information is listed under the county directory^[6]
• Contact information for administrative officials is posted on the county directory.^[6]
• Building permits^[7] and building regulations^[8] are posted.
• Audits are available.^[2]
• Information on being a vendor for the county is posted^[9], including current open bids^[10].
• Information on tax assessment^[11] and collection^[12] is posted.

The bad

• Awarded contracts are not listed.
• The County Executive is listed, but his individual e-mail and direct phone line are not.^[13]
• Does not disclose if belongs to government sector lobbying associations.
• Information on how to make a public records request is not provided on the site.

Budget

Below is a trend of expenditures by fund between 2008 and 2011:^[14]

Elected officials

The County Legislature is responsible for all legislative duties in the County, including the introduction and enaction of all County resolutions. They are also responsible for the introduction and enaction of all County ordinances subject to the approval or veto of the County Executive. A veto by the Executive can be overridden by six votes of the Legislature.^[5]

Six County Legislators are elected from six local districts of similar size, each representing about one-sixth of the County’s constituents. Three County Legislators are elected from three "at-large" districts of similar size. Every citizen in Jackson County is there-by represented by two County Legislators.^[5]

Although it does not go into actual salaries for County Legislators, the website gives a break down of their budget. In 2011, they had 29.5 fulltime staff budgeted, down from 31 in 2009.^[15]

Administrative officials

Key administrative officials include:^[6]

Salaries

The 2012 adopted budget contains $62,512,805 in salary expenditures. This is an increase over the 2011 total of $60,244,030.^[16]

Pensions

Main article: Missouri public pensions

Employees become a member of the pension plan on January 1 of the year following one year of completed service. The plan is funded by the County with no contributions required by participants. 100% vesting at completion of 5 years of service; normal retirement age is 65; early retirement is between ages 55 & 65 with 5 years of vested service and a 5% per year reduction.^[17]

Normal Benefit Formula - 1.5 X Years of Service X Average Monthly Earnings. “80 & Out” entitles employee to receive unreduced Pension Benefits when employees age plus years of service totals 80 or more.^[17]

County Sheriff

Sheriff’s Deputies perform the same duties as Police Officers. Sheriff Deputies primarily serve the citizens of unincorporated Jackson County. Police Officers primarily serve the citizens of incorporated cities. However, the authority of the Sheriff and his Deputies to enforce State Laws, including State Traffic Laws, extends across the entire county.^[18]

The Department maintains reports issued by the Sheriff’s Office deputies and employees. These reports are an account of criminal incidents and/or activities relevant to our law enforcement function. The report may become part of an official record which is used as a basis for evaluation of what has been done or what needs to be done. They are frequently used in judicial proceedings; used to explain and demonstrate training needs; used to justify needs in manpower and equipment; reviewed by the news media to convey important information to the public; used by the department to analyze and formulate statistics; and used as a basis of performance evaluation for the individual employee. Therefore, it is imperative that each report is thoroughly completed and that every report is of the highest possible quality.^[19] Unfortunately, the county requires that citizens pay for these reports and does not make them available through their website or email.

Lobbying

In 2008, Jackson County reported $70,000 spent on lobbying. ^[20]

Transparency & public records

Taxes

A 2011 tax levy schedule is posted here by the Collections Department.^[21] The county assesses and collects both a real estate and personal property tax.

External links

Jackson County

• Official Jackson County Website
• 16th Circuit Court of Jackson County
• Family Court Division
• Jackson County Election Board
• Jackson County on E-Reference
• Jackson County Free Public Records Directory

References

1. ↑ Census Data
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Finance Reports
3. ↑ Meeting Schedule
4. ↑ Agendas, Minutes, Videos
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} County Legislature
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} County Directory
7. ↑ Building Permits
8. ↑ Building Codes
9. ↑ Doing Business with the County
10. ↑ Bids
11. ↑ Tax Assessment
12. ↑ Tax Collection
13. ↑ County Executive
14. ↑ 2011 Budget
15. ↑ County Legislature Budget
16. ↑ 2012 General Fund
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} Employee Pensions
18. ↑ Sheriff FAQ
19. ↑ Sheriff reports
20. ↑ Jackson County- Open Secrets
21. ↑ Collections

	v • d • e State of Missouri Jefferson City (capital)
Transparency	Sunshine Law | Transparency Checklist | Government corruption reports | Transparency Legislation | Open Records procedures | Transparency Advocates | Transparency blogs | State budget | Taxpayer-funded lobbying associations |
Divisions	State | List of Counties | List of Cities | List of School Districts | Evaluation of county websites | Evaluation of city websites | Evaluation of school district websites |
Government	Missouri State Constitution | Executive | House of Representatives | Senate |
Judiciary	Missouri Supreme Court | County circuit judges | District Courts | Judicial Nominating Commission | Judicial news | Judicial activist organizations |
Ballot Measures	2008 ballot measures | List of ballot measures | Local initiative and referendum | Amending the constitution | History of direct democracy | Campaign finance requirements |