(LOOK AT THE MESSAGE BELOW THIS ONE. THEY EVIDENTLY FORGOT THAT THEY WERE GOING TO REDUCE IT BY 60 --OR THEY LIED)

A total of 373 vehicles were assigned as take-home in 2009, compared to 425 in 2008. This is the smallest amount of take-home vehicles the department has had since 2002.

The Kansas City Missouri Police Department will revise its take-home-car policy and revoke the take-home status of 60 vehicles in response to an internal audit released at today's Board of Police Commissioners' meeting.

The Department's Internal Audit Unit does an annual review of take-home cars to determine who is using them, how much fuel they used and whether they are being used according to policy. The last audit, completed in August 2008, revealed a 7.3 percent increase in the take-home fleet from 2007 to 2008. It also showed some of those vehicles had fuel usage that was above the Department average. Auditors began to examine the reasons for the increase and found that the self-reporting process for take-home cars is flawed, and not all vehicles being operated as take-home cars were being properly reported.

In response to this audit, Chief James Corwin asked the Internal Audit Unit to physically verify the location of all the department's 1,000-plus vehicles, including bicycles, trailers and specialty vehicles like Tactical Unit tanks. This audit was released at the Board of Police Commissioners' July 9 meeting and is available at www.kcpd.org. Chief Corwin wanted that audit completed before the release of the August 2008 Take-Home Vehicle Audit, which is now available on the department's Web site.

In response to both of the audits, Chief Corwin ordered that 60 of the take-home vehicles have their take-home status revoked. This will save an estimated $178,080 to $179,400 a year. He also ordered the policy regarding take-home vehicles to be revised, a task which is now underway. He further has requested a follow-up audit in February 2010 to ensure the reductions in the take-home fleet and conformity to the Department's policy.

"I'm grateful to our Internal Audit Unit for seeing that a problem existed with take-home vehicles and doggedly working to find out why," Chief Corwin said. "This is an excellent example of our commitments to be transparent and to be good stewards of taxpayers' money. When we have a problem, we let the public know about it, and we fix it."

Do Not Buy The Kansas City Star Tell every body you know and every Kansas City Star Advertiser that you do not support a paper that will not correct their mistakes and misstatements.   .MARK ESPING IS NOT HAPPY WITH THE KANSAS CITY STAR......... and the way they manage information and manipulate the citizen imput process. The Kansas City Star has put me off in a very poor manner. They published an editorial statement that was totally incorrect even when compared with their own previous reporting. I asked to have that statement corrected with an "As I See It" column. I submitted 496 words. The requirement is under 500 words. I submitted the following and was called and asked for a photo which was sent, they didn't like that photo so I sent another one. It seems that an egalatarian plan of dispensing Art funds is against the common conclusion of what the Star wants to see develop. In a conversation last week I was told that too much time had passed and so it would most probably not be printed. submitted to the Kansas City Star for inclusion as an "As I See It" column by Mark Esping on March 10 2008. The statement which appeared in the Sunday March 9th editorial on regional funding "That plan was hurt by an arts funding plan that wasn't well understood " assumes incorrectly a limited public understanding.  The public understood precisely that the proposal would hand over hundreds of millions of tax dollars to wealthy "arts advocates" who were self appointed to their official positions.  The public understood that Hispanic, African-Americans, new immigrants and leaders from our community centers were not included in the planning and that meant little or NO funding for those constituencies.  The public understood that Missouri law mandates 74+ hours of tax supported art and music education each year for Missouri elementary children and Kansas doesn't.  The public understood that too many groups in Kansas City, have for too long believed that those who vote do not understand. The vote showed that we understood only too well that an arts dynasty was in the making and the public overwhelming said NO.  If we are to achieve regional funding for the arts, precise egalitarian guidelines must be included in the ballot proposal. An overwhelming attempt must be made to balance the inequities that exist across county and state lines and parameters must be set which will preclude the development of an arts aristocracy that will in fact, pick what is art for the metro area. We need arts councils and not-for-profit arts agencies as filters for proposals, but not as the dispensers of public taste or public tax funds. They should function as pass through agencies, with suggestion abilities only.   A Kansas City Metro Regional Arts Proposal needs to: 1. Establish an endowment fund where only the interest is used.   2. Disperse the interest funds in the form of "pass through" grants to not-for-profits who attach their 990's to their pesonal grant requests and a letter of reference for all individual grants they forward to the individual art fund committee.   3. Establish ten designated individual art funds committees, Dance, Exhibitions, Music, Festivals, Folk Arts, Visual Arts, Film, Theater, Ethnic Arts, and Literature each of which would receive 10% of the total funds available. By dividing the funds according to artistic endeavor the diverse citizenry of the Kansas City Metro area will enjoy a diversity of arts programing rather than only the preferences of an elitist group   City Council appointment of 4 persons to each art oversight committee with no pay and only a few meetings would avoid arts administration overhead, the largest area of funding in the last proposal. This system will provide fairness as long as the appointees are changed every couple of years. This system allows for the inclusion of academic art endeavors and popular arts, it allows for individual and group proposals in our community. Each has a place in Kansas City and each should be provided a chance at any Arts funding that takes place with taxpayer money. The public understands and it will require new assurances before passing a regional art proposal.     Hey Mayor Sly here are some things you might be able to get done. 1) Billboards-- Non property tax paying billboards, no yearly inspections or safety fees, no excise tax Institute a building fee that is a % of the total cost of the billboard just like with residential building permits.     2) Raise Impact Fees--What Impact does each new development project have on the enviroment? 3) Merge the Kansas City Election Board with the Jackson County Election Board-- 4) Transfer the Stadium Welfare, to the Arts Hogs --time to pass the 2 Million around. 5)  Put Cordish on a short leash - Quit accepting their excuses and whinning 6) Egalatarian dispersal of any ART & Cultural Tax Racially and Culturally 7)Tax Increment Financing -New taxes must be TIF EXEMPT ---especially Light Rail.   If they are not TIF exempt, we will simply VOTE NO 8) Raise the water and sewage treatment rates to wholesale and commercial accounts. Require that they pay their fair share. Especially Johnson County. 9)Institute a national assessor system like Iowa. Collect on ALL of the assets a business trys to hide. 10) Quit the Police Automobile Loan System to off duty police, particularly for use at some off duty job. No more "off duty" dog patrol cars running on taxpayer gas. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------      JUST A REMINDER OF WHAT SOME PEOPLE HAD TO PUT UP WITH A FEW YEARS AGO. Ode to a Fallen Comrade Those who truly knew him honor Craig Davis. His spirit will continue to inspire us long after his passing. He stood tall when most sat idly by. He chose action when most chose to merely observe. His penchant for what was right set him apart from most men. He boldly championed any issue that was right for most and rejected those that benefited only the special few. His way was always forward and always guided by a fundamental set of principles that were in short supply among our elected leaders. There was never any doubt in his mind about what was right and never any reluctance to fight for it. When the facts were known and the issue defined he was always first to say, "I'm ready to go, what can I do to help." He was an essential part of a group of citizen activists who never took a vote; just talked until they reached a consensus made better by his ideas. Craig was a threat to an arrogant power structure that governs by deceit and guile and whose decisions seem always guided by what's in it for them. He was a threat simply because he wanted nothing for himself and everything for the people. History tells us that people like Craig have always been a threat to bigots and tyrants precisely because they want nothing for themselves.  He was the living embodiment of an old idea that says, "I shall walk this way but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do, let me do it now. Let me not delay or defer it for I shall not pass this way again." He did not delay or defer and those of us who were privileged to know him are all the better for it. Wef July 06, 2009