A Half MAST Job
In the end, the only real compliment the six members of Southern Platte County’s Ambulance District received last Monday night was a backhanded one, delivered courtesy of Lee Pedego.
“I want to thank you for serving,” Pedego, the president of the Platte County Pachyderm Republican group, said before adding, “It looks like a real suck board to have to be on.”
Deb Hammond, the woman who steered the ad hoc committee for this Ambulance District, also had a nice line. Standing up to the board, outraged that the six members were not going to change their minds, she did a near perfect Reese-Witherspoon-as-June-Carter impersonation, dropping a sassy “that pork won’t fly!” when discussing their budget. It would have been Oscar winning if she said they couldn’t “walk no line.”
Later, the room watched helplessly as the board voted unanimously to pass a 14 cent tax for questionable reasons. As they admitted themselves, Southern Platte County is covered by MAST for ambulance services. If MAST were to send a letter tomorrow, announcing it would discontinue service, we’d still receive one full year of coverage from the ambulance trust. We could have saved a buck or two.
No matter how they tried to spin it Monday, the board presented a budget that was loaded with pork and ridiculous expenses that will, in the long run, cost everyone reading this 14 cents per every $100 they own in assessed valuation. For the balance of the district’s fiscal year, it will spend $66,978 before it takes even one person to the hospital. Instead, it will spend the money on office space, computers, pens and pencils, secretarial services and Internet access. This is unconscionable, particularly when you consider that the board was offered free space from Parkville and the South Platte Fire District. Instead of taking them up on the offer, board president Bob Kinkaid shared a bizarre story about how a Chopper shopper thought the offer meant Parkville’s and South Platte Fire’s taxes must have been too high. He’s saying this while standing in a meeting room provided by the taxpayers in the Platte County Community Center South. Utilizing what we already have is usually seen as a cost-saving measure.
It’s totally understandable that the group will need a filing cabinet and some space, but its budget goes far beyond that. The district is playing house at the expense of the homeowner. It wants Internet access, at your expense. See the letter at top right? It was sent from a computer at the Mid-Continent Library in the Parkville Commons — all for the price of a library card.
Also, the issue of Kurt Breininger’s representation was left inadequately addressed. As reported in last week’s Luminary, Breininger works part time for MAST something that was conveniently missing from his campaign materials. When asked to resign, he said he would not. Kincaid revealed at the meeting that in discussions with him, Breininger said he would not vote on MAST-related issues and would “walk out of the room” when MAST contract issues were discussed.
Sure, Breininger can walk out of the room. He can go wait in the Ambulance District’s office, put his feet up on office furniture, maybe watch a DVD on its $1,500 computer or download music using its Internet access. Perhaps he can shoot the breeze with the Ambulance District’s secretary. I don’t know.
What I do know is that scenario means his district is not being represented adequately. Not voting and walking out of the room during meetings means he is putting self over service in this instance. He should resign from the board, or he should be recalled.
Look, Breininger is a member of Kansas City North’s Bravest, and he’s a paramedic for MAST. This man saves lives, and he is to be commended for that. Now he’s trying to serve on this “suck board.” He’s a good man, a masochist or both. Take your pick.
A lot was made before and during the meeting about how the folks that make up the board are all “nice individuals.” That’s great. Perhaps we can set up a Southern Platte County Board of Nice People next election and tax ourselves a little more. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking politics now; we’re talking about providing service and protecting the public’s interest. So far, this board is off to a very poor start.
Internal dissension is rife at your Parkville Luminary as we extend our micro-media reach into the world of radio. “The Luminary Hour” was the source of a heated editorial debate the other night among the hard-working staff of Parkville’s local newspaper as they dined at Frank’s on Main Street. Some feared it would spread us too thin. My prowess as an on-air interviewer was questioned. Would I have the guts to ask the hard questions? Other questions arose, such as would anyone listen? And what about Bill Grigsby, legendary radio superstar. Can Senator Publishing land him with its meager budget and convince him to sign on?
Stay tuned for next week’s thrilling episode…