MML Review, November 2015

The Missouri Municipal

Review

The Official Publication of The Missouri Municipal League

November 2015

In This Issue: • City Profile: Blue Springs • MML Policy Guide • Enforcement Trends in the Municipal Marketplace • Use Tax FAQs

Missouri Securities Investment Program A Cash Management Program for School Districts, Counties, Municipalities and Other Political Subdivisions

The Missouri Securities Investment Program (“MOSIP”) is a comprehensive cash management program for school districts, counties, municipalities, and other political subdivisions. MOSIP was created in 1991 by the Missouri School Boards Association.

MOSIP offers its investors a professionally managed portfolio with competitive money market rates.

MOSIP stresses maintaining safety, liquidity and yield as the primary investment objectives.

Administered by: PFM Asset Management LLC Sponsored by: Missouri School Boards Association • Missouri Association of School Administrators Missouri Association of School Business Officials • Missouri Association of Counties • Missouri Municipal League

Registered Representatives

This information is for institutional investor use only, not for further distribution to retail investors, and does not represent an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any fund or other security. Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing in any of the Missouri Securities Investment Program’s portfolios. This and other information about the Program’s portfolios is available in the Program’s current Information Statement, which should be read carefully before investing. A copy of the Information Statement may be obtained by calling 1-877-MY-MOSIP or is available on the William T. Sullivan, Jr. Maria Altomare Program’s website at www.mosip.org. While the MOSIP Liquid Series seeks to Henry Sun Managing Director Managing Director Analyst maintain a stable net asset value of $1.00 per share and the MOSIP Term portfolio 631-806-9470 cell 1-800-891-7910 x3091 1-800-891-7910 x3095 seeks to achieve a net asset value of $1.00 per share at the stated maturity, it is sullivanw@pfm.com altomarem@pfm.com sunh@pfm.com possible to lose money investing in the Program. An investment in the Program is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Shares of the Program’s portfolios are distributed by 77 West Port Plaza Drive • Suite 220 • St. Louis, MO 63146 PFM Fund Distributors, Inc., member Financial Industry Regulatory Authority 1-800-891-7910 (FINRA) (www.finra.org and Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) P.O. Box 11760 • Harrisburg, PA 17108-1760 (www.sipc.org). PFM Fund Distributors, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of PFM 1-877-MY-MOSIP 2 / November 2015 The Missouri Municipal Review www.mocities.com Asset Management LLC.

The Missouri Municipal

Review

November 2015

VOLUME 80, NO. 6

The Official Publication of The Missouri Municipal League President

CONTENTS

Mayor Randall Rhoads Lee's Summit

4/ President's Report

Vice President

Mayor Kathy Rose Riverside

Immediate Past President Mayor Bill Kolas Higginsville

MISSOURI MUNICIPAL LEAGUE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Eric Berlin, City Administrator, North Kansas City; Stephen Galliher, Mayor, Sedalia; Tim Grenke, Mayor, Centralia; David Kater, Mayor, Desloge; *Bill Kolas, Mayor, Higginsville; Donald Krank, Council Member, Black Jack; Chris Lievsay, Council Member, Blue Springs; Paul Martin, Attorney, Olivette; *Norman McCourt, Mayor, Black Jack; John “Rocky” Reitmeyer, Alderman, St. Peters; Randall Rhoads, Mayor, Lee's Summit; Matthew G. Robinson, Mayor, Hazelwood; Kathy Rose, Mayor, Riverside; *Carson Ross, Mayor, Blue Springs; Tom Short, City Administrator, Carthage; Robert Stephens, Mayor, Springfield; Scott Wagner, Council Member, Kansas City; Eileen Weir, Mayor, Independence; *Gerry Welch, Mayor, Webster Groves; Nici Wilson, City Clerk, Pleasant Hill *Past President

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AFFILIATE GROUPS: Missouri City Management Association; City Clerks and Finance Officers Association; Government Finance Officers Association of Missouri; Missouri Municipal Attorneys Association; Missouri Park and Recreation Association; Missouri Chapter of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors; Missouri Chapter of the American Public Works Association; Missouri Association of Fire Chiefs. www.mocities.com

City Profile: Blue Springs

by Asia Jones and Kim Nakahodo

8/

A Story Of FEMA: Success, Frustration And Lessons Learned

by Mayor Luge Hardman

12/ Enforcement Trends In The Municipal Marketplace:

"Writing On The Wall"

by Daniel T. Manning

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6/

16/ In Praise Of Our Communities

by Steve Roth 17/ Missouri Municipal Policy Guide, 2015-2016 28/ 2015 MML Innovation Award Winners 33/

Have You Ever Noticed The Guy That Cleans Up Your Trash?

by Jeff Kempker

36/ MML 81st Annual Conference Photos

DEPARTMENTS 34/ FAQs: Use Tax And Vehicle Sales Tax 39/ Professional Services Directory 41/ Member News 42/ MML Calendar Of Events 43/ 2015 MML Review Article Index Laura Holloway, Editor Contributing Editors: Dan Ross and Richard Sheets Missouri Municipal Review (ISSN 0026-6647) is the official publication of the Missouri Municipal League state association of cities, towns and villages, and other municipal corporations of Missouri. Publication office is maintained at 1727 Southridge Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65109.

Subscriptions: $30 per year. Single copies: $5 prepaid. Advertising rates on request. Published bi-monthly. Periodicals postage paid at Jefferson City, Missouri. Postmaster: Send form 3579 to 1727 Southridge Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65109.

To contact the League Office call 573-635-9134, fax 573-635-9009 or email the League at info@mocities.com.

The League’s Website address is: www.mocities.com.

The Missouri Municipal Review

November 2015 /3

President’s Report. . .

City of Lee's Summit Mayor Randy Rhoads was elected as President of the Missouri Municipal League at the MML Annual Conference in September. He will serve a one-year term.

Mayor Rhoads will lead the MML Board of Directors in guiding MML policies and initiatives in 2016.

The Missouri Municipal League is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of a President, Vice President, Active Past Presidents, 12 elected municipal officials and five appointed municipal officials; with at least one Board member from each Congressional District. limitations or constraints placed on one’s community by well-intentioned but limiting legislation or regulations from other governmental bodies.

MML President Mayor Randy Rhoads Lee's Summit

What Sparked Your Interest In Local Government?

There were a couple of factors.

I had been involved in boards, commissions, and served as a city council member for a number of years.

I worked as an mechanical engineer in the private sector, retiring in 2007. After retiring, I decided to run for mayor. I figured if I win, I’ll gladly serve and if I lose, I’ll play golf; clearly this was a “no lose” situation! Further, my wife fully supported me in this decision because her father had also served as mayor.

What Has Been The Toughest Lesson You Have Learned During Your Career In Local Government?

The wheels of government turn much slower than in the private sector.

Actually, that is a good concept; since you are spending the electorate’s money, issues should be thoroughly vetted before committing to use tax dollars.

In Your Opinion, What Are The Most Important Issues Facing Local Government In Missouri?

I suspect every community in Missouri has pressing needs that far outweigh available resources. That is a tremendous ch a l l en g e f u r t h e r c om p lic ated by 4 / November 2015

What Is Your Most Important Goal This Year As You Serve As MML’s President?

I have two goals: to promote and encourage meaningful discussions on the transportation challenges facing our State and to protect the ability for local governments to make the decisions that are best for their communities.

What Advice Would You Offer To Someone Considering Service As A Local Government Official In Their Community?

Don’t allow yourself to get discouraged if solutions to issues do not move as fast as you would like. Also, bear in mind that you are spending other people’s money and your decisions will be analyzed and reviewed by constituents, not all of whom are supportive of you or your decisions. Further, base your decisions on your own thought processes and rationale, avoiding excessive influence from outside of the deliberative process or special interests.

Ultimately, you are the one accountable for your decisions.

What Are Your Interests Outside Of Local Government?

Probably my greatest interest is being a grandparent (I am a really good one). Also, I enjoy playing golf and supporting our sports teams.

Where Would You Most Like To Travel, And Why?

My short answer is YES. I find it is interesting to visit and see other parts of the world and, if nothing else, helps me fully appreciate home.

Follow MML!

www.twitter.com/mocities

How Would You Describe Your City To Someone Who Had Never Visited?

Lee’s Summit is one of Missouri's larger cities but with a small community feel. Recently, we retained an outside consultant to help “brand” Lee’s Summit and, after interviews and surveys, determined that the appropriate tagline for our city was “Yours Truly”.

The Missouri Municipal Review

www.facebook.com/mocities

www.mocities.com www.mocities.com

Joplin Council Member Melodee Colbert-Kean Becomes President of the National League of Cities Colbert-Kean is the First Missouri City Official in NLC Top Leadership in Five Decades Joplin Council Member Melodee Colbert-Kean became President of the National League of Cities at the annual NLC Congress of Cities and Exposition Nov. 4-7 in Nashville, Tennessee. Colbert-Kean is the first Missouri city official to be named to top leadership with NLC in more than 50 years.

Colbert-Kean will serve a oneyear term in this role representing more than 19,000 cities and towns.

She will represent Missouri while meeting with national leaders in Congress and abroad.

“It’s fantastic to see Missouri represented at the top level in this important organization, and we know Melodee will play a vital role in strengthening communities across the country,” said Dan Ross, Missouri Municipal League executive director.

Missouri has had two other mayors in NLC leadership.

Mayor Raymond R. Tucker, St. Louis, served as president in 1960 and Mayor W.F. Kemp, Kansas City, was president in 1954.

www.mocities.com

All NLC officers are selected by a 15-member nominating committee and are elected by NLC’s membership.

In her leadership role, Colbert-Kean plans to focus on NLC’s top three challenges for cities: crumbling infrastructure, e-fairness/marketplace fairness and continuing tax-exempt municipal bonds.

“Many cities are taking the lead on shaping growth with creative partnerships,” said Colbert-Kean. “These help keep a city’s infrastructure, recreational needs and employment base strong.”

Colbert-Kean is committed to community and civic service. She served as Joplin’s mayor from April 2012 to April 2014, and mayor pro tem from April 2010 through April 2012. As an elected official since April 2006, she has served on the Missouri Municipal League’s Economic Development & Human Resources Committee, and as chair of the League’s Natural Resources and Urban Development Committee. She has been an active board member with NLC, serving the last two years as second and first vice president.

A lifelong Joplin resident, Colbert-Kean and her husband William own MEs Place, a soul food kitchen restaurant. She is a Missouri licensed realtor.

The Missouri Municipal Review

November 2015 / 5

City Profile

CITY OF BLUE SPRINGS

by Asia Jones and Kim Nakahodo

T

he city of Blue Springs, Missouri, has a rich history that can still be seen throughout our community. As we plan for the future, we work to preserve the history while embracing the changing needs of residents, businesses, and visitors.

Incorporated in 1880, Blue Springs was developed in the early 19th century as settlers built the town around an abundant water supply coming from a spring of the Little Blue River—hence the name Blue Springs. As the City expanded, growth centered around the new railroad tracks still visible in the downtown corridor. In the past 40 years, the population grew from 6,779 to the current populace of more than 53,000 residents. To meet the needs of such a fast-growing community, a conscious effort was made to invest in places and people, bringing vibrancy and convenience to the residents.

The Blue Springs community has a vision for a vibrant, mixed-use downtown that is the economic and social heart of the City. This concept has been achieved through years of intense community discussion, including multiple citizens’ visioning sessions.

As a result, the Downtown Master Plan was adopted by the Blue Springs City Council in 2007.

To date, more than $1.6 million has been invested in downtown Blue Springs as part of the Downtown Master 6 / November 2015

Plan to construct new infrastructure, leverage façade improvements, and add historic-style streetlights. Funding for these improvements was made possible through the Community Development Block Grant program and Chapter 353 Tax Abatement through the Main Center Redevelopment Corporation.

The City has made significant progress in the downtown corridor by developing relationships with various community partners, including Downtown Alive!, an enthusiastic group of volunteers. As a four-year participant of Missouri Main Street Connections, Downtown Alive! has engaged and connected with Blue Springs community members to provide improvements to downtown that are both aesthetic and functional. One of the primary advocacy goals Downtown Alive! was to address was the lack of parking for downtown patrons.

As the City began to plan for a major renovation to the Howard L. Brown Public Safety Building, the design committee incorporated the community’s desire to increase public parking into the scope of the $22 million dollar project. By working with private land owners and the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce, the City was able to add 160 parking places and nine handicap parking places to the downtown district in 2014, for a total investment of approximately $450,000.

With this increased parking capacity, The Missouri Municipal Review

the Howard L. Brown Public Safety Building is slated for completion later this year and will feature a more customer service-oriented design to better serve the residents and police officers.

Streetscape improvements also have been a major project for Downtown Alive! and the City, including the addition of new benches and new recycling/trash receptacles along Main Street. Placing recycling bins throughout downtown gives community members the option to increase recycling and improve livability in the corridor.

Another addition to the corridor was bikeracks, handcrafted and donated to Downtown Alive! by Blue Springs Bike Shop. This increased accessibility for bicyclists who visit the downtown corridor. Such enhancements won the City, Downtown Alive! and the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce the Streetscape & Public Improvement Project Award from Missouri Main Street Connections in 2015. As a result of the City’s infrastructure investments, many new and established businesses have relocated from major corridors to the thriving downtown district, showing that working closely with community partners makes a positive difference for residents and business owners.

In the process of bringing new life to the downtown corridor, Blue Springs is careful not to erase its history. One www.mocities.com

method of preservation is the ‘Remnants Restored’ Public Art Project, a result of a partnership between the Blue Springs Public Art Commission and Downtown Alive!. This project celebrates the City’s history by featuring two sculptures that incorporate recovered materials from Blue Springs’ past, including recovered aluminum from downtown’s historic America’s Community Bank building and steel from the downtown water tower, a former City landmark.

The artists have been commissioned and each of the unique pieces will be installed in fall 2015 As downtown Blue Springs comes to life with new amenities and boutique businesses, the City also is investing in its residents’ recreational and wellness needs. One such investment was the creation of the Blue Springs Fieldhouse, formally known as Sports City. The purchase of the facility was made possible through a generous donation by long-time resident and parks champion Linda Landhal Edison. This project serves as a win-win as it redeveloped an aging, function-specific building and saved a significant amount of taxpayer dollars by repurposing a building already located in the community.

With a final cost of approximately $6.5 million, the facility was purchased and renovated using existing resources, private funds, and a self-sustaining pro forma to eliminate the need for additional tax payer support. Thanks to this innovative reuse of an existing facility, Blue Springs now provides fitness and recreation opportunities that can benefit residents in all of Eastern Jackson County, no matter their fitness level.

Within its 76,000-square-feet of indoor space, the Fieldhouse offers four, hard-surfaced courts that can be used for basketball, volleyball or pickleball; two walking tracks, one hard-surfaced track, an artificial turf track; and a new artificial turf field for indoor soccer, flag football or sports training. These areas can be used for pickup games during open gym sessions or for league play, appealing to the novice or more advanced athlete.

Created with people in mind, the Fieldhouse provides recreational opportunities the entire family can enjoy together. While one person uses the instructor-led spin and aerobics classes, another family member can try an interactive workout through the Fitness On Demand™ feature, allowing them to follow along with www.mocities.com

Within its 76,000-square-feet of indoor space, the Fieldhouse offers four, hard-surfaced courts that can be used for basketball, volleyball or pickleball; two walking tracks, one hard-surfaced track, an artificial turf track; and a new artificial turf field for indoor soccer, flag football or sports training.

a virtual instructor. Another option is to use the state-of-the-art fitness center measuring 6,500 square-feet outfitted with equipment that has the latest technology to help users track and maintain their fitness goals. While parents workout, children can hang out in the Kidz Corner, a child watch area that provides activities for youth. To maximize the facility’s usefulness to residents, the majority of the amenities can be used by paid members and by non-members who purchase a day pass.

Both the renovated Fieldhouse and the successful revitalization efforts in the downtown corridor The Missouri Municipal Review

have strengthened relationships with community partners and created a more vibrant Blue Springs. Asia Jones is a University of Missouri J-School alumna with a passion for local government.

She has served as a board member for the City of Kansas City, Missouri, and now works in Communications for the City of Blue Springs, Missouri. Kim Nakahodo is the Assistant to the City Administrator and has served in local government for more than 17 years, more than five years with the City of Blue Springs, Missouri.

November 2015 / 7

A STORY OF FEMA: SUCCESS, FRUSTRATION AND LESSONS LEARNED

by Mayor Luge Hardman

In the early morning hours of Aug. 6, 2013, the torrential rain falling on the city of Waynesville brought a feeling of foreboding of what was to come in the following days and weeks. Not able to sleep, I logged onto my Facebook page and wrote, “I am fearful of what tomorrow holds for us.” As a new mayor, I was nervous and felt unprepared for such a disaster. Over a period of three days, 22 inches of rain inundated our community. When it was over, a young mother and her son had lost their lives: 23 homes in the City, and more than 260 homes throughout the County, were badly damaged. The City had suffered more than $1,000,000 in damage to equipment and infrastructure.

The residents of Waynesville were forever changed that night; not only because of material loss, but the loss of security.

Since the flood, with the help of Ameri-Corps and VISTA, we have begun a community organization, dedicated to disaster preparedness. Communities Organized Against Disaster (COAD), meets monthly and brings faith-based groups and non-faith-based entities together to prepare for disasters. We are a community that has learned valuable lessons from this tragedy.

Clean Up

The two weeks after the flood were busy with disaster response and clean up for citizens and city staff. Dealing with Federal Emergency Management Agency and State Emergency Management Agency (FEMA/SEMA) during the following months was an adventure. For many of us in the City, it was not a new event. In 2007, an ice storm had also devastated our community and our employees felt they were ready for what was to come. With camera in hand, Executive Assistant Sandy Willis took photo after photo,

8 / November 2015

documenting what was happening each day. Willis was the “paper person,” in charge of all documentation and filling out the voluminous forms required by FEMA and SEMA. City employees responded quickly and worked long hours to help residents recover. Ruined appliances, discarded food, mattresses, and household debris very quickly began to spoil in the summer heat; the stench became evident throughout the City. In the first two weeks, the City removed more than 300 tons of debris from affected residents.

We relied on the sanitation company The Missouri Municipal Review

and our municipal neighbors for help.

Early on, FEMA denied individual assistance to our citizens; that presented an extra concern to the City, as we began to research different volunteer groups to help with the rebuilding and repair of individual homes.

The week after the flood, the City hired a hydrology team, Benton and Associates, to provide an analysis of the event and suggest plans for mitigation.

The engineer’s report highlighted a 100-year flood event for most of Waynesville, with pockets of a 500year flood event around the Mitchell www.mocities.com

Creek area. Waynesville is accustomed to the flooding of the Roubidoux River and in this case, it did flood. However, the major damage was from a small creek that runs through the City.

Mitchell Creek overflowed its banks and devastated several residential areas. Mitchell Creek is the depository of more than 4,000 acres of watershed, including the south side of Interstate 44. This area is under county jurisdiction and has no planning and zoning, thus no regulation for drainage and storm water to accommodate the massive amount of building that had taken place in recent years. The flash flood that day came barreling down on the residents of Waynesville, as Mitchell Creek collected all the storm water from across the Interstate.

Rocky Start

From the very beginning, FEMA/ SEMA worked with the City to line out the recovery process. However, a number of FEMA representatives were assigned to Waynesville and Pulaski County. Meeting after meeting, new people would arrive and paperwork would be shuffled. Agents would have to learn names, locations, and people all over again. We felt however, that we had a handle on what was expected.

We had a plan! We were going to make things better for our citizens and the City.

“Mitigation” became the key word for Waynesville in the weeks and months that followed the flood.

Einstein’s quote is very appropriate for how we looked at this opportunity: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.” The City’s strategy was to correct the mistakes of years past of not addressing problem areas. We began the planning of four major mitigation projects to improve these areas. For many years, the flooding of the Roubidoux had caused damage to the baseball fields, the RV park and its shower house, the Roubidoux sewer lift station and the street department.

This was an opportunity to correct that.

The consensus of the City Council was to move these facilities off the banks of the Roubidoux River and, in the case of the lift station, out of the actual creek bed. The lift station had been a constant hazard to the Roubidoux, as the sewage backs up in heavy rain and spews into the river. It was even termed “dangerous” at one

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After a frustrating start, the partnership with SEMA/FEMA has been successful and we believe Waynesville has become an example of what should happen after a disaster.

point by DNR because of the gas it emitted. Correcting these issues was paramount, with an opportunity for help with funding the projects.

The City Council and City staff felt that the City was following the mission of FEMA – to lessen the effect of flooding. As strategies took shape, the City paid for the engineering and the design of these four major mitigation projects. We were not wasteful with tax money; in fact, in many instances we were using our own workers and assets The Missouri Municipal Review

to save money and be more efficient in mitigating these problem areas.

Once we began to turn in requests for funding approval and begin the actual work, things took a bad turn. All of a sudden our “mitigation projects” became “alternate projects” and then, “improved projects” and we were told the funding would not be coming.

For example, the lift station project, estimated at $255,705, was cut to $77,000, making the proposal of moving it out of the creek bed untenable for our November 2015 / 9

For many years, the flooding of the Roubidoux had caused damage to the baseball fields, the RV park and its shower house, the Roubidoux sewer lift station and the street department. This was an opportunity to correct that.

10 / November 2015

The Missouri Municipal Review

budget. All four of the major mitigation projects took severe cuts, as the use of certain language made the projects not fit into specific categories. After all the work and planning, it seemed that our mitigation efforts were not going to happen.

Throughout this process, the paperwork became challenging; it seemed much more involved than in 2007. “The ice storm was fairly easy compared to the flood,� said Willis Things had changed at FEMA and the City was facing roadblocks.

In May 2015, the City requested a meeting with SEMA/FEMA in Jefferson City to air our complaints and appeal the funding decisions. The City expected an adversarial meeting and we were prepared with data and arguments.

Willis, City Administrator Bruce Harrill and I met with the disaster team.

Before we could deliver our prepared speeches, the SEMA/FEMA team announced a new set of reimbursement figures. We were told they had looked into our complaints and arguments and they had come to agree with us. We were astounded and thankful for a good ending to our concerns. At the end of the day, the people of Waynesville won and we believe that SEMA/FEMA won, too. The City became a positive example of mitigation.

Another major goal of the City continues to be attention to the Mitchell Creek area. Since 2013, the City has removed more than 320 tons of debris and gravel from the creek; the City is in the process of designing a gravel trap to stop the flow of gravel and debris from the large watershed across the Interstate. The City focused on improving storm drainage, and has also received a FEMA grant to replace the last of the low-water crossings with a bridge. We are beginning to remove the lift station and have already moved the Street Department to a new location on higher ground. The RV park is open and now has a new mobile shower house.

The Kiwanis Ball Fields have been moved to higher ground. Things are improving and Waynesville is moving forward.

No city can build for a 100-year flood event, much less the pockets of a 500-year flood event that we experienced in 2013. As weat her con t i n ues t o become unpredictable, cities must be prepared for natural disasters. The city of Waynesville has persevered; now two years later, we continue to plan and improve emergency preparedness. www.mocities.com

After a frustrating start, the partnership with SEMA/FEMA has been successful and we believe Waynesville has become an example of what should happen after a disaster.

Luge Hardman is the mayor of Waynesville.

Elected in 2012, Hardman is a retired high school and college instructor. She has lived in Waynesville for more than 40 years.

TIPS FOR DEALING WITH DISASTER AND FEMA/SEMA

1. Have employee documentation on paper (time, equipment, materials, etc.).

2. Keep project documents in separate files.

3. Keep all e-mails and document all phone calls with FEMA/SEMA. 4. Document all mail to FEMA/SEMA. 5. Read the project thoroughly when returned from FEMA/SEMA. Make sure their narrative matches yours.

RESCUE AND RESPONSE RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Utilize emergency preparedness plans.

2. Partner with first responders.

3. Determine losses and areas of concern.

4. Designate a headquarters or base of operations.

5. Designate a spokesman for the response team and media requests.

6. Use mutual aid agreements.

7. Designate a center for displaced persons.

8. Determine need for state law enforcement

assistance.

9. Have a plan to manage volunteers and donations.

10. Research individual governmental assistance.

RECOVERY

1. Have plans for emergency housing and supplies.

2. Remove debris.

3. Use mutual aid agreements.

REBUILD

1. Plan for mitigation.

2. Designate point of contact for SEMA/FEMA. 3. Reassess emergency management procedures.

4. Expand mutual aid agreements.

We can solve every problem on this list.

Canoe?

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The Missouri Municipal Review

November 2015 / 11

ENFORCEMENT TRENDS IN THE MUNICIPAL MARKETPLACE: “WRITING ON THE WALL”

by Daniel T. Manning

Imagine you are a city official, standing before a group of citizens, about to deliver a speech announcing that the city will be selling municipal bonds to fund essential road and sewer repairs in your town. By now the news has gotten out, and the citizens of your fiscally conservative, debt-averse town are skeptical. Why does the city need to issue bonds to pay for the repairs? Is there another way to fund them? If not, why bother making the repairs? Are they really necessary?

Your goal with this speech is to inspire enthusiasm for the project and put any concerns your citizens might have about the city going into debt to pay for the repairs to rest. You might highlight the importance of the repairs to maintain a high quality of life for the city, and to protect the safety of drivers on the road. You might explain that a bond issuance is the best way to pay for the improvements while ensuring the city has enough cash on hand to pay for the city’s many other needs. Finally, you might reassure your citizens that the city is financially healthy and will be able to repay the bonds. However, based on recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) action, you just made a disclosure regulated by securities laws that might lead to a SEC enforcement action against you and your city.

F

ederal Securities laws prohibit issuers of municipal bonds from making any misstatement of material fact, or making a statement that is misleading because of the omission of a material fact “in connection with the purchase or sale of securities.” A fact is considered “material” if it is reasonably expected for the statement to reach investors, and if there is a substantial likelihood that a reasonable investor would consider it important in making an investment decision. Certain statements and required disclosures are plainly connected to the sale of securities, and are plainly material. For instance, issuers in public markets must always prepare and file an official statement for the purpose of selling the Securities in the primary offering, and the underwriter will usually require the city to file annual financial statements.

However, SEC has indicated that it interprets a “material statement connected with the sale of Securities” much more broadly than mere filings and statements directed towards the marketplace. Over the last decade, SEC has steadily and incrementally heightened its expectation for disclosures affecting the municipal Securities market. The dawning of this “new day” in SEC’s focus has resulted in an unprecedented number of enforcement actions and penalties against cities.

“Writing On The Wall”

Municipal Securities are an essential tool for local governments to finance public infrastructure projects.

As such, the municipal Securities market has grown exponentially over the last 30 years. According to a 2012 Report on the Municipal Securities Market issued by SEC, at

12 / November 2015

the end of 2011 there were more than one million different outstanding municipal bonds with a total aggregate principal of more than $3.7 trillion. The growth and current size of the municipal bond marketplace is indicative of the success local governments have had financing projects through bond issuances and of the attractiveness of municipal bonds to investors; municipal bonds typically enjoy advantageous tax treatment and historically have a lower rate of default than corporate bonds. However, the growth of this public market also has brought increased scrutiny by regulators, particularly regarding issuer disclosures.

Enforcement in the municipal Securities market has evolved on two fronts: 1) in the type of information SEC considers “material,” and 2) in what is expected of issuers in the disclosure process. As early as 1994, SEC took the position in a statement published in the Code of Federal Regulations that any statement “concerning the entity’s fiscal affairs” reasonably expected to reach investors and the trading markets was considered a material fact in connection with the purchase or sale of Securities. Public statements and press releases made by municipal officials not necessarily intended for investors were expressly mentioned. The statement concluded by saying: “Since access by market participants to current and reliable information is uneven and inefficient, municipal issuers presently face a risk of misleading investors through public statements that may not be intended to be the basis of investment decisions, but nevertheless may reasonably be expected to reach the Securities markets . . In order to minimize the risk of misleading investors, municipal issuers

The Missouri Municipal Review

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 "Over the last decade, SEC has steadily and incrementally heightened its expectation for disclosures affecting the municipal securities market. The dawning of this “new day” in SEC’s focus has resulted in

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an unprecedented number of enforcement actions and penalties against cities." 

should establish practices and procedures to identify and timely disclose, in a manner designed to inform the trading market, material information reflecting on the creditworthiness of the issuer and obligor and the terms of the Security.”

Two years later, in a “Report of Investigation” regarding the conduct of the Board of Supervisors of Orange County, California in a bond offering, SEC again signaled its expectations of municipal issuers’ disclosures. In that case, the supervisors merely relied on the representations of the County’s agents with respect to the information in the official statement before approving it. In SEC’s view, this was not enough. The county supervisors “had a duty to take steps appropriate under the circumstances to assure accurate disclosure was made to investors.”

SEC has continued to set standards for issuers in more recent enforcement orders and public statements. In a 2007 white paper to Congress, SEC recommended several revisions to issuer disclosure requirements, including “ensuring that issuers establish policies and procedures for disclosure appropriate for the particular issuer” and “clarifying the legal responsibilities of issuer officials for the disclosure documents that they authorize.” Later that year, Linda Chatman Thomsen, then director of the division of enforcement at SEC, delivered a speech calling the municipal Securities market “a top priority for SEC” and stating her belief that “SEC’s attention to this market segment will increase.” In that same speech, Thomsen laid out five “critical lessons” that she believed municipalities should learn from the recent enforcement actions. These included: • •

A review to ensure that the municipality had written policies and procedures in place that produce complete and accurate disclosures; Training to municipal officials and employees “regarding the applicable disclosure requirements of

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• • •

Water Wastewater Stormwater Highways Streets Bridges Structural Health Care Mechanical Electrical Plumbing Fire Protection GIS/Mapping Surveying Construction Engineering

federal Securities laws” and Government Accounting Standards Board financial reporting provisions; The importance of always keeping the overarching goal in mind, which is full and fair disclosure to investors; The importance to disclose known bad news; and The need to hire auditors with the skills to do the job.

Director Thomsen’s prediction proved correct, and SEC’s attention to the municipal Securities market did increase. By 2010, SEC had expanded its investigatory scope to include enforcement actions for negligent conduct, rather than intentional misstatements or misleading omissions. Now, SEC may bring an enforcement action if it determines that a material misstatement or misleading omission occurred merely as a result of the issuer’s failure to exercise reasonable care. Intentional misconduct is not necessary. The breadth of authority now exercised by SEC developed gradually over several years of regulations, enforcement orders, and speeches exposes municipal issuers to an unprecedented level of liability.

Could Your Municipality Be Next?

There are several enforcement actions that illustrate how expansive SEC interprets its regulation of municipal issuers. In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, both the City and the mayor were sanctioned for, among other things, making a materially misleading disclosure during the mayor’s state of the city address when the mayor referred to the City’s problems servicing the debt on a bond offering as “an additional challenge” and an “issue [that] can be resolved.”

In South Miami, Florida, the City was sanctioned after it failed to report that a public-private development financed by tax-exempt municipal bonds had changed to a fullyprivate development that affected the tax treatment of the bonds. In the enforcement order, SEC noted that significant turnover in the City’s finance department left no one

The Missouri Municipal Review

November 2015 / 13

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14 / November 2015

The Missouri Municipal Review

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 "All signs indicate that the scrutiny directed at the municipal Securities market is the new

of a city’s finances. Ultimately, it is essential to start with an evaluation of existing procedures, determine the gaps, and craft an enhanced policy that fills those gaps. According to NABL, a comprehensive policy that will help prevent disclosure problems down the road will have the following features: •

normal, and cities should take note of the trend."

•

 knowledgeable of the City’s disclosure obligations, and the lack of a formal training program for new employees constituted a lack of reasonable care by the City. Of particular import in these and other enforcement actions, SEC noted incomplete or non-existent disclosure policies and procedures as a cause in the municipality’s violation.

All signs indicate that the scrutiny directed at the municipal Securities market is the new normal, and cities should take note of the trend. In 2014, the SEC Division of Enforcement announced the “Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative” in which it offered “favorable settlement terms” to issuers and other market players who self-report continuing disclosure violations to the Division of Enforcement. However, the Division made clear that it offered “no assurances that it will recommend the above terms in any subsequent enforcement recommendation.” The not-so-subtle message to municipalities and other parties in the municipal Securities marketplace was essentially, self-report now, or feel the wrath later.

Time For A Proactive Approach?

In August 2015, the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL) issued a white paper to its membership discussing best practices in crafting disclosure policies, particularly emphasizing statements not necessarily directed at investors. The report noted the increased enforcement activity against municipal bond issuers as an influencing factor for the report, and pointed out SEC’s consistency in requiring disclosure policies in recent enforcement orders against municipal issuers. While the report stopped short of imploring municipal issuers to adopt a disclosure policy pre-issuance, it made a point to note the advantages of doing so, particularly the preventative benefits, such a policy would afford. Furthermore, there was no need for NABL to make such an exhortation; SEC has done so time and again over the last decade. That NABL found the topic important enough to warrant its own white paper on the heels of such a hostile environment should be warning enough: now is the time to be proactive.

The NABL paper points out, as SEC has in past, that it is important to keep the purpose of disclosure in mind when developing a policy and then carrying it out – disclose material information to the market place so that investors can judge the financial health of a city and make a determination as to whether to purchase the bonds. This requires an active process of considering what role different information plays in painting a clear and accurate picture

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• •

Include a description of every type of statement regarding a city’s financial health that might reach the marketplace; State specific procedures for due diligence, review, consultation with professionals if needed, and final approval; Include a documentation process; and, Describe a training process for key personnel associated with the disclosure process.

Training is one of the areas that SEC has touched on time and again in its enforcement orders, as exemplified in the South Miami case. Training helps ensure current personnel are up to date on the most current law and guidance from regulatory authorities, informs new employees of disclosure requirements and their responsibilities, and forces everyone involved to consider the strengths and weaknesses of their specific municipality’s policies and procedures. Finally, NABL stresses the importance of following the policy once adopted. It cannot serve its preventative function if it is stuffed in a drawer and ignored. Indeed, ignoring an existing policy could, itself, be evidence of negligence by an issuer should a disclosure problem arise once a policy is adopted.

No Time Like The Present

The regulatory tenor presently surrounding the municipal Securities market is demonstrably different from ten years ago. SEC has been increasingly active in sanctioning municipal issuers who, in their view, are providing an incomplete picture of their financial situation to the marketplace. Even unintentionally negligent conduct can land a city in hot water and lead to serious sanctions, including excluding municipal officials personally from participating in future financings. In such a hostile environment, it is imperative for local governments that have issued or plan to issue municipal bonds to take preventative measures to protect themselves. Implementing a comprehensive policy that takes into account recent developments in municipal Securities enforcement can save municipal issuers the hassle, embarrassment, and repercussions of a SEC enforcement action.

Daniel T. Manning is an associate attorney with Cunningham, Vogel and Rost, a full-service law firm that exclusively represents local governments.

He specializes in economic development and public finance law. You can contact him at dan.manning@municipalfirm.com.

The Missouri Municipal Review

November 2015 / 15

IN PRAISE OF OUR COMMUNITIES

by Steve Roth

A

speaker at a conference I attended recently challenged the crowd to, in so many words, be positive. We undervalue the things we have, she said, and overvalue those things we don’t. We compare ourselves to others and, in the municipal government arena, we can end up envying the resources those other cities have, the big salaries they must be making, their robust sales taxes and gleaming new streets, their fun-loving mayors, and downtowns full of tourists.

Meanwhile, we look at our own towns and see only the streets that need fixing, the derelict buildings that need demolishing and the employee(s) who need an attitude adjustment. We cuss our critics and naysayers while taking for granted the friendly neighbor down the street. We brood over our town’s problems while the strong points get filed away and forgotten.

The conference speaker hit a nerve with me and I returned to my town on a recent Friday afternoon determined to see it with new eyes. While I did have a few minor fires to put out upon returning, I also had the pleasure of seeing some of our town’s best strengths in action.

I was greeted at City Hall by the very cheerful and competent staff. I drove out to a street project in progress and was amazed at the work that had gotten done in the few days since I was gone. The crew was still working on it, finishing up; a couple of them were putting in overtime to make sure the construction area was safe for the weekend.

Then I saw the mayor, who was complimenting the street crews as well. After hearing a few tales of rogue mayors at the conference, how nice it was to see ours in action – one who makes his rounds with the best interests of the community at heart.

Later, I visited a local business owner who was literally making a special “Key to the City.”

“Are you here about the key?” he asked when I came in. I just grinned and nodded. He invited me back to his

16 / November 2015

workspace and together with his associates we worked out the plan. “We’ll get it done!” he assured me, and I had no doubt that he would.

Then I walked down our beautiful historic main street, a place of pretty shops and galleries and the best grain alcohol money can buy (Pinckney Bend Distillery).

I took a glance at the Missouri River, our constant companion (friend and sometimes foe), its muddy water ever rolling. It was good to be home, walking our quiet streets and feeling positive again about all the good things we have going on here.

It is easy in municipal government to dwell on the bad. Our town is small and of course we have our problems, but we also have attributes we should never forget. We have police officers who literally put their lives on the line for the safety and betterment of our community. We have streets and utilities workers who take seriously their duty to the public and the taxpayers.

We have a wonderful city staff who take the best care of our customers, our citizens and taxpayers, as we can.

We have excellent people working hard every day to provide for their families and to help strengthen their community. We have city officials and staff who have made a true commitment to public service, and do their best at it. We have the beauty and charms of living in a small town that most of us wouldn’t trade for anything.

In municipal government, we truly do work in a noble profession. It is an honor to serve our fellow citizens, to work with our staffs and colleagues for the betterment of our communities. Often, in the day-to-day grind, we can forget this. We should remember why we got in this business in the first place, for the love of our communities, and never take for granted all the good we have in them.  Steve Roth is the city administrator for the city of New Haven, Missouri.

The Missouri Municipal Review

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MISSOURI MUNICIPAL POLICY GUIDE 2015-2016 The Missouri Municipal Policy Guide serves as the statement of policy relating to the authority, responsibility and financing of municipal government and to federal and state laws and administrative regulations affecting local government.

The crafting of the annual Policy Guide is a very important function of MML. The primary process is that four appointed policy committes meet each summer to discuss and debate policy issues facing Missouri cities.

The result is new or amended policy recommendations that are reviewed and finalized by the Resolutions Committee.

These final policy recommendations are presented to the general membership for adoption at the Annual Business Meeting during the MML Annual Conference each fall. Members may modify or offer new policies during the Business Meeting for adoption by the general membership.

MML RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE Chair, Dale Bagley, Mayor, Macon Patrick Bonnot, Loss Cont/Mem Serv Dir, MIRMA Terry Briggs, Mayor, Bridgeton Shane Cohn, Alderman, St. Louis Barry Glantz, Mayor, Creve Coeur J.T. Hardy, City Administrator, Sullivan Brian Hasek, Mayor, Harrisonville Christine Ingrassia, Alderman, St. Louis Leonard Jones, Mayor, Grandview Norman McCourt, Mayor, Black Jack Robert McDavid, Mayor, Columbia Arthur McDonnell, Mayor, Kirkwood Mike McDonough, Mayor, Raytown Terry McVey, Counselor, Kennett Steve Moore, Council Member, Fulton

Jan Neitzert, Executive Director, MO Parks & Recreation Assn.

Randall Rhoads, Mayor, Lee’s Summit Scott Roberson, Council Member, Independence Matthew G. Robinson, Mayor, Hazelwood Kathleen Rose, Mayor, Riverside Debi Salberg, Council Member, Webster Groves Mike Schneider, Mayor, Overland Arthur Sharpe, Jr., Council Member, University City Gary Shaw, Council Member, Joplin Robert Stephens, Mayor, Springfield Christopher Thornton, Mayor, Brentwood Scott Wagner, Council Member, Kansas City David L. Willson, Mayor, Manchester

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE

Bob Russell, Economic Dev Dir, Florissant Tom Short, City Administrator, Carthage Carrie Tergin, Mayor, Jefferson City Christopher Thornton, Mayor, Brentwood Scott Von Behren, Council Member, Belton Debra Wilkerson, Council Member, Malden

Chair, Gary Lathrop, Council Member, Belton Barbara Abram, Council Member, Bridgeton Judy Bateman, Alderman, St. Peters John Biggs, Mayor, Webb City Don Bormann, Alderman, Centralia Brent Buerck, City Administrator, Perryville Errol Bush, Alderman, Northwoods John Butz, City Administrator, Rolla Jack Chase, Alderman, Northwoods Linda Christle, Executive Director, Sedalia Russ Fortune, Trustee, Twin Oaks Allan Gray, Council Member, Lee's Summit Andrew Leahy, Alderman, Brentwood Penny Lyons, Mayor, Osage Beach Vicky McLeland, City Administrator, Macon Jacqueline Patton, Clerk, Velda Village Hills Jim Pepper, Council Member, O'Fallon Jerry Reese, Council Member, St. Charles

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICIES ACCESS TO CAPITAL

The MML supports public and private efforts to provide access to seed and venture capital for viable projects by Missouri entrepreneurs. The state of Missouri, in conjunction with its communities, shall make an effort to assist new and expanding businesses with access to competitively priced financing.

MISSOURI WORKS PROGRAM

The MML supports “Missouri Works,” a program that combines the Development Tax Credit Program, the Rebuilding Communities Tax Credit Program, the Enhanced Enterprise Zone Tax Credit Program, and the Missouri Quality Jobs Program and rolls their functions into one

The Missouri Municipal Review

November 2015 / 17

LIFE SCIENCES AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

The MML supports state efforts to promote life sciences/ biotechnology investments in Missouri.

MARKETING EFFORTS

stream-lined program to promote business retention, expansion and attraction in Missouri for job creation and capital investment. The state should consider establishing additional and separate funding for rural, micropolitan and metropolitan statistical district projects for the retention and expansion of existing businesses at a community level.

CONFIDENTIAL NEGOTIATIONS

The MML supports changes to Chapter 610 RSMo to allow economic development projects to be negotiated in closed session similar to the exemption that currently exists for real estate.

DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION AND ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE FOR MISSOURI PROGRAM (DREAM)

The MML supports the concept of downtown revitalization and reinstituting the funding and expanding of the DREAM program due to prior success.

ECONOMIC INCENTIVE PROGRAMS

The state of Missouri should maintain basic economic incentive programs including but not limited to: 1) Community Development Block Grants, 2) taxable and tax-exempt financing programs, 3) various tax credits, 4) the Missouri Linked Deposit Program, 5) Environmental Improvement and Energy Resource Authority, 6) Missouri Industrial Development Loan Guarantees, 7) enterprise zones, and 8) Missouri Works. All such programs should be maintained at existing or increased levels.

INDUSTRIAL REVENUE BONDS

The MML supports the extension and expansion of the dollar limit on tax-exempt industrial revenue bonds to provide financing for business expansions.

18 / November 2015

The MML supports an increased emphasis on marketing the state of Missouri as a location for business expansions. Marketing efforts should be expanded to include additional emphasis on high tech companies, manufacturing, agriculture and service operations. A coordinated effort between The Missouri Partnership, all appropriate state agencies and between state and municipal groups promoting business, industry, agriculture, animal science and tourism should be fostered in promoting the resources already available in Missouri. The state of Missouri must continue to assist businesses in reaching new markets for their products and services, including an increased awareness of international opportunities and new technologies.

SUPER TAX INCREMENT FINANCING CAPS

The MML urges the General Assembly to increase the existing fiscal cap on the super Tax Increment Financing (TIF) program.

MISSOURI TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION

The MML supports full utilization of the Missouri Technology Corporation and support of its goals and objectives.

STATEWIDE SPORTS COMMISSION

The MML urges the state of Missouri to consider the economic benefits of a statewide sports commission with the responsibility for assisting in the recruitment and support of regional sporting efforts.

TAX ABATEMENT

The MML supports the preservation of Chapter 353 RSMo, the urban redevelopment law, including the option of tax abatement without unwarranted restriction by other governmental units.

TAX CREDIT PROGRAMS

The MML opposes subjecting the tax credit program to the appropriations process as this puts Missouri at a competitive disadvantage. MML supports the retention, and funding of these tax credit programs: a. Low Income Housing Tax Credits b. Tax Credit for Contributions Program c. Neighborhood Assistance Program Tax Credits d. Historic Preservation Tax Credits e. Brownfields Jobs and Investment Tax Credits

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f. Missouri Build Tax Credits g. Film Production Tax Credit h. New Markets Tax Credits i. Investment Credit Tax Programs

HUMAN RESOURCES POLICIES AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS

TAX INCREMENT FINANCING

The MML opposes legislation to exempt any governmental entity from being required to contribute to the tax increment financing (TIF) allocation fund. The MML opposes any attempt to change the purpose or types of development permitted under current TIF statutes. The MML supports legislation that clearly requires all applicable taxes, pre- and post- adoption, to be subject to the TIF.

TAX INCREMENT FINANCING (TIF) AND TRANSPORTATION DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT (TDD) REPORT FILING PENALTY

The MML supports a revision to the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) report filing law that prohibits cities from initiating a new TIF project until the annual report is filed and encourages the Missouri Department of Economic Development to be required to send an annual reminder of the annual report due date. The MML also supports legislation to cap the penalties for late filing of Transportation Development Districts (TDDs) annual reports to $10 per day with the fine not commencing until 14 days after notice by the State Auditor of the late filing.

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

The MML supports funding for applied research at Missouri based educational facilities, technology transfer, and the commercialization of this knowledge to create jobs in Missouri.

TOURISM PROMOTION

The MML supports increased funding efforts for tourism promotion campaigns, including promoting the state of Missouri domestically and internationally as a visitor destination. The MML encourages the General Assembly to increase funding for arts and culture, specifically the Missouri Arts Council and the Missouri Humanities Council.

The MML supports the efforts of local communities to promote its natural resources and tourism destinations. In addition, cost sharing between local and state promotional groups has proven to be a cost-effective way to increase exposure and should be expanded.

The MML supports development of art and cultural industries in Missouri.

The MML supports the preservation of Missouri‘s natural beauty which makes it a tourist destination.

TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE

The MML recognizes the importance of transportation infrastructure to Missouri economic development and supports continuing reviews of the structure of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and of funding resources to address transportation needs that: 1. Consider the economic importance of connectivity.

2. Provide for mass transit.

3. Maintain existing infrastructure.

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The MML urges state agencies to work in conjunction with Missouri municipalities as well as private and not-forprofit organizations to address the areas of: homelessness; affordable housing; supported living services for seniors and the disabled; and rehabilitation of existing housing.

Legislative oversight committees should be established to give these issues the attention they deserve.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES

To encourage the continued implementation of job training, such as the OJT program, the MML supports: 1) Continued emphasis on the education and training necessary to provide a competitive work force in Missouri, including promoting higher standards for all levels of education.

2) Adequate state funding for preschool, primary, secondary and post-secondary public education, including new educational initiatives to ensure the availability of a Missouri work force equipped with the technical skills to compete in future decades.

3) Strong coordination between agencies involved in the job training, retraining and placement systems and the business sector; 4) More resources for centers designed to assist high school drop-outs and potential drop-outs to earn high school diplomas or equivalency certification; 5) Continued and increased support for state job training funds targeted for all businesses and not-for-profit organizations.

6) More training dollars as an economic incentive to encourage organizations to target further development of their existing workforce.

7) Working closely with private industry and not-forprofits to plan and implement programs that assist in adult/ youth training, worker reentry, the underemployed, seniors and work reentry programs for ex-offenders.

8) Preserving economic development tools used to support affordable “workforce” housing.

9) Expand Show Me Heroes program to include incentives to attract skilled veterans.

10) Develop incentives to retain college graduates throughout the state.

CHILD CARE

The MML urges the state to develop education programs and incentives to ensure development of public/ private partnerships to enhance and expand quality child care and early childhood education facilities, including care for infants, children with special needs, weekend and non-daytime shift workers and the adequate training of child care providers. Public and private employers should be encouraged to provide quality child care and early childhood education centers and programs through the use of tax credits or other incentives including but not limited to cafeteria plans (Section 125 of the Internal Revenue

The Missouri Municipal Review

November 2015 / 19

NEEDS OF SENIORS AND ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES

Code) and flexible work schedules. Technical assistance and training must be available to local providers.

The MML urges the Department of Social Services (DSS) and the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to adequately fund services and staff to guarantee quality child care for Missouri children, particularly to ensure that funds are available for child care licensing staff to properly license and monitor family, group home and child care centers. The MML also supports the licensing of private and faith-based child care centers and encourages the DHSS and DSS to jointly develop quality incentives that would promote voluntary accreditation or other similar quality standards for all child care providers.

COMMUNITY EDUCATION

The MML strongly supports the use of state funds for community education programs that are proactive and/ or rehabilitative. Examples of these include, but are not limited to programs that prevent or address issues such as: • substance abuse; • gambling addiction; • juvenile delinquency; • gang activity; • child abuse; • teenage pregnancy and the education of teenage

parents (including prenatal and postnatal care); • parenting skills; • drop-out prevention programs; • reduction of unemployment/underemployment; • and development of adequate and available

recreation facilities and programs.

20 / November 2015

The MML calls on all levels of government to recognize the needs of seniors and adults with disabilities and to help them remain independent. Further, the MML urges: 1) The General Assembly to provide adequate funding to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). The DHSS should in turn provide adequate funding for services such as: Medicaid meals, home delivered meals, community senior centers, transportation, and ombudsman services.

2) The DHSS to make readily available funding to the local Agency on Aging for information and referral services.

3) Local governments to encourage senior volunteerism in their communities.

4) The DHSS to fund and encourage development of intergenerational mentoring and outreach programs that focus on: education, quality of life, and life experiences.

FINANCE AND TAXATION COMMITTEE Chair, Rob Binney, Council Member, Lee's Summit Justin Burnett, Council Member, Springfield Greg Camp, City Administrator, Desloge Betty Cotner, Finance Director, Town and Country Dick Davis, Council Member, Kansas City David Dickerson, Alderman, Harrisonville Matt Harline, City Administrator, Centralia Robert Hensley, Mayor, Velda City Daniel Hernandez, Alderman, Wood Heights Arnold Hinkle, Council Member, Black Jack Theodore Hoskins, Mayor, Berkeley Mary Lowry, Clerk/Treasurer, Jackson Norman McCourt, Mayor, Black Jack Arthur McDonnell, Mayor, Kirkwood Jerry Mills, Council Member, Kirksville Nathan Schauf, City Administrator, Owensville Dan Smith, Finance Director, Creve Coeur Shonte Young, Alderman, Moline Acres

E-COMMERCE TAXATION

The MML urges Congress and the state of Missouri to define that all sales and use tax on sales of tangible property be treated fairly and equitably whether the sales take place over the counter, by phone, by mail order, by internet or by any other electronic means. The MML urges Congress to enact legislation that redefines nexus to include economic nexus as well as physical nexus so that out-of-state mail order sales and internet sales are treated the same as sales within the same state.

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PROPERTY TAX HEARING

ROAD AND BRIDGE TAXES

TAX RESTRUCTURING

TAX ON HOTEL/MOTEL GUESTS

The MML supports streamlining the process by changing the deadline for setting the municipal property tax levy as required in Section 67.110 RSMo to 30 days after receiving from the county the assessed valuation of all property located within the municipality.

The MML opposes the use of a higher sales tax rate to replace the corporate and individual income taxes.

Missouri’s cities rely upon sales taxes for general fund and enterprise fund operation. If the state sales tax rate is dramatically increased, municipalities would be crippled in seeking voter approval of new sales taxes and Missouri businesses would lose retail sales to adjoining states and the Internet.

BUSINESS AND OCCUPATION LICENSES

The MML supports legislation to authorize municipalities to license, tax and regulate the occupation of merchants, manufacturers and all businesses, avocations, pursuits and callings and to, by ordinance, base such licenses on gross receipts, square footage, per capita, flat fee, graduated scale based on gross or net receipts or sales, or any other method of measurement of tax or any combination thereof derived or allocable to the carrying on or conducting of any business, avocation, pursuits or callings or activities carried on in such cities.

EXEMPTIONS FROM LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX

The MML strongly opposes the exemption of any further items from the local option sales tax and encourages a thorough review of current exemptions to examine their validity. Also, the MML continues to oppose state-mandated sales tax holidays that do not provide a local option on participation or nonparticipation in the holiday. Should the General Assembly approve additional sales tax holidays, the MML requests that all future sales tax holidays include an opt in provision while still allowing the municipality the option to opt out in future years.

The MML supports legislation to require that the percentages stated in the various statutes on road and bridge taxes be spent for road and bridge projects in incorporated cities rather than such expenditures being discretionary on the part of counties and road districts.

The MML urges the General Assembly to adopt legislation authorizing all cities to levy a tax on hotel guest rooms with approval of said tax by the voters. The legislation should also require the Department of Revenue to collect the tax if requested to do so by a city enacting the tax.

CABLE AND VIDEO FRANCHISING

The MML vigorously opposes any federal legislation and regulations that would alter or completely eliminate the ability of local governments to enter into and enforce local cable franchise agreements unless such legislation requires the payment of local franchise fees, compliance with local rights-of-way regulations, payment in lieu of inkind services, operational grants and consumer protection provisions.

PRESERVATION OF PEG ACCESS TELEVISION

The MML supports the Community Access Preservation Act (CAP) which removes use restrictions on public, educational and government (PEG) access fees, restores PEG revenue streams, and ends cable operators’ discriminatory treatment of PEG channels. The MML urges Congress to enact the CAP Act in order to preserve local PEG channels.

REGULATION OF MUNICIPAL BROADBAND

The MML opposes any state or federal legislation that regulates, restricts, or prohibits municipalities from providing municipal broadband services.

TAXATION OF CELL PHONES, VoIP AND OTHER COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

The MML supports legislation authorizing an entity that collects the property tax for itself or for other taxing jurisdictions to also collect any other tax or fee that it authorizes or is authorized by another taxing jurisdiction.

The MML supports legislation to impose or maintain local gross receipts taxes on cellular, land-line and VoIP telecommunications providers and other types of personal communications technology. The MML also supports legislation that allows wireless devices to be taxed while holding harmless the cities and counties that have enacted sales taxes to address 911 funding issues.

LOCAL EARNINGS/INCOME TAXES

UTILITY TAXES

FEE COLLECTIONS ON ANNUAL PROPERTY TAX BILLS

The MML favors local control of decisions regarding levels and types of municipal taxation and believes it sets a bad precedent to allow voters throughout the state to overrule local voters’ decisions to approve rates and methods of taxation to support essential local services such as police and fire protection.

PROPERTY TAX RATE CAP

The MML urges the General Assembly and the electorate to raise the caps by 25 cents respectively imposed on municipal property tax rates by Article X, Section 11(b) Missouri Constitution and Chapter 94 RSMo.

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The MML strongly opposes any legislation capping the rate or reducing the amount of utility taxes imposed by municipalities.

STATE/FEDERAL MANDATES

The MML urges members of the General Assembly and Congress to work with local officials to determine how to limit the fiscal and other burdens of mandates on the operation of municipal government.

Further, the MML supports an assessment of current state and federal programs, regulations and policies to determine the extent of adverse cost, structural and intergovernmental impacts on cities.

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OTHER POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS (OPEBS)

Accounting standards, GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board) Statements 43 and 45, require all state and local governmental agencies to report costs and obligations for other post- employment benefits in their financial statements. While GASB Statements 43 and 45 do not require that governmental entities actually fund other postemployment benefits (OPEB), those that do not are in danger of lowered credit ratings, and may be subject to less favorable discount rates in calculating total unfunded OPEB liabilities or mandated revenue stream diversions. The MML urges the Governor and General Assembly to give municipalities the ability to fund OPEB to ensure that local governments are able to adequately meet future obligations.

PUBLIC DEPOSITS AND INVESTMENT OF IDLE FUNDS

The MML supports passage of legislation that would repeal the archaic laws governing depositories for funds and clarify the investment authority of statutory cities.

Such legislation, at a minimum, should include authority for statutory municipalities to choose one or more depositories for public funds under conditions and terms determined by the municipality, including the choice of facilities outside the city. It should also clearly permit investment of municipal funds in obligations of the state; obligations issued by the United States; obligations fully insured or guaranteed by the United States or a United States government agency; repurchase agreements secured

by United States Treasury securities; obligations of any corporation of the United States government; prime bankers’ acceptances; and deposits, time deposits, certificates of deposit (negotiable or non-negotiable), shares, share accounts or other interest bearing accounts in depository institutions chartered by this state or by the United States. The MML further supports a standardization of collateralization requirements for depository institutions. Collateral should not be required of any depository institution for that portion of the municipality’s deposits covered by insurance of any federal agency.

TRANSPORTATION NEEDS

While the MML strongly supports appropriate funding for transportation purposes in Missouri, the MML opposes the use of sales taxes by the state of Missouri as the primary source to raise revenue for meeting the needs of the state’s highways, roads and transit systems. The MML urges the General Assembly and Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to devise a comprehensive plan to increase the needed revenue for meeting Missouri’s transportation needs and securing federal matching funds.

Such plan should dedicate sufficient funding to provide quality mass transit services throughout the state. This should include funds for systems that serve the elderly, handicapped and low-income residents.

MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE Chair, Chris Lievsay, Council Member, Blue Springs John Best, Mayor, Bolivar Brenda Cirtin, City Clerk, Springfield Adam Couch, Mayor, Odessa Barry Glantz, Mayor, Creve Coeur Bruce Harrill, City Administrator, Waynesville Donald Krank, Council Member, Black Jack Ken McClure, Council Member, Springfield Mike McDonough, Mayor, Raytown Keith Moody, City Administrator, Harrisonville Glen Moritz, Mayor Pro Tem, Kirksville Andy Morris, City Manager, Moberly John Morris, City Manager, St. John Russell Rost, City Administrator, Union Ron Scheets, City Administrator, Cabool Thomas Schneider, Mayor, Florissant Mahesh Sharma, City Administrator, Raytown Michael Spurgeon, Dir of Admin, St. Charles Everett Thomas, Mayor, Northwoods A.J. White, Council Member, Black Jack

BLIGHT/EMINENT DOMAIN

The MML vigorously opposes efforts to prohibit the use of eminent domain to rehabilitate blighted areas and other essential public uses that benefit the health, safety, and general welfare of the municipality. MML also opposes any effort that would negatively impact nuisance abatement programs. The MML should work with utilities, businesses, developers, and other groups to inform the public of the benefits of eminent domain and nuisance abatement programs.

Eminent domain is indispensable and is most often used as a last resort for revitalizing local economies, creating much-needed jobs and generating revenue that enables cities to provide essential services. Eminent domain is a powerful tool; its prudent use, when exercised in the sunshine of public scrutiny, helps achieve a great public good that benefits the entire community. Economic policies and incentives supported by the Governor and adopted by the General Assembly will have little effect in encouraging business to expand or relocate in Missouri to support the economic vitality of the state if land cannot be assembled through the power of eminent domain if necessary. The MML supports changes in the law to further ensure fair treatment and just compensation of property owners, but any such changes should be carefully drafted to permit use of eminent domain for economic development purposes when necessary.

POSTING OF LEGAL NOTICES IN NEWSLETTERS OR ON WEBSITES

The MML strongly supports legislation to allow for publication of legal notices including but not limited to financial statements, land use and election notices in municipal newsletters and on websites in lieu of the unfunded mandate for newspaper publication to help keep the

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public apprised of local affairs in a much more cost effective method.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY TERM LIMITS

The MML strongly supports legislation to initiate an amendment to the Missouri Constitution to lengthen or modify term limits for members of the General Assembly.

SELF GOVERNANCE

The MML continues its strong support for selfgovernance for all municipalities and the right contained therein of municipal self¬-determination. The MML urges the General Assembly to refrain from enacting legislation in areas that can be better dealt with by local government. Additionally, MML supports the elimination of the minimum population requirement to achieve constitutional charter city status.

MODERNIZATION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT STATUTES

The MML urges the repeal or revision of contradictory and/or arcane provisions of the statutes that create barriers to efficient administration of local government.

Further, the MML supports legislation that permits the use of electronic and digital archiving of public records.

LABOR RELATIONS

The MML supports legislation to resolve issues from the Independence NEA v. Independence School District Missouri Supreme Court decision. Such legislation must preserve traditional management rights, the fiscal integrity of the city, the delivery of services to the taxpayer and the role of the duly elected representatives of the people as the final decision-makers on contract provisions. Also, the MML Board is urged to appoint a committee to study potential new MML services in support of local officials in the collective bargaining process.

MUNICIPAL PERSONNEL POLICIES

The MML strongly opposes legislation that would interfere with municipal authority to determine personnel policies or merit system rules and regulations, for example, the recent legislation that creates a disparity between police chiefs and other municipal employees.

STATE MANDATES

The MML urges the Governor, the General Assembly and state agencies to oppose unfunded mandates and provide for reimbursement to cities for direct costs of compliance with state laws, policies, regulations and standards that impose additional costs and responsibilities on

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local governments, pursuant to the Missouri Constitution (Article X, Section 21) commonly referred to as the “Hancock Amendment.”

FINES IN MUNICIPAL COURT

The MML supports legislation to standardize the maximum fine for violation of city ordinances at $1,000 for statutory municipalities.

PREVAILING WAGE

The MML supports legislation to clarify the existing prevailing wage law to define exemptions from the law for deminimus work on public projects including work involving repair and maintenance of public facilities.

REGULATION OF MUNICIPAL RIGHTS-OFWAY

The MML supports the authorization of local governments to impose reasonable nondiscriminatory fees for the use of the public rights-of-way and opposes any legislation that limits municipalities’ authorities to manage rights-of-way for the public interest and/or transfer the cost of relocation of utilities from private industry to public entities.

DEREGULATION IN THE NAME OF “RELIGIOUS FREEDOM”

While the MML supports free exercise of religion, the MML opposes legislation to further erode, under the guise of religious freedom, local authority to protect the health, safety and welfare of all people, including but not limited to municipal zoning, building codes, sign regulations, child care regulations and all other applicable local ordinances.

PHOTOGRAPHIC ENFORCEMENT OF TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS

The MML supports cities’ right to use automated cameras to enforce traffic ordinances and opposes any efforts to restrict cities’ use of photographic enforcement for traffic violations.

CONCEALED WEAPONS IN MUNICIPAL FACILITIES

The MML supports language to clarify the concealed carry law (Section 571.107 RSMo) to permit local governments to adopt ordinances to prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons in all city facilities and parks.

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TAXPAYERS BILL OF RIGHTS (TABOR)

The MML opposes efforts by any group to impose further restrictions on state revenues and spending through the so-called Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) or similar initiatives.

PRIMARY SAFETY BELT

The MML supports legislation to change Missouri’s secondary seat belt law to a primary seat belt law by allowing law enforcement officers to stop drivers for failing to wear their seat belts.

ORDINANCE VIOLATIONS BUREAU

The MML supports legislation that would eliminate the requirement that municipal prosecutors review and file charges in cases where a defendant pleads guilty and pays a fine in a municipal ordinance violations bureau.

OPPOSITION TO PREDATORY LENDING PRACTICES AND THE PROLIFERATION OF PAYDAY LOAN OPERATIONS

The MML supports legislation that would impose stricter regulations, with penalties, on lenders who engage in unfair and deceptive lending practices. The legislation should give the Missouri Attorney General the increased responsibility to investigate and take legal action against predatory lenders.

In addition, the MML supports legislation that would allow cities to impose limits on the number and locations of payday loan companies or similar loan companies or, if desired by the community, to ban these operations entirely.

GROUND EMERGENCY MEDIAL TRANSPORT (GEMT)

The Missouri Municipal League strongly supports a state statute that enables public EMS agencies to recoup a portion of the costs of providing uncompensated prehospital medical care and EMS ambulance transport from the Federal Government. MML supports a new statute establishing a Ground Emergency Medical Transport program. The statute also should require consistent accounting and cost recording guidelines.

ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Chair, Debi Salberg, Council Member, Webster Groves Gerry Biedenstein, Council Member, Kirkwood Brian Chaplin, DPW Superintendent, Hannibal Melodee Colbert-Kean, Council Member, Joplin Jake Crafton, Mayor, Kennett Chad Davis, Utility Director, Trenton Michele DeShay, Mayor, Moline Acres Kent Edmondson, Council Member, Blue Springs Linda Farmer, Council Member, Macon Laurie Feldman, Council Member, St. Charles Don Fuhrhop, Council Member, Brookfield Jerry Grimmer, Council Member, Bridgeton 24 / November 2015

Albert Hoag, Council Member, Belton Mary Holden, Comm Dev Dir, Arnold Nancy Luetzow, Council Member, Kirkwood Stephen Meyer, Dir of Environ Serv, Springfield Kathleen Rose, Mayor, Riverside Josh Stafford, Alderman, Harrisonville John Taylor, Council Member, Black Jack Ian Thomas, Council Member, Columbia Scott Wagner, Council Member, Kansas City Shelley Welsch, Mayor, University City J. Bruce Woody, City Manager, St. Joseph Mark Young, Mgr, Stormwater Utilities, Kansas City

OUTDOOR AIR QUALITY

The MML encourages all governmental jurisdictions in Missouri to initiate and support programs designed to increase public awareness and education about the air pollution issue and how pollution can be abated.

The MML supports continued federal funding for those municipalities that have entered into a contract with the Missouri Air Conservation Commission to monitor air pollution sources within their jurisdictions, including point and area sources. The MML encourages all governmental juris¬dictions to help foster a public concern for clean air by leading by example to demonstrate energy efficiency, the benefits of native landscaping, use of quality multimodal transportation planning and use of low¬-emission and low-fuel consumption vehicles in their governmental activities. The MML requests that the state of Missouri provide adequate financial assistance to municipalities in conforming to the state standards for clean air.

The state should continue to involve local officials in the implemen¬tation of any air pollution plan or policy that may be imposed to conform to EPA pollution standards.

Municipalities should support improving air quality through local policies.

INDOOR AIR QUALITY

The MML supports municipal efforts to improve indoor air quality and the air quality surrounding governmental and commercial buildings located within their boundaries, including the adoption of smoking restrictions.

The MML opposes the adoption of any state law which preempts a municipality from adopting local smoking restrictions or any ordinances that are designed to improve indoor air quality. The MML supports an election on uniform statewide smoking restrictions.

WATER QUALITY

The MML encourages Missouri municipalities to attempt to meet and/or exceed their water permit requirements using watershed-based best management practices, including a strong emphasis on green infrastructure strategies, to mitigate pollutants and storm water runoff.

Given the enormous costs of constructing wastewater treatment and collection facilities, MML recommends that the General Assembly appropriate sufficient funds to provide adequate technical assistance through the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to determine the most cost effective means of meeting state and federal

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standards. Further, MML urges the Clean Water Commission and the EPA to develop realistic standards based on 1) documented studies that verify potential health risks and 2) site-specific pollution impacts.

The MML strongly urges DNR to implement the storm water discharge permit program in a manner that will not impose delays on municipal and private projects.

MML strongly urges the EPA and DNR to develop a more simplified and flexible approach to management of municipal storm water runoff than has been imposed on the state’s larger municipalities. MML opposes any “endof-pipe” testing requirement in storm water permits.

The MML supports all levels of government, with substantial state and federal help, collaborating as equals to insure that high levels of harmful pollutants are within reasonable limits, based on cost-benefit analysis, accurate testing, and other factors under scrutiny in the latest DNR reports. The likely use of the creek or waterway for recreation should also be a factor. Certainly, sewage from faulty infrastructure should be addressed if harmful bacteria result for any reasonable period of time. However, animal waste, certain unavoidable runoff such as that caused by treating streets for ice and snow, and similar pollutants found at relatively low levels in streams unlikely to be used for recreation should be addressed with state and/or federal funds if they require remediation.

MML urges DNR and EPA to develop flexible standards for the treatment of combined sewer overflows that will allow all municipalities to implement solutions that will meet their geographic environmental situation and recognizes financial limitations based on the point of diminishing returns. The MML opposes any state regulations that exceed the scope of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program regulations.

The MML supports an increase of the NPDES fee of no more than the consumer price index, provided that DNR be prohibited from collecting fees from permit holders until permits have been brought up-to-date by DNR. The MML urges DNR and EPA to base affordability evaluations upon households at or below a community’s household median income.

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

MML expects the DNR and EPA to be involved in the monitoring of landfills, whether closed or active, abandoned or monitored by a responsible party; and other solid waste issues. The MML encourages municipalities to participate in a regional approach when addressing solid waste issues and urges municipalities to take an active role in the operation of solid waste management districts. Further, the MML encourages municipalities to promote efforts to reduce landfill waste; to address management of recoverable materials; to ensure access to core residential services and household hazardous waste collection in an effort to minimize illegal dumping and littering and encourage waste diversion from landfills; to establish public education on waste reduction and solid waste management for residents and businesses; and to support the implementation of programs to reduce, eliminate or divert other household and business waste from landfills.

The MML urges the state agencies and departments involved with implementation of the state’s solid waste management law to coordinate their efforts with

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municipal solid waste activities and initiatives. The MML encourages state leadership on policies and issues of statewide significance, including public education, product stewardship, sustainable funding, incentives for diversion goals, and research on technologies and trends.

The MML specifically encourages the state to aggressively deal with stimulation of the demand and markets for recycled materials. The MML strongly encourages the federal and state government to take an active role in developing uses for recyclable materials as well as the marketing of the products developed from recyclable materials.

The MML urges Congress to enact legislation preserving the 2007 US Supreme Court finding that allowed states and local governments to require that municipal solid waste (but not separated recyclables) be transported to municipal solid waste management facilities.

The MML urges the General Assembly to enact legislation giving municipalities greater flexibility in meeting the post-closure responsibilities for municipally owned landfills.

The MML strongly urges the General Assembly to protect the yard waste ban and any exceptions written into it, the statewide tonnage fee and the rights of local governments to develop and implement solid waste management strategies, facilities and services. In particular, MML urges the General Assembly to remove and prevent barriers for responsible and sustainable waste management best practices, including the elimination of the two-year notice requirement for local governments seeking to contract for solid waste services.

HAZARDOUS MATERIAL MANAGEMENT

The MML encourages federal and state programs that educate the public and ensure safe processing, incineration, recycling, transportation, storage and disposal of hazardous materials including newer products.

The MML supports an active investigative effort to identify sources, violators and existing sites of hazardous material. Such investi¬gative efforts should include advance notification to municipal officials.

The MML further recommends clarification and limitations of the liabilities cities may have for unknown hazardous materials.

ENERGY

The MML endorses reasonable incentives that foster cost effective transition to alternative and renewable clean energy sources produced and delivered in the state, including but not limited to solar energy, wind power, geothermal, nuclear energy, synthetic fuels, biomass, methane gas, and the continued examination of improvement in the conservation of energy. The MML endorses policies that promote energy efficiency.

A statewide standard should not supersede local ordinances because communities differ too much in density, architectural features, history, and other neighborhood factors for one standard to address every variable in every community. The MML discourages prohibitions on renewable energy facilities that might include solar panels, wind turbines, windmills, water structures, underground heating and cooling fields and facilities yet to be defined.

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The MML encourages each locality to consider appropriate policies to encourage reasonable uses. MML also encourages sustainability measures including reviewing building codes, green infrastructure, and land use.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The MML supports policies, legislation and incentives that lend themselves to sustainable development.

Such smart growth policies and legislation will help establish Missouri as a competitive area with cost effective public systems. It also promotes the re-use of neighborhoods with their existing infrastructure, thereby supporting the established schools, churches, firehouses and systems that promote stability. However, development outside established systems and areas should not be discouraged when existing systems can be expanded and sustained with new revenue from the new development without negatively impacting existing systems.

The MML supports a triple bottom line approach to municipal and state policy and planning efforts balancing: 1.) economic, 2.) community, and 3.) environmental factors in decision making .

COMMUNITY GROWTH INCENTIVE

The MML recommends that existing statutes be revised to require that central water service adequate for fire protection, storm water management infrastructure and state approved sewer service be provided prior to development of a subdivision and to require adequate easements for utilities.

The MML opposes any regulatory changes by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that would encourage the development of subdivisions with separate water supply, wastewater collection and storm water management systems developed adjacent to a municipal system. Existing regulations should be actively enforced by the DNR.

REGIONALISM

The MML continues to support regional councils and opposes efforts to repeal or weaken the enabling legislation governing regional councils and their activities.

The MML further supports state funding of regional council activities.

LOCAL CODE COORDINATION

The MML urges the General Assembly to enact legislation requiring the mandatory referral of development plans by the state or its political subdivisions to the affected municipal government for compliance with local codes and coordination with municipal plans.

PREEMPTION OF MUNICIPAL LAND USE AUTHORITY

The MML strongly opposes any further preemption of municipal land use regulations by the General Assembly.

COLLECTION OF SPECIAL TAXES FOR PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

The MML urges the General Assembly to pass legislation authorizing municipalities to collect special tax

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bills for property maintenance code violations in the same manner as for delinquent property taxes.

MUNICIPAL ACQUISITION OF LAND

The MML strongly opposes any attempt to limit a municipality’s power of eminent domain. The MML further opposes any requirement to pay “damages” to nearby property owners when a municipality purchases or condemns land for public purposes. The MML also opposes legislation that would encourage property owners to challenge, risk free, condemnation settlements offered in good faith.

EXTRATERRITORIAL PLANNING AND ZONING POWERS

The MML supports the amendment of Sections 89.144 and 89.145, RSMo to extend to all municipalities in the state extraterritorial planning, zoning, subdivision and code enforcement powers in the surrounding unincorporated areas. Additional provisions should include mandatory representation of residents in the areas affected on planning and zoning boards during consideration of issues related to their area and the retention of the primacy of the extraterritorial powers by municipalities regardless of whether or not the respective county has adopted planning and/or zoning procedures.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT

The MML urges the immediate adoption of legislation amending the annexation statutes to provide that: 1) The current annexation procedures be simplified and expedited to the greatest extent possible; 2) Publicly held land be exempt from the elec¬tion requirements; 3) Special provisions be included for “unincorporated islands” – land surrounded by incorporated area; 4) Normal municipal services and their funding sources be clearly defined; 5) Municipalities be given the authority to enter into binding pre annexation agreements with landowners with property not contiguous to the corporate limits of a municipality.

6) A second election, as provided for in Section 71.015 RSMo, is not needed when two-thirds of the combined voters of the city and the area proposed to be annexed approve the annexation proposal in the first election, even if a majority of the voters in the area to be annexed fail to approve the annexation.

7) Procedures should be established to encourage territorial agreements between the investor owned electric system that serves the municipality and the rural electric co-op that serves the area to be annexed.

8) The right of a property owner to voluntarily agree to annexation shall be protected.

9) Municipalities be granted clear authority to annex areas along a road or highway up to two miles from their corporate limits for use in development, creation of industry or services that support growth, unless there exists opposition from one of the contiguous cities.

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EXTENSION OF MUNICIPAL SERVICES INTO ANNEXED AREAS

The MML strongly opposes any legislation that restricts the ability of a municipality to extend municipal services into newly annexed areas. Further, the MML urges the repeal of current laws that restrict the extension of municipal services into annexed areas. Specifically, amend Section 247.165 RSMo to remove the six month time period after an annexation for the municipality and water district to develop an agreement to provide water service to the annexed area.

In the creation or expansion of special use districts, i.e. sewer, fire, etc., that encroach or overlap a municipal jurisdiction, the municipality should have the legal grounds to file as an “Exceptor” and be notified via certified mail of the filing of the petition.

An exceptor is a party that can file exceptions to the legal petition requesting the formation of the district.

Current state law only allows municipalities to file exceptions when water districts are created or expanded.

This authority should be granted to municipalities when all special districts are created or expanded. When creating a special district the filing party should be required to notify the municipality of the petition to create the special district.

The MML opposes legislation that would require cities to provide municipal services beyond municipal boundaries.

Municipalities should be given the authority to set urban service standards that apply to all providers within municipal corporate limits.

MOVING UTILITIES IN PUBLIC RIGHTS-OFWAY

The MML strongly opposes any legislation that would prohibit or restrict a municipality’s authority to require a utility company to pay the cost of relocating its facilities located in the public rights-of-way when the request is for a public purpose.

COLLECTION OF DELINQUENT UTILITY BILLS

The MML opposes the repeal of the state law authorizing municipalities to hold the property owner and tenant jointly responsible for delinquent water and sewer bills. Approximately 50 percent of Missouri’s municipalities have adopted such a policy, because it is virtually impossible to sue renters who have left the municipality. Repeal of this law would cause increases in water and sewer user fees to compensate for the rise in uncollectible accounts.

Further, MML supports legislation providing clear authority to municipally owned utilities to hold the property owner and tenant jointly responsible for electric, gas, refuse collection, and other utility bills.

Utility billing polices should be left to local officials who are ultimately responsible for the proper management of municipal utilities.

RECAPTURE AGREEMENTS

such facilities. The city would recapture a portion of the costs associated with the construction of these public improvements by requiring properties benefiting from the improvements to pay a proportional share of the installation of these oversized or expanded public improvements before connecting or using said facilities.

HEALTHIER LIFESTYLES

The MML encourages all municipal leaders and members of the General Assembly to increase access to and affordability of healthy food and beverage choices.

Municipalities should maximize access and incentives to participate in safe, multimodal transportation choices, mixed used development, and affordable physical activity, both indoors and outdoors.

RECREATIONAL USE LEGISLATION

The MML urges the state of Missouri to enact Recreational Use Legislation to protect landowners from civil liability if they let their property be used by others for recreational purposes without charging a fee for profit.

MISSOURI’S LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND PROGRAM

The MML supports the full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, in particular, the renewed allocation of LWCF funds to each state.

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE ACCOUNTABILITY

The Missouri Municipal League urges the Missouri General Assembly to enact legislation requiring limited liability companies that own, rent or lease real property, or owns unoccupied real property to file with the municipality in which the real property is located an affidavit listing the name(s) and address of the person(s) who has management control and responsibility for the real property owned, rented or leased by the limited liability company. Further, the League urges the Missouri General Assembly to authorize municipalities to file legal action to requiring limited liability companies who fail to file an affidavit with the municipality to file such affidavit.

Would you like to help shape Missouri's local government policy?

Contact MML today to discuss participating on one of the four MML Policy Committees.

The MML urges the General Assembly to pass legislation authorizing municipalities to enter into agreements with developers to construct certain public improvements or excess utility capacity that would benefit other properties not yet developed or served by

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2015 MML INNOVATION AWARDS More than 20 municipalities of all sizes shared projects that brought their city success this year by submitting a project for the 2015 MML Innovation Awards. The program showcases municipal projects that demonstrate new approaches for solving municipal challenges.

The awards complement the League's goal of serving as a clearinghouse for municipal information. The awards recognize and celebrate successful programs, spotlighting those that could benefit other communities. A panel of judges chose winners and awards were presented at the 2015 MML Annual Conference.

LARGE CITY: BLUE SPRINGS HOW TO OPEN A BUSINESS

HONORABLE MENTION: NIXA CRIME-FREE MULTI-HOUSING TRAINING

In early 2013 the city of Blue Springs partnered with the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Corporation (EDC) as well as the Jackson County EDC to create the How to Open and Grow Your Business in Blue Springs guide. This step-bystep guide was created in-house as the result of a two-year planning process. By providing the business community with a centralized source for their needs, the guide consolidated the City’s fragmented business development resources, creating one voice across multiple agencies. This guide has sparked change in City regulations as well as the creation of a new Business Services Division that acts as a liaison for the business community and to streamline the business development process. Since its publication, the city of Blue Springs, the Chamber and the EDC have hosted ten presentations and two expos, reaching more than 500 community members.

As a direct result of expo attendance, two entrepreneurs were able to obtain Small Business Loans.

Drugs and meth labs are two things you don’t want in your community. In 2012, the Nixa Police Department noticed it was spending a lot of time on the same type of calls on two specific streets. In fact, calls for service in this area averaged 2.9 per day, which means an officer was responding to the same locations around 3 times per day. That would be taxing on any municipal police department with only 25 officers. Nixa Police noticed that most of the calls were going to rental property. After meeting with local property owners, Nixa Police began the Crime-Free Multi-Housing program.

This program educated property managers on how to attract and sustain higher-quality renters. Nixa Police saw immediate results. Calls for service in this area dropped drastically to .43 calls for service a day, or about a call every other day. A property owner even recognized a meth lab the day after taking the training. With this one class, we are working toward improving the quality of multifamily residents as well as assisting landlords in preserving and protecting private property ownership.

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MEDIUM-SIZED CITY (TIE): FULTON ANIMAL SHELTER INITIATIVE The New Fulton Animal Shelter Initiative was created by Mayor LeRoy Benton to privately raise funds for a new city-owned shelter.

Since City funds were not available to pay for construction outright, the mayor felt a fundraiser was the best option to achieve his goal.

A committee was formed, made up of citizens who are passionate about animals and who wanted to help raise the needed funds. They reached out to possible donors and after two years of fundraising, enough money was raised to start construction. Expenses were further reduced on this project thanks to volunteer labor as well as members of the local prison’s work release program. City crews, meanwhile, graded the site, dug a detention pond and more. Reaching out to citizens directly to raise funds for projects can be successful for other cities, so long as it is a project the public deeply cares about.

MEDIUM-SIZE CITY (TIE): MEXICO COMMUNITY GARDEN

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The Mexico Community Garden is a partnership of private charitable organizations and public agencies. It is a free program in Martin Luther King Park that allows citizens of the community to grow fresh produce for themselves or the Help Center.

The Help Center manages funds for the partnership and any part-time employees the partnership hires.

Funds are held in a dedicated account reserved for the sole use of the Mexico Community Garden Steering Committee. Mexico Housing Authority, Help Center, and Central Missouri community Action are leaders in getting information about the gardens opportunities in front of the community members that need its services the most. The Audrain County Master Gardeners teach, train, and mentor new gardeners to provide the skills needed for them to succeed. The City of Mexico provides free land for the project, physical support, and light construction support. The University of Missouri Rural Sociology Department and University Extension provide free seeds and technical support.

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SMALL-SIZED CITY: NORTH KANSAS CITY (TIE)

Through North Kansas City’s participation in Kansas City Power and Light’s (KCPL) Solar Energy Rebate Program, solar panels were installed at seven City-owned facilities in 2014. The city council unanimously supported the project for three reasons: 1) Long-term savings on everincreasing energy costs, 2) The opportunity to take advantage of KCPL’s Solar Power Rebate Program, and 3) Utilization of solar energy is an environmental initiative that reduces the City’s carbon footprint. North Kansas City paid upfront for the solar panel installation, to maximize energy savings. The total cost of the project was $651,780, but after KCPL rebates, North Kansas City’s share was only $299,180. The City expects to save more than $44,100 in energy costs annually and more than $1.1 million over the next 25 years.

Missouri House Bill 142, enacted in 2013, requires all electrical corporations in Missouri to provide the same rebate program. There is no better time than now to install solar panels while the statemandated rebate program continues.

MIRMA

Missouri Intergovernmental Risk Management Association Phone: 573.817.2554 Web: www.mirma.org

Missouri’s First Municipal Self Insurance Pool

30 / November 2015

SMALL-SIZED CITY (TIE): LA PLATA CITY PARK PUBLIC RESTROOM PROJECT The City Park in La Plata was in need of public restrooms in order to eliminate the monthly fee for a Porta-Potty as well as spending over $2,500 each fall during our annual Soybean Festival. No public facilities had been available for several years.

With the assistance of the La Plata Promotional Committee, a non-for-profit organization, the city of La Plata was able to obtain a grant from the Macon County Economic Development Board in the amount of $12,688.69. Other funds were received from a memorial fund in the amount of $10,627.99 and donations from community members and former residents in the amount of $7,220.00.

Volunteer labor was used except for the laying of the blocks, which was contracted out. The total cost of the project was in excess of $32,000.00. The new red and white facility in the City park has two handicap units and two units with three facilities each for men and women. It is very attractive and has been very beneficial.

BENEFITS:

One comprehensive package!

Proactive loss prevention training On-site safety training Annual police firearms training Risk Management Grant Program Aquatic audit reimbursement Police accreditation reimbursement Seminars & workshops Video library

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COVERAGE:

Workers’ Compensation Property General Liability Public Officials Liability Employment Practices Liability Law Enforcement Liability Automobile Boiler & Machinery Airport

www.mocities.com

PEOPLE'S CHOICE: BELLEFONTAINE NEIGHBORS YOUTH LIFE SKILLS RECREATION PROGRAM

Due to the many adult and youth misconceptions regarding the police in the North St. Louis County, Missouri, area, the Bellefontaine Neighbors Police Department’s Youth Life Enrichment Skills/ Recreation Camp was introduced. This camp was created and suggested by the police department’s school resource officers who work in the Riverview Gardens School District. The primary objective of the program was to encourage, inspire, motivate, and challenge youth to excel on all levels of social and personal growth. Additional objectives of this camp were to build and develop youth selfconfidence as well as teach respect for themselves and others. Furthermore, they gained a better understanding of the core function of policing as it concerned protecting and serving the community.

Overall, the program encouraged youth to become achievers, role models and effective leaders in school and community.

New in 2015, MML offered a People's Choice Award as part of the Innovation Awards Program, where member municipalities had the opportunity to vote for a top project. Members were able to review the projects and vote online for a winner.

It was the also the first year for a new Innovation Showcase at the MML Annual Conference. All cities submitting a project had the opportunity to share their information as part of a conference breakout session. Attendees could learn more in-depth information about each participating project.

Learn more about the MML Innovation Awards and all submitted projects at www.mocities.com.

This award has a deeper meaning for the Bellefontaine Neighbors community. On Aug. 24, 2015, Sergeant Peggy Vassallo, who was instrumental in creating the youth life skills progam, died after being hit by a car while on duty. MML Annual conference attendees held a moment of silence in honr of this fallen hero and her dedication to her community.

www.mocities.com

The Missouri Municipal Review

November 2015 / 31

LET THE SUNSHINE IN! NEW Online Training Class Missouri Open Meetings and Records Law Understanding the Missouri Sunshine Law is vital to serving effectively as a local government official. Custom made for MML, this class answers your questions:

o How should I post a meeting? o When can a meeting be closed? o What constitutes a meeting? o How does the law apply to emails? o How soon must a record request be fulfilled? o What are the penalties for violating the law?

Complete at your convenience! Classes are accessible for 30 days after purchase.

Learn more at www.mocities.com.

32 / November 2015

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www.mocities.com

HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED THE GUY THAT CLEANS UP YOUR TRASH?

by Jeff Kempker

T

here is a show on CNN with Mike Rowe called “Somebody’s Gotta Do It.” I haven’t watched a single episode but I can gather from the previews it’s about jobs that are necessary, but not glamorous.

One such job would be cleaning up other peoples’ garbage. The only thing that could possibly be worse would be cleaning out portable toilets.

I should know, as I happen to be very experienced in this area because of a job I had as a teenager working for a rental company. It’s gross. Really, really gross. In fact, I have had several jobs that would probably qualify for Mr. Rowe’s show. Maybe that’s why I have such a deep appreciation for the people that do the work no one else wants to do.

Have you ever noticed the guy that cleans up your trash? I mean really noticed him? I have, and his name is Joe. On my daughter’s second birthday we were enjoying a beautiful April morning at one of the local city parks.

It was a Monday, and there was still some trash blowing around from the weekend and the garbage barrels were overflowing. The sight of the trash bothered me. So much so that it became difficult for me to concentrate on having fun with my family thinking about the

inconsiderate litter bugs soiling my little girl’s birthday!

Just as my annoyance was about to reach the point where I started picking up the trash myself, a middleaged man in a neon yellow shirt and mesh-back cap appeared. He worked quickly, silently and alone. I’m not sure if he noticed us, but I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he gathered up all the garbage that was blowing about the grass. Then, just as quickly and silently, he emptied all the garbage barrels. I wanted so badly to thank him for his service but, all of a sudden, he was gone, leaving a clean park and happy family behind.

Why did I think this was so remarkable? Was it the efficiency and pride of how he went about doing a job that no one else wants to do? Definitely.

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But more importantly I felt that this man had played a part in making my princess’ birthday a little more special. Providing a clean, attractive, safe place for her to play and enjoy her birthday meant something to me.

I found out later that man’s name is Joe and he has been cleaning the parks in my community for almost 40 years.

Joe is a public employee that performs a much-needed service for the citizens of his town.

While there are many others like him, Joe provides a shining example of the value of the public sector worker to our communities.

Why has he done his job so well for so long? We decided to talk to Joe, and in so many words his response was, “Somebody’s gotta do it.”

Watch our conversation with Joe to learn more about the value he provides to his community. And to all the other ‘Joes’ out there, thank you!

Watch the video at https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9K 6YENVc8w&feature=youtu.be&list= UU4V6yze1t_7v7SosaBEKfTQ. Jeff Kempker is the manager of member services at Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System. Visit www.molagers.org for more information.

Contact us today to f ind out more

1.800.262.2633

info@municode.com

www.municode.com

November 2015 / 33

frequently asked questions - Use Tax And Vehicle Sales Tax

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: THE USE TAX AND VEHICLE SALES TAX

by League Staff the purchase is from a Missouri retailer. Typically in such a situation the sales tax based on the vendor’s location would apply to the purchase.

Each day your Missouri Municipal League staff answers dozens of questions on municipal issues. This edition focuses on se tax and more specifically on the sales of motor vehicles.

Some of the information in the column comes from the information available on the Missouri Department of Revenue’s website. As with all legal matters, municipal officials are urged to consult their city attorney for guidance in the specific problems faced by their municipality.

Answers provided in this column should serve only as a general reference.

use taxes are distributed in the same manner as sales taxes.

What Is Use Tax?

What Is The Rate Of Use Tax?

In the simplest terms, a use tax is a sales tax imposed on the purchase of goods by Missouri residents from outof-state vendors. The use tax is applied to the same type of products subject to sales tax. Products exempt from the sales tax would be exempt from the use tax. The state use tax rate is 4.225 percent, the same as the sales tax rate.

Cities and counties may impose an additional local use tax. The amount of use tax due on a transaction depends on the combined (local and state) use tax rate in effect at the Missouri location where the tangible personal property is delivered. In general terms, while the sales tax rate is based on the point of sale, the use tax rate is determined based on the point of delivery. Local

Will The Use Tax Apply To Every Purchase Made From Out-Of-State Vendors?

The state of Missouri imposes a use tax at 4.225 percent, the same as the retail sales tax. Local jurisdictions that have the power to impose a sales tax also may impose a use tax. The local use tax rate is imposed at the same rate as the total of the jurisdictions local option sales taxes. Further, if a local sales tax sunsets or is repealed, the use tax would decrease in an amount equal to the sales tax that repealed. Likewise, if the voters of a city approve a new sales tax the use tax would go up by the same amount.

What If I Buy Something From A Missouri Retailer Using The Internet, Will The Use Tax Apply?

No. The use tax does not apply if

Out-of-state vendors that have contracts with the state of Missouri or vendors with a physical nexus in Missouri are required to collect the use tax.

Consumers who make purchases from vendors who do not collect the use tax are required to report those purchases on income tax when their annual purchases from non-collecting vendors exceed $2,000. Purchases made from vendors who do not collect the use tax of less than $2,000 are still subject to the use tax; however, there is no mechanism that guarantees collection.

Would Passage Of The Federal Marketplace Fairness, Aka Internet Tax, Make Passage Of A Local Use Tax A Moot Point?

The Marketplace Fairness Act is a federal legislation that would require vendors across the nation to collect the use tax on behalf of their consumer’s state of residence. Only cities that have passed the use tax would benefit from such Federal legislation. Further, state-level action may still be needed to enter into any national level compact on tax collection. Issues such as product exemption and sales tax holidays

Did You Know?

Municipalities must vote on a vehicle sales tax by November 2016!

Questions? We Can Help! Contact MML at info@mocities.com or (573) 635-9134.

34 / November 2015

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will likely need to be sorted out. For instance, some states exempt clothing from sales tax but consider mittens as sports gear, subject to taxation, while other states may exempt food but do not consider candy bars a food item.

BIG-CITY

EXPERIENCE.

What About Vehicle Purchases?

Are They Treated Differently Than Other Purchases?

Yes, the purchase of vehicles, trailers, boats, and outboard motors are treated differently than other retail purchases. Currently, the local sales tax is not paid at the time of purchase for these products. For instance, when Missouri residents purchase a car at an auto dealership, no sales tax is paid on the purchase. Instead, when those products are registered with the Missouri Department of Revenue, the local sales tax will be imposed based on the address of the registrant (which may be a different jurisdiction from the location of the auto dealer who sold the car).

What Was The Street Decision?

On Jan. 31, 2012, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled in Street vs.

Director of Revenue, 361 S.W.3d 355, that only cities with a use tax could collect local sales tax on purchases from out of state (as well as person-to-person sales).

Purchases from Missouri auto dealers were still subject to the tax. The Missouri Department of Revenue estimated that approximately 20 percent of vehicle (and trailers, boats and outboard motors) sales occur from out-of-state vendors or person-to-person sales and this would result of a loss in revenue to local jurisdictions of approximately $20.5 million.

What Was The Response To The Street Decision?

In response to this momentous court decision, the Missouri Municipal League (MML) sought relief from the Missouri Legislature. In 2013, the Legislature passed SB 182. This legislation re-imposed the local sales tax on vehicle sales (and person-to-person sales) in the form of an administrative fee. The legislation requires that cities that did not have a use tax in place prior to August of 2013 must receive voter approval to continue this administrative fee by November of 2016. Cities that don’t gain voter approval to continue the tax by November of 2016 will lose the revenue stream after that date.

www.mocities.com

SMALL-TOWN

VALUES.

Answers and information you can trust.

JEREMY COVER 816-525-7881 jcover@laubermunicipal.com www.laubermunicipallaw.com The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements.

Further, the law does not provide a means to bring this issue back to the voters after November 2016. The MML is supporting a legislative measure in the 2016 legislative session that will allow the tax issue to be brought back to the voters after 2016.

League staff, together with the auto dealers association and municipal officials across the state worked tirelessly to see SB 182 passed. This legislation has prevented the loss of approximately $40 million in muchneeded revenue to Missouri cities.

Do We Need To Pass A Use Tax To Ensure That The City Continues To Receive Sales Tax On Out-Of-State Vehicle Purchases?

Where Can We Get Ballot Language Or Sample Ordinances For The Administrative Fee Or Use Tax?

No. Cities that had a use tax in place prior to the enactment of SB 182 (August 2013) will continue to receive revenue from out-of-state vehicle purchases. However, passage of a new use tax may not prevent the loss of revenue after November of 2016.

Language in SB 182 found in Section 32.087 refers to municipalities “in which voters have previously approved a local use tax.” This language calls into question whether a new use tax passed after Aug. 28, 2013, will capture the administrative fee on vehicle sales.

Therefore, the prudent course for cities that did not have the use tax in place prior to August of 2013 is to seek voter approval for the continuance of the sales tax on out-of-state vehicle purchases, NOT a use tax.

What Has The Missouri Municipal League Done To Address The Street Decision Loophole?

The Missouri Municipal Review

The Missouri Municipal League has prepared model ordinances for both the use tax and the administrative fee on vehicles sales. These ordinances are available on the League’s website at www.mocities.com; click on the “OneStop Shop” tab and scroll to “taxes,” or you may contact League headquarters at (573) 635-9134 and request a copy.

Follow MML!

@mocities www.facebook.com/mocities www.mocities.com (573) 635-9134 November 2015 / 35

MML 81st Annual Conference MML's 81st Annual Conference took place Sept. 20-23 in Kansas City, with nearly 650 attendees and nearly 200 cities represented. Topics covered included debt management, council procedures, cyber activism, effective communications, collective bargaining and much more.

More than 135 exhibitors shared their latest products and services with attendees. Attendees also enjoyed a reception at the National World War I Museum, with an opportunity to tour the exhibits.

Many thanks to attendees, speakers, sponsors and the city of Kansas City for a great conference! Plan to join us next year, Sept. 11-14, 2016, in St. Louis!

Kristy Dalton, aka GovGirl, shared social media engagment strategies as this year's keynote speaker.

36 / November 2015

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www.mocities.com

Harry S Truman visited with attendees at the Grand Opening Reception Sept. 20, 2015. www.mocities.com

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November 2015 / 37

Photos by Karese Love and MML Staff

Blue Springs Mayor Carson Ross (right) accepts the 2015 MML Distinguished Service Award from MML Immediate Past President and Higginsville Mayor Bill Kolas. The award honors a current or former Missouri municipal official who has made outstanding contributions to the Missouri Municipal League.

Riverside Mayor Kathy Rose and Lee's Summit Mayor Randy Rhoads were elected MML's new vice president and president at MML's Annual Business Meeting, held each year during the Annual Conference.

38 / November 2015

Photo by Karese Love

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SERVING MISSOURI MUNICIPALITIES SINCE 1966.

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November 2015 / 39

MML Welcomes New Members To The Board of Directors

Eric Berlin, City Administrator North Kansas City

Eric Berlin is from Hampton, Virginia. He received his B.A. in Government at the University of Virginia in 1982, and his M.A. in Public Administration at UVA in 1987. He began his career in city government as an intern in the city manager’s office in Charlottesville, Virginia while working towards his graduate degree. Berlin took a one-year management internship in West Palm Beach, Florida, then served as an assistant in the city manager’s office in Greenbelt, Maryland, until 1995. Berlin moved to the Kansas City area in 1996 and became city administrator of Spring Hill, Kansas. He became city manager of Platteville, Wisconsin, in 2000, serving three years before moving back to the Kansas City area as city manager of Raymore, Missouri. In 2014, Berlin became city administrator of North Kansas City, Missouri. Berlin enjoys spending time with his wife, Shorey, his son, Jesse, his three grown step-children and his granddaughter, Sophia.

Chris Lievsay, Councilmember Blue Springs

Chris Lievsay was elected to serve for Blue Springs in 2010. He has lived in Blue Springs most of his life and works as part of the business faculty at Western Governors University as a student mentor for graduate business students.

Lievsay is also adjunct faculty for Park University and Columbia College. Lievsay serves on the board of directors for the School of Economics, past chairman of the Public Safety Citizens Advisory Board, past president of the Blue Springs Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association, and second vice-president of the Blue Springs Historical Society. He also is a graduate of the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class, the CJCFPD Citizens Fire Academy, the BSPD Citizens Police Academy, and participates in the Blue Springs Volunteers in Police Service program. Outside of Blue Springs, Lievsay is chair of the Kansas/Missouri BiState Commission, a local board member for the U.S. Selective Service System, and on the board of directors for Columbia College Alumni Association.

Nici Wilson, City Clerk Pleasant Hill

Nici Wilson has served as the city clerk for Pleasant Hill since March 2009. Prior to her appointment of city clerk, she served as the deputy city clerk and city collector. In 2005, she received her Certified Municipal Clerk and Missouri Registered City Clerk certifications and is currently working to finish the certification process. She has served on numerous committees in the Missouri City Clerks and Finance Officers Association and has been the Chairman of the Education committee for four years. In March 2015, she was selected as the Outstanding City Clerk for the Missouri City Clerks and Finance Officers Association.

Wilson is married to her high school sweetheart, Todd, and they have two young children, Tyne (9) and Truman (5). They live in Pleasant Hill and stay busy with their kids’ sports, activities and their family farm. The Wilsons are very involved in their community, serving on the Cass County Fair board, Cass County Junior Livestock Association and the Pleasant Hill Rooster Booster Club.

@mocities www.facebook.com/mocities www.mocities.com (573) 635-9134

40 / November 2015

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Member News S pringfield D esignated B ronze Walk Friendly Community The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center has designated Springfield a bronze Walk Friendly Community for its walkability initiatives and p r o gra ms. S pon so red by th e U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and FedEx, Walk Friendly Communities is a national recognition program aimed at recognizing communities for their commitment to pedestrian safety.

K ansas C ity , M issouri , O ne O f "America's Cities For Global Trade" Global Trade Magazine named Kansas City, Missouri, one of "America's Best Cities for Global Trade." The city joins nine other major cities in being designated a best city for global trade.

Southeast Communications Local government communications colleagues in southeast Missouri had their first SEMO Information Officers Association event recently. The guest speaker, State of Missouri Public Safety Department Communications Director Mike O’Connell, shared his first-hand experiences from Ferguson, where he spent days coordinating requests and responses from local, national and international media. Public information officers, emergency management directors, public safety and general administration personnel from across Region E came to hear successes and lessons learned during events that became the focus of the nation and the world.

MML Regional Workshop: How To Stay Out Of Trouble On Oct. 29, 2015, the city of Ash Grove hosted a workshop cosponsored by the Missouri Municipal League and the Mel Gilbert law firm. More than 120 municipal officials and local leaders attend the event which was billed as a “How To Avoid Trouble” workshop.

Speakers included Pam Allison, Audit Manager, Missouri Auditor's Office; Brianna Lennon, Senior Deputy Counsel and Deputy Director of Elections, Missouri Secretary of State's Office; Betsy Byers, Director of Business Services, Missouri Ethics Commission and John Throckmorton, Senior Training and Account Manager, Employee Screening Services. Topics of discussion included petition audits, traffic fine reporting under the new Macks Creek law, election law changes, campaign finance, conflicts of interest and employee drug testing.

www.mocities.com

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November 2015 / 41

MML Calendar of Events

Why Should You Visit MML's Website?

2015 November 3 4-7

11 20

Election Day National League of Cities Congress of Cities, Nashville, Tennessee MML Office Closed -- Veterans Day Observed Center For Ethics In Public Life Conference, St. Louis, Missouri

• Daily Local News

December 15

First Day for Candidate Filing

• MML Conferences

2016

• Latest Legislative Action

January 6

Missouri Legislative Session Convenes

• Publications

February 9-10

MML Legislative Conference, Jefferson City, Missouri

March 5-9

National League of Cities Congressional City Conference, Washington, D.C.

• Current Job Opportunities

• Member City Websites

• Sample Ordinances

www.mocities.com

For more events, visit the events calendar at www.mocities.com.

PS Form 3526

Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation (All Periodicals Publications Except Requester Publications)

1. Publication Title MISSOURI MUNICIPAL REVIEW/MO MUNICIPAL LEAGUE

2. Publication Number 355520

ISSN 266647

3. Filing Date 10/28/2015

4. Issue Frequency BI-MONTHLY

5. Number of Issues Published Annually 6. Annual Subscription Price 6 $ 30.00

7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication 1727 SOUTHRIDGE DR JEFFERSON CTY, na, MO 65109-5675

Contact Person MO MUNICIPAL LEAGUE Telephone (573) 635-9134

8. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher 1727 Southridge Drive Jefferson City, MO 65109

13. Publication Title

14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below

MISSOURI MUNICIPAL REVIEW/MO MUNICIPAL LEAGUE 15. Extend and Nature of Circulation

09/01/2015 Average No. Copies Each Issue No. Copies of Single Issue During Preceding 12 Months Published Nearest to Filing Date

a. Total Numbers of Copies (Net press run) Mailed Outside County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS (1) Form 3541(include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser's proof copies, and exchange copies) Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form b. Paid Circulation (2) 3541(include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser's proof copies, and exchange copies) (By Mail and Outside Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales the Mail) (3) Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS

2650

2650

2322

2299

200

240

0

0

0

0

2522

2539

0

0

0

0

10

10

0

0

9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the (4) Paid USPS (e.g. First-Class Mail)

Publisher (Name and complete mailing address) Missouri Municipal League 1727 Southridge Drive Jefferson City, MO 65109 1727 Southridge Drive

c. Total Paid Distribution (Sum of 15b (1), (2), (3), (4)) or Nominal Rate Outside County Copies (1) Free included on PS Form 3541

Editor (Name and complete mailing address) Laura Holloway 1727 Southridge Drive Jefferson City, MO 65109

d. Free or or Nominal Rate In-County Copies included on (2) Free Nominal PS Form 3541 Rate Distribution (By Mail and Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Outside the (3) Through the USPS (e.g. First-Class Mail) Mail)

Managing Editor (Name and complete mailing address) Missouri Municipal League 1727 Southridge Drive Jefferson City, MO 65109 1727 Southridge Drive 10. Owner (Do not leave blank. If the publication is owned by a corporation, give the name and address of the corporation immediately followed by the names and addresses of all stockholders owning or holding 1 percent or more of the total amount of stock. If not owned by a corporation, give names and addresses of the individual owners. If owned by a partnership or other unincorporated firm, give its name and address as well as those of each individual owner. If the publication is published by a nonprofit organization, give its name and address.)

Full Name

Complete Mailing Address

Missouri Municipal League

1727 SOUTHRIDGE DR, JEFFERSON CITY, MO 65109-5675

or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail (4) Free (Carriers or other means) e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (Sum of 15d (1), (2), (3), (4)) f. Total Distribution (Sum of 15c and 15e) g. Copies not Distributed h. Total (Sum of 15f and 15g)

11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Owning or Hoding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds. Mortgages, or Other Securities. If none, check box Full Name Complete Mailing Address

i. Percent Paid ((15c / 15f) times 100)

10

10

2532

2549

118

101

2650

2650

99.61 %

99.61 %

16. If total circulation includes electronic copies, report that circulation on lines below.

X None

a. Paid Electronic Copies b. Total Paid Print Copies(Line 15C) + Paid Electronic Copies c. Total Print Distribution(Line 15F) + Paid Electronic Copies

PS Form 3526, September 2007 (Page 1)

PRIVACY NOTICE: See our privacy policy on www.usps.com

d. Percent Paid(Both Print and Electronic Copies)

0

0

2522

2539

2532

2549

99.00 %

99.00 %

I Certify that 50% of all my distributed copies (Electronic and Print) are paid above a nominal price.

17. Publication of Statement of Ownership X If the publication is a general publication, publication of this statement is required. Will be printed

Publication not required.

in the 11/01/2015 issue of this publication.

42 / November 2015

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2015 ARTICLE INDEX City Profile City Of Belton: New Strategy For Economic Development - 4, Jan Cape Girardeau: New Growth And Development - 27, Jul O’Fallon: Preserving History During Growth - 13, Mar Blue Springs - 6, Nov Communication Digital Tools For Engaging Public Input 16, Mar Tweets, Snaps And Posts: 10 Questions Addressing The Pros And Cons Of Social Media Usage For Public Officials - 7, Mar Communication, Communication, Communication - 21, Sept Economic Development How Local Governments Are (Or Aren’t) Examining Economic Development Dollars - 19, Jan Missouri’s Automotive Industry Revs Up For A Comeback - 17, Jan The Harrisonville Highways 71/291 Transportation Development District: Cooperating To Fund Transportation Improvements - 7, Jan Site Preparedness: Creating Relevance - 12, Jan Cities And State Fiscal Structure 2015 - 22, May Enforcement Trends In The Municipal Marketplace: “Writing On The Wall” - 12, Nov A Story Of FEMA: Success, Frustration And Lessons Learned - 8, Nov Environmental Issues Brownfield Assessments Assist With Redevelopment - 14, Jan Canton’s River Revitalization Project - 14, Jan Missouri Hazardous Substance Site Locator Map - 14, Jan Waters Of The U.S.: What In The World Is WOTUS? - 5, Sept Guest Column Mayor Bob Stephens, City Of Springfield - 5, Jul Have You Ever Noticed The Guy That Cleans Up Your Trash? - 33, Nov In Praise Of Our Communities - 16, Nov Taking The Lead: An Interview With Melodee Colbert-Kean, Incoming National League Of Cities President - 12, Sept

Seven Significant Supreme Court Cases For Local Governments - 15, Sept Election Law Changes - 9, Sept Missouri Municipal League President’s Report – 4, Mar; 4, Jul; 4, Nov Director’s Report: Advocating For You - 5, Mar Missouri Municipal Policy Guide, 20152016 - 17, Nov FAQs: Use Tax And Vehicle Sales Tax - 34, Nov 2015 MML Innovation Award Winners 28, Nov FAQs: American With Disabilities Act, Part 1 - 17, Sept Municipal Administration Effects Of Cyber Activism On Municipal Operations - 6, Jul Is Political Ethics An Oxymoron? - 8, Jul Carthage Team Policing - 17, Mar Missouri Cities Factsheet - 19, Mar News From The Bench Difficult Legal Issues In Redevelopment 21, Jan Not A Public Hearing - Part II - 22, Mar Collective Bargaining - 22, Mar Red Light Traffic Cameras - 26, Sept Public Safety Playground Safety: More Than Child’s Play - 17, May Playground Planning, Construction, And Acceptance Recommendations - 18, May Public Works Under One Roof: City Of Fulton Maximizes Efficiency With New Public Facilities Complex - 4, May Lidar Surveying - 7, May Payment Bonds: What Public Officials And Public Works Contractors Need To Know - 9, May Consideration In Hiring A Water/ Wastewater Contract Operator Firm - 12, May Municipalities Turn To Micro-Surfacing For Preventative Maintenance Of Roads 16, May Public Works Around The State - 20, May

2015 AUTHOR INDEX Blanner, Joseph C. - 9, May Bonnot, Patrick - 18, May Bushek, David - 7, Jan Crites, Edward V. - 9, May Dagnan, Greg - 17, Mar Draabelle, Thomas - 13, Mar Dunbar, Courtney - 12, Jan Gate, Gary - 17, May Gilbert, Bob - 7, May Hardman, Luge - 8, Nov Heinz, Kenneth J. - 21, Jan; 22, Mar; 19, Jul; 26, Sept Huckstep, Ramona - 5, Sept Jean, Bob - 21, Sept Jones, Asia - 6, Nov Kempker, Jeff - 33, Nov Lumley, Carl - 19, Jul Maciag, Mike - 19, Jan Manning, Daniel T. - 12, Nov Munns, Anthony - 10, Mar Nakahodo, Kim - 6, Nov Neal, Sandy - 12, May Nicholson, Stu - 16, Mar O’Keefe, Kevin - 19, Jul; 9 Sept Powell Jr., PhD, William R. - 6, Jul Rada, Doug - 16, May Roth, Steve - 16, Nov Schraeder, Ivan - 25, Jul Scott, Cora - 7, Mar Sexton, Jessica - 27, Jul Sheets, Richard - 22, Jul Siewert, Walter M. - 8, Jul Soronen, Lisa - 15, Sept Wernig, Darin - 4, May Wichmer, Dan - 7, Mar Yatsook, Carolyn - 4, Jan

Technology Cybersecurity: Keeping Out Of The Headlines - 10, Mar

Legislation Has Senate Bill 5 Put Your Community Up Mac’s Creek Without A Paddle? - 19, Jul League Prevails In Amicus Support Of City Of Grandview - 25, Jul MML 2015 Legislative Update - 22, Jul www.mocities.com

The Missouri Municipal Review

November 2015 / 43