Does My Neighbor Really Have The Right To Tell Me What To Do With My Property?

ACC Request Form.pdf

Hawks Ridge East HOA FY 2013 Income & Expense and 2014 Budget 11-7-13.xlsx

Hawks Ridge East HOA FY 2013 Income & Expense and 2014 Budget 11-7-13.xlsx



This budget seem a little extreme.  Why did we buy laptop?  Why are we spending so much on dues and newsletter mailings?  Why are we spending $2,500 on social?  Are we all doing so well that we can afford to have our fees go up to pay for these things?  What are we spending $14,000 on the pool for?  Did we vote on that?

Changes coming to Lee's Summit snow plan

Changes coming to Lee's Summit snow plan

LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. - Lee's Summit Schools cancelled class Monday due to "inclement weather," but more is in the forecast.

Kelly Olson is the General Manager at ‘Neighbors Café’ in downtown Lee's Summit. She dreads snow.

"Especially with downtown people, there's cars parked on the side of the street, so it is a little tricky to maneuver around. It is nice when they can get here in a timely manner," Olson said.

Bob Hartnett's main goal is to get the streets plowed. He's the Deputy Director of Public Works in Lee's Summit.

Hartnett explained the city is 65 square miles.  That's the equivalent of plowing from Lee's Summit to New York City.

This year their budget already took a beating.

"Our response for two inches is the same if it's two inches or six inches, so we've spent quite a bit of resources so far," Hartnett said.

Schools in the city closed because of ice from three days prior.

Hartnett and his team proposed changes to help cut down on the plow time.

One idea is to add "wing plows" to nine of their trucks.

"It effectively doubles the working capacity of any truck," said Hartnett. "Instead of a truck with a 12-foot plow on it making one pass, you add a wing plow on the side of it; that truck is now making two passes."

It'll cost the city around $130,000, and take their goal of clearing the city streets from 32 hours to 22 hours.

If the streets are cleaner faster, that's better for Kelly and her customers. "For them to know that they're able to get here safely is a big deal for us," Olson said.

Lee's Summit will get one "wing plow" to test out by the end of the winter season.

Hartnett also proposed hiring private contractors. The city hasn't made a decision on that yet.

Read more: http://www.kshb.com/dpp/news/region_missouri/lees_summit/changes-coming-to-lees-summit-snow-plan#ixzz2sNGXQc55

Lee's Summit R-7 School District: Findings in the audit of the Lee's Summit R-VII School District

Lee's Summit R-7 School District: Findings in the audit of the Lee's Summit R-VII School District

Findings in the audit
of the Lee's Summit R-VII School District

The district did not competitively bid several purchases
in accordance with district administrative procedure and state law, including
travel services ($29,172), installation of technology equipment ($21,866), and
printing ($20,357), and did not always document in writing single feasible
source

justifications. District administrative procedures
require competitive, advertised, sealed bids for construction of facilities
costing $15,000 and above and require bids for individual non-construction
purchases projected to cost $5,000 or more and quotes for non-construction
purchases under

$5,000. The district does not always document the
evaluation and selection of architectural/construction management services for
non-bond issue projects as required by board policy and state law. The district
has not periodically solicited proposals for some professional services and has
used the same vendors for several years. The district has used the same auditor
for 15 years, diversity initiative provider for 6 years, and primary legal counsel
for 4 years without periodically soliciting proposals.

The district does not have written agreements with the
entities providing legal services or the communications audit, and district
officials did not sign an education services contract for the 2012-2013 school
year until March 28, 2013. The district pays $25,000 to the Lee's Summit
Economic

Development Council for membership, but the council's
website indicates maximum membership benefits are available for $10,000, and it
is unclear what additional benefits the district receives for the additional
contribution.

The district subsidizes a significant portion of the
operating expenses of the Lee's Summit Educational Foundation, a legally
separate not-for-profit corporation, and has not entered into a written
agreement with the foundation. The foundation's employees, its Director, and
Administrative Assistant are housed in the district's main administration
building free of charge, and the district pays their salaries and fringe
benefits and other foundation expenses even though they spend only 10 percent
of their time working on district activities.

The district did not adequately monitor contract
payments, and a contractor overcharged the district $4,095 in the 2012-2013
school year. The contractor subsequently reimbursed the district. The district
does not competitively bid significant changes to construction projects and
does not always timely approve construction change orders. The district paid a $25,340
change order for a paving project at Lee's Summit North High School that was
not included in the vendor's original bid proposal, and the

Board did not approve and district officials did not sign
the change order until at least a week after the work was complete. The
district paid a $60,616 change order for carpet removal and replacement at
Meadow Lane Elementary that was not included in the vendor's original bid
proposal and approved by the Board. The district does not monitor purchasing
card transaction limits, and limits for some individuals are excessive. The
district has over 900 purchasing cards assigned to various personnel with
monthly limits ranging from $1,000 to $600,000.

The district has historically paid a vehicle allowance to
several employees who use their personal vehicles to conduct official business
within the district, but, other than for the superintendent, the district does
not include vehicle allowances in employee contracts, and the Board does not
approve

the allowances as additional compensation. The district
has not performed an analysis to ensure the vehicle allowances meet the needs
of these positions or are reasonable. Using the IRS-allowed mileage rate, the superintendent
would need to travel over 26,000 business-related miles to earn the $15,000
vehicle allowance he would have been paid for the year ended June 30, 2014.
This number of miles is considerably more than the 4,284 business-related miles
he drove his district-provided vehicle during

calendar year 2012. The Board indicated in its response
to our recommendation that it will no longer provide the superintendent with
the vehicle allowance.

The district purchased approximately 51 acres of land in
December 2012 for $775,000 to be used for the district's fourth middle school,
but it did not obtain an independent appraisal, so it has less assurance it
paid the fair value of the property.

The district's superintendent at June 30, 2013, was Dr.
David McGehee. His annual compensation was $258,660, which included a deferred compensation
allowance of $19,716, family medical insurance of $15,377, and association
expenses of $12,000. He was also provided a district vehicle for business and
personal use. The superintendent's compensation is established by the Board.