January 30, 2019

I would like to take a moment to let you know that the Lee’s Summit Fire Fighters, Police Officers, and Public Workers care about their community. They care about every citizen in Lee’s Summit-they really, truly do. I know because I am the wife of one of them.

I have watched approximately 2 years of negotiations between these departments and the city. From my position on the side lines it seems that City Administrators are not supportive of these workers and are not interested in the safety of the citizens.

I think the citizens of Lee’s Summit would be interested to know that the city is losing employees almost daily because they offer some of the lowest pay in the Metro. Low pay does not attract new applicants. The city is increasing the cost of benefits. Poor benefits also do not attract new applicants. No new applicants mean open positions will not be filled leaving parts of the city unprotected.

This should concern every citizen in Lee’s Summit because they are not being protected and cared for in the manner they should expect, especially with respect to the amount of taxes they are paying towards these services.

The city has over 20 million dollars in a “general fund” that is being closely guarded by administration, yet the Police Officers are at minimum staffing and working overtime.

Additionally, the Fire Department’s response times are getting longer and longer, and they have not been provided the right equipment to protect the newer, taller apartment buildings. The Fire Department can not add new stations, trucks, or personnel to protect the new areas of development.

The Public Workers can hardly keep up with the “progress” of the city, while the older parts of town are falling apart. The city appears to take these people for granted and continues to add more and more residential areas without any increase in protection, equipment, or workers.

The citizens of Lee’s Summit should be asking where their tax money is going, and they have a right to demand the protection and amenities they moved to Lee’s Summit to enjoy. The people of Lee’s Summit deserve exceptional Fire Protection, Police Protection, and Public Works, but the actions of the City Administration are not providing that. How can it be considered a “Premier City” when the Fire Department response time to your house is 15 minutes or there are no Police available to respond to your 911 call? The workers that have continued to work under these conditions are doing the very best they can with what they have been given but are barely making ends meet.

Where is the money going?