TKC EXCLUSIVE!!! KANSAS CITY TAXPAYERS CULPABLE FOR FAA FINES AMID NEW AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT!!!



This week, out blog community BROKE AN IMPORTANT STORY about New KCI payouts planned but now put off by rules & regs amid a program name change.

Now . . .

KANSAS CITY INSIDERS WARN THAT, VIA THE GENERAL FUND, TAXPAYERS ARE ON THE HOOK FOR FINES IN THE SKETCHY NEW AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT!!!

Again and again KICK-ASS INSIDERS expose the lie that the new airport "won't cost Kansas City taxpayers a dime" because . . .

FREEBIE NEW KCI EMPTY PROMISES EXCLUDED FINANCING COSTS, UP FRONT SHORT-TERM BORROWING AND NOW POTENTIAL FINES!!!

This is an important think piece for a lot of reasons but mostly because . . .

As Kansas City is still debating the user agreement, maybe our City Council might want to think about clawbacks and penalties for developers if/when KCMO falls under FAA scrutiny and ends up charged fines. As it stands now, KANSAS CITY TAXPAYERS ARE TOTALLY EXPOSED whilst Mayor Sly & Jolie Justus urge Council to hurry and sign on the dotted line.



Here's the word . . .

New KCI “Community Benefits,” or the Semantics of Crime

KCI “community benefits” are back in the news.

This is another of the many ways the new airport could haunt taxpayers down the road. While City Council had no design specs or maximum price in mind when it received airport construction proposals, the so-called community benefits program stroked every political erogenous zone. A vast horde of cash for chumming votes. Tens-of-millions in a slush fund for daycare centers, worker training, historic preservation, etc.

The plan was to front-load the slush fund, paying these back later from revenues taken from the new airport. Then the FAA stepped in, warning that the city was creating a community crime program. The problem is illegal revenue diversion. As this piece notes, the Feds have long forbidden cities to use airports as “cash cows”. Another example of how KCI is becoming a poster child for how to screw up airport development. The basic idea is that all airport funds must be used directly for airport purposes. In this case, the FAA warned the city that funding social services in connection with the new airport, however commendable politically, is likely a violation of Federal law.

Which brings us to this week’s Aviation Committee meeting. We learned the city hopes to avoid being sued by renaming things. The term Community Benefits is out, replaced by “Terminal Workforce Enhancement Program.” This probably sounded better than changing it to “Seeking Campaign Augmentation Money” (SCAM). There was confusion. A Councilman asked if certain community benefits schemes were still part of the deal, despite the semantic evasions. No said the city attorney because that risked a Federal audit and possible criminal charges. Fascinating to watch public officials calculate how terminological changes might or might not evade crime.

How does this matter for taxpayers? The Federal criminal code says the city could be fined up to three times the amount of illegally diverted funds. If that happens, it will be taxpayer money. How is risking potentially millions in fines a community benefit? How much money has the city already spent/will it spend on attorneys to keep from being sued? How did we go down this rabbit hole instead of focusing on the best possible airport at the lowest possible price? We know the answer to the last question. They hang out at City Hall.
###########

Developing . . .

Comments

  1. Another airport nightmare. Just an excuse to rob KC over and over again. If anything goes wrong, KC taxpayers will pick up the tab.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You know, most airports that are constructed normally have a few fines they have to pay. It's a shame that the council hasn't protected us against this.

      Delete
    2. The first fine that NewKCI will get is accessibility. At only 1.6 billion there is no way they are going to have money to make the building truly accessible. If they do we're talking about a very small facility that has limited potential to serve the whole community. This is going to very hard for the city to deal with but they need to think about access for people with special needs. It's part of the law and from what I've seen even the crossing from the parking lot into the airport is very unfriendly for wheelchair access. The fines for building these kind of exclusionary structures are significant.

      Delete
  2. Sly just wants the money to start rolling. He's probably got a condo to think about!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Scam city flying high! Thanks Jolie! You will never be mayor. You sold us out.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Now that he knows he won't be able to channel money to his political cronies, James will completely lose interest in the airport. What's the point of politics without payola?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice photo of Dumb and Dumber.
    Or maybe, Dumbo!
    The clown show rolls on!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are Sly and Jolie having a contest to see who can gain the most weight? They are both fat fucking slobs.

      Delete
  6. Cluster a classic cluster f__k.

    ReplyDelete
  7. They already admitted that they’ll be fined when the FAA eventually finds out..... and they don’t care either

    ReplyDelete
  8. And the two clowns in charge are lawyers too!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Representatives from the top public business and law schools in the nation will be in KCMO reviewing the details of this scam so they can incorporate this in their courses as a prime example of a real world scenario on how not to negotiate for a new airport.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Community benefits are a scam so is the upfront enlistment of local sub contractors, a whole army of interested parties to cheerlead. Surprised they do not so up for council meetings to show support. Hell may as well offer them all lunch if they show up for support and have them wear 'make airports great again' t-shirts and hats for the cameras. Do Developers really care if the community benfits pan out?

    ReplyDelete
  11. As one unexpected expense after another surfaces, just pass an ordinance "declaring an emergency" and scour the city treasury for any available money, and spend it however you like.
    And if there's nothing available, just steal it from another account, regardless of the importance of what was actually supposed to be funded.
    Incompetence followed by dishonesty.
    It's the KCMO "government" way!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Considering what the public was told prior to the election, and now looking at the reality.......is there anything CRIMINAL we can pin on Sly and the Council?

    ReplyDelete
  13. 6:15 where do you think the gobond money is going

    ReplyDelete
  14. @634 Those 7 attorneys on council should be reported to the bar. They are either too dumb to see what’s going on or 2) They are part of the corruption!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Joli eats a lot of pussy

    ReplyDelete
  16. 9:00 hit the nail on the head

    ReplyDelete
  17. CLAY CAN SHOW US THE WAY!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

TKC COMMENT POLICY:

Be percipient, be nice. Don't be a spammer. BE WELL!!!

- The Management