Friday, September 30, 2022

Dan Johnson named director of public works for City of Joplin

(From the City of Joplin)

Joplin City Manager Nick Edwards is pleased to announce that Dan Johnson has accepted the position of Director of Public Works. Johnson has worked at the city for the past 17 years as an Engineer and as Assistant Director of Public Works, and most recently as Interim Director of Public Works.

Dan has also worked in the private sector as a project manager and estimator.

In his new role, he will manage and direct all activities of various city Public Works divisions of operations, transportation, and infrastructure engineering projects including stormwater, wastewater, streets, sidewalks, signals, and bike-pedestrian trail projects, as well as long-range project planning and collaboration among industries, businesses, and leaders within the city and surrounding communities of the immediate region.

Edwards noted as a major distinction Dan’s long-term engineering and leadership knowledge and experience with the City of Joplin in various supporting roles of project management and development during the tornado recovery assignments.

Dan Johnson will begin his new role on Monday, October 3.

Springfield area woman sentenced to 45 days in halfway house for role in January 6 insurrection

A Battlefield woman who pleaded guilty earlier this year to a misdemeanor offense in connection with her participation in the January 6, 2021 insurrection was sentenced to 45 days in a halfway house today during a video hearing in U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

In addition to her time in the halfway house, Hentschel, who has a lengthy criminal history and was on probation at the time of her D. C. trip, will serve three years on probation, pay a $500 fine and pay $500 restitution.

FBI investigators did not have a hard time finding Hentschel who posted photos from January 6 on her Facebook account and was captured on surveillance footage.

From the plea agreement filing:

The records obtained from Facebook revealed a conversation between HENTSCHEL and PERSON 3 that occurred on or about January 6, 2021, excerpts of which are below:

PERSON 3: Hey were you there in that protest!! At the capitol

HENTSCHEL: Uh yeah dawg

PERSON 3: Ahhh that’s awesome!!!! I was looking for ya on tv! I didn’t see ya. But y’all are out there getting it! Did you get inside the capitol?

HENTSCHEL: I’m here

PERSON 3: Well be safe cara and always have fun I support ya �� good job!!! Wished I could be there

HENTSCHEL: I was the first group in. Yes. We storm peloskis office and took her beer. She drinks Corona3

PERSON 3: That’s wild I’m glad you didn’t get arrested wow that’s wild lol hell yea

According to Hentschel, she knew that protestors were surrounding the Capitol building but did not know their goal was to go inside. Hentschel stated that she did not want to go inside the building because she knew they were prohibited from doing so.

She claims that she had no choice but to enter the building; she either had to enter the Capitol or fight the crowd to avoid entering. She then claimed that she only stayed inside until she was able to find a safe way out.

Her own contemporaneous statements on social media and the video evidence flatly contradict those claims. First, her social media posts during the riot, including the post of the crowd with the caption “Storming the Capitol” and her posts following the riot demonstrate her intent and disprove any notion that she was an innocent bystander who got pushed into the Capitol because of the crowd.

Second, video footage from the Capitol demonstrate that she had opportunity to leave soon after entering the building, but instead, she walked through halls and the Rotunda and took photographs.

In her interview, Hentschel also stated that she did not see protestors assaulting police, which is again contradicted by video footage documenting her entry. Hentschel also said that she was hit with tear gas when she exited but does not know the source.

Hentschel acknowledged during the interview that she did not go inside to the House Speaker Pelosi’s office and took beer as she boasted about in a Facebook conversation. Hentschel also acknowledged that she took photographs and videos of the riot with her phone but deleted them prior to her arrest.

Since 2008, Hentschel has been convicted of three felony offenses and eleven misdemeanors. In 2017, Hentschel was convicted in Greene County, Missouri Circuit Court of two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance (heroin) and one felony count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (methamphetamine).

The court initially sentenced Hentschel to eight years’ incarceration for the possession with intent to distribute offense and seven years for the drug possession offenses. The court then suspended those prison terms and placed Hentschel on probation for five years.

Between 2017 and 2019, Hentschel violated the terms of her probation a remarkable eleven times, and her probation was ultimately revoked, and her underlying prison sentences were reimposed.

Hentschel was able to participate in an early release program, which made her eligible, absent bad behavior, for release after 120 days incarceration. She was released from incarceration and placed back on probation for a period of five years.

Hentschel was serving her probationary sentence when she traveled to the Capitol and participated in the riot. In addition to her felony convictions, Hentschel’s eleven misdemeanors include driving while intoxicated, harassing a public officer, possession of drug paraphernalia, and driving with a revoked license. Six of the misdemeanor convictions involved crimes of moral turpitude, which included stealing and theft of items valued between $500 and $25,000.

Graves bipartisan bill to speed up paperwork on smaller disasters passes

(From Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves)

The 2019 Flood was among the worst we’ve ever seen in North Missouri. It didn’t hit as many folks as the 2011 Missouri River Flood or the ‘93 Flood, but unlike many of the floods we’ve seen in the past, the 2019 Flood stuck around for what seemed like an eternity. It took the better part of a year for the floodwaters to fall in some places. That put everyone way behind schedule on rebuilding and recovering.

We’ve seen our fair share of devastating floods, along both the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, so nobody was under the impression that it would be easy. But I don’t think any of us expected it to be as hard as it was just to get a little help from FEMA.

It used to be that around 95 percent of FEMA projects were considered “small projects.” That meant they qualified for an expedited approval process with less paperwork. The thought was that because these projects accounted for just 10 percent of federal disaster funding costs, there wasn’t any need to bog folks down with unnecessary paperwork and tie up FEMA resources that would be better used to oversee larger projects that were ripe for waste, fraud, and abuse.

But as the years went by and inflation grew, that threshold—set at around $130,000—quickly became meaningless. By the time the 2019 Flood hit, 25 percent of FEMA projects were no longer considered “small projects” and were forced to go through an extended approval process with even more delays and paperwork, even though they shouldn’t have been.

I heard complaints from all over the region and when I talked to my colleagues from other states, I realized this wasn’t just an issue impacting us. It was impacting communities devastated by wildfires, tornados, and hurricanes. It was impacting everyone.

So, I introduced the Small Project Efficient and Effective Disaster (SPEED) Recovery Act to update FEMA’s small project threshold so 95 percent of projects could be approved under this expedited process again. It was a common sense solution to the problem we were all facing—and everyone saw that.

This week the House passed my bill, along with a small amendment from the Senate, sending this bipartisan reform to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

With the recent hurricanes striking Florida and Puerto Rico, it couldn’t have come at a better time. I’m glad that even today, we can find some common ground to get important things done, no matter how small it might seem to the pundits on cable news.

Billy Long: Republicans have a plan to deal with all of Biden's crises

(From Seventh District Congressman Billy Long)

Since President Biden came into office only a year and eight months ago, it has been a revolving door of crises.

Inflation has ravaged what should be a great economic recovery, crime has plagued our streets and our national security has been weakened by poor border policies.

Republicans have a plan to fight all of these issues and get America back on track. Last week, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy released his Commitment to America, detailing how Republicans plan to make our economy stronger and our streets safer.

Inflation remains unacceptably high. The August Consumer Price Index was at 8.3%. That means that overall, things cost 8.3% more than they did last August. And it is everything. Food is up 11.4%, electricity 15.8% and gas a whopping 25.6%. President Biden has tried to blame everything he can, except himself, for this crisis.

His latest trick is to try blaming Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, but there’s one small problem with this. Inflation was already incredibly high before the war started. While the war certainly did not help the situation, it was not the cause.

The reason for this inflation boils down to two of President Biden’s policies, excessive spending, and overregulation of the energy sector. Republicans want to stop the wasteful spending and implement pro-growth tax and deregulatory policies that will reduce prices and increase wages.

And how do we plan to lower gas prices? We need to produce more oil here at home, and to do that we must end President Biden’s assault on the oil industry. Republicans want to cut the time it takes to get a drilling permit in half, so that we can get our energy sector back on track. And when America is producing more oil at home, we are less reliant on foreign oil, which drops the gas prices.

Crime has also been a major issue since President Biden came into office. So far this year, homicides are up about 50% from this point in 2019 according to the Major Cities Chiefs Association.

Violent crime is rising all over the country, and it’s largely due to the Democrat party’s embrace of the Defund the Police movement in 2020. President Biden can try to walk this back all he wants, but he cannot erase all of the interviews where prominent Democrats backed this radical policy.

Taking funds away from police makes it harder for them to do their jobs. And when police are working longer hours with less pay, morale suffers greatly. We should be fighting crime by giving our police the resources that they need to do their jobs well.

Part of the Commitment to America is hiring 200,000 new police officers through recruiting and retention bonuses. More funding for police will increase officer morale, which in turn makes our streets safer.

Our Southern Border is another area where safety and security has become a concern. Since President Biden came into office, there have been more than 3.5 million illegal immigrant encounters by the Border Patrol, and there have been more than 2 million so far this Fiscal Year, a record. And when the Border Patrol apprehends someone, they usually are released into the United States. That’s because President Biden has reimplemented Catch and Release, whereby illegal immigrants caught by Border Patrol agents are released and told to appear in court at a later time.

This presents a major national security issue, since there have been 78 suspected terrorists encountered at the Southern Border so far this Fiscal Year. That’s just the ones we know about. We have no idea how many have gotten away. The Republican plan to fight the border crisis includes funding border enforcement systems like the border wall, ending Catch and Release and requiring proof of legal status to get a job. These are common sense measures that should be implemented, but sadly President Biden has refused to do just that.

These are just a few examples of President Biden’s failed leadership leading to several crises. Any one of these by itself would be unacceptable, and yet we are dealing with these and so many others simultaneously. It’s time to get serious on fixing these issues if we want to continue as a world superpower.

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Parson thrilled that legislature passed tax cut

(From Gov. Mike Parson)

Governor Parson issued the following statement regarding the General Assembly approving income tax cut legislation:

"We are thrilled that the General Assembly has answered our call to cut Missourians' taxes and return some of their hard-earned dollars. We called this special session to pass and extend critical support to our agriculture industry and reduce Missourians' income tax burden, and that's exactly what we are accomplishing."

"Today's action will provide real relief to taxpaying Missourians. Relief that is even more critical now as Missouri families face rising grocery bills, high gas prices, and record inflation. This bill means our administration will have cut Missourians' income tax rate by almost a full percentage point or a nearly 15 percent decrease. Next week, we look forward to progress being made on the agriculture bill, so we can sign both pieces of legislation into law."

Earlier today, Governor Parson issued a special message to the legislature that modifies the special session call to include small changes outside the original call but still within the subjects of agriculture and income tax cuts.

To view Governor Parson's special message to the General Assembly modifying his special session call, see attachment.

To view Senate Bill 3, the income tax cut legislation approved by the Missouri Legislature, click here.

Missouri Legislature sends $764 million tax cut to governor

By Rudi Keller

Missouri Independent

The Missouri House on Thursday abandoned its attempt to cut corporate income taxes after Gov. Mike Parson signaled his opposition to the move.

Instead, House Republican leaders put a Senate-passed tax cut plan up for a vote, but not before one Democrat called “shenanigans” because the move blocked

plans to offer amendments.

(Photo- House Budget Chairman Cody Smith, who sponsored a tax cut proposal during special session championed by Gov. Mike Parson- Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications).

By a 98-32 vote, the House sent the bill to Parson, who praised it as “real relief to taxpaying Missourians.”

Parson also issued a modified special session call to align the agenda with the bill as it passed.

Passage of the tax bill means lawmakers have accomplished one of the two tasks Parson put on their agenda. The Senate next week will take up a House-passed bill providing tax credits and other incentives for economic projects in rural areas.

“We called this special session to pass and extend critical support to our agriculture industry and reduce Missourians’ income tax burden, and that’s exactly what we are accomplishing,” Parson said in a prepared statement.

When Parson called for the special session in August, he asked lawmakers to cut the top income tax rate to 4.8% from the current 5.3%.

The bill heading to his desk cuts the top rate to 4.95% immediately and would, if revenue growth meets targets, lower the rate to 4.5% in four additional steps.

The new special session call indicates the bill would, when fully implemented, reduce general revenue by $764 million a year. The general revenue fund had $12.9 billion in revenue in the fiscal year that ended June 30. The year ended with a surplus of almost $5 billion.

As debate opened Thursday, Democrats had prepared several amendments. They wanted to give a tax credit to teachers, property tax relief to senior citizens and make a tax credit for lower-income families refundable, meaning they would get a check if the credit exceeded their tax liability.

But when Republicans withdrew the version of the bill that the House Budget Committee changed to include a corporate tax cut from consideration, those amendments became moot. Democrats accused Republicans of blocking proposals to help working families because they did not want to be forced to vote against them.

Though they opposed the corporate tax cut, Democrats complained that withdrawing the bill meant other provisions, including one to eliminate part of the sales tax on tampons and other hygiene products, also died.

“It gets frustrating sometimes when you feel like you are actually delivering results back home, not just to my district but to so many other districts across the state, and then you kind of see the shenanigans of what happened, of just wiping everything clean,” said state Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis.

The tax cut will take effect sometime in early 2023. The exact date is unknown because new laws take effect 90 days after a session ends and the House defeated a provision that would have made it effective on Parson’s signature.

Debate on the House floor centered on whether the bill will provide enough relief to Missourians dealing with inflation and higher property tax bills.

The sponsor, House Budget Chairman Cody Smith, said the bill will help.

“This is for the folks who are paying the bills,” Smith said.

Lower taxes will help everyone, he added.

“The people who are advocating for this bill understand that low taxation leads to economic prosperity,” Smith said.

But Democrats, and at least one Republican, said the bill isn’t targeted at the people hit hardest by rising costs.

State Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, said the bill will make it harder for the state to pay for schools, provide state worker pay raises or find people to work in state prisons and mental health hospitals.

“This is the definition of irresponsible,” Merideth said.

In testimony to the House Budget Committee, Jeremy LaFaver of the Missouri Budget Project estimated that the lowest 20% of income earners will save about $3 a year and the top 1%, with incomes averaging $1.5 million, will save more than $15,000 a year.

Republican Rep. Bill Kidd of Buckner asked his colleagues to provide relief to poor Missourians and senior citizens in the 2023 legislative session.

“Please do something that will impact real people,” Kidd said, adding “If you are in the $100,00 to $200,000 range you are going to like this tax cut. But if you are a poor person or a person on a fixed income, this doesn’t do it.”

In a statement issued after the House vote, Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, said he was pleased the House passed the bill he sponsored in the Senate without making any changes.

“In addition to immediately easing the burden of near-record inflation and providing the largest income tax cut in state history, this legislation establishes a fiscally-responsible blueprint that will continue to provide tax relief to hardworking Missourians for years to come,” Hough said.

Statue of Harry S. Truman dedicated at U. S. Capitol

By Ariana Figueroa

States Newsroom

WASHINGTON — The eldest grandson of President Harry S. Truman pulled down a black cloak to unveil a towering bronze statue of his late grandfather during a Thursday ceremony at the U.S. Capitol to dedicate the sculpture honoring the 33rd president.

“My grandfather was a modest man,” Clifton Truman Daniel said. “And, frankly, slightly embarrassed by statues.”

(Photo- Members of Missouri’s Congressional delegation, past and present, at the congressional dedication ceremony of the new President Harry S. Truman statue in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Sept. 29, 2022- Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom).

The statue of Truman, known for making some of the most crucial decisions in American history, both abroad and domestically, will reside in the heart of the Capitol, part of the National Statuary Hall Collection of 100 statues. Each state gets two, and Truman will represent his home state of Missouri.

The front inscription of his statue is carved with Truman’s well-known motto: “The Buck Stops Here.”

Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt said he often thinks of the difficult decisions Truman had to make as president, such as ending World War II, facilitating the ratification of the United Nations charter and transitioning the country from a time of war to peace.

“It’s great for us today to see him now in the building he loved, in a democracy that he cherished, in a world that he made so much to design and create and make it what it is today,” Blunt said.

The 7-foot, 1,000-pound bronze statue resides on a 3-foot pedestal in the Rotunda, which is a large, circular room in the center of the Capitol. The statue is nestled between historical paintings of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Surrender of General Burgoyne at Saratoga, New York.

The Truman statue joins those depicting nine other presidents in the Rotunda. The others are Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Ulysses Grant, Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, Andrew Jackson, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.

The Truman statue replaces one of founding father Alexander Hamilton, which staff relocated to the Hall of Columns.

***

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***

Years of work

The Truman Library Institute—the non-profit fundraising arm of the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri—and Missouri lawmakers had lobbied for the former president to take his place among various American political icons in the Statuary Hall Collection that is visited by millions of tourists, and frequently passed by congressional staff, lawmakers and journalists.

The institute raised about $400,000 for the transportation and installation and commission by artist Tom Corbin for the Truman statue.

“This statue proves that government can work, and work quickly,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, a Missouri Democrat, said. “This only took us 20 years.”

The crowd of 100 or so chuckled.

Cleaver touted Truman’s civil rights legacy. The president desegregated the military, was the first president to meet with the NAACP, established the President’s Committee on Civil Rights and signed an executive order that prohibits race-based employment discrimination in the federal government.

“President Truman truly helped create the Black middle class that enabled African Americans to advance and participate in the prosperity of this great nation,” Cleaver said.

Before he was president, Truman served in the U.S. Senate representing Missouri. President Franklin D. Roosevelt tapped him as his vice presidential running mate in 1944.

Eighty-two days into his term as vice president, Truman was called to the White House, where he would learn of Roosevelt’s death and be sworn in as president.

During his term, he would shape the country’s foreign policy for decades to come. He formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and facilitated the United Nations charter, and established global alliances to deter the spread of communism.

Domestically, he signed into law the National Security Act of 1947, creating the CIA, Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Security Council, and also paved the way for national health care.

Statue collections

Due to overcrowding—and aesthetic preferences—only one statue from each state is placed in Statuary Hall.

The House of Representatives used to convene in Statuary Hall, but lawmakers moved into a bigger chamber, leaving the room empty. Former Rep. Justin S. Morrill, Democrat of Vermont, in April 1864 proposed that each state be allowed a statute in the hall, which Congress then passed into law three months later.

“However, the aesthetic appearance of the Hall began to suffer from overcrowding until, in 1933, the situation became unbearable,” according to the Architect of the Capitol’s website.

In 1933 Congress passed a resolution stating that each state is allowed one statue in the hall. The other 50 statues can be found in various locations such as the Rotunda, the Senate Wing, the Crypt or the Capitol Visitor Center.

Truman will replace Missouri’s statue of Democratic Sen. Thomas Hart Benton, who served from 1821 to 1851.

Benton was somewhat of a hothead. He dueled President Andrew Jackson, leaving Jackson, then a general during the War of 1812, with a bullet in his arm.

Benton was also nearly shot on the Senate floor on the cusp of the Civil War in 1850 during a heated exchange with Mississippi Sen. Henry Foote.

“I have no pistols! Let him fire!,” Benton said, according to Senate archives. “Stand out of the way and let the assassin fire!”

Foote never fired.

Benton advocated for Missouri to become a slave state during its early formation in 1821, believing the issue would divide the nation. His views changed in 1835, not wanting slavery to spread, but also not wanting it to be abolished, according to the State Historical Society of Missouri.

Benton’s statue will be moved to the State Historical Society of Missouri, in Columbia.

The second statue in the National Statuary Hall Collection representing Missouri is of Francis Preston Blair Jr. The state of Missouri gave the statue to the collection in 1899.

Blair was a lawyer from St. Louis who was instrumental in keeping Missouri part of the Union during the Civil War, where he served as a major general.

Known for his anti-slavery views, he served in the Missouri Legislature from 1852 through 1856, where he opposed the extension of slavery and urged the South to gradually abolish slavery.

Blair unsuccessfully ran as a Democratic candidate for vice president in 1868.

He became a U.S. senator in 1870, filling a vacant seat, but lost his reelection bid in 1872.

He died in 1875 and was buried at Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis.

Nancy Hughes: Guard your mouth by guarding your heart

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

It seemed quite funny to me as a little girl to hear my grandparents talk about what had happened to our minister in our small town. They felt bad for him but, as a 10-year-old girl, I could only giggle as they described the situation.

Pastor Sanders was walking down the sidewalk in town and noticed several people looking at him rather strangely. He started to wonder if his whistling was off-key as he leisurely strolled past stores. That is until a woman stopped him and asked, “Pastor, when you whistle, is it usually the tune from a beer commercial?”

Mortified, he realized that that was exactly what he had been doing! He loved listening to music as he drove to visit sick or hospitalized people in the congregation. Evidently, that commercial came on a lot and it had stuck in his mind without his realizing it.

I had forgotten that incident until many years later when my husband found himself in a similar situation. He had a new boss at work and the man had a colorful vocabulary. I don’t believe there was a single word that we would have spanked our children for saying that he didn’t say. Often. And loudly. No matter where he was or who was there.

But since our kids were not around him, we felt that they would be protected from his speech. That all changed one evening at supper. The conversation was on t-ball and batting when our son joked about the games, and we began to laugh. My husband made a comment that had not one or two but several of the colorful words his boss often used.

It took him just a few seconds to realize that all laughing had suddenly ceased, and all eyes were on him. As he looked up from his meal, three children with mouths wide open in unison exclaimed “Dad!” in shock!

“What? What’s the matter?” he asked. Instantly our youngest daughter replied “Dad, you just said . . .” and repeated his comments verbatim. Now it was his turn to be in shock. He had no idea that he had unintentionally allowed the vocabulary of his boss to become part of his vocabulary. It was at that exact moment that I remembered our minister years before and what had happened to him. And it was no longer funny.

Proverbs 4:23 is short but full of an important truth. As Christians, our hearts belong to the Lord, and we must guard them closely in a world in complete opposition to the Christian walk. There will always be conversations and actions that do not reflect Jesus. We must be careful to keep our minds focused on Christ and turn away anything that does not reflect Him.

My husband quickly apologized to our children and to me. And from that moment on he made a conscious effort to replace what his boss said with uplifting and positive words. Guard your heart, my friend; guard your heart!

Father, I do not want to say or do anything that does not call attention to you in a positive way. Please guard my heart. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

Have you ever made a comment that was totally out of character for you and then realized what you had just said?

Where did that comment come from?

Apply

If you work with someone with speech totally opposite to your Christian walk, pray for that person daily and ask the Lord for an opportunity to speak to them in love.

Ask the Holy Spirit to nudge you every single time you start to say something that would not be a good example of speaking with the heart of Christ.

Power

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

Matthew 15:11 (NIV) “What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’”

Romans 12:2 (NIV) “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)

***

Nancy Hughes' new book, Get Me Through the Day Lord or at Least the Next 5 Minutes, a collection of her devotional writings over the years, is available now on Amazon.

Agenda posted for Joplin City Council meeting

JOPLIN CITY COUNCIL REGULAR AGENDA
MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2022
5th FLOOR COUNCIL CHAMBERS
602 S. MAIN ST. JOPLIN MO
6:00 P.M.

Call To Order

Invocation
Pledge of Allegiance of the United States of America

Roll Call

Presentations

Semi-Annual Insurance Update By Segal

Documents:

2023 INSURANCE BUDGET PROJECTIONS BY SEGAL.PDF

Project Moody Blue Presentation

Finalization Of Consent Agenda

Reports And Communications

News From The Public Information Office

Citizen Requests And Petitions

Public Hearings

Public Hearing Procedures

Documents:

PUBLIC HEARING PROCEDURES.PDF

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2022-282

AN ORDINANCE amending Ordinance No. 2022-274, passed by the Council of the City of Joplin, Missouri, August 1, 2022, by removing from District C-1-PD (Neighborhood Commercial Planned Development) and including in District C-O (Neighborhood Office) property as described below and located at 1234 N. Duquesne Rd., City of Joplin, Jasper County, Missouri.

Documents:

CASE NO. 052-22

Site Plan Review – 2014 S Range Line Rd & 2019 S Highview Ave. -Whataburger.

Documents:

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2022-283

AN ORDINANCE amending Ordinance No. 2022-284, passed by the Council of the City of Joplin, Missouri, October 3, 2022, by removing from District R-1 (Single-family Residential) and including in District C-3 (Commercial) property as described below and located at 1911 and 2001 N. Range Line Rd., City of Joplin, Jasper County, Missouri.

Documents:

Consent Agenda

Minutes Of The September 19, 2022, City Council Meeting

Documents:

SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 MINUTES.PDF

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2022-281

AN ORDINANCE approving an Agreement between the City of Joplin, Missouri, and Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission which will provide FHWA Metropolitan Planning Assistance and FTA Section 5303 assistance, hereafter known as Consolidated Planning Funds, from November 1, 2020, through October 31, 2021, in accordance with the rules of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) under 49 U.S.C. Section 5303 and 23 U.S. Code Sections 104(F) and 134 to conduct comprehensive and transportation planning programs, as the City of Joplin has been designated to conduct transportation planning programs for the Joplin Area Transportation Study Organization; authorizing the City Manager or his designee to execute said Agreement for the City.

Documents:

CB2022-281.PDF

Resolutions

10.

Ordinances - Emergency

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2022-149

AN ORDINANCE authorizing the City of Joplin to enter into a construction agreement with McClanahan Construction Co. Inc., in the amount of One Million, Two Hundred Thousand and 00/100 Dollars ($1,200,000.00) for construction services associated with the Turkey Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility Intermediate Screw Pump Replacement on behalf of the City of Joplin and authorizing the City Manager or his designee to execute the same by and on behalf of the City of Joplin; and, containing an emergency clause.

Documents:

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2022-451

AN ORDINANCE approving a Program Services Contract by and between the State of Missouri, Department of Health and Senior Services, and the City of Joplin, Missouri, for a term commencing October 1, 2022 and running through September 30, 2023, for the amount of up to Six Hundred Eleven Thousand, Eight Hundred Thirteen Dollars and no Cents ($611,813.00), to enable the Health Department to provide nutritional assistance and education to residents of Jasper County, authorizing the City Manager to execute the same by and on behalf of the City of Joplin, Missouri: and containing an emergency clause.

Documents:

11.

Ordinances - First Reading

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2022-284

AN ORDINANCE establishing grades and accepting the Final Plat of Emerald Glades Plat 1 located at 3330 & 3332 N. St. Louis Ave. in the City

of Joplin, Jasper County, Missouri.

Documents:

COUNCIL BILL NO. 2022-611

AN ORDINANCE authorizing the City of Joplin, Missouri, to enter into an Agreement with Oakhurst Signs & Graphics, for the purpose of replacing wayfinding signage for the not to exceed price of Thirty-Nine Thousand Three Hundred and 00/100 Dollars ($39,300.00); and authorizing the City Manager to execute the same by and on behalf of the City of Joplin.

Documents:

12.

Ordinances - Second Reading And Third Reading

13.

Unfinished Business

14.

New Business

Vote To Go Into Closed Session, Which Shall Pertain To The Hiring, Firing, Disciplining, Or Promotion Of An Employee Or Particular Employees Of A Governmental Body Involving Personal Information As Set Forth In Section 610.021(3) RSMo, As Amended, 2020, More Specifically For The Purpose Of Evaluating Certain Council Employees. This Meeting, Record, And Vote To Be Closed To The Extent Provided By Law. The City Council Shall Adjourn At The End Of The Session.

Schmitt, five other state attorney generals file lawsuit challenging Biden student loan plan

(From Attorney General Eric Schmitt)

Today, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt joined five other states in filing a challenge to the Biden Administration’s student loan cancellation program in federal court in Missouri.

In the lawsuit, the states ask the Court for an immediate temporary restraining order pausing the program.

Prompt relief is being sought because the Biden Administration has indicated it will start cancelling loan balances as early as next week.

“The Biden Administration’s executive action to cancel student loan debt was not only unconstitutional, it will unfairly burden working class families and those who chose not to take out loans or have paid them off with even more economic woes,” said Attorney General Schmitt.

“The Biden Administration’s unlawful edict will only worsen inflation at a time when many Americans are struggling to get by”

The lawsuit states, “Just months ago, the Supreme Court warned federal agencies against ‘asserting highly consequential power beyond what Congress could reasonably be understood to have granted’ by statute. Yet the Administration’s Mass Debt Cancellation does precisely that. Determined to pursue across-the-board debt cancellation and stymied by repeated failures to achieve that goal through legislation, the Administration resorted to a federal law whose purpose is to provide relief to individuals who have suffered from an emergency like the 9/11 terrorist attacks or who must serve their country overseas in the military.”

The lawsuit continues, “On January 12, 2021, the United States Department of Education (ED) published a memorandum concluding that mass student- loan debt cancellation could not be accomplished through executive action. ED noted that it ‘has never relied on the HEROES Act or any other statutory, regulatory, or interpretative authority for the blanket or mass cancellation … of student loan principal balances, and/or the material change of repayment amounts or terms.’”

The lawsuit also states, “The majority of the Mass Debt Cancellation will ‘accrue to the debt borrowers in the top 60 percent of the income distribution.’ And none of the benefit will accrue to those who worked and paid their debt.” Citing that same study, the lawsuit notes, “The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania released a study concluding that ED’s Mass Debt Cancellation alone will cost up to $519 billion over ten years, and the overall cost could rise to more than $1 trillion when factoring in the other components of ED’s announcement.”

The lawsuit incorporates three counts: (1) Separation of Powers, (2) Violation of the Administrative Procedure Act Exceeding Statutory Authority and Violating the Constitution, and (3) Violation of the Administrative Procedure Act Arbitrary and Capricious Agency Action.

States joining Missouri in the filing include Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and South Carolina.

The petition can be found here: https://ago.mo.gov/docs/default-source/press-releases/1-complaint---neb-v-biden.pdf?sfvrsn=dfb6d13c_2

Missouri House debating bill to completely eliminate corporate income tax

By Rudi Keller

Missouri Independent

The Missouri House will debate a tax cut bill Thursday that goes far beyond the special session agenda set by Gov. Mike Parson after the Budget Committee on Wednesday added an amendment repealing the corporate income tax to a Senate-passed measure.

The committee approved the legislation, which has a total cost approaching $2 billion, on a 19-8 party line vote. The major changes from the Senate bill indicate there is no quick end in sight to the session that Parson called to cut individual income taxes and enact a package of agriculture tax incentives.

(Photo- Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, explains provisions of the Senate-passed tax cut bill Wednesday to the House Budget Committee.- Rudi Keller/Missouri Independent)

Parson put a $700 million price tag on his proposal. The House is scheduled to begin debate on the bill at noon Thursday.

Missouri currently has a top individual income tax rate of 5.3% and a corporate income tax rate of 4%. If the bill passes as it emerged from committee, the top income tax rate will be cut to 4.5% and the corporate tax rate would fall to zero.

The bill includes an immediate reduction in the top tax rate to 4.95% for 2023. The other reductions, including the corporate tax cut, would be phased-in, with triggers based on revenue growth in future years.

Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, told the House Budget Committee that his bill, as approved in the Senate, would reduce state revenues by about $1 billion annually when fully implemented. The corporate income tax produced $711 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30 and revenue from that source has grown 30% so far this year compared to the previous fiscal year.

The immediate tax cut offered by the bill is less than Parson sought but the final cost is far more. Parson wanted to set the top tax individual tax rate at 4.8%. He also asked for an increase in the standard deduction and for lawmakers to eliminate the lowest bracket on the tax table, exempting the first $1,000 of otherwise taxable income.

The Senate left out the increase in the standard deduction, Hough said, because its $250 million price tag added too much to the final cost.

“That got us into a situation where, quite frankly, I have caucus members who were uncomfortable,” Hough said.

Opposition to the bill focused on who would benefit from reduced rates. Jay Hardenbrook, lobbyist for AARP, said tax exemptions for Social Security and pension income means many retirees pay no state income tax. But they pay sales tax and rising home values are pushing up their property tax bills, he said.

“If you are just focused on income taxes, you are not going to reach those folks with tax relief,” Hardenbrook said.

The corporate tax cut was the biggest addition to the bill in committee. The tax rate would be reduced in two steps, to 3% and then 2%, in the years after revenue from the corporate income tax increased over a base period by at least $150 million.

The tax would be cut further, by 0.25 percentage points, after each subsequent fiscal year that revenue increased by at least $50 million. The trigger amounts would be adjusted for inflation, meaning it would take at least 10 years before the tax was fully eliminated.

“If the corporate income tax doesn’t increase, then this won’t happen,” said Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage.

Smith said it would attract business and jobs to the state.

State Rep. Peter Merideth, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said the bill uses a temporary surplus to pay for permanent tax cuts. The state support for education and other programs is already too little, he said, even with recent increases.

The state pays too little of the share of public education, Merideth said, and the Children’s Division in the Department of Social Services can’t keep fill the open jobs protecting kids from abuse and neglect.

“I think we are jumping into a decision that is permanent that is very difficult to undo down the road,” Merideth said.

Along with the corporate tax cut, the committee added two other smaller items to the tax bill. The committee voted to make a tax credit for adoption expenses a refundable credit, meaning if the allowed expenses exceed a taxpayer’s liability, the state will issue a check for the difference.

The committee also voted to repeal the state general revenue sales tax on tampons and adult hygiene products.

Smith declared the amendment, sponsored by Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis, defeated on a voice vote, but Aldridge requested a roll call. Several Republicans voted with Democrats on the committee to pass the amendment by a 14-10 vote.

Soon after the Democratic-sponsored amendment prevailed, Smith said he would not allow any other amendments, citing the six hours the committee had been in session.

Merideth challenged that, saying Smith was exceeding his authority.

“I think it is incredibly disrespectful, not just to the people you and I represent, and not to mention staff, not to let us offer our amendments,” Merideth said.

Smith, however, didn’t budge.

“I am not going to argue this point with you,” he said.