Letters: Readers discuss City Hall’s continued broken promises and Mahomes’ example

Broken promises

Why can’t Kansas City government ever spend tax money the way it promises before elections?

City residents have been paying a one-fourth-cent sales tax for the fire department approved in 2002 and reauthorized in 2014. (June 4, 1A, “Voters OK sales tax increase to fund KC Fire Department”) The tax is supposed to be for capital expenditures, but the department has spent that money on things such as fuel. That is misallocation of those funds, much like abuse of money for the anti-drug COMBAT program. Fuel is not equipment or infrastructure.

We need an audit of how those funds are spent, and people need to be held accountable for their actions. The fire department became bloated under Chief Smokey Dyer and needs to be right-sized.

Quit lying to us and do the job you were elected to do — in other words, run this city efficiently.

Why is the city manager’s voicemail full when you call it? Why were polling places moved 2 1/2 miles away with no good public bus service available to transport voters? That’s a good way to suppress the vote.

- Joseph Quinn, Kansas City

Be like Pat

Last week, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes made a compassionate, eloquent and thoughtful plea for a resolution of America’s historic struggles for justice. It is shameful that the president is incapable of any such call to the people of this country.

- John Nelles, Shawnee