The Gadfly is a series of letters offering commentary on local issues and published in the Warrensburg Gazette.

Dear Editor

The Warrensburg R-VI school board published their independent auditor's report last week. Hidden in the fine print, I noticed a couple of items of interest. The "notes" state that their financial statements don't include a "general fixed asset group" and that the amount that should be recorded in that group isn't known. Fixed assets are normally real property; does this mean they don't keep track of how much the real property is worth? How about improvements (buildings)? The second interesting item was comparing expenditures for instruction ($9,698,696) to other costs. Overall instruction expenditures are just under 55% of the operating costs of about $17.7 million. Specific items of interest include executive administration ($518,903) and building administration ($1,176,708); for every dollar spent on teaching the kids, we're spending 17.5 cents on superintendents and principals. Just because about half the total income comes from the state & federal governments, don't forget that this is tax money, too.

The County Commission signed a contract to allow us to pay our property taxes by credit card. We'll pay a private company which will then pay the County; of course, the private company will charge us an extra 5% just for the right to use the card in addition to whatever interest we'll have to pay our credit card company. If you don't have the cash to pay your taxes, you might be better off getting a cash advance directly from your credit card company and eliminating the extra 5%.

A member of the CMSU Board of Governors criticized those who questioned details the post- presidential contract given to Dr. Elliott. The contract is a matter of public record and the CMSU Governors should be up front about what the estimated total value of the contract is, including tax breaks, equipment, and other perks. For comparison purposes, they ought to show the value of Dr. Elliott's compensation & perks before retirement and the new president's compensation package. These days, laws require that public money be spent openly.

They're trying to restart the defunct "Regional Planning Association." The way I read it, the function of a "regional planning commission" is to write application for towns to get something- for-nothing in the form of state and federal grants. The last attempt at a regional planning commission failed because the towns wanted something for nothing and didn't support the commission financially. Ironic, isn't it.

By the time this letter is printed, we'll know if and how the City is going to deal with the continuing operating deficit at the Palace (Community Center). All in all, this past Monday's City Council meeting promised to be hum-dinger.