Mission, Ks - Traffic ticket capital - Kansas city week in review

IS MISSION KANSAS ON A MISSION TO TICKET EVERYBODY?   A FRONT PAGE STORY IN THE "KANSAS CITY STAR" THIS WEEK CALLED MISSION, KANSAS, THE TICKET CAPITAL OF KANSAS, WITH POLICE ISSUING MORE TICKETS THAN THERE ARE RESIDENTS. THAT AMOUNTS TO ALMOST TWO TICKETS AN HOUR, 24 HOURS A DAY. THAT MEANS YOU ARE NINE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE TICKETED IN MISSION THAN IN OVERLAND PARK. EIGHTEEN TIMES MORE LIKELY THAN IF YOU HAPPENED TO BE DRIVING THROUGH LEE'S SUMMIT. IS THIS REALLY ABOUT SAFETY AS   THEY CLAIM? I SERIOUSLY DOUBT THAT. YOU KNOW, MISSION, THEY ARE BLESSED IN MANY WAYS TO HAVE A LOWER CRIME RATE AND NOT SOME OF THE ISSUES SO THAT THEY CAN LITERALLY HAVE THEIR POLICE FORCE GOING OUT -- THE ENTIRE POLICE FORCE, WRITING TICKETS. I MEAN, IN KANSAS CITY, YOU HAVE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF THE OFFICERS THAT THAT'S WHAT THEY HANDLE AND EVERYONE ELSE HAS TO DEAL WITH MORE SERIOUS CRIMES. MISSION DOESN'T HAVE THAT. SO THEY'RE OUT THERE DOING THIS. IT'S GENERATING MONEY BUT YOU ALMOST WONDER IF SOME OF IT ISN'T SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY BECAUSE THEY'RE WRITING SO MANY TICKETS TO GENERATE MONEY TO PAY FOR SERVICES AND THE OFFICERS TO WRITE ALL THE TICKETS. MAYBE ONCE THE GATEWAY PROJECT OPENS UP THEY WON'T HAVE NEARLY AS MUCH PRESSURE TO WRITE TICKETS. I LIVE IN NORTHEAST JOHNSON COUNTY, AND I TELL YOU, I SEE POLICE CRUISERS CONSTANTLY, MANY OF THEM AGAIN LIKE MARY POINTS OUT, YOU KNOW, THANK GOD, THE CRIME RATE'S NOT BAD THEY GOT A LOT OF TIME TO PULL PEOPLE OVER. I APPLAUD KAREN DYLAN FOR A GREAT STORY THOUGH JUST VIVIDLY DISPLAYING HOW MANY TICKETS GET ISSUED IN MISSION. BILL, NOW, THE MAYOR CAME TO KMBC THIS WEEK TO GIVE US A LITTLE MORE INSIGHT INTO THIS. SHE SAID IT'S ALL ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY. THAT IT'S NOT ABOUT GENERATING REVENUE, AND -- THEY DID HAVE ONE OF THE HIGHEST TRAFFIC ACCIDENT RATES IN THE STATE OF KANSAS BEFORE THE CURRENT POLICE CHIEF CAME INTO OFFICE THERE. AND SO THEY WERE WORRIED ABOUT THAT. WASN'T THAT THE CASE? THAT WAS THE CASE, AND ONE THING PEOPLE MAY OVERLOOK FROM TIME TO TIME IS THAT MISSION DOES GET A LOT OF CROSS-COUNTY, CROSS-CITY TRAFFIC. FROM KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, INTO JOHNSON COUNTY, VICA VERSA BUT I TALKED TO A TRAFFIC LAWYER YESTERDAY, AND HE SAID AMONG THE TRADE IT'S BEEN KNOWN MISSION IS A SPEED TRAP. NOW, IT'S INTERESTING, MISSION THOUGH IT DOES GET A LOT -- IS GETTING A LOT OF HEADLINES FOR A LOT OF DIFFERENT QUIRKY KINDS OF POLICIES, EVERYTHING FROM THE DRIVEWAY TAX OF LATE, WE ALSO HAVE THEY WERE GOING TO BE THE ONLY CITY IN THE ENTIRE METRO TO UNILATERALLY DO A CELL PHONE BAN WHILE DRIVING. AND DAVE HELLING ACTUALLY IN THIS MORNING'S NEWSPAPER, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT A POTENTIAL CONSOLIDATION WITH THE CITY OF ROLAND PARK. I WAS TRYING TO MAKE A POINT. I KNOW YOU WERE. WHAT TYPE OF REACTION DID YOU GET FROM THAT POINT? A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE WRITTEN THAT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN WHICH HAPPENS A LOT IN THE KANSAS CITY AREA. MISSION HAS ALSO HAD A CONTROVERSY OVER REDEVELOPMENT ALONG JOHNSON DRIVE. THERE IS A BIG FIGHT OVER THAT. THE GATEWAY PROJECT THAT KEVIN MENTIONED IS OF COURSE WHERE THE WAL-MART IS GOING. THAT BY THE WAY IS ALSO GETTING TAXPAYER SUBSIDIES. I JUST THOUGHT I'D THROW THAT IN. AND SO THERE IS SOME DISAGREEMENT ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT ROLAND PARK NOW WILL HAVE TO SORT OF REACT TO WHAT MISSION HAS DONE AND WHETHER THAT'S FAIR AND WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SUGGEST TODAY IS THE BIGGER PROBLEM IS WE HAVE A LOT OF LITTLE MUNICIPALITIES. THAT'S INEFFICIENT BY DEFINITION. PERHAPS WE SHOULD CONSIDER THAT INEFFICIENCY RATHER THAN WHERE THE WAL-MART GOES. MY ONLY COMPLAINT ABOUT HE DIDN'T GO FAR ENOUGH I THINK PRAIRIE VILLAGE, MISSION HILLS, ALL THOSE SMALLER NORTHEAST JOHNSON COUNTIES, THEY'RE VERY SIMILAR, AND I CAN'T SEE A REAL REASON FOR THEM TO HAVE SEPARATE CITY GOVERNMENTS AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS AND ALL THE REST OF IT. THERE'S BEEN CONSOLIDATIONS WITH PUBLIC SAFETY WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS, ET CETERA, BUT AGAIN, YOU TRY TO START SERIOUSLY DISSOLVING SOME OF THE POLITICAL BOUNDARIES, AND ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. YEAH. FINALLY THIS WEEK, THE CHANCELLOR OF MU DEPARTS. IT'S FRONT PAGE NEWS THIS WEEK AS BRADY DEATON THE HEAD OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI STEPS DOWN AFTER NINE YEARS ON THE JOB. WHY IS HE LEAVING? HE HAS OTHER THINGS TO DO, I GUESS. IT'S TIME TO QUIT. HE'S 71. WHAT'S FASCINATING TO ME ABOUT THE STORY, OF ALL OF THE THINGS IN THAT, ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ACCOMPLISHMENT HE HAD WAS SPORTS RELATED. IS THAT THE BAROMETER OF A SUCCESS IN A CHANCELLOR? I THINK WE -- YOU CAN BLAME THE MEDIA ON THIS ONE, HEAVILY COVER THOSE ISSUES BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE OBVIOUSLY ALIGNED WITH MU TIGER FOOTBALL DECISION BUT THIS CHANCELLOR WAS VERY, VERY INVOLVED IN MANY OTHER ASPECTS OF THE BROADER UNIVERSITY. THAT JUST DON'T GENERALLY TEND TO MAKE THE FRONT PAGE QUITE AS OFTEN. WE NEED TO KEEP OUR EYE ON POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION, NICK. THE KANSAS LEGISLATURE CUT FUNDING FOR HIGHER ED, TUITIONS ARE GOING UP. THERE WILL BE ENORMOUS PRECON-- PRESSURE ON THE MISSOURI SYSTEM FOR WHOEVER THE NEXT PRESIDENT IS TO ADDRESS WHAT I THINK IS THE NEXT BIG TARGET OF LAWMAKERS WHICH WILL BE COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. SO NOT JUST LEAVING THE BIG 12 IS SOMETHING ELSE WE NEED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT. DOWN THE ROAD -- THE MOM AND POP ARE GOING -- [TALKING OVER EACH OTHER] THAT IS OUR THREE WEEKS IN REVIEW ON "KANSAS CITY WEEK IN REVIEW." THANKS TO OUR NEWS REVIEWERS FROM THE KANSAS CITY STAR. MARY SANCHEZ AND KEVIN COLLISON, "STAR" REPORTER, BLOGGER AND COLUMNIST DAVE HELLING, AND FROM NEWSRADIO 98 ONE FM BILL GRADY. I'M NICK HAINES, FROM ALL OF US HERE AT KCPT, THANKS FOR SPENDING PART OF YOUR WEEKEND WITH US. [MUSIC]