Candidate for Ward 4 Alderman – Mary Jane Van Buskirk

I am Mary Jane Van Buskirk, I am running for Alderman in Ward 4. I’m a 42 year resident of Raytown. We have a great city and we need to market it as such.  We do have problems but working together we can fix these problems and make Raytown better than its ever been. I am not saying I can fix all the problems but I promise I will give it 100%. In order to fix our problems we must find ways to expand our economic base by attracting new business, because all of this comes with a cost.

I do have concerns and here is a list of them;

1. I feel very strongly that we need more police patrol in our neighborhoods, crime in the neighborhoods is on the increase.  We have 56 full time police officers and a budget of $7,839,664.00 (47% of our city’s budget).  We had 7,221 outstanding warrants in the month of December. I believe we should look at the possibility of restructuring our police department so as to better utilize the personnel and the tax dollars that fund it. As a strong supporter of our police department it is not my intent to bash the police department but to make it more efficient.

2. Code enforcement needs to be done on a daily basis not just when citizens or elected officials complain, it should be proactive. The codes department employees are on the streets daily and if they are doing their job properly they see violations and that is when they need to be handled. Enforced codes benefit all homes owners and businesses in our city.

3. Streets in many areas of our city are not well lit and this just invites crime. The tax payers deserve to have their neighborhoods lit and to feel safe and secure in their homes.

4. Street maintenance is also an area I feel needs to be reviewed. Good streets, like codes are essential to make Raytown more attractive to potential home buyers and prospective businesses.

I would appreciate your support on April 7th to give me an opportunity to serve you for the next four years. My promise is that I will take the job seriously and work hard for those I represent. Call me at 737-2799 with questions.