MDC income

[brownieman]

Tightline...I am not familiar with the "News Leader"...what is it?

JC...If memory serves me right, the Kerr Mcgee deal was down around the Current River watershed and raised a little stink...not sure but I think it had something to do with taking core samples, drilling rights, etc. Not sure about this though...that has been several yrs. ago and I was not close to or involved in the matter.

JD...All the contacts you give shows the trend that disturbs me. JMO...most of these positions are desk jobs...most in urban areas. They are glad to help and should be (our tax dollars are their paycheck) when it comes to dealing with problems on various concerns. Free advice, suggestions, phamplets, etc....in most cases they probably will come right to your land and help troubleshoot whatever problems you have. This is all good...but...when it comes to lending a helping hand (whether it be manpower, equipment, whatever) little if any assistance is given.

IMO...The bulk of the improvements I have seen is in and around high profile areas...Taney at the present time.

Example, Busch Wildlife Area near St Peters...big fancy Nature Center, very nice and very costly. IMO they could use sub cotract labor (which they may in some cases, I don't know) and possibly lower the total cost of such things while at the same time pump a little money back into the infrastructure of the state. This would help us like we with the taxes we pay have helped them....sure would put a damper on their Design and Development Division though. I don't know if this is still right but they used to stock on a regular basis during the winter months a few lakes at Busch with catchable / keepable trout.

I had relatives that lived in that area that made me aware of this. They wondered why this was (some of them enjoying trout fishing) the case when it's catch and release only during these months in the trout parks. I had no answer...made no sense to me. The only trout fishing where you can keep them during these months is the trophy areas and stocked areas of the streams which they were told were not stocked during these months. They passed this info on to me and I found it strange and have heard others make mention of this. To my knowledge their questions were never answered unless they failed to tell me about it. These things I say are just my opinion and we still have the right to that...for awhile anyway, lol

If this program still exists I would like to know the reasoning behind this...someone please explain??

[jcoberley]

Gavin:

I agree with you in that I don't want MDC to go away. I am not mad at anyone. As I said I am just questioning what is happening to a LOT of tax payers money.

One question I keep coming back to is the amount of money they have drawing interest. Did tax payers give them the special sales tax so it could be banked or did they give it to them to provide more services? If they gave it to them to put into savings I want to know why. If they gave it to them for more services I would like to know where these services are.

Why do they feel it necessary to raise fees when they have so much money that they are putting it into savings?

Why don't they have more handicapped access points?

Why don't they give the less fortunate a break?

Why do they act broke when they are in fact extremely well funded?

I don't believe their books, I think they are cooked but, even so why is only 6% of the budget alloted for fishing? Why is only 7% alloted for hunting? Why is 20% alloted for Management?

GF I agree with you. I don't want MDC to go away. I am not mad at anyone. We gave it to them for more services I would like to know where these services are. I haven't seen more services with the 1/8 tax or at least not near enough to off set the incress. I for one have not seen but I am told. And some I am told I am not so sure about. JMO

[Danoinark]

You will need powerpoint to see this, but here is a presentation about the 1/8 cent tax and an overview. Dano

http://www.outdoorrecreationalliance.org/p...#268,16,REVENUE CONTRAST

[jcoberley]

Dano, thanks and I dont have power piont but windows internet explorer opens it just fine.

After viewing I have even more dought to where a large amounts of money has went. JMO

[Gavin]

The "Lots of Money Drawing Intersest" objection is pretty much a myth..Sure they earned $1M in intersest but that not much when you consider they have $160M a year budget..that $1M in interest amounts to less than 1% of annual revenues.

I'm not sure how yall manage your finances, but I think that everybody needs a decent sized cash reserve. Businesses, Governments, Individuals..Personally I like to have at least 3-6 months worth of expenses in cash and readilly available at all times...Makes your life a lot easier if something unexpected happens (lose your job, illness, magor home repair,etc). Cheers.

[gonefishin]

I agree everyone should have some savings but, the MDC is not an individual, it is a organization that taxes people.

A couple of years ago I seen a report on the news where they filed charges against a woman (three kids) on welfare because she had saved a something like $500 over a period of three years. The complaint was that she was living off tax payer money and people drawing tax payers money should not be saving. If it was illegal for her why isn't it illegal for MDC?

That isn't my real point however. My questioning of them earning a million in interest is this. A money market pays about 2% so how many dollars is required to earn a million pre-tax dollars in interest? Isn't that a lot of dollars for a tax based organization to have in the bank? If a tax based organization is able to save that many dollars aren't they possibly overcharging for services rendered?

Let me put it another way. I don't know if you have kids or not but if you do, with the public schools being a tax based organization, how would feel if the state made you buy a $20 license annually for a key to open the door of the public school then, for any days they held recess (BSP, Roaring River ect) they charged you another $3. Would you think that fair after you had paid taxes to fund the public schools?

MDC is doing just that. They got a nice comfortable tax to provide services then started charging more for the services. I just want to know what kind of a deal that is. I want to know how they justify it. I want to know what they are doing with the money.

I am not really trying to be a pain, these questions really shouldn't be that hard to get a straight answer for. As a tax payer I think I have a right to ask them. I want to know whats happening and I would think everyone should want to know.

[Danoinark]

They got a nice comfortable tax to provide services then started charging more for the services. I just want to know what kind of a deal that is. I want to know how they justify it. I want to know what they are doing with the money.

I am not really trying to be a pain, these questions really shouldn't be that hard to get a straight answer for. As a tax payer I think I have a right to ask them. I want to know whats happening and I would think everyone should want to know.

Then GF, I would think an email, or even a phone call to the proper officials at MDC would be appropriate for you to hopefully get the answers. I would like to hear what they had to say too.

Dano

[jcoberley]

I have called and all I am told is to review the report for 2006. I have did that and when things are lumped in to 13 items its imposable to review.

County Assistance 0.80%

Capital Improvement 18.28%

Fisheries 6.68%

Forestry 8.70%

Wildlife 9.30%

Outreach & Education 9.31%

Private Land Services 4.54%

Protection 7.82%

Resource Science 6.94%

Regional Public Contact Offices 2.49%

Administrative Services & Human Resources 17.18%

Design and Development 6.61%

Administration 1.35%

That’s the report can anyone make heads or tails out of it?

Ok lets pick one, Capital Improvements. Hum well I can see that they spent 18.25%

On what Land, Better accesses, Rest rooms, Maybe what? Like I say its hidden. As to the Brazil land. I don’t think any Missourians will ever see or visit there. And just how will that help Missouri or USA citizens? I feel that is a rip to the taxpayers of Missouri that is funding them.

I just want to see a little more access for everyone including the needy and I don’t mean just Branson area. It looks like the bulk is used near Branson/ Springfield area. Like I said reports don’t show tangible hard down to earth asset items.

A little better informed and accountability would be a great thing and all this would be water under the bridge.

[jcoberley]

Conservation Sales Tax $99,069,219

Permit Sales $29,723,302

Federal Reimbursements $24,387,069

Sales and Rentals $6,692,101

Interest $1,265,130

Other Sources $3,570,635

Total Receipts $164,707,456

Total Receipts $164,707,456 X bank rates of 5.5% = 9058910.08 a little under a million. Provided they invest 100% income for a year.

[brownieman]

Just my opinion...but...

Design & Development / Capital Improvement...remember that privey in Yellowstone that cost like $160,000.00 or some sh*t, go figure, lol. Sub cotracting many of these so called improvements would get more bang for our buck and feed our infrastructure...win, win, scenario

Adminstrative Services & Human Resources...well, we probably all agree on what this category consists of.

We won't even get into land donated and the reasoning and purpose some lands are acquired...that's a whole other thread sometime...

It's all in accoutability...if they don't get called on it...well...as with any type of tax generated entity the money is spent at just a fews discretion...imo it's up to the tax payers themselves to be the watchdog.