Pubdate: Fri, 05 Nov 2004 Source: Kansas City Star (MO) Copyright: 2004 The Kansas City Star Contact: http://www.kcstar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/221 OPENNESS ON ANTI-DRUG TAX The investigation of Jackson County's anti-drug tax hit an embarrassing roadblock this week. County Executive Katheryn Shields locked some tax records behind jail bars in the courthouse, emphasizing yet again the controversy that surrounds this issue. The county executive, Prosecutor Michael Sanders and county legislators have been trading barbs for months about possible inappropriate spending of the Community Backed Anti-Drug Tax. To resolve these disputes, the county Legislature hired an independent audit firm to determine whether the COMBAT funds were spent properly. This week Shields suddenly hired another firm to lock away many documents that are part of the material being audited. The audit firm temporarily couldn't get to the records. What prompted the lock-up? Shields claimed she wanted to protect the papers. But she offered no evidence that they were in danger of being destroyed or stolen. Before taking action, Shields should have explained her reasoning to county legislators. She didn't, leading to public criticism from legislators Ron Finley and Henry Rizzo. Jackson County taxpayers deserve an exhaustive report on COMBAT spending. The auditors should be allowed unfettered access to information about the anti-drug tax. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek