For almost a year, Kansas City, Kan., Police Chief Terry Zeigler has lived in a house owned by Wyandotte County. County residents, open government advocates and a Unified Government commissioner point to the fact that no written lease was in place for almost eight months after Zeigler moved into the house.
Zeigler pays little or no rent on a monthly basis because of credits granted for expenses to make improvements on the house. Officials put the lease in writing after a citizen inquired about it. Although the lease was retroactive to the beginning of the year, Zeigler has yet to make a rent payment. Under the agreement, he is credited for expenses, labor and mileage he’s incurred while working on the house.
Because of the credits, Zeigler owes less than $1,300 in rent. From Dec. 29, 2017, through July 26, he has claimed more than $18,530 in expenses, including $672.53 in mileage and $5,765 in labor costs by him and others.
“I paid the rent in advance by doing the work and spending my own personal money on fixing it up,” Zeigler said. “So now when that credit runs out, I got to write a check to them by the end of the year. I’ll get them the last bit and I’m done for 2019. And in 2020, I have to start paying them $1,000 a month.”
(Read more: Government & Politics News |)