THE MISSOURI STATE AUDIT (No. 2006-87) OF THE
BIRMINGHAM DRAINAGE DISTRICT & its HISTORY
The cover letter for this audit by Claire McCaskill (now Senator McCaskill) contains a strange comment.
After the voters in the communities of Birmingham and Vrooman Acres agreed to pay the state between
eight and sixteen thousand dollars to audit a district controlled by the Mormon Church, which McCaskill
agrees is not following state law, she states:
3. We obtained an understand of legal provisions significant to the audit objectives and we
assessed the risk that illegal acts, including fraud, and violations of contract or other legal
provisions could occur. Based on that risk assessment , we designed and performed procedures
to provide reasonable assurance of detecting instances of noncompliance with the provisions.
However, providing and opinion on compliance with those provisions was not an objective of our
audit and accordingly, we do not express any opinion.
The report was quitely released during the Christmas Holidays, without the promised meeting with the
voters (who help get her elected Senator and paid for the audit) to explain the audit or the promised press
conference. According to public documents in the Clay County Clerk's office, the illegal acts and fraud
McCaskill alludes to is a political scandal involving the Mormon Church she didn't want to open up -- just
too much money and too much political power involved.
2006 (December) State Auditor's Yellow Sheet (with corrective comments) for Birmingham Drainage District
(district). The 5,390 acres that comprised the district has been located within the city limits of KC, Mo.
since it was annexed in 1963. While the majority of the land (4,324.5 acres) along 210 from 435 to 291
is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) the area includes the communities
of Birmingham and Vrooman Acres who are being double taxed by the city for drainage and levee
protection and the district which is prohibited from operating in Kansas City by Constitutional Charter..
2006 - -(Sept/Oct) After 29 years of allowing the LDS (Mormon Church companies) to operate the dead Birmingham
Drainage District (the new Jerusalem in Missouri for the returning Christ) as a taxing authority for maintaining the
levee within the city, as well as the City charging residents a stormwater runoff tax, Kansas City states the truth -- it
is responsible for the levee and drainage system within the city boundaries -- just as the Missouri Supreme Court
ruled for Kansas City in 1923.
1913 -- (Dec) Birmingham Drainage District was created by the Clay County Court with a life of 50 years.
1923 -- (Dec.) MISSOURI SUPREME COURT RULING -- DRAINAGE (and levee) DISTRICT CAN NOT BE FORMED
IN KANSAS CITY ON PETITION OF LANDOWNERS --- CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
1963-- (Dec.) Birmingham Drainage District corporate charter expired. See 1999
1970 -- (Nov) ALLEGED 1970 COURT ORDER REORGANIZING THE BIRMINGHAM DRAINAGE DISTRICT seven
years after the charter expired and eight years after Kansas City annexed the district land. The court
failed to complete the state corporate requirements. A Howard County levee district had already lost
that battle and it was awaiting appeal.
1971 -- (April) KANSAS CITY COURT OF APPEALS RULING, -- where a corporate charter expired by the
passage of time as limited in such charter, the corporation is both de jure and de facto dead;
1978 -- LDS CORPORATE PURCHASE OF 4,324.5 ACRES OF DEAD BIRMINGHAM DRAINAGE DISTRICT -- ORIGINAL DISTRICT
ENCOMPASSED 5,390 ACRES. The Mormons expect Jesus to return to this spot. This was to be the new Jerusalem.
1980 -- (Feb) LDS company (Northland Park, Inc.) created with Robert McKinley as agent of record.
1981 -- (June) Deseret sold the district the right to take care of LDS company Northland Park Inc. drainage
problems outside the district's boundary and granted district a permanent easement to do so.
1983 -- (March) ALLEGED 1983 CONTRACT BETWEEN NORTHLAND PARK, INC AND THE DEAD
BIRMINGHAM DRAINAGE DISTRICT changing the 1981 easement to a conditional easement.
1995 -- (August) 1995 COURT ACTION TO RAISE DISTRICT TAXES.
FOR THE BENEFIT OF ONE CORPORATION, THE MAJORITY LANDOWNER
with 4,324.5 acres (LDS company Property Reserve, Inc., controlled by
Supervisor Norb Kemp of Utah, VP Property Reserve, who currently serves as district engineer.
1997 -- While the petitioners were required to pay for the 1995 court action to raise taxes, in the end
Birmingham Drainage District reembursed Property Reserve, Inc. all cost.
1997 -- Clay County collects taxes for levee district (Birmingham) that never existed.
1999 --- (June) State CERTIFIED ABSTRACT OF DEAD BIRMINGHAM DRAINAGE DISTRICT
CORPORATE CHARTER -- Inactive -- Corporation expired December 22, 1963
2000 -- Letter from LDS company (Northland Park, Inc.), agent Robert McKinley , Esq., claiming to be
president of the the district -- with six supervisors -- only five are authorized -- only two local land
owners would have been elgible to serve (one also acted as drainage overseer) while four
supervisors (including Norb Kemp of Utah) represented corporations.
2001 -- (April) Petition by Robert McKinley to EXTEND LIFE OF DRAINAGE DISTRICT BY SUPERVISORS WHO
COULD NOT legally serve in 2001.
2001 -- Financial Documents filed with the county court show the district spent a considerable amount of
money lobbying to get the rules changed so McKinley and Kemp as well as other LDS company
representatives could serve as a drainage district supervisor.
2002 -- (May) MISSOURI Attorney General's Opinion 39-2002 -- There is no provision that an authorized
representative of a corporation that owns property in a drainage district may be elected to the board
of supervisors of a drainage district under Section 242.150.
2002 -- (Oct) SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE VERSION OF HB1085
THE BILL WOULD ALLOW CORPORATE REPRESENTATIVES TO SERVE ON A LEGAL DISTRICT'S
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. Sole witness testifying for the Bill. Birmingham Drainage District.
2003 --(Dec.) ROBERT W. McKINLEY AND ZIONS SECURITIES -- LDS CHURCH
DEAD BIRMINGHAM DRAINAGE DISTRICT
2003 -- Letter to Robert W. McKinley, President, requesting his view on fine points of law.
2004 -- Letter to Henry W. Kester -- currently listed in State Audit Report as President
2004 -- Taxpayer letter to Clay County Clerk concerning excessive tax increase by District
2004 -- Letter to Robert W. McKinley -- Call for public meeting
2004 -- (Dec) Clay County Court approves extending life of district until 2085 - based on 2001 petition.
2005 -- BIRMINGHAM DRAINAGE DISTRICT - LEGAL AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
2005 -- (March) landowners meeting agenda -- to purchase liability insurance for supervisors against
lawsuits.
2005 -- (May) Clay County Autitor's report on Collector's Office as it pertains to the district.
2005-- (May) Letter to Clay County Commissioners requesting a full investigation of the district.
2005 -- Kansas City, Missouri Charter
Flood protection provisions are constitutional. Charter provisions for flood protection were held
constitutional in State v. Kansas City, 310 Mo. 542, 276 S.W. 389.
2005 -- (Oct) Citizens Petitions to audit the district is turned over to State Auditors Office in Kansas City.