No tax dollars for Senate's system

To the editor:

This is in response to the column by Rebecca McDowell Cook. I can not speak to her other figures and conclusions, but I can speak to her offhand comment about "$20,000 television sets for the Senate." Apparently, at least in this instance, Cook did not check her facts.

The Senate spent $20,000 to install audio-visual capability in a committee room where it was previously unavailable. This was to respond to public and state agency demand to present Powerpoint and VCR testimony regarding pending legislation. The system included a plasma-screen monitor which was a fraction of the total cost. The monitor is a big computer screen, if you will, and not a television. The plasma screen proved to be more economical than traditional projectors and screens which would have cost thousands of dollars more given the size and design of the room.

No tax dollars were used in this purchase. Instead, funds saved over the past two years from the sale of copies of bills, rental of bill boxes to lobbyists and interest groups and the sale of obsolete and surplus equipment made redundant in part by the reduction of Senate staff were used.

The Missouri Senate has reduced its operating budget more than $1.3 million dollars over the past two years, making those funds available for appropriation to other areas. We will continue in our efforts to make our part of state government more efficient and responsive to the demands of the public.

MICHAEL KEATHLEY

Administrator, Missouri Senate

Jefferson City, Mo.