Feb. 7 , 2008
 Thank you for subscribing to my monthly e-newsletter. I am pleased to share how we're progressing on efforts to improve the city.
Council
The City Council has begun a series of work sessions to discuss the proposed budget. I chose to release the city manager’s budget to the Council and the public within hours of receiving it myself. I wanted everyone to have as much time as I do to assess what we have to work with. These work sessions will give me and the councilmembers a dedicated time each of the next few weeks to assess where we are and where we need to be. I’ll still put out my budget message on Feb. 14, but by then the public conversation will be well under way.
Neighborhoods/Crime
One of the first topics raised during the Council budget work session last Thursday involved the 20 police officers that the 2002 City Council promised to add each year for nine years. The proposed fiscal year 2008-09 city budget doesn’t include them. Twenty officers may not seem significant compared to the 1,500 officers who work for the department. But councilmembers are already hearing from neighborhood leaders, who want to see more officers patrolling their streets. Ultimately, the question of 20 officers comes down to perception. We all want to feel that our city is getting safer. Chief Corwin will be asked to attend one of the February budget workshops. I hope he will find a way to add those officers, or at the very least commit to adding them next year.
Transit
We will be having a Regional Mayors’ Summit on Light Rail on Friday, Feb. 8 at Pierpont’s at Union Station. I hope the event will be well attended and might serve to boost the prospects of state legislation in both Kansas and Missouri that would enable us to create a new, five-county organization for the purpose of building a regional light rail system. I continue to believe that transit is something we need to approach as a metropolitan region and that a regional light rail system is imperative if we are going to compete in the increasingly globalized economy.
Housing
It was almost three years ago that the City of Kansas City, Mo., filed a lawsuit against HEDFC, a Missouri nonprofit that was the city’s primary sub recipient of federal housing dollars. The resulting court proceedings put HEDFC in receivership and significantly limited the City’s own housing program. I’m told we are within a few months of seeing the remaining HEDFC assets returned to the City. When this happens, the City will again be in charge of its own housing program and resources.
Finance
City staff and the Economic Development Commission continue to implement the Economic Development and Incentive Policy the Council passed in September. Likewise, the LCRA, TIF Commission and PIEA are embracing the policy and addressing it as they fulfill their roles in guiding development in the city. The proposed fiscal year 2008-09 budget is strong evidence of how much we’ve needed a policy. Economic incentives including TIFs are estimated to cost more than $87 million in the next budget year.
Downtown
In January, the City Council passed another Community Improvement District for downtown. The special taxing district is managed by the Downtown Council, which uses the money to help market our booming downtown. They organize and pay the yellow-jacketed crews that help keep the streets and sidewalks clean and provide extra security. Their visibility has been an important part of the rebirth of downtown and will be key in helping host the Big XII basketball tournament in March. They are a visual reminder that downtown is again a clean and safe place to visit and enjoy, whether for a concert at the Sprint Center or a beer at one of the many new restaurants and bars.
Sewers
The Water Services Utility Funding Task Force, chaired by Councilwoman Jan Marcason, met in January and began the unenviable task of determining how the water department will pay for needed and federally required improvements to the city water and sewer system. Meanwhile, the new budget includes a 12 percent rate increase for customers for next year. I’ve seen projections that might have them rising by 500 percent over the next 13 years. The rate increases are sobering reminders of the work we have to do.
Citizen Satisfaction
We are coming ever so close to seeing a change in the number of metal plates on Kansas City’s streets. The City's Public Works Department has drafted a new ordinance that will significantly change the way the City permits and tracks the many metal plates that mar our street surfaces. I expect the ordinance to be introduced to Council in February and I hope to get it enacted.
Education
January was another hard month for the Kansas City school district. The board announced it would be seeking a new superintendent while retaining Anthony Amato as a consultant temporarily. I continue to support the board in its challenging task. People have told me that the unsettled situation makes it a poor time to hold a school summit. I disagree. I think now is the time to rally in support of our schools to send a signal that the community still cares about the district and the children and families within it. So I’ll keep working to find the funding for a summit.
Please check my official weblog at http://www.funksfrontporch.com for daily updates on the work of my office. If you've been forwarded this update or know someone who might be interested in subscribing, please sign up for "News from the Mayor's Office."
Sincerely,
Mayor Mark Funkhouser |
