Mayor's Monthly Update
September 2007
Even before I was elected Mayor of Kansas City, I put together a list of my 10 priorities: Council, Finance, Downtown, Neighborhoods, Housing, Education, Crime, Sewers, Transit and Citizen Satisfaction.
I have them listed on the back of my business card so that I'll always have them with me to remind myself of what's most important.
With this monthly update I aim to inform you of the progress I've made on each of these priorities and lay out my goals for the coming month. I'll do my best to be candid and not let my own optimism cloud my report.
Finance
The highlight of my August was the completion of the work of my Economic Development and Incentive Policy Task Force. When I appointed the 14 citizens and six council members at the end of May, and asked them to write a policy to guide the City's use of Tax Increment Finance incentives, even I was a little skeptical about the prospects.
I'd asked them to do something the city had failed to do for itself for more than a decade. I gave them three months.
Meeting once a week for hours at a time, they worked their way through many of the issues faced by cities concerning tax breaks. They met in locations across the City. They listened to the public. They made their working document available throughout the process on the City's web site.
It was, to my mind, exactly how policies should be written and made.
The final document, which was forwarded to my office on August 30, is quite good, and it has the support of a majority of the Council by virtue of myself and the six council members who participated in the task force – Deb Hermann, Ed Ford, Melba Curls, Beth Gottstein, Terry Riley and John Sharp.
When it is approved, the city will for the first time have a policy to guide its use of tax incentives. A way to steer development to neglected neighborhoods. A way to encourage good developments to be even better. The age of willy nilly development is coming to an end in Kansas City.
This month, we just have to pass it.
Council
On August 20, my fellow City Council members and I gathered at Lakeside Nature Center for a strategic planning session organized by Councilmember Jan Marcason. Though we work in the same building and spend a lot of hours together in meetings, the Council members and I haven't had a chance to really get to know one another. I know some of my decisions have forced hard votes by the Council, which can't have helped our relationships. But the planning session was a great success. It showed what I had suspected -- this council is basically on the same page with regard to our priorities. We agreed upon a vision for the City. With it, we can move forward together.
In September, I will continue to hold my individual meetings with Council members, many of them over breakfast at Niecie's.
Education
I'm moving forward on an education summit for the residents of the Kansas City School District. The Summit will include a diverse group of people – parents, students, teachers, business and civic leaders and elected officials of all backgrounds and points of view. To build consensus among so many, we intend to employ the "21st Century Town Hall" model, in which a large group of citizens can engage in intimate dialogue and deliberations and, through the use of computer networking and instant electronic voting technology, find areas of agreement and ideas we can act upon.
It will be a truly democratic process, unsullied by political agenda. I have enough confidence in the people of Kansas City to say that I will get behind the recommendations raised at the Summit. I will treat them as a mandate, using them to inform many of my decisions at City Hall. And I will use whatever influence I have to urge other leaders in Kansas City to do the same within their circles of influence.
On August 22, I attended the district school board meeting to present the idea to them. I was surprised and grateful when the board voted unanimously to support the Summit.
This month, I hope to secure private funding for the Summit and to hire a facilitator to host it. My plan is to hold it on a Saturday in mid- January.
Downtown
It was a dusty month downtown as construction crews continued their intense reconstruction of the central business district. I was disappointed when Cordish Company President David Cordish told me the Cordish-owned Kansas City Live district won't open when the Sprint Center does in October. His explanation was that his tenants want to wait to open big with the anticipated flood of visitors in March for the Big 12 Basketball Tournament. Multiple meetings, phone calls and letters haven't changed anyone's mind. To my eye, the City has done everything reasonably possible to get the streetscape and buildings ready for their occupants. Now those buildings will be a Hollywood movie set through the winter instead of the lively, jumping new entertainment district.
This month, I need to help get the word out that the rest of downtown is ready for the party. There will be plenty of parking for folks headed to the Elton John concert that first night. And there are many new restaurants, bars and shops within a few blocks of the Sprint Center.
Neighborhoods
In August, after a whole lot of work by Councilmembers Cindy Circo and Russ Johnson, the Council and I agreed to put a measure on the November ballot to renew the City's one-cent capital improvement tax. This is a big step for the city as a whole, as it's vital that we renew this tax so we can continue making progress toward smooth streets and sidewalks, a functional drainage system and sturdy bridges. Neighborhoods got an added boost in the bargain. In the past, 30 percent of the money generated by this tax has gone to neighborhood projects. My fellow councilmembers and I agreed to bump that to 35 percent, ensuring that millions more will be invested in our neighborhoods.
In September, the campaign begins in earnest to get the sales tax passed this November.
Housing
I proposed a new committee of the City Council that will be charged with dealing with all things housing. This will give these Council members an opportunity to really focus on this issue. The City's housing policy was written by a citizen task force. The policy has wonderful ideas, and with the focused attention of this new committee, I think we can see them through.
This month, they get started.
Crime
August was an interesting month, as Chief Corwin admitted to the media that he was not, in fact, enforcing the panhandling ordinance. He hadn't told the City Council or even the Police Board, on which I sit as mayor. The situation showed me there is room for improvement in communications, and I am going to work harder toward making that happen. I am making it a point to attend all Police Board meetings and to be an active participant in the discussions there. I will continue to do so.
Sewers
In August, the Council approved a contract with Burns and McDonnell to continue work on green solutions to the City's sewer and wastewater problem. I was troubled by the way this contract came to be. It started as a $36,000 agreement for planning. But with amendments and additions, it has grown to $22 million. I voted for the contract. I felt it was too late to reassess, and I know Burns and McDonnell is a good company. But I want us to do a better job of managing contracts so that the bidding process is fair and citizens' interests are protected.
This month, the City has to complete its wet weather plan to submit to the EPA.
Transit
Last month and in the months before, I've had multiple meetings with metro area leaders, and I've been continually impressed with their openness to the idea of a regionally planned and funded light rail system. Public perception has really changed in the last year or two. Gas prices and a growing concern for the environment have changed the way people see mass transit.
We also received a petition to create a ballot measure that would repeal the Clay Chastain light rail plan. It will be put to voters in February.
This month, I expect to have a lot more conversations with area leaders as I work diligently toward my vision for an excellent regional transportation system.
Citizen Satisfaction
It won't be long before we know how citizens feel about the services they're getting from City Hall. As I write this update, the City Auditor's Office is readying its survey of citizens' satisfaction with city services. When this survey is completed in November, I plan to use it as a diagnostic tool. It'll help my fellow Council members, the city manager and me to understand what's working, and what's not.
All in all, August was a good month, with some significant accomplishments. And, as always, we found some areas where we need to improve. I will continue to push for those improvements. I will continue to focus on these ten priorities. And I will continue to keep you informed.
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" at http://webfusion.kcmo.org/ColdFusionApps/listbot/.
Sincerely,
Mayor Mark Funkhouser
