Funk's Front Porch

New Mayor's Office Website

This week the City of Kansas City unveiled their new website.  As part of that update, the Mayor's Office has decided to focus our efforts solely on our official pages there. 

As part of the transition we are copying most of the content from this website and moving it over.  We will be posting all new content on the official site.

There is great news for those of you who visited Funk's Front Porch on a regular basis.  Funk's Front Porch now has its own, more functional page at our official website.  The weekly newsletters will now be posted there. 

Funk’s Front Porch has already been expanded to include a Twitter account for the official office.  We are also in the process of adding a traditional blog for the office at the official site.

Other content normally posted here, like the town hall recaps, also has also has a home at the new website.  We invite you to look around and let us know what you think. 

You can access the new official pages here:

City of Kansas City

Mayor's Office

Funk's Front Porch

Funk's Front Porch Twitter Account

Mayor Funkhouser's Speech to Downtown Rotary

On Thursday, August 20, 2009, Mayor Mark Funkhouser presented this speech to the Downtown Rotary.

Download Downtown rotary speech 8-20-09

Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football Mayoral Face-Off

News from the Mayor's Office City of Kansas City, Mo.

www.kcmo.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 20th, 2009

Mayor Funkhouser to Compete in Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football Mayoral Face-Off Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Mark Funkhouser will compete with ten other mayors in a Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football League this fall.

The Mayoral Face-Off includes mayors from Buffalo, Green Bay, Oakland, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, San Francisco and Tampa Bay. The prize for the winning Mayor is $15,000, to be designated to a non-profit sports program. Mayor Funkhouser is designating his winnings to go to the Police Athletic League.

Another $15,000 will go to the city with the most votes at the Mayoral Face-Off home page. Kansas City area football fans can support the Police Athletic League by going to this page and by voting for Kansas City.

“I am looking forward to challenging my fellow Mayors on the fantasy gridiron,” said Mayor Funkhouser. “I hope Kansas City area residents will join us on the Mayoral Face-Off homepage and vote to put Kansas City on top.”

The Mayoral Face-Off Draft is today at 12:30 p.m.

For more information contact Mark Siettmann in Mayor Funkhouser’s office: 816-513-3512, mark_siettmann@kcmo.org.

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Newsletter

July 31, 2009

Dear Folks,

This Week's City Business

The Mayor was asked to be part of a conference call with Vice President, Joe Biden, and three other Mayors to talk about stimulus funding and how the federal government can do a better job in serving city governments with the funds.  All three Mayors were asked for their advice on the subject.  Our Mayor felt that the Vice President was sincere in trying to help cities get their fair share of stimulus funding.

Speaking of funds, Police Chief, Jim Corwin, applied for stimulus funding and was one of the few big cities to not only receive the funding, but to receive the full amount applied for.  The Mayor is thrilled to have a professional Police Chief who is a partner with him in looking after his constituent's highest concern -- feeling safe in one's own home and city.  The funding will allow the current training academy class, which will graduate on August 6, to be hired by our city instead of by neighboring communities.  The current class also happens to be the most diverse class that the Chief has ever had, so this is good news all around.  The grant will also allow the next candidate class to begin on time in September.  The Mayor is still trying to restore cop funding so that the January cadet class can begin on time as well.  The reason this is so important is that if we don't keep the classes going as scheduled, then we lose too many officers on the street for our protection.

The Mayor spent most of his time this week talking in-depth with council members about current initiatives they're working on.  While a lot of the news in the media has been focused on hype, the work of city government has been proceeding at a very nice pace.

One area that has been proceeding quite well is the Mayor's City That Works program, which meets on a weekly basis.  The program is designed to find ways to strategically target a small amount of money to make a big impact on basic city services.  One of the areas that the Mayor has been focusing on is the city's 311-complaint system.  He was distressed to learn that over 600,000 calls went unanswered last year; therefore, he is working hard with that department to insure that calls are answered in a timely and professional manner.  The Mayor feels that much progress has been made in reaching this important goal. 

On a More Personal Note

The judge ruled in the Mayor's favor this week regarding the "volunteer" ordinance.  Funk is grateful for the decision of the court.  The judge's decision protects the authority of the Mayor's office, but not only for his term, but for future Mayors as well.  Funk is glad to have this issue behind him so that he and the City Council can fully focus on the significant challenges that face our city. 

The next Town Hall Meeting:  Where:  Wexford Place, 6500 N. Crosby Ave. When: September 9, 6:30 pm; Who: Wexford Place.

The Mayor's Public Appearances next week: Monday, Aug. 3, 4:00 pm, New Tools Task Force Meeting, St. Marks Church, 1101 Euclid Ave.; Tuesday, August 4, 3:30 City That Works Public Meeting, 414 E. 12th St. 10th Floor; August 4, 5:30 Ivanhoe Neighborhood Night Out Against Crime - Speech, Ivanhoe Park, 43rd and Brooklyn; Thursday, August 6, 3:00, Council Business Session, 414 E. 12th St. 26th Floor; Thursday, August 6, 6:00pm, Speech, Police Academy Entrant Officer Class Graduation; Friday, August 7, 7:40 am, Friday's With Funk, 710 KCMO; Friday, August 7, 8:00am Speech, National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives, Downtown Marriott.

In faith,

Gloria & Mark

You can respond to this newsletter at funksfrontporch@gmail.com.  If you'd like daily news updates, please check the Mayor's blog site at www.funksfrontporch.com.

The Mayor's top ten priorities

1. Establishing a good working relationship with the Council
2. Getting the City's finances in order
3. Making downtown work
4. Tending to our neighborhoods
5. Implementing the Housing Policy task force recommendations
6. Improving the perception and the reality of public education in Kansas City

7. Reducing Crime
8. Repairing our sewer systems
9. Establishing an excellent regional transit system, which includes light rail
10. Improving citizen satisfaction with City services

Mayor Addresses Family Values

On Sunday, July 26, Mayor Mark Funkhouser spoke at the Emmanuel Church, 920 Olive Street, Kansas City, in honor of the 51st Pastoral Anniversary of Pastor W. H. White.  During his presentation, the Mayor spoke about family values, of the importance of the female point of view, and of the "new politics."

View his presentation at the link below:

Defends Family Values

 

Newsletter

24 July 2009

Dear Folks,

This Week's City Business
We are sorry to have been so long getting a newsletter out the door to you. As you probably saw in the news, the Mayor has been diligently preparing for the discrimination lawsuit that befell his office and the city. He remains under a court order to not discuss the matter in any detail, and he is going to continue to honor that order. What he can say at the moment is that he was looking forward to going to trial because he knows that he would have been vindicated. The council voted to settle the case yesterday for $550,000.
On the advice of his legal counsel, the Mayor abstained from the vote. On a positive note, the Mayor is glad to have this behind him. While he has been moving his priorities forward all along, this ordeal has taken a toll on the city, his staff and his family. And while the Mayor's priority has always been to be fiscally conservative and a good steward with your tax dollars, in this case, he believed that continuing to improve his growing relationship with councilmember's would go much further toward that goal than putting his own needs first and selfishly forcing the case to trial in order to be publicly vindicated.
Two weeks ago Geoffrey Canada, with the Harlem Children's Zone, came to Kansas City to give a speech. The Mayor has been in contact with him for quite a while now, and he even went to Harlem to visit with him in February. Mr. Canada is a dynamic man whose compassion, joyfulness and intellect are plain to see. He, too, is a principled man. When he was told that he couldn't educate children out of poverty, he held strong to his convictions and educated children out of poverty. When he was told that he couldn't reach every child in the zoned area, he made sure that every child made it through college. At times, when his staff wavered in their belief of the vision, he found himself standing and working alone. But he didn't give up; he kept moving forward and found others who, like him, were also unwilling to give up on children. Geoffrey Canada is a living icon that has deeply influenced the Mayor. Your Mayor is also unwilling to give up on children, on a moral level and on an economic development front. Luckily, the Mayor has put together an amazing team that is working hard to see this vision through here in Kansas City. Between this and the Education Summit, we will have a world-class education system in Kansas City in the near future.
After years of the City's housing department being in federal receivership, the City is on the verge of having full authority restored back from HUD. And on a similar positive note, Kansas City has been granted more than $17 million federal stimulus dollars for housing and community development. The City is working aggressively to build better communities for Kansas City residents.
On a More Personal Note
The summer has flown by, and, once again, Funk and I are looking at being childless at home. Well, not exactly childless, as we have other children living with us, but we will be without our own children again as they head back to college next month. The wonderful news is that Andrew is only a short distance away at Columbia, and Tara finishes grad school in December and will return home to complete her Ph.D. We hope that loving family and friends are a part of your life as well.

The Next Town Hall Meetings When: September 9, 6:30 p.m. Where: Wexford Place, 6500 N Cosby Ave.Who: Wexford Place

The Mayor's Public Appearances This Week Sunday 11 a.m. 51st Pastoral Anniversary of Pastor W.H. White Emmanuel Church 920 Olive St. Tuesday 3:30 p.m. A City that Works Weekly Public Meeting 414 E. 12th St. 10th Floor Wednesday 1 p.m. Northeast Kansas City Chamber International Business Crawl and Luncheon Pho 97 Restaurant 2605 Independence Blvd Thursday 1:30 p.m. Council Business Session 414 E. 12th St. 10th Floor 3 p.m. Council Legislative Session 414 E. 12th St. 26th Floor Friday 7:40 a.m. Friday's with Funk 710 KCMO
In faith,
Gloria & Mark

You can respond by email to this newsletter at funksfrontporch@gmail.com.
If you'd like daily news updates, please check the Mayor's blog site at www.funksfrontporch.com.

The Mayor's top ten priorities:

1. Establishing a good working relationship with the Council
2. Getting the City's finances in order
3. Making downtown work
4. Tending to our neighborhoods
5. Implementing the Housing Policy task force recommendations
6. Improving the perception and the reality of public education in Kansas City
7. Reducing Crime
8. Repairing our sewer systems
9. Establishing an excellent regional transit system, which includes light rail
10. Improving citizen satisfaction with City services

Northland Neighborhoods Town Hall Meeting

    The Northland Neighborhoods Inc. hosted a Mayor's Town Hall meeting on July 1, at their headquarters on N.E. Vivion Road in Kansas City.  Northeast Neighborhoods Inc. is a Communicty Development Corporation that provides a wide range of services to neighborhoods in the Northland.

    Kansas City Mayor, Mark Funkhouser, always devotes most of the Town Hall meeting time to questions from the audience, because he wants to learn more about the issues of concern to Kansas City residents.  The Northland neighborhood residents certainly did not disappoint him, as they had numerous tough questions for the Mayor.  Some of those questions follow, along with the Mayor's responses.

Q:  I hear that TIF projects take tax money away from the School District.  Where do we stand on all the TIF projects that have been created?

    The Mayor agreed that TIF projects often do take tax money away from school districts.  He went on to explain that, in addition to hurting schools, some TIFs hurt the city directly.  To date, several TIF projects have been approved that are backed by City debt. Of these, all but one have failed to meet their projections for return on investment.  In fact, during the current budget year, money had to be allocated from the general fund to cover the deficit created by these TIF projects.  The City must cover these deficits, the Mayor said, to avoid defaulting on the bonds issued to support the project.  He pointed out that the City's bond rating was recently downgraded because of the outstanding TIF debt, as well as the current economicdownturn and other factors.  the City cannot afford to let the bond rating drop any further, the Mayor siad.

Q:  Populations follow jobs.  So don't we need to get more jobs in Kansas City, and isn't that what TIF projects are about.

    The Mayor explained that jobs are certainly needed, but that is not the complete answer for rebuilding Kansas City's declining tax base.  He pointed out that a substantial portion of the jobs performed in Kansas City are held by people who live outside the city.  When this occurs, the city does collect earnings tax, but most of the money earned is spent in the suburbs so the City does not have the collateral benefit of money spent locally, or the benefit of the property tax that could be collected if the people built their homes in the Northland or elsewhere in the City.  He explained that since 1970, the population of the City core has declined by 100,000 people, and when those people left they took their income with them.  Consequently, the City's share of income in the metro declined from 40% to around 18% today.  To reverse this, we must improve basic infrastructure and services and improve safety and education so that more people will move to the City, and those residents already here will stay, the Mayor said.

Q.  Why does it seem that more attention and more resources are directed toward infrastructure in the city core while the Northland is neglected?

    The Mayor responded that this question comes up in every neighborhood throughout the City, and every neighborhood feels it is being cheated.  This is an understandable human reaction, the Mayor said, but it comes from the fact that there is simply too little money to service all the needs of every neighborhood.  For example, when you have a community where the need is for a million dollars and ten thousand is available, then everyone in that community feels cheated, he said.  The challenge to City government leaders is to be smart with the money and make sure that the limited funds available are strategically targeted to areas where small amounts of money can have a large affect.  He pointed out that under The City That Works program, he meets weekly with the City Manager, Department Heads, and City Council members to identify such targeted areas.

 

Ruskin Hills Town Hall Meeting

    The Ruskin Hills Home Association hosted a Mayor's Town Hall meeting on June 24 at the Symington Elementary School in the Hickman Mills School District.  Kansas City residents were engaged and clearly interested in learning about issues affecting their neighborhoods.

    Following Mayor Mark Funkhouser's introductory remarks, participants posed numerous important questions.  Some of those questions, along with the Mayor's responses follow. 

Q.  Why are businesses leaving Kansas City, and shouldn't we be concerned about that?

    The Mayor responded that businesses leave Kansas City for economic reasons that are related to the loss of population.  He explained that businesses move into and stay in locations where the population and associated income can support them.  Since 1970, Kansas City has lost 100,000 people from the city core, and the city's proportional share of metro income has shrunk from 40% in 1970 to 18% today.  When the population and income base declines, business can no longer grow or remain viable and must leave the City.  He said that he is very concerned about this issue, and has built his administration's policies around trying to combat the conditions that have led to the City's declining population.  Central to this effort are the City that Works Initiative and the New Tools Initiative.

Q.  Why does it seem like only the business and moneyed interests in Kansas City are reaping the benefits of our tax dollars?  Neighborhoods like Ruskin Hills are suffering while the City Council is doing things like giving a $600,000 loan to a Trolley Company and $500,000 to a consultant for building a thousand-room hotel in downtown.

    The Mayor said that he shares the neighborhoods' frustrations, and has made economic development throughout Kansas City a priority of his administration.  He pointed out that one of his first actions after being elected was to develop and implement an Economic Development Plan for the City, which had never been done up to that point.  The plan lays out strict requirements for how and where tax financed programs such as TIF can be used, which is designed to help prevent over-exposure of the City's financial system.  He stated that the Ordinance authorizing money for the consultant was approved during his absence.  He will remain watchful on the thousand room hotel issue, and should a tax incentive be sought for building such a hotel, he will insist that the Economic Development Plan be followed and on being presented with solid financial proof that such a project will actually benefit the City.  He will also keep track of the Trolley loan to make sure that all the terms are met, he said.

Q.  What is happening to all the money that is being collected by the city in the form of fines for people who run the newly installed red lights at certain intersections downtown?

    The Mayor responded that the red lights were not installed in order to collect money, but for safety reasons.  Far too many people were running red lights and putting themselves and others in danger of being killed. 

Newsletter

Dear Folks,

This Week's City Business

The US Conference of Mayors in Providence, Rhode Island was a grand success. The Mayor is getting to know the other Mayors and is learning a lot from them. The main lesson that he walked away with this time is that he needs to be much more involved with this organization. Together, they are a lobby group in Washington, D.C. - a force to contend with as far as bringing dollars and programs to their cities. Also, they help shape policy for local governments. Our Mayor has been invited into the inner circle and he is going to go full steam ahead with that.

While the Mayor was at the conference in Rhode Island the council advanced and passed a resolution allocating more money, this time to the tune of $500,000 to study the thousand-room conference hotel idea again. The Mayor has grave reservations about spending hundreds of millions of citizen tax dollars and being able to get any kind of monetary gain to show for it. Further, it concerned him that the money for the study was found so quickly and easily, yet the three million dollars needed to properly fund our police force still cannot be found. This bothers him, as he knows full well that the citizen's highest budgetary priority this year is police funding.

Many of the Mayor's boards and commission seats are coming open due to their terms expiring and he would like to fill them with supporters who will help him look after the city's best interests. Some of the most pressing openings are on the Health Commission, the Ethics Commission, the MAST board, the Housing Technical Committee, PIEA, and the TIF Commission. If you would like to consider serving on one of these boards or on any of his other boards, please call the Mayor's Boards and Commissions staff member, Brandon Dial, at 513-3500. Brandon can explain the board requirements and will quickly walk you through the application process.

Both of the Mayor's education initiatives have moved to the top of the Mayor's priority list, as the only true way of making Kansas City into a world-class city is by having a world-class education system. Taking into consideration all of the city's other amenities, if our schools are top quality, then we will have no problem getting people to move back into and remain living in our city. And once we do that, we will have much greater tax pool to draw from to address the needs of our other basic services that have been long-neglected due to a shortage in tax revenue.

On a More Personal Note

Funk and I took three days on the back end of the conference to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. It wasn't quite the celebration we were hoping for, as we couldn't turn off work-mode to fully enjoy ourselves. We've never had that problem before, but we do now. But I guess when we're both in rocking chairs we'll have that much more to talk about. Hey, you've got to think positive.

The Next Town Hall Meetings When: July 1, 6:30 p.m. Where: TBD Who: TBD When: July 29, 6:30 p.m.Where: Wexford Place, 6500 N Cosby Ave. Who: Wexford Place
The Mayor's Public Appearances This Week Sunday June 28th 5:15 p.m. Night Kicks Kick-Off - Community America Ball Park 1800 Village West Parkway, Kansas City, KS Monday June 29th 5:00 p.m. Shanin and Parks Show KMBZ Studios, 7000 Squibb Road Mission, Kansas 66202 Wednesday July 1st 6:30 p.m. Town Hall Meeting - Northland Neighborhoods Inc. 3015 NE Vivion Road, Kansas City, MO Friday July 3rd 7:40 a.m. Fridays with Funk 710 KCMO

In faith,

Gloria & Mark

You can respond by email to this newsletter at funksfrontporch@gmail.com.

If you'd like daily news updates, please check the Mayor's blog site at www.funksfrontporch.com.

The Mayor's top ten priorities:

1. Establishing a good working relationship with the Council
2. Getting the City's finances in order
3. Making downtown work
4. Tending to our neighborhoods
5. Implementing the Housing Policy task force recommendations
6. Improving the perception and the reality of public education in Kansas City
7. Reducing Crime
8. Repairing our sewer systems
9. Establishing an excellent regional transit system, which includes light rail
10. Improving citizen satisfaction with City services

Mayor Calls for an Education Summit

    For a long time, you've heard me talking about the need for an Education Summit, an event that would engage a large number of Kansas City citizens in a dialog about how we can do a better job of educating all the children of our City.  Like many other cities, Kansas City needs a supportive and invested community of stakeholders to ensure that all young people are empowered to reach their full potential.

 

    Along the way, I've encountered a lot of people who believe that public dialog is just a waste of time, or who say that our education system is too broken to ever be fixed.  But I rejected those arguments, and I didn't give up.  Now, I'm glad I didn't give up, because I've discovered numerous individuals out there who are as concerned about the future accomplishments of Kansas City's children as I am, and who are willing to give of their time, talent and money to make the Education Summit work.

 

    In fact, I am now so convinced of the level of support for this project that on June 4, I put the issue before the City Council so that I could formally introduce Council Members to the conceptual framework of the Education Summit.  My purpose was not to ask the Council for funding, since the Summit will be privately funded, but to acknowledge their position as city leaders and encourage their participation.  In general, the Council was supportive.

 

    I also wanted to introduce the Council to two of the people who have taken up the mantel of leadership and are heading the project -- Janice Ellis and Crosby Kemper.  Both Ms. Ellis and Mr. Kemper are well known in Kansas City for their accomplishments in business and for their dedication to improving the quality of life for Kansas City residents.  I am grateful to have such highly skilled and highly motivated individuals leading this project.

 

    Kansas City is divided in so many ways, and education is one of our most divisive issues.  But I believe that education can unite us.  I was recently told by Jim Nutter, a businessman and civic leader, that he is not convinced that the Summit will work, but that if I am willing to take the risk to do it, he is willing to take the risk to support me.  And, he said, 'If we pull it off, it will be the most important thing to happen to Kansas City in the past hundred years."  With his help, and with the help of all of you in our diverse communities, we will pull it off.