Monthly Update

Finance
When the City Council and I adopted the budget we took a big step toward getting the City s finances in order. But there is still a lot of work to do. We have to make sure that the budget is properly implemented. To accomplish this, Deb Hermann and Jan Marcason, chairwoman and vice chairwoman of the Finance and Audit committee have been holding weekly work sessions with City staff. Last month they received a matrix from City staff that outlines the steps that will be taken to implement the budget.    

In addition to this, the Finance and Audit Committee also received from City staff a plan for the implementation of the City s new Economic Development and Incentive Policy. This will allow us to have greater control over our use of incentives, such as tax breaks. As a result, we will be able to use these tools more strategically and in the best interest of the city.

 

Council
Last month, I met with each member of the City Council to discuss our first year in office together. After having those conversations, I decided to make a couple of changes to their committee assignments. I named Russ Johnson as chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure committee. I also added Terry Riley to that committee and named Councilman Riley as vice chairman of the Legislative Committee. I believe that Russ and Terry can provide the extra leadership that we as a Council need in order to realize our shared vision for the city. I am excited about bringing their leadership to the issues of regional light rail and regional cooperation to create an agenda for Jefferson City and Washington, D.C. that will benefit Kansas City.

 

Neighborhoods
On May 5, I convened a symposium to generate ideas for economic development in the urban core. I invited a wide range of community, business and political leaders to participate in the day-long symposium, out of which I hope to develop policies and plans that will revitalize neighborhoods in the most distressed areas of the city. The tools we currently have, such as tax-increment financing, don t work very well in these areas. Our tools are geared toward big projects in wealthier areas. So we need to create New Tools for economic development.

 

I want Kansas City to take a national lead on this issue. I want to be a model for other cities to look to for solutions to the problem of disinvestment in the urban core.

 

Crime
While the City Council and I were working together to adopt a budget earlier this year, there was a lot of news about the cuts we made. However, there is one area where we did not make cuts: public safety. The City s adopted budget increased general fund support for the Police Department by about $1.3 million. This represents a budgetary increase of approximately 6 percent one of the largest increases of any department in the City. I would have liked to have devoted more resources to the department specifically by hiring 20 additional police officers. I will push to do so next year.

 

Housing
On May 15, there will be a court hearing on the city s housing program, which is in receivership. Councilmember Cindy Circo will testify at the hearing, with a goal of demonstrating to the judge that the City has an action plan for its housing program. We are making some progress in this area, particularly with regards to our compliance with the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department. Shirley Winn, the City s housing administrator, has been working very hard to strengthen that relationship.

 

Also, the Housing Committee reached a concensus on the redesign of the Minor Home Repair Program. It is now called the Emergency Home Repair Program. Services will be limited to roof repair, furnace replacment, electrical service replacement and general plumbing. It will also be limited to a one-time opportunity for residents. The purpose of this redesign is to offer the service to more people and to deliver the service more quickly. City officials are projecting June or July for an announcement that applications will be accepted.

 

Transit
On May 30, Raytown Mayor David Bower, Riverside Mayor Kathleen Rose and I will convene a meeting of local elected officials to discuss a regional light rail plan that will be released later this month. I understand that the devil is in the details. Based on the input of local elected officials and the ongoing analysis and transit work done to date by MARC, the KCATA and others, Councilman Russ Johnson and I will release the regional proposal in advance of the May 30 meeting. Then we will sit down with the region s elected officials to listen to their feedback on the plan. I expect there will be some issues raised, and we will quickly adapt this plan to best address those issues.

 

The goal is to bring us together as one region to give the voters the opportunity to decide whether we have a regional light rail system. While it s an aggressive timeline, I believe we can be ready to bring ballot language to the counties this summer. It s important that we move quickly. In 2009, Congress will reauthorize the federal transportation bill, the most likely method through which the federal government would fund a light rail effort.  Therefore, it is important to pursue a public vote on light rail in November, as any delay would risk these crucial federal funds. Moreover, with ever-increasing gas prices and the threat of climate change, metro communities are ready to make an investment in transportation alternatives.

 

Downtown
The Cordish Company, which is developing the Power and Light Entertainment District has threatened to file a lawsuit against the City in hopes of stopping a plan to allow other entertainment districts to have open container liquor privileges. Obviously, this is not an ideal situation. However, the City has a strong relationship with Cordish and we will continue to have one far into the future. We will work together to ensure that the new entertainment district is a success and that other areas of the city will be able to prosper as well.

 

Sewers
On May 8, the City Council will have an update of the City's Overflow Control Plan at Business Session. The elements of the proposed plan will be presented and the City Council will have the opportunity to make suggestions regarding the final presentation to the Environmental Protection Agency. The Wet Weather Citizens' Advisory Panel will also weigh in on the plan. There will be public meetings regarding the plan on May 15 and May 22. The City Council will approve a final submission to EPA in June. The Water Utility Task Force continues to meet to strategize about ways to finance the plan, encourage water conservation and ensure that low-income water customers can receive some assistance.

 

Citizen satisfaction
During my State of the City Address, I named as our biggest challenge repopulating the urban core. In order to do this, we will have to pay close attention to citizen satisfaction scores. These are key to our ability to attract more residents. Recently, we ve had some great progress in this area, as evidenced by the city s selection as a finalist U.S. Conference of Mayors City Livability Awards. The program for which we are being honored is the Customer Service Week Initiative, which City staff launched last year.

 

Education
Last month, the Kansas City School District had a board election. There are several new members and a new board president, Marilyn Simmons. I want to thank outgoing president David Smith for his leadership, as well as Marilyn for stepping up to assume leadership. The school district is in an important transition phase, and I am pleased to know that one of Simmons first priorities is to build unity around the school district. Nothing could be more important than for this city to come together in support of our schools and our children. I am looking forward to working with Marilyn and all the members of the board.

 

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      Sincerely,

Mayor Mark Funkhouser