Funk's Front Porch

Setting Priorities

"Getting Your Priorities Straight" is a good article in the June issue of PM magazine by ICMA (International City/County Management Association). The article reiterates what the Mayor and the Council have already known: That it's important to set priorities to address government's fiscal problems.

The true crisis governments are facing today is not fiscal, but a lack of focus on priorities and objectives that ensure the success of our communities. The article describes three steps of setting priorities – identifying objectives, defining objectives, and valuing programs according to each program’s influence to the objectives.

The article can be accessed here: http://www.icma.org/pm/9005

-JP

Police Department Funding

In response to concerns about the impact of the adopted FY 2008-09 budget on the police department, the Mayor asked his staff to conduct a comparative analysis of the submitted and adopted budgets.

The city’s adopted budget increased general fund support for the police department by about $2.8 million in these areas:

• Health insurance ($1,400,000)
• Buy-down health insurance cost ($305,000)
• Gasoline ($600,000)
• Worker’s compensation ($500,000)

Meantime, the adopted budget reduced general fund support by about $1.5 million in these areas:

• Consolidate North Patrol Division with airport police ($1,000,000)
• Police/city consolidations ($500,000)

As a result, the net increase of city’s general fund support to Police Department is about $1.3 million.

The Mayor's staff consulted with city staff and learned that there may be regulation issues with the Aviation Department’s support of general fund costs, specifically Police Department overhead, as is proposed in the adopted budget. Rich Noll has asked Police Department officials to consult with the aviation committee of the Chamber of Commerce and re-work their plan for submittal to the FAA. It is possible that the city may have to allocate additional money to support part of the proposal to consolidate the North Patrol Division with airport police. If this is the case, the net increase of city’s general fund support of Police will be more than $1.3 million.

Budget Info

Here are all the pertinent documents for the budget that the Mayor and City Council adopted yesterday.

The submitted budget for FY 2008-09.

Amendments A, B, C and D. These includes the major changes that have been getting all the attention in the news.

Mayor’s Statement on the Adoption of the FY 2008-09 Budget:

This is the biggest change to a submitted city budget in the last 30 years.

I want to commend Deb Hermann and Jan Marcason for their leadership. As chair and vice chair of Finance and Audit, they oversaw a far more thorough and open budgeting process than has been employed in recent years. It’s been incredibly hard work, and I am very grateful for their dedication.

I also want to commend all of my other fellow members of the City Council, the City Manager and his staff. Regardless of where each of stood in the final vote, we all were working for the common good, doing our individual best to protect the interests of our constituents.

In my inaugural address I talked about good politics – spirited debate and selfless compromise. That is what we have engaged in here. We have seized on the budget for what it is: The single most powerful tool we have at our disposal for making our collective vision for the city a reality. Budgets are where campaign promises and stump speeches become real. With this budget we have given a lot of substance to our ideals.

With this budget we have made significant strides toward restoring our fund balance. We’ve planned for the actual costs we anticipate covering in the coming year. And, most significantly, we’ve worked together to make strategic choices in order to fund those services that are most important to our citizens.

We have much work to do in the coming year. In many respects, this is only the beginning. But right now we need to pause and recognize this moment, and celebrate our good work. Having accomplished what we have accomplished today, we should feel very confident that we will meet and exceed all of the challenges arrayed before us.

Mayor Mark Funkhouser statement regarding last night's town hall

I want to thank everyone who attended last night's town hall meeting at St. Catherine s Church in south Kansas City.

I wanted public input, and I got it in abundance.

More than 200 people showed up from all corners of the city. It's encouraging to see so many people engaged in the public process, particularly one as important as the adoption of a new budget. This strong attendance shows very clearly that these are issues that are very important to Kansas Citians.

The information I received at the meeting was valuable. On the whole, the input was different from the testimony we ve received at committee meetings at City Hall. There was less said on behalf of specific programs, facilities and services, and more about the general performance of city government.

Most folks who spoke called for better delivery of basic services. They said they want more improvements to the city s infrastructure, stronger programs for neighborhoods and more devotion to public safety.

I am taking all of this information into consideration as I work with my colleagues on the council to adopt a budget for the coming fiscal year. I look forward to receiving more feedback. I encourage residents to contact my office at 513-3500 or mayor@kcmo.org, or to attend my next town hall meeting on Wednesday, March 26 at 6 p.m.
at Eastgate Middle School, 4700 NE Parvin Rd.

For more information contact Kendrick Blackwood in the Mayor's office, 816-513-3513.

City Manager Reaction to Budget Amendment

Yesterday, the City  Manager issued a memo criticizing the amendment to the submitted FY 2008-09 budget, which was developed under the leadership of council members Deb Hermann and Jan Marcason. Read the full text by clicking the link below:

Download budget_info.PDF

Budget Workshop Video

Yesterday afternoon the City Council's Finance and Audit Committee held a workshop to discuss Amendment A of the FY 2008-09 budget. There were problems with the live internet video feed. Here is an archived video recording of the meeting. The full text of the amendment can be viewed by clicking the link below.

Download budget_amendment_314.xls

City Employment Data

One of the largest line items in the Mayor's proposal for the 2008-09 budget is a reduction of city staff by 220. This would allow for $11 million to be reallocated on higher priority expenditures, such as street repaving. In public debate on the matter, the Mayor stated that a workforce reduction of 220 would leave the city with more employees than in 2003, when the city embarked on a costly early retirment buyout to reduce staff.

Below is a link to a spreadsheet showing the growth in staff positions in the city. These are broken out by city function so you can see which departments and services have received the largest increases.

Download employee_count_by_dept_31408.xls

Mayor Responds to News Report About Minor Home Repair Program

News from the Mayor's Office

City of Kansas City, Mo.

www.kcmo.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 13, 2008

Mayor Responds to News Report About Minor Home Repair Program

Mayor Mark Funkhouser responded today to a front-page story about Kansas City’s "dormant" minor home repair program.

"As a city official, I feel responsible for how the city has let down Odie Curry," Mayor Funkhouser said, referring to a disabled Kansas City resident whose unsuccessful efforts to obtain funds through the program have left him without wheelchair access to his own home.

Mr. Curry’s situation is a result of the city’s budgeting practices, Mayor Funkhouser explains.

"For years we have relied on accounting tricks to balance our budget, instead of making strategic choices and crafting budgets that reflect our values," he said. "The result is that important services – services approved by the Mayor and Council – often get shortchanged. These cuts are technically off the books, but they are very real to people who depend on city government to make their communities livable."

These cuts have the greatest impact on the city’s most vulnerable citizens, Funkhouser said.

"Mr. Curry doesn’t have the Friends of the Zoo lobbying City Hall to not cut a program he depends on," the Mayor said. "All he has is elected officials, whose job it is to set priorities and make sure they’re carried through."

On Wednesday, Mayor Funkhouser offered his recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2008-09 budget. He proposed strategic cuts in some areas and increases in others so as to fund the programs and services that are most vital to Kansas Citians. The full text of his recommendations can be found online at kcmo.org.

For more information contact Kendrick Blackwood in the Mayor’s office, 816-513-3513.

Mayor Presents Budget Recommendations to the City Council

News from the Mayor's Office

City of Kansas City, Mo.

www.kcmo.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 12, 2008

Mayor Presents Budget Recommendations to the City Council

Mayor Mark Funkhouser today presented his budget recommendations to the City Council.

Years of making do have put the city’s financial health at risk, and the submitted budget would lead to drastic moves on the part of department directors to account for unbudgeted expenses such as snow removal and rising gasoline and health insurance costs, the Mayor explained in his letter.

"If we adopt the submitted budget, it will hurt so many people," Mayor Funkhouser said. "Department Directors have already told us they will be forced to cut facility hours and trim staff if the submitted budget is passed. This in turn will lead to decreased city services and lower citizen satisfaction."

Mayor Funkhouser believes the City Council should make strategic changes to the budget to protect the services that are most important to Kansas Citians, which he described as "streets, codes, cops and kids."

His 16-page budget letter includes a total of $55 million in changes to the submitted budget. The recommendations adequately fund anticipated costs, double the street resurfacing program, replenish the city’s fund balance, and ensure funding for community centers and housing. The mayor’s suggested cuts include streamlining the city’s management structure, closing the Municipal Correctional Institution and merging the aviation and city police.

It includes cuts to the city general fund subsidy of the zoo and Liberty Memorial.

"Those are regional amenities," Funkhouser said. "It is inappropriate for Kansas City to carry the burden on its own. I am confident that the private sector can, and will, step up to ensure these metropolitan assets. The zoo will not close."

Mayor Funkhouser acknowledged that these would be difficult decisions to make. He expressed willingness to consider options. "It’s important to remember, though, that this is a zero-sum game," he said. "If we don’t choose these options, then we’ll have to find others."

Mayor Funkhouser later added that has been receiving support from the business community on his call for decisive budgetary action this year. On February 22, the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City issued a letter to the Mayor and Council stating that "the Kansas City, Missouri, budget should reflect a strategic long-term look at the city's revenues and expenses," adding that they "were pleased to see that many of our concerns were addressed in the mayor's [initial] letter to the city manager," released on February 14, which called for significant changes to the submitted budget.

For more information contact Kendrick Blackwood in the Mayor’s office, 816-513-3513.