Funk's Front Porch

"New Tools" Initiative

Yesterday, the Mayor held a press conference to announce that he will introduce to the City Council this week a resolution to create a task force charged with developing the plans and policies that will carry the initiative forward.

At the event, he disclosed that he has asked Ajamu Webster and Mike Chesser to serve as chair and vice chair of the task force. He also said that he has asked former Mayor Pro Tem to serve on it as well.

Below are links to the resolution the Mayor will introduce, and a map of economically distressed areas in the city.

Download draft_1_81408_establish_task_force_econ_dev_in_distressed_areas.doc

Download economically_distressed_area_map.pdf

Review of Urban Institute’s New Report on Safety Net for Low Income Families

The Urban Institute published a report of A New Safety Net for Low-Income Families. The report echoes some of the discussions happened in Mayor’s New Tools Symposium on July 21st.

The report presents the current status of low-income families:

• They have not progressed much compared to where they were a decade ago.
• Although four in five of these families work, many don’t bring home enough to cover the everyday costs of living.
• Child poverty rate has increased.

The report recommends that the nation need new policies that make work pay in today’s economy:

Work should pay enough to cover the basic costs of everyday family living. When hard work fails to cover the costs of housing, medical care, and child care, these expenses should be subsidized in ways that also promote greater work effort.

Young children in low-income working families require quality day care, and their parents must be able to combine a job with parenting so their children develop fully.

Parents need access to training to move up the career ladder and access to specialized supports when their underdeveloped or outdated skills, their health problems, or other factors put even the first rung of the ladder out of reach.
Families that work hard should be able to bridge employment gaps through unemployment insurance and accumulated savings.

The report points out that this is a difficult moment to suggest new initiatives requiring additional federal and state expenditures and compelling employers to play a stronger role in supporting low-income families through broader health insurance coverage, retirement savings, and some paid sick leave. Yet, postponing additional investments in low-income working families will cost even more. Further, increasing the number of families on a solid economic footing will strengthen the nation’s competitive advantage in the global economy

The report suggests ways to make these initiatives affordable, such as using phase-in provisions and co-pays, and redirect current spending in tax expenditures for the mortgage interest deduction and employer-provide health insurance.

You can read the full report here: http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411738_new_safety_net.pdf

New Tools Symposium

At the Kauffman Foundation this morning, the Mayor convened his second symposium to develop "New Tools" for economic development in distressed areas. Among those in attendance were Marie Young, Bernardo Ramirez, Mike White, Henry Johnson, Ron Yaffe, James Merrill, Jordan Rappaport, Michael Duffy, Ollie Gates, Ajamu Webster, Will Royster, KB Winterowd, Frank Lenk, Roxsen Koch, Mike Chesser, Joseph McLiney, Sharon Sanders-Brooks, Arthur Williams, Dan Bagunu, Linwood Tauheed, Tony Oppenheimer, Nancy Kwilas, Stanley Bushman, Maria Meyers and Carlos Gomez.

Today's meeting was facilitated by The Bernard Consulting Group. In preparation, BCG sent a survey to invited participants asking for ideas for possible New Tools of economic development. To read the results of this survey, click the link below:

Download assessment_summary.pdf

The Mayor's office will publish an extensive report of the New Tools symposium in August. However, you can read the notes for today's event by clicking the link below:

Download symposium_notes.pdf

Mayor to host New Tools tour and celebration

Mayor Mark Funkhouser will host the inaugural “Seeing Is Believing” tour and celebration this coming Saturday, June 21, at the corner of 27th and Prospect.

The event is part of an ongoing collaborative effort undertaken by the Mayor, fellow members of the City Council and other local leaders and experts from a diverse range of backgrounds to devise “New Tools” for economic development in distressed areas of the city. The event will begin with a guided bus tour that will showcase prospective projects that New Tools can be used for and will highlight an established, successful business. The tour will conclude with a celebration party that will include food, music and dancing.

“This is a way for the larger community to come together to see first-hand the potential for and challenges to economic development in distressed areas of the city,” Mayor Funkhouser said. “And to rally around those neighborhoods as a way of showing that they have not been forgotten.”

The bus tour will begin at 5 p.m. at Morningstar Baptist Church, 2411 E. 27th St., at 27th and Prospect, with the celebratory party from 7 p.m. until midnight on the church’s adjacent property. Seats on the bus tour are available by invitation only, but the community celebration is free and open to the public. Printed tickets to the community celebration are necessary and can be picked up at the following community centers. Limit 4 per person. This will be the first of several similiar events that the Mayor plans to host in other parts of town.

Tony Aguirre Community Center
Brush Creek Community Center
Garrison Community Center
Gregg Community Center and Arrington Klice Fitness Center
Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center

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

New Tools Symposium Presentations

On May 5, the Mayor convened a symposium to develop ideas for economic development in the urban core. At this day-long event, participants received several presentations of information to support the discussion. Click the links below to download these presentations:

Download bagunu_economic_development_and_incentive_policy.ppt

Download corwin_crime.ppt

Download lenk_new_tools_for_the_east_side_of_kcmo.ppt

Download young_et_al_blackheritagedistrict.pdf

Black Heritage District

Last week, the Mayor introduced a resolution expressing the city's intention to support  a tax-free zone within the city's Black Heritage District. To learn more about the proposal, click the link below:

Download BlackHeritageDistrictSummary.pdf

Funkhouser and Gates to Announce City’s Commitment to Black Heritage District

Mayor Mark Funkhouser will hold a press conference on the corner of 27th and Troost at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, May 15, to announce a resolution expressing the city’s intention to support a tax free zone within the city’s Black Heritage District. He will be joined by Kansas City businessman and civic leader Ollie Gates, Black Economic Union President Chester Thompson, Jr., Black Chamber Director A. Marie Young, City Council members and other supporters of the District.

“This is a vital step in bringing more good, viable businesses back to the urban core,” Mayor Funkhouser said. “I can’t think of a single challenge that’s more important for our city to overcome.”

The Black Heritage District is a proposed economic development designation for the area of Kansas City from 9th Street south to 29th and Troost east to Prospect in which the city and state would cease collecting sales taxes.

“We believe this is an incentive package that will work in the urban area,” said Chester Thompson, Jr. of the Black Economic Union. “It’s a little bit different than anything that’s been done before. It will provide a stimulus for building an economic base in the urban area.”

Mayor Funkhouser will introduce the resolution for the Black Heritage District at the City Council legislative session at 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 15, in the City Council Chamber on the 26th floor of City Hall, 414 E. 12th St.

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

MAYOR TO HOST “NEW TOOLS” SYMPOSIUM

Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser will convene a symposium to generate ideas for economic development in the urban core on Monday, May 5, in the Helzberg Auditorium of the Central Branch of the Kansas City Public Library.

“The tools we currently have, such as tax-increment financing, don’t work in the most distressed areas of the city,” Mayor Funkhouser said. “They’re geared toward big projects in wealthier areas. So we need to create ‘New Tools’ for economic development.”

Mayor Funkhouser has invited a wide range of community, business and political leaders to participate in the day-long symposium. The following individuals have agreed to participate: Dan Bagunu, Joseph McLiney, Mike Chesser, James Merrill, Michael Duffy, Bernardo Ramirez, Kelly Edmiston, Will Royster, Dr. Linwood Tauheed, Karen Finley, Ajamu Webster, Ollie Gates, Mike White, Carlos Gomez, Dr. Arthur Williams, Dr. Henry Johnson, K.B. Winterowd, Roxsen Koch, Ron Yaffe, Frank Lenk, A. Marie Young, Councilmember Sharon Sanders Brooks and Councilmember Terry Riley.

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

The symposium will begin at 9 a.m. and will conclude at 5 p.m. Lunch will be provided for the participants. The public is welcome, but public testimony will not be taken.

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

Bombardier Aerospace

I strongly support the current proposal to use economic development incentives to assist Montreal-based Bombardier Aerospace with its relocation to Kansas City.

The project would be completed using a "Mega-Project" provision of the state's Enhanced Enterprise Zone legislation. These amendments to the previous law are currently being debated in Jefferson City.

According to the Missouri Economic Development Council

The [proposed legislation] define[s] a "mega-project" as any manufacturing or assembling facility, approved by the Department of Economic Development (DED) for construction and operation within an enhanced enterprise zone, which satisfies the following:

1. The new capital investment is projected to exceed $300 million over a period of eight years from the date of approval by the department;
2. The number of new jobs is projected to exceed 1,000 over a period of eight years beginning on the date of approval by the department;
3. The average wage of new jobs to be created shall exceed the county average wage;
4. The taxpayer shall offer health insurance to all new jobs and pay at least 50% of such insurance premiums;
5. An acceptable plan of repayment, to the state, of the tax credits provided for the mega-project has been provided by the taxpayer;
6. The taxpayer's project is financially sound and the taxpayer has adequately demonstrated an ability to successfully undertake and complete the mega-project;
7. The taxpayer's plan of repayment, to the state, of the amount of tax credits provided is reasonable and sound;
8. The taxpayer's mega-project will create new jobs that were not jobs previously performed by employees of the taxpayer or a related taxpayer in Missouri;
9. Awarding the credit will result in an overall positive net fiscal impact to the state;
10. Local taxing entities are providing a significant level of incentives for the mega-project relative to the projected new local tax revenues created by the mega-project;
11. There is at least one other state or foreign country that the taxpayer verifies is being considered for the project, and receiving mega-project tax credits is a major factor in the taxpayer's decision to go forward with the project and not receiving the credit will result in the applicant not creating new jobs in Missouri;
12. The mega-project will be located in an enhanced enterprise zone which constitutes an economic or social liability and a detriment to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare in its present condition and use;
13. The completion of the mega-project will serve an essential public municipal purpose by creating a substantial number of new jobs for citizens, increasing their purchasing power, improving their living conditions, and relieving the demand for unemployment and welfare assistance thereby promoting the economic development of the enhanced enterprise zone, the municipality, and the state; and
14. The creation of new jobs will assist the state in providing the services needed to protect the health, safety, and social and economic well-being of the citizens of the state.

The Bombardier project fits these criteria, and it would be enormously beneficial to the state. It would create over 2,100 new jobs -- high-paying manufacturing jobs. These would provide opportunities future generations of Missourians.

This would also be a low-risk investment for the state. The proposed "Mega-Project" legislation offers tax credits which diminish over time as the company grows.

                     

If approved by DED, the employer in the mega project would be allowed up to $40 million in income tax credits. The total amount of credits that may be issued annually is also $40 million. The maximum percentage of actual new payroll of the mega-project employer that may be approved is:

• 80% for the first three years that tax credits will be issued for the mega-project;
• 60% for the next two subsequent years;
• 50% for the next two subsequent years;
• 30% for the next two subsequent years; and
• 25% for all subsequent years.

Missouri Department of Economic Development Director Greg I want to express my gratitude to the state leaders who have supported this project during the early stages, including Governor Blunt, Lt. Governor Kinder, Missouri Department of Economic Development Director Greg Steinhoff, Rep. Tim Flook and Senate Majority Floor Leader Charlie Shields.

This is a very important project for Kansas City. We stand ready to do whatever it takes to make it happen.

Kansas City's Market Share of Metro Area

Policy analyst Joan Pu has done research into Kansas City's market share of the metropolitan area economy. She has found that it declining. Read the full text of her report by clicking the link below.

Download kc_market_share.doc