Funk's Front Porch

Monthly Update

Crime
In August, 21 murders occurred in our city. On Aug. 30, I joined Police Chief James Corwin, Jackson County Prosecutor Jim Kanatzar, City Councilmembers, Board of Police Commissioners, staff from the Police Department and community leaders to inform the public about what the city is doing to address this situation.

Chief Corwin announced that he would direct more resources to the Police Department’s Homicide Unit. This will allow them to more effectively work unsolved cases from 2007 and 2008. He also announced that he would be placing more tactical and community police officers in the neighborhoods where the homicides have occurred.

Corwin stressed that ensuring public safety requires more than just good policing. It takes a “holistic approach” – one that involves community members, business owners, schools, churches and all facets of the government.

I couldn’t agree more.

That’s why I created a City Council committee called Public Safety and Neighborhoods, so that my colleagues could look at ways in which community conditions impact public safety. It’s clear that public safety is something we need to consider in all our work at City Hall, whether it’s a zoning matter, or a plan to fund public infrastructure, or policies to stimulate economic development. All of these efforts can contribute to a safer city.

Neighborhoods
One of the things I talked about at the event on Aug. 30 was our “New Tools” initiative, which is aimed at finding ways to stimulate economic development in distressed areas of the city. This is a vital component of our city’s holistic approach to fighting crime because it’s about creating jobs and opportunities. Both common sense and economic indicators show that crime goes down dramatically when the economy is good.

We’re making great progress on New Tools. My office has hosted two symposiums where more than two dozen elected officials, economists, business and community leaders gathered to brainstorm ideas about how to promote economic development in distressed areas. Now it’s time to start turning those ideas into policies and plans.

The next step is the formation of a task force, which will, within six months, present a list of formal recommendations to the City Council. This city has seen many task forces come and go. Some have been very successful – such as the one to provide more streetlights to neighborhoods and another to improve the way infrastructure funds are distributed – others have been less so. I’m confident this one will be among the success stories, primarily because of the people who will be leading it.

I’ve asked Ajamu Webster and Mike Chesser to be chair and vice chair, respectively.

Ajamu is a business owner and a longtime activist and community leader. I appointed him to the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners, and he has served well in that capacity. What makes him a strong leader for this effort is his perspective and the level of respect he has in the community.

Mike is CEO of Great Plains Energy, better known around here as Kansas City Power and Light. He grew up in Baltimore, in a neighborhood that could easily be described as distressed. As one of our top business leaders, he now enjoys a prominent position in the city’s larger power structure.

This is a powerful combination. With the strength and expertise that’ll be brought by 20 or so other task force members – including elected officials such as Sharon Sanders Brooks, Terry Riley and Deb Hermann – this group will have a mighty impact.

Transit
This November, voters will have an opportunity to vote on a 3/8-cent sales tax to fund a 14-mile light rail line. I support this because I am confident that it will not be a stand-alone light rail line, but will be part of a larger regional system.

As you’re probably aware, I have worked since the day I took office to put before voters a regional transit ballot measure. Unfortunately, we were unable to pull that together in time for the November ballot, when my fellow members of the City Council and I promised we would have something for residents to vote on.

However, we made a lot of progress. Work toward a regional system has continued. As a result, I believe we will have a multi-county measure before voters next year. If approved, some of that system – such as the commuter rail lines from suburban communities – might be completed before completion of the light rail line voters will decide on in November. So this so-called starter line could actually become a capstone for the larger system.

Housing
When I meet with community leaders, particularly those from the 3rd and 5th Districts, the one issue I’ve been hearing the most about lately is housing. Folks are frustrated with the lack of progress that is being made in this important area.

As you probably know, the city manager chose several years ago to put the City’s housing program into federal receivership. This was supposed to be a short-term solution, but we continue to operate under this problematic arrangement in which an out-of-town agent is essentially calling the shots for us. Meantime, our city has not added a single unit of affordable housing.

This summer, we were supposed to have been ready to be released from the receivership arrangement. However, at the scheduled hearing that could have made that happen, the City asked for an extension so that more information could be gathered.

I am currently meeting with elected officials, community leaders and government staff, and weighing our options. This is far too important a service for us to lag behind on, and I will be giving it a lot more of my attention in the coming weeks and months.

Citizen Satisfaction
On Aug. 29, I was joined by Julie Floyd and other representatives of the Community Coalition to Fix Barry Road and Mayor Jerry Boss of Weatherby Lake in pushing for the City to take action on an unfinished project at Barry Road and Rush Creek. The coalition was formed after a deadly accident that occurred on April 10, 2004. Since then, they have gathered 10,000 signatures from residents urging action to be taken on this unsafe section of Barry Road.

That is more than four years ago, and the bridge remains unrepaired. I have been told this will take another two years to fix. That is unacceptable. It took about that long to build the Sprint Center. Surely we can do better.

I pledge to work with City staff, the City of Weatherby Lake and residents to make the repairs in a timely manner.

We are continuing to expose our residents to unsafe conditions and making life much harder for the residents of Weatherby Lake. We need to be a better regional neighbor.

Please check my official weblog 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."

Monthly Update

Transit
For the last month, elected officials from the Missouri side of the metropolitan area have been meeting to discuss the creation of a regional transit system. What we re talking about is building a system with light rail, modern street cars, commuter rail and bus rapid transit that s funded with a three-county sales tax.
Though there is still a lot of work to be done, one thing is certain: We are virtually unanimous in our commitment to make this happen either this year or next.

My preference is that we put it on the ballot this November, and I believe there s still a reasonable chance we can. My fellow elected officials and I have reached agreement on the principles that would shape a regional system, a list of questions that need to be answered satisfactorily before the issue could be put on the ballot and a timeline for those questions to be answered. Follow our progress.

Council
In my State of the City Address, I identified a series of major challenges for the city: infrastructure funding; sewers; regional partnerships for regional amenities; modernizing the city s insurance and retirement systems; making it easier to do business in Kansas City; transit; education; building a legislative agenda; and developing New Tools for economic development in distressed areas.

I said at the time that I would be meeting with City Councilmembers to find out who might assume leadership on each of those challenges. During the last two weeks of June we have been meeting. I m very excited about the level of enthusiasm and good ideas my colleagues have for these issues. In several cases such as with sewers, transit and infrastructure funding councilmembers have already taken charge and have made a lot of progress.

In the coming weeks, we will be making very public announcements about our plans and progress in each of these areas. By next spring, when it s time to deliver the State of the City again, I feel confident that I will have a lot of successes to report.

Neighborhoods
In early May, I convened a day-long symposium of economists, developers, business people, community leaders and elected officials to discuss economic development in distressed areas. For too long, areas of our city have been neglected and that impacts all areas of the city. Though comprised of many neighborhoods, shopping districts and industrial centers, our city comprises one economy where everything is interconnected. If one part of that economy is left to falter, it limits the entire economy. So I called these folks together to begin strategizing solutions. By the end, we were all in agreement that the city needs to develop a comprehensive, bottoms-up plan for these areas of the city.

In mid-June, I hosted a bus tour of a distressed area of the city so people could see first-hand the potential of for economic development there. Afterward, we had a celebration at the corner of 27th Street and Prospect Avenue. We celebrated because this is the heart of our city, and celebrate because the potential there is so great. We celebrate because it s time to send a strong statement to the entire city that these areas of the city will no longer be forgotten. They will now be the priority.

In the coming weeks and months, we ll convene again for a follow-up symposium to sharpen our ideas. I will appoint a task force to begin molding those ideas into an action plan, much like I did last year for economic development incentives.

Then we will make that plan a reality. For as long as I am mayor, I will make it one of my top priorities to make that happen. When I campaigned for mayor, I promised that I would lift up the long neglected neighborhoods, and I'm a man who does not go back on his word. No matter how much the opposition wants to stop me and this progress, I will not let up on the charge.

Citizen Satisfaction
In June, the City Council and I unanimously approved an ordinance that will dramatically reduce the number of metal plates on city streets. This will go a long way toward increasing citizen satisfaction with City services, I believe, because those metal plates might well be the most tangible nuisances all of us endure as Kansas Citians.

The new ordinance limits the amount of time a plate can be in place to 30 days. When plates remain after 30 days, those responsible for the plate will be assessed daily fines. Before it had been 90 days. It also prohibits use of plates from October to March except under special circumstances.

I intend to keep a close eye on the progress of this effort to cut down on the number of plates, and my office will report that progress regularly throughout the remainder of my term. Meantime, you can help as well. If you see a metal plate somewhere, call the 3-1-1 Action Center at 311 or (816) 513-1313 and find out who is responsible for the plate, how long it s been down and when it s supposed to come up. That will keep the spotlight on this important issue. Watch the news conference

Education
The Kansas City, Mo., School District Education Task Force recently concluded its first round of work. On June 27, we met to discuss the final report. Although I was unable to attend every meeting, I followed the process closely and found it to be very productive.

For me, the main thing I got out of it was the need for this city to come together to build a political agenda for our education system. For too long, the Kansas City School District has struggled against community discord and disinvestment, and that impacts the education system across the entire city.

That said, I feel confident that this is something we can turn around. I don t think we ll be able to solve all of our differences; people will always disagree about some things. But I think there is a enough common ground that if we only make an effort to find out where the problems lie and begin to focus on them, we will begin to build the cohesiveness that our children need. I have proposed to do this with a citywide summit on education, and I will continue to push for that to happen.
Please check my official weblog 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."

Sincerely,

Mayor Mark Funkhouser

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.

 

Please check my official weblog 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."

 

      Sincerely,

Mayor Mark Funkhouser

Priorities in Progress

Council
Last month, my fellow members of the City Council and I passed a budget ordinance that was the biggest change to a submitted City budget in the last 30 years. It was a watershed moment for this Council. Coming at the culmination of a budgeting process that was far more thorough and open than had been employed in recent years, it signified a shared resolve to ensure fiscal stability for the city. The key word here is shared. Under the commendable leadership of Deb Hermann and Jan Marcason, chair and vice chair of Finance and Audit Committee, we engaged in the best of politics – spirited debate and selfless compromise. We 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.        

Regardless of where each of us stood in the final vote, we all were working for the common good, doing our individual best to protect the interests of our constituents. We have much work to do in the coming year. In many respects, this is only the beginning. But the passage of the budget last month is a moment worthy of celebration.

       

Finance
With the FY 2008-09 budget we made significant strides toward restoring our fund balance, which is a vital step in ensuring that the city will maintain a strong bond rating far into the future. This will allow us to issue bonds in the future to tackle big important projects such as citywide sidewalk repair and a much-needed upgrade of our sewer and storm water system. In addition to shoring up the fund balance, we adopted a budget that plans for the actual costs we anticipate covering in the coming year. The original submitted budget did not. By planning for the costs, the City Council and I were able to be more strategic and make cuts and funding increases, which reflect our priorities.

       

But again, our work is not done. I have already met with Councilmembers Hermann and Marcason to discuss the next steps. They are convening weekly work sessions of the Finance and Audit Committee to monitor the implementation of the budget and discuss policies that will allow us even greater control over our finances. With the ambitious agenda they have set out for their committee, I am optimistic that by this time next year, we will be celebrating an even better budget that does more to fund the priorities that all of us share for Kansas City.

       

Neighborhoods
City staff is currently working on a comprehensive strategy for dealing with solid waste. This would have an enormous, positive impact on neighborhoods with more effective management of bulky item disposal, recycling and prevention of illegal dumping. Litter control and trash services are major issues for neighborhoods.

       

Crime
Last month, the Council and I unanimously approved a resolution to begin working toward a regional jail. This is an idea that has been around for years, and Cathy Jolly, chairwoman of Public Safety and Neighborhoods Committee, is stepping up to offer the leadership needed to see it through. The City carries an unfair financial burden by operating a municipal jail. Typically, cities don’t carry this burden. In most places, this is a county or state responsibility. By partnering with Jackson County and other governments in the metro area, we can bring economies of scale to bear. At the same time, we can continue to work to ensure public safety by having adequate bed space for offenders across the metro area.

       

Housing
Over the last several years, the City’s housing program has been closely scrutinized. It was first analyzed by the City Auditor’s Office (read the audit), then by a citizen task force, both of which issued reports (read the Citizen Advisory Committee Annual Report). We recently received a third report from an independent contractor (read this report). These reports share themes, and now it is time to bring these data together and begin to take action. Cindy Circo, chairwoman of the Housing Committee, has asked City staff to formulate an action plan and a timeline for its completion. She has set a deadline for the end of the month. Under her guidance, the City is beginning to make significant progress toward improving its housing program.

      

Transit
I believe that we have the legislation in place to pursue a regional system that would include at least the three metropolitan counties on the Missouri side: Clay, Platte and Jackson. Based on the figures I’ve seen, a half-cent sales tax in those three counties would enable us to build 40 miles of light rail. A system that large could link the airport, downtown, Independence and Lee’s Summit.

       

No one thing would do as much to return density to our urban core, improve our environment and build our competitiveness as a metropolitan area in the global economy.

       

I know this Council has committed to putting a light rail initiative on the ballot in November. I am working to make that vote a regional one and have been trying to meet with county legislators with that goal in mind. If I fail to find support, I will work to see a starter line approved by the voters in November, with a clear path toward a regional system.

       

Downtown
Each month, the excitement level downtown lifts higher and higher. March was no different, as throngs of people from all across the U.S. converged on our downtown to take in Big XII men’s and women’s basketball championships. I caught the Mizzou game, which unfortunately ended in disappointment for us Tiger fans (but the excitement of Colorado’s double-overtime win over Baylor was almost enough to make up for it). Regardless of which team you were rooting for, there’s no doubt it was a big win for Kansas City. The streets and restaurants were crowded with revelers and the traffic control and parking went smoothly.

       

Sewers
The Water Services Utility Funding Task Force that I appointed has held four public hearings about the cost of the sewer upgrades required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The task force is considering customer rates, potential tax increases and other innovative forms of financing for this multi-billion-dollar project over the next 25 years. Decades of neglect mean that our infrastructure is in drastic need of repair and replacement in order to meet the EPA's water quality standards.

       

One of the first things the task force did was to come up with a series of guiding principles. They are:

       

• Equity: Costs should be directly linked to the use of the service
• Ability to Pay: Fairness is important in structuring utility rates and funding
• Growth Pays for Growth: Existing ratepayers should not fund the extension for service to new developments
• Revenue Stability: Cash flow should be predictable and lack extreme variations
• Conservation: The efficient user of resources should be encouraged
• Prioritize: Kansas City can’t meet all the financial needs identified. Strategic financial investment should be made to accomplish community priorities and where the value gained from investment is high
• Economic Competitiveness: Decisions regarding funding strategy, rate structure and levels should be made in light of Kansas City's need to attract and retain businesses, residents and customers
• Administrative Ease: The cost of administration should be minimized, and uncomplicated processes should be used
• Public Acceptance: The public should feel confident that the rate structure and funding program is fair
• Simplicity: Residents should understand how charges and fees are determined.

       

These principles will guide the group as they develop a pricing strategy that will be submitted to the City Council for adoption.

       

Citizen Satisfaction
The city auditor has released the results from the annual citizen survey. It revealed that more than half of those surveyed were satisfied with the overall quality of life in Kansas City. However, this is a lower satisfaction rate than in other communities in our metropolitan area. There were also significant increases in satisfaction with the overall feeling of safety and with some city services such as streets, downtown, code enforcement and building maintenance improved again this year.

       

I’m very pleased that the survey showed significant increases in citizens' satisfaction with the availability of information about City services, the City's efforts to keep residents informed about local issues and the level of public involvement in local decision making. That said, there's still a lot of room for improvement in all of those categories. The percentage of folks satisfied with these services range from just 23 percent to 37 percent.

       

Education
I have been actively serving on an education reform task force that was established and appointed by Dave Smith, president of the Kansas City, Mo., Board of Education. In May we will present to the community a series of recommendations for the district. This is a very diverse group of people, representing teachers, parents, students, business leaders, clergy and elected officials. I’m confident that this broad range of perspective will yield an array of promising ideas for the entire community to build on to move our district forward.

       

At our first meeting, we received valuable information from the Council of the Great City Schools. Their presentation focused on several urban school districts that are national success stories – Atlanta, Long Beach, Dayton, Richmond. What these districts share in common is a high level of community support and cohesiveness. They’ve been able to reach political consensus around education and they’ve sustained it. They’ve set clear priorities and goals for their school districts. Their residents are engaged at all levels, and they work to hold education leaders accountable for results. This has brought stability to these districts, which, as a result have been able to function better. They can focus on solutions rather than chasing problems. They no longer have to wait for a savior superintendent to come along. They simply go about the work of educating their children.

       

Again, the common theme here is community support and cohesiveness. That’s why I continue to push for a citywide summit on education. This summit was the first recommendation offered by the Council of the Great Cities Schools when it conducted a review of the district. Last summer, the Kansas City School Board unanimously passed a resolution endorsing a city-sponsored summit. Many top-down examinations and conferences regarding the school district have been undertaken to no effect. What is needed is a broad-based, bottom-up approach that considers all aspects of the educational needs of all children living in the urban core of Kansas City, not just those served by the Kansas City, Mo., School District.
      

       

Please check my official weblog 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."

      

      Sincerely,

Mayor Mark Funkhouser

Priorities in Progress

Finance
It’s budget time at City Hall. If you’ve been following the process in the newspaper, you know that much of the discussion has been about cuts. But while it’s true my fellow members of the City Council and I are going to have to make some difficult choices, I prefer to look at the situation as a tremendous opportunity. The budget is the single most powerful tool we have to accomplish our priorities as elected officials.

I campaigned on the idea of being smart with the money. The best way to do that, from my perspective, is to have a budget that reflects the reality of the City’s financial obligations while paying for the services that are most important to Kansas Citians. In other words, it’s not about making cuts. It’s about spending wisely on the stuff that’ll have the most impact. It’s about budgeting for results.

So yes, there are going to be cuts this year. But there ought to also be increases – more money for streets, codes, cops and kids. More money for the things that will make Kansas City the community of choice for the entire region.

Council
As I work with my fellow members of the City Council through the budget process, I remain ever mindful of the vision statement we came up with at our retreat last August. We agreed that we want to work together to make Kansas City “a thriving and diverse city where people choose to live, work and play,” with communities that are “safe, well-maintained and environmentally responsible,” where “people, neighborhoods, businesses, the arts and education prosper,” and where “leadership inspires confidence and promotes unity.”

Again, the budget is the most powerful tool we have to achieve this vision. That’s why I’ve opened up the budget process more than it’s been in the past. I want my colleagues to have a chance to dig into the numbers and see for themselves where we can find ways to fund the services and programs that matter most.

And they’ve really stepped up – especially Deb Hermann and Jan Marcason, who have been working closely together and with City staff to find ways to bring the budget in balance. That’s exactly the kind of result I wanted when I named them chairwoman and vice chairwoman of the Finance and Audit Committee.

Neighborhoods
There’s a reason why I want more money to go toward codes enforcement. More than anything, folks want to live in neighborhoods that are clean and safe. When it comes to urban neighborhoods, cleanliness and safety go hand in hand. I’m a firm believer in the “broken windows theory.” That’s the notion that even just one run-down property can bring down an entire block because it sends a message that codes violations are tolerated. And if code violations are tolerated, the reasoning goes, other illegal behavior will be tolerated, as well. And pretty soon criminals start hanging around.

Little things add up. So if we can keep on top of the small stuff, we’ll make a lot of progress on the bigger challenge of reducing crime.

Crime
Of course, we’re going to need to do a lot more than crack down on code violations in order to cut crime. We need more cops on the street. In fact, we’ve promised citizens that we would put them there.

In 2001, when voters approved a public safety sales tax, they were promised that the City would add 20 new cops each year. And the mayor and City Council passed a resolution affirming this promise. However, in his first budget proposal, the city manager chose not to fund the 20 additional officers. I believe it is imperative that we not break this promise.

Housing
The national mortgage crisis and the foreclosures it’s created are affecting our neighborhoods through the empty houses they leave behind. Housing Committee Chairwoman Cindy Circo is working hard to bring together local, state and federal officials in hopes of mitigating the impact on both homeowners and our neighborhoods.

Transit
I was disappointed to learn that a regional light rail bill will not be introduced in the Kansas legislature this year. On the other hand, there are encouraging developments on the Missouri side. Missouri Rep. Jason Holsman convened a meeting this week to explore the possibility of a Missouri-side system that would involve Jackson, Clay and Platte counties. It’s not as extensive as a true regional system, but I think the idea has potential. Rep. Holsman understands the need for a regional system and, like me, wants to have a clear picture of how the starter line being discussed will lead to a regional system. I thank him for his interest and believe he will be an important voice as we move this forward.

Downtown
This is a big week for Downtown’s renaissance. The Kansas City Power & Light District will stage its first concert on the Live! Stage with a free show by acoustic rocker Pat McGee. I can’t say much about it yet, but I hear they’re going to be making a huge announcement. I can say there will be a laser light show and fireworks – a suitably festive beginning for what will be many, many years of exciting nightlife in the new entertainment district.

Sewers
The Water Services Utility Funding Task Force that I appointed continues to meet every other week to look at options for funding the $3 billion sewer project. Last week, participants brainstormed about funding strategies in small groups. They weighed the pros and cons of each, and came up with a few more innovative ideas for how to pay for the improvements the city needs to make. They will meet again on Wednesday, March 5th, at 6 p.m. at the Doolin Education Center at 2000 NE 46th St. to hear from the task force members and consultants and to offer their suggestions about the sewer project.

Also, members of the City Council went to Portland recently to look at ways that city tackled a similar sewer replacement project using “green solutions.” They came back with some valuable knowledge. One of the most important lessons learned was the need for City departments to work cooperatively to incorporate green solutions into all aspects of city planning and development. Portland has been addressing its sewer infrastructure for the past 20 years. Kansas City will benefit from Portland's experience as we go forward with the Combined Sewer Overflow plan that will be submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency this summer.

Citizen Satisfaction
The Kansas City Star recently ran a story called “Happy Town,” in which they compared the happiness indices – basically, citizen satisfaction data – of a number of cities in the metro area. Kansas City was conspicuously absent from that list. But later, the Star shared the info on their blog.  This update revealed that Kansas City ranks quite low. 

We need to improve Kansas City’s rankings – and we are, most notably with the efforts we are making around the budget. Progress is already being made. The City Auditor will soon release his annual survey report, and I expect that it will show an increase in satisfaction with the way the City communicates with residents because we have made great efforts in the last year to engage folks with town hall meetings and public forums.

Education
Kansas City School Board President David Smith has asked me to serve on a task force to consider ideas about how to reform our education system. I am happy to serve, and I’m sure we’ll have productive meetings. However, I continue to push to for a citywide education summit. Given the recent developments in the school district, and current rise in interest in looking at new forms of governance, I believe that the need for such a summit is more urgent than ever. Over the years, there’ve been many blue ribbon task forces created, but the problems persist. It seems to me that we ought to now try the opposite approach. We ought to develop our reform ideas from the bottom up, so to speak, by engaging the people for whom the school system serves.

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."

Sincerely,

 

Mayor Mark Funkhouser

Monthly Update

Feb. 7 , 2008

Thank you for subscribing to my monthly e-newsletter. I am pleased to share how we're progressing on efforts to improve the city.

Council
The City Council has begun a series of work sessions to discuss the proposed budget. I chose to release the city manager’s budget to the Council and the public within hours of receiving it myself. I wanted everyone to have as much time as I do to assess what we have to work with. These work sessions will give me and the councilmembers a dedicated time each of the next few weeks to assess where we are and where we need to be. I’ll still put out my budget message on Feb. 14, but by then the public conversation will be well under way.

Neighborhoods/Crime
One of the first topics raised during the Council budget work session last Thursday involved the 20 police officers that the 2002 City Council promised to add each year for nine years. The proposed fiscal year 2008-09 city budget doesn’t include them. Twenty officers may not seem significant compared to the 1,500 officers who work for the department. But councilmembers are already hearing from neighborhood leaders, who want to see more officers patrolling their streets. Ultimately, the question of 20 officers comes down to perception. We all want to feel that our city is getting safer. Chief Corwin will be asked to attend one of the February budget workshops. I hope he will find a way to add those officers, or at the very least commit to adding them next year.

Transit
We will be having a Regional Mayors’ Summit on Light Rail on Friday, Feb. 8 at Pierpont’s at Union Station. I hope the event will be well attended and might serve to boost the prospects of state legislation in both Kansas and Missouri that would enable us to create a new, five-county organization for the purpose of building a regional light rail system. I continue to believe that transit is something we need to approach as a metropolitan region and that a regional light rail system is imperative if we are going to compete in the increasingly globalized economy.

Housing
It was almost three years ago that the City of Kansas City, Mo., filed a lawsuit against HEDFC, a Missouri nonprofit that was the city’s primary sub recipient of federal housing dollars. The resulting court proceedings put HEDFC in receivership and significantly limited the City’s own housing program. I’m told we are within a few months of seeing the remaining HEDFC assets returned to the City. When this happens, the City will again be in charge of its own housing program and resources.

Finance
City staff and the Economic Development Commission continue to implement the Economic Development and Incentive Policy the Council passed in September. Likewise, the LCRA, TIF Commission and PIEA are embracing the policy and addressing it as they fulfill their roles in guiding development in the city. The proposed fiscal year 2008-09 budget is strong evidence of how much we’ve needed a policy. Economic incentives including TIFs are estimated to cost more than $87 million in the next budget year. Downtown
In January, the City Council passed another Community Improvement District for downtown. The special taxing district is managed by the Downtown Council, which uses the money to help market our booming downtown. They organize and pay the yellow-jacketed crews that help keep the streets and sidewalks clean and provide extra security. Their visibility has been an important part of the rebirth of downtown and will be key in helping host the Big XII basketball tournament in March. They are a visual reminder that downtown is again a clean and safe place to visit and enjoy, whether for a concert at the Sprint Center or a beer at one of the many new restaurants and bars.

Sewers
The Water Services Utility Funding Task Force, chaired by Councilwoman Jan Marcason, met in January and began the unenviable task of determining how the water department will pay for needed and federally required improvements to the city water and sewer system. Meanwhile, the new budget includes a 12 percent rate increase for customers for next year. I’ve seen projections that might have them rising by 500 percent over the next 13 years. The rate increases are sobering reminders of the work we have to do.

Citizen Satisfaction
We are coming ever so close to seeing a change in the number of metal plates on Kansas City’s streets. The City's Public Works Department has drafted a new ordinance that will significantly change the way the City permits and tracks the many metal plates that mar our street surfaces. I expect the ordinance to be introduced to Council in February and I hope to get it enacted.

Education
January was another hard month for the Kansas City school district. The board announced it would be seeking a new superintendent while retaining Anthony Amato as a consultant temporarily. I continue to support the board in its challenging task. People have told me that the unsettled situation makes it a poor time to hold a school summit. I disagree. I think now is the time to rally in support of our schools to send a signal that the community still cares about the district and the children and families within it. So I’ll keep working to find the funding for a summit. 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."

Sincerely,

Mayor Mark Funkhouser

Priorities in Progress

Thank you for subscribing to my monthly e-newsletter. I am pleased to share how we're progressing on efforts to improve the city.

Neighborhoods
Last month, the City Council and I unanimously approved the Three-Trails Redevelopment project for the Bannister Mall property. The planned $1 billion investment in a soccer complex, retail shopping and office space will be an incredible addition to the city as a whole, but specifically to a south Kansas City neighborhood that deserves a boost. I had been skeptical of the proposal as originally presented. I thought it included too much public support and public risk. The final proposal as approved by the Council included some concessions that should better protect the city’s interest.

Housing
At Councilmember Sharon Sanders-Brooks’ suggestion, I toured some homes being built by Midwest Development Associates on East 39th Street. What I saw impressed me and the developer has a proven track record of investment in the urban core. The homes are sturdy and well built. They will be an asset to the street they are on and the neighborhood around them. It was a reminder to me that many, many small improvements to our city are as valuable as the mega deals we hear so much about.

Council
December was a rough month for relations with the City Council, as you might be aware. Clearly, there is strong disagreement regarding City Manager Wayne A. Cauthen. That made for a rough round of meetings on Dec. 10, during which nine members of the council voted to renew the city manager’s contract. Subsequently, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Skaggs filed a lawsuit against the City, seeking clarity on the City Charter.

This stuff is not easy, but I know the Council and I have more in common than we have differences. We are continuing to work together.

Transit
I continue to meet with area leaders, selling a regional concept for light rail with regional governance shared equally across the state line, regional funding and built at once. I am convinced this approach will do the most for our environment, our economy and our downtown. Long term, a well-functioning light rail system is crucial to ensure the success of our revitalized downtown.

Finance
In January, I expect to be presented with a budget proposal by the city manager. Projections would indicate that it will be a challenge. So I plan to quickly make it available to the members of the City Council. I am confident that together we can make it as good as it can be given the reality of the City’s financial situation. More about the budget calendar.

Crime/Downtown
We got some good news in December. An analysis by the Kansas City Star and the University of Missouri-Kansas City compared crime statistics by neighborhood over the last several years. The newspaper reported that 83 percent of the city’s neighborhoods had seen a drop in total crimes in 2007. Those included Westport, Blue Hills, South Indian Mound and the Downtown Loop, which saw its largest decrease in crime since 2000. The downtown news is particularly important as more and more people choose to visit and make their homes downtown.

Sewers
The Water Services Utility Funding Task Force will begin meeting this month, with the challenge of determining how the City’s Water Services Department will pay for needed and federally required improvements to the City water and sewer system.

Citizen Satisfaction
I’ve heard many good comments about how the City crews dealt with December’s icy weather. This is the kind of service that has the most obvious impact on the most residents, and I thank the many City employees for their efforts.

Education
I’m still working toward an education summit in partnership with the Kansas City, Mo., school district.

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."

Sincerely,

Mayor Funkhouser

Monthly Update

I am pleased to share how we're progressing on efforts to improve the city.

Finance
The first quarterly analysis of the city budget indicated that the city has an $18 million gap between projected revenues and expenses. In other words, we expect to come up short by a lot of money. If things don't rebound, this is going to make this upcoming budget discussion very interesting. Nevertheless, I intend to work with Budget Officer Troy Schulte, Councilmember Deb Hermann and her fellow members of the Finance and Audit Committee on including as much public input as possible in this year's budget discussion. Schulte will be introducing a resolution this Thursday that'll set that process in motion and make it so the public's input is heeded.

On a positive note, the Council passed a debt policy for the City, something a lot of people would be surprised to know we haven't had before. City staff have worked for a debt policy for a number of years, and I'm glad we finally got it done. Along with the economic development and incentive policy passed in September, I think the city is on track to be much smarter with its money.

Council
In October, I created a new committee of the City Council in hopes of paying closer attention to the goings on in Jefferson City and Washington, D.C. The Legislative Committee is being chaired by Councilmember John Sharp, who along with the other members of the committee, brings a lot of experience as a former state representative. I know they will help this city stay on top of its legislative and lobbying efforts.

It was not easy, but the Council found a compromise on the process for selecting municipal judges. We also took an important step in our negotiations with City Manager Wayne Cauthen by voting to terminate his contract if we can’t agree to a new contract by the end of November. This was a dramatic move, but it was required if we are to have a contract that is in line with the priorities of this Council. None of these votes are easy, but the Council is working very well together lately. We all campaigned on the same issues, and the shared vision we agreed to during our strategic planning session in August showed me how much we have in common.

Neighborhoods
I am confident the city's voters will renew the one-cent sales tax for capital improvements. The need for the tax renewal is acute as we continue to repair our city's crumbling streets and sidewalks. The campaign on its behalf has been well organized. It has been fun to see the orange ink from my campaign bleed over into the sales tax renewal campaign literature and television spots.

October saw the beginning of the focus groups the city is hosting as it works on a Long-Term Solid Waste Strategic Management Plan. Generally, the plan will determine how we collect and get rid of the city's trash in the future. But more specifically, I expect the plan to include ways to curb illegal dumping, encourage recycling and keep our neighborhoods cleaner.

Downtown
The Sprint Center continues to draw crowds of new visitors to downtown Kansas City. So far, we've had no significant traffic or parking problems, and people seem to be having a safe and wonderful time.

Crime
The Police Department approved a new strategic plan that includes outcomes connected to citizen satisfaction. In other words it is going to try to measure how people feel about their police department, rather than just how many officers we have or how many traffic stops we make.

Transit
In October, I had breakfast and a press conference at Union Station with six Platte County mayors, who had written a letter in support of a regional approach to light rail. It was a wonderful letter that showed these six officials see transit as I do – as something we need to consider as a metropolitan area. Also last month, the Kansas City Star came out with its own plan for light rail, and I participated in a special project hosted by KCPT on the subject of regional light rail.

Education
On Monday, the city welcomed its 11 newest employees when high school students from Kansas City's Cristo Rey High School had their first day of work for the city. The school is in its second year and relies on a unique work study program through which the students pay for their private schooling by working real jobs five days a month. I was pleased with how much city Human Resources Director Gary O'Bannon and his department did to work out an agreement. I think both the city and the students will benefit from the connection. Watch the news conference online.

Housing/ Sewers / Citizen Satisfaction
In housing, low income housing tax credits have a new process. The Water Services Department is working on a cost of service analysis that is going to have a real bearing on how the city pays for the needed repairs to its sewer and storm drainage system. And the city auditor continues to collect data on his citizen satisfaction survey.

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."

Sincerely,

Mayor Mark Funkhouser

Monthly Update

It’s the beginning of a new month – time to take a few moments to reflect on the progress made on the ten priorities I’ve established for my term as mayor.

Finance
On Sept. 20, we made history at City Hall. By unanimous vote, the City Council accepted the recommendations of the Economic Development and Incentive Policy Task Force and enacted an economic development and incentive policy -- which the city has needed for many, many years but has been unable to create. I am very pleased with this policy. Indeed, I believe it will prove to be one of the most progressive policies in the country. It will certainly provide a solid foundation for us to begin to be “smart with the money” in Kansas City.

Also, I had the privilege of appointing two outstanding individuals to the TIF Commission – Claudia Onate Greim and Margaret May. Claudia Onate Greim is an attorney and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Kansas City Public Library. Margaret May is executive director of the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council. And I recommended that current member Ron Yaffe be named chair of the commission.

Council
My fellow City Council members and I have been making a lot of progress in drafting a new contract for City Manager Wayne Cauthen. Our efforts are going very well, and I feel confident that in the end we will have a strong contract with good performance measures.

Education
We are still moving forward with our education summit, which has been tentatively scheduled for Jan. 19 at the Sprint Center. Meantime, I want to draw some attention to a smaller development. My staffer Crispin Rea helped connect City staff with representatives of Kansas City's Cristo Rey High School. City and school officials are now working to secure positions at City Hall for Cristo Rey students. This private school has a unique curriculum in which they require students to fill jobs in the private sector to defer the cost of their tuition, and, of course, to get real-world work experience. This model has been used at schools in cities across the country, but Kansas City would be only the second city in which students have gotten jobs with the local government.

Downtown
Nothing but good news here. On Sept. 25, I held a joint news conference with the Downtown Council, KCATA and Councilman Ed Ford to announce that downtown is open and ready for business, with plenty of parking and scores of new shops and restaurants. Turns out the news release wasn’t necessary – downtown has been getting plenty of buzz on its own, what with all the sold-out shows at Sprint Center. Things really got cooking when news broke of an exclusive show by Garth Brooks, who hasn’t toured in almost a decade. View the Downtown KC Resource Guide.

Neighborhoods / Sewers / Citizen Satisfaction
I’m combining these three priorities this month because they’re all addressed in some way by the renewal of the one-cent sales tax for infrastructure, which will go before voters on Nov. 6. We kicked off the campaign for this very important ballot initiative on Sept. 28. This will be a step forward for neighborhoods, because a larger percentage of the proceeds from this tax renewal will fund infrastructure projects in neighborhoods across the city. This also means relief for sewer problems that directly impact neighborhoods, which I often hear about at my town hall meetings. Addressing these concerns will help people feel better about City services.

Housing
In August, I created a new committee of the City Council that is charged with overseeing the implementation of the housing policy that was recently adopted by the City Council. One of the things I made a commitment to do when I ran for mayor was to make sure this policy, based on the recommendations of a task force headed by Father Norman Rotert, would be effectively carried through. To ensure this, I formed the Housing Committee, which is led by Councilwoman Cindy Circo. The group is beginning to dig in and tackle the task at hand. I’m pleased to see the way they are working together.

Crime
My staff has been investigating some of the measures other cities have taken to address the problem of illegal guns. In the course of their research, they came across a coalition called Mayors Against Illegal Guns. This growing movement is aimed at building political muscle to compel the federal government to adopt more sensible policies to help cities reduce the number of illegal guns in their communities. One piece of legislation they’re working hard to overturn is the “Tiahrt Amendment,” an add-on to an appropriation bill that severely limits the amount of information about illegal guns that federal law enforcement officials can share with local authorities. This makes it more difficult for cities to reduce violent crime. I intend to join this coalition soon.

Transit
I continue to meet with metro area leaders, urging them to join me in supporting a regionally planned and funded light rail transit system. And now some of them are starting to come out and publicly take a stance in favor of the idea. We're making good progress in this area.

Please check my official weblog 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.”

Sincerely,

Mayor Mark Funkhouser

Mayor's Monthly Update

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