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Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser will deliver his first State of the City speech next Thursday. But in tone and setting, it won’t be much like the one Johnson County Commission Chairwoman Annabeth Surbaugh gave April 8.
She spoke to about 800 movers and shakers of the richest county in Kansas as they munched on lunch in the expansive Ritz Charles ballroom in Overland Park. Audience members came from vibrant suburban cities, successful school districts and growing businesses in Johnson County.
Surbaugh noted that 92 percent of residents are satisfied with the county’s quality of life.
She introduced County Manager Mike Press, joking that he pretty much does what she tells him to do.
Which brings us to Funkhouser’s pending speech.
Sure, he’ll have some accomplishments to tout since he became mayor in early 2007. Voters have extended the city’s sales tax for capital improvements, a top priority for the mayor. Earlier this month, voters agreed with the mayor on the need to renew the city sales tax for buses.
He’ll also likely praise the opening of the Sprint Center and Power & Light District, the city’s progress on scaling back public subsidies, the potential Bombardier aircraft plant and other positive things happening in the city.
But there will be key differences.
Funkhouser’s audience won’t be nearly as large, and the attendees will have only a few appetizers to eat (if they’re lucky) after the speech.
The audience will include city employees who are grumpy and worried about potential layoffs.
If the mayor cares to bring it up, a recent survey showed just 57 percent of residents are satisfied with Kansas City’s quality of life.
And Funkhouser certainly won’t lavish praise on the performance of City Manager Wayne Cauthen, whom he tried to get rid of last year.
Still, the content of the mayor’s speech will be extremely important for Kansas Citians. Here’s some of what he should talk about:
•The coming sewer crisis.
Funkhouser needs to pledge that elected officials will scrutinize all revenue options to finance this multibillion-dollar expense, not just automatically approve a plan to double, triple or quadruple monthly sewer bills. The decisions that elected officials make will resonate for years.
•The light-rail dilemma.
The mayor should lay out a timetable for when he’ll make a go/no-go decision on pursuing a light-rail system financed by Jackson, Clay and Platte counties.
If county leaders reject the mayor’s plan — as is widely expected — City Hall needs adequate time to promote a less-ambitious starter line for the November ballot.
•How budget reductions will affect residents.
The City Council passed a tough-minded budget last month, but the proof will come in how the city actually cuts personnel costs through layoffs and frozen positions. Funkhouser should pound home the importance of eliminating mid-level management positions while leaving front-line city workers on the job.
•His challenges for Cauthen.
This is Funkhouser’s chance to point out how Cauthen still needs to get a housing policy in place and appoint a new, consumer-friendly director for the Water Services Department. Cauthen needs to do more to improve city services for the 99 percent of Kansas Citians who don’t live downtown.
•Plans to boost economic development.
The mayor pledged to help parts of the city other than downtown and the Northland. The mayor needs to concentrate on the central city and the Southland, which require the city’s help to keep employers and attract residents.
Funkhouser will undoubtedly use his speech to highlight the positive things going on in the city. Nothing wrong with that.
But he also should take the opportunity to lay out his plan to help deal with the tough times facing Kansas City government.
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