Wyandotte County Mayor Tyrone Garner returns newly purchased $85,000 GMC Yukon Denali
.jpg "Wyandotte County Mayor Tyrone Garner will return the $85,000 GMC Yukon Denali purchased with taxpayer dollars a little more than a month after buying it.")
Wyandotte County Mayor Tyrone Garner will return the $85,000 GMC Yukon Denali purchased with taxpayer dollars a little more than a month after buying it.
Garner, who was elected in November after defeating incumbent David Alvey, will return the car to the Unified Government’s fleet division to be decommissioned and sold, according to a press release.
“As a new Mayor, I am being proactive in recognizing that I need to move in a different direction when it comes to the utilization of resources provided to me by the Unified Government,” Garner said in a statement Tuesday. “I really want people to know that I want this Mayor’s office to be something other than politics as usual.”
The vehicle was purchased at Sakelaris Buick GMC of Lebanon in Lebanon, Missouri, on Dec. 28, according to the sales invoice obtained by The Star.
The vehicle cost $85,569.
KCTV5 first reported Garner purchased the vehicle while also reporting that Alvey bought a Chevy Traverse for less than $32,000 while mayor.
Garner told KCTV5 that the purchase was reviewed by the Unified Government’s legal department and that the mayor’s vehicle needs to accommodate his staff.
The purchase seemed to go against the platform Garner ran on: He campaigned on finding ways to save money for taxpayers including proposing an independent audit of the Board of Public Utilities to try and identify savings for taxpayers.
The first few months of Garner’s administration has been filled with unexpected developments:
In late December, less than a month into his term, he faced backlash from community members and housing advocates in Kansas City, Kansas, after social service providers were abruptly notified the county had pulled the plug on allowing the city’s only emergency shelter to open as temperatures dropped to zero degrees.
The Unified Government approved a resolution of support to open a warming center for the homeless a few days later. Garner publicly stated during the vote that there had been “misinformation” swirling about his intentions regarding the plan.
Also in December, County Administrator Doug Bach announced his retirement. Bach had served as county administrator since 2014. The Unified Government voted on Jan. 6 to appoint Cheryl Harrison-Lee as the interim county administrator. The Unified Government paid Bach more than $813,800 as part of the separation agreement.
Garner reaffirmed in Tuesday’s statement that he is community driven.
“I reaffirm my pledge to be community-driven,” Garner said. “I want to do my part to help facilitate making Wyandotte County a great and safe place to live, work and raise a family.”
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This story was originally published February 9, 2022 at 8:35 AM.
