Why did KC city manager Troy Schulte retire? And how will Kansas City move forward?

Troy Schulte ranks as one of the most consequential city managers in modern Kansas City history. Tuesday, he said he’s retiring.

“I am so proud of all we have accomplished, working on behalf of the citizens of Kansas City,” he said a statement Tuesday. That pride has been earned.

At the same time, his departure provides Mayor Quinton Lucas and his council colleagues with a fresh slate, enabling them to re-imagine the city’s approach to problems such as basic services, housing and incentive reform.

They must make the most of that opportunity.

In a statement, Lucas complimented Schulte for his “commitment to and passion for” Kansas City. Pointedly, though, his short statement also said the search for a new manager would begin soon.

Schulte served as city manager for a decade. He successfully steered Kansas City government through the difficult economic environment of the Great Recession — while the city struggled, it did not face the fiscal problems other cities faced.

He had an impressive understanding of the city’s budget, and was unusually plain-spoken in the job. Most city workers were loyal, and he enjoyed relative labor peace.

Voters showed their faith in Schulte’s management by approving several ballot measures, including a massive, $800 million infrastructure bond program in 2017. And, of course, they overwhelmingly approved a $1.5 billion plan to build a new terminal at Kansas City International Airport.

The streetcar is running, and is popular. A new convention hotel will open next year. Downtown is a better place now than it was when Schulte took over the city manager’s office. Those are all tributes, at least in part, to Schulte’s work.

He had problems, of course. The disastrous bidding process for the new airport terminal was at least partially his fault. He angered some council members by spending funds to study downtown baseball without telling them.

He was not afraid of debt. Today, Kansas City has a high debt load that makes many Kansas Citians nervous. He’s also shifted much of the city’s spending away from basic neighborhood services to allocate more for public safety.

He tangled with council members on occasion, too. Last week he tussled over the street-sweeping program, for example. He has worked for months on a complicated plan to subsidize a new office building downtown, a project the City Council seems poised to reject, perhaps as early as this week.

It’s possible that controversy played a role in Schulte’s thinking.

In fact, Schulte seemed to realize in recent weeks that new blood may be called for at 12th and Oak. He was not a major issue in the mayoral campaign — in fact, over time, Lucas warmed up to keeping him on the job — but some criticism hummed in the background.

Schulte likely heard the music.

Attention will now turn to a replacement. Schulte won’t leave until the end of February, giving the mayor and council plenty of time to think about who they want to run the city.

We’ll have more to say about that in the weeks ahead. Kansas Citians will want a dynamic manager fully committed to bringing progress to all parts of the community. It’s also a good opportunity to look for women who could serve, and members of the minority community.

Today, though, we tip our cap to Troy Schulte. On balance, he has served the region well.

This story was originally published September 24, 2019 at 4:17 PM.