Tyrone Garner promised to audit KCK government. He needs a county administrator first

Politicians are judged not by how many promises they make, but how many they keep. In the day-to-day work of governing, it can be hard to keep eyes on the prize. At the start of his administration six months ago, Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor Tyrone Garner made some big promises, good promises. It’s important that he does not lose track of them.

At his swearing-in ceremony in December, Garner promised a sorely needed top-to-bottom audit of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas’ past operations. Garner, a retired deputy police chief, campaigned as a reformer, and captured 51% of the vote to defeat incumbent David Alvey.

“I am here to work for the people,” Garner emphasized to us Monday.

The audit would go a long way to provide much-needed accountability in the Unified Government. It’s a promise that Garner needs to keep front and center — even as he deals with an urgent priority: the hiring of a new county administrator who can help him keep his promise.

The county administrator job has been held on an interim basis this year by Cheryl Harrison-Lee, who was Garner’s original choice to fill the role permanently. Earlier this month, he stormed out of a meeting with commissioners when pressed to undertake a national search for a permanent replacement.

Garner said he left the meeting only after answering “with passion, firmness” the only question on that day’s agenda, which concerned starting a search. “I left because I didn’t want the meeting to dissolve into a personnel matter,” Garner said.

Harrison-Lee was hired on an interim basis in January following the retirement of previous County Administrator Doug Bach. She recently decided that she did not want the position long term.

Garner now says he wants “buy-in” from commissioners and the public in the selection process for Bach’s replacement. “I want a thorough, transparent process,” he said. “I know I have to work with this commission to get anything done.”

Whoever becomes the top administrator will help Garner implement the much needed audit of government operations. Garner promised not only to audit the entire Unified Government, but also make its findings public. Residents at a recent meeting told commissioners that they supported such an audit.

Certainly an audit would help give Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County a clean — as in transparent — slate after the many controversies that arose during Bach’s eight-year tenure as administrator.

Bach was accused of making deals with developers that gave away millions in tax dollars to large corporations while small businesses in KCK struggled. He was also involved in a questionable arrangement that allowed former Police Chief Terry Zeigler to live for two years in a county-owned lake house in exchange for doing some work on the residence.

Bach left the Unified Government last year with an outrageously lavish resignation package.

Taxpayers already burdened by low household incomes and the county’s high property taxes and utilities are stuck owing Bach $336,445 in pay through mid-March of 2024. Plus he left with a staggering $427,364 in accrued leave.

And according to his separation, he was allowed to keep his government vehicle and his electronic devices at favorable discounts. Why would he need that public property? Surely walking away with nearly a million dollars, he could afford his own.

And that’s exactly the kind of questionable agreement, and maybe more, residents said they hope an audit might explain.

We hope the same.

Garner simply said he wants the audit to improve the way the government operates: “It’s to see how we can find blind spots. It’s about how we move the Unified Government to operate more efficiently.”

There’s a lot to improve. For years, KCK residents have complained about high taxes, exorbitant utility bills and fees, disinvestment in the city’s east side and public business and procurement practices.

The mayor, alongside his new chief administrator, must stay the course and ensure that an audit is immediately pursued and completed. Commissioners should welcome such a review and release its findings.

On this issue, Mayor, we are rooting for you.