Funk's Front Porch20 July 2007
Dear Folks,
This has been a good week in the Mayor’s office. The staff is evolving into their positions with a little more grace – each finding their strengths and the best way to utilize them for the good of the office. It’s a wonderful feeling.
Funk attended the Economic Development and Incentive Policy Task Force meeting this week and was heartened to see how hard the group is working to come up with a more equitable plan for granting Tax Increment Financing (TIF) across the city. I am delighted to see progress on this front as well, but being a woman, I feel bad for the “regular folks” that Funk appointed to this task force as I doubt they realized just how long and difficult the hours would be when they signed on for the job. They are making sacrifices for the city and we are very grateful and much obliged to them.
Next week the task force holds the first of six planned meetings in the neighborhoods to continue their work and solicit input from the public. To find out the time and place of the meetings, please log on to www.funksfrontporch.com.
The need to reform the city’s approach to economic development was further reinforced at the town hall meeting last night. Many of the small, independent business owners in the Crossroads District bought into the area 20 years ago when it was just a crumbling, vacant part of town. They invested blood, sweat and tears, not to mention their money, and brought the area back up from the dead. Unfortunately, these same people are being punished as they are being run out of the area because of, as Funk puts it, the willy-nilly use of tax incentives by the city in recent years. Apparently, the tax abatements given to big businesses have led to grossly inflated tax bills for many of the small business owners in the Crossroads District, the River Market area and other sections of town. The situation these owners face is a horrible mess. While Funk isn’t against tax incentives, he does believe they have to be done in a controlled, focused and disciplined way so that this problem doesn’t reoccur when others wish to invest in our city. So yes, the job of the Economic Task Force is extremely important, yet you can see why it is an enormous amount of time and energy on their part.
The Sprint Arena is getting ready to open, so last minute work is being done at breakneck speed. It is almost impossible to drive downtown as one day a road is open and the next day it is blocked. It makes getting to work on time very exciting, and going home from work, very slow. But, it will be done shortly and soon all will be enjoying events in the new arena. I read in the newspaper today that the Mayor and the City Manager, Wayne Cauthen, are aware of the first event that is going take place there. I guess I’m going to have to cozy up to the one official that I know pretty well to find out whom that might be. When I find out, I’ll wink at you if you guess right.
With that, I bid you a great week.
In faith,
Gloria & Mark
You can respond to this newsletter at funksfrontporch@gmail.com
Please help us by forwarding this email to as many people as you think might want to be more informed about their city government.
The Mayor’s top ten priorities:
1. Establishing a good working relationship with the Council
2. Getting the City’s finances in order
3. Making downtown work
4. Tending to our neighborhoods
5. Implementing the Housing Policy task force recommendations
6. Improving the perception and the reality of public education in Kansas City
7. Reducing Crime
8. Repairing our sewer systems
9. Establishing an excellent regional transit system, which includes light rail
10. Improving citizen satisfaction with City services.
_________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment