Better Days

City Auditor Mark Funkhauser has had better days. It seems some people at City Hall are upset with him over a meeting he had with a mayoral candidate that was publicized in the Pitch. I'll admit, Mark should have known better. Allowing yourself to be be photographed with a political candidate during a campaign is not wise for a City employee. But what Mark's critics should take into account is that he's an auditor, not a politician. It's his lack of political savvy that is one of the things that makes him such a good auditor. Let's face it. Nobody likes an audit. Consequently auditors are not popular people. When's the last time you heard about someone being happy that they were going to be audited? The Mayor and certain councilpersons have been unhappy with Funkhauser's constant criticisms of how they do business. You know... They're tired of him being an auditor. I think there's enough blame to go around. It should have been mentioned to Mark that he should stay out of the public eye when it comes to political candidates. Circulating a letter of reprimand in City Hall with the realization that it would find its way into the newspaper is irresponsible also. Just as an aside. If you see any photos of Mark Funkhauser and myself together it is not an endorsement of my campaign by him. He lives a block away from me and I'm sure there's a photo or two of us at various neighborhood events where we happen to be standing together in the same frame. Lighten up people.

Trolley Time

If you need to cross Brookside Boulevard Sunday morning you better make other plans. I'll be joining hundreds of runners for the Trolley Run. A fast four-mile course from 75th & Wornall down Brookside Boulevard to the Plaza. I'll be in the Blue wave. Bib number 1979. I'll be the very winded guy at the after-party. Look me up and say hi!

Sidewalk Talk

Local blogger Heidi is a big walkability advocate. Needless to say I like the way she thinks. Check out her latest blog on Mark Funkhauser's Sidewalk Management Audit. It doesn't take a genius to figure out we have some sidewalk issues in Kansas City. Apparently it does take an audit to bring it to our leadership's attention. You have to cut them a little slack though. It's hard to understand sidewalk issues when you never leave your car.

I'll gladly pay you in twenty years for a condo building today...

The PIEA (Planned Industrial Expansion Authority) is a pseudo-government agency that hands out tax abatements to projects it deems worthy. Let's not dwell on the fact that the PIEA almost never finds a project it deems unworthy. That's the subject of a post unto itself. The KC Business Journal reported last week that Matt Abbott will be seeking $15 Million in tax abatements for two properties with a combined, renovated value of $60 Million. Basically he's asking for the rest of us to pay for 25% of his project. First off, Matt Abbott is the guy who drove the Law Building into the ground (literally) by failing to come up with financing for its rehabilitation and eventually selling it to a New York developer on the condition that it be demolished. Matt's record for saving downtown landmarks ain't the best in my book. Second, he's asking for these tax breaks claiming that he will pass them on to the buyers of the condos. If you believe that I've got some TWA stock I'd like to sell you. That little "check's in the mail" promise is made by every developer who comes to the taxpayers, hat in hand, asking for a handout. The hearing for the request is in May. I think I'm going to put that one on my calendar. I figure I might as well see what we're all going to be paying for.

Happy Easter

Yesterday was one of the biggest traffic days yet for the site. Thanks to everyone who regularly reads (even my competitors) and have a safe and happy Easter weekend.

First you build it, then the fat lady sings...

It was announced today that groundbreaking for the Performing Arts Centre will be this October and construction will begin in December. I’m personally excited about the news. My wife occasionally plays viola with the Kansas City Symphony and can tell you first hand how dead the sound is in both the Lyric and the Midland Theaters. They just weren’t designed for that kind of live performance. There is one thing that concerns me though. Kansas City has pledged $47 Million to the project in the form of two parking garages. In typical City Hall fashion I’m told that no one is quite sure where this money is going to come from. Of course I’m asking for this council job that’s going to come with the burden of finding about a billion dollars to fix our combined sewer system. With that staring me in the face $47 Million doesn’t seem all that impossible. I guess I’d better go check the batteries in my business calculator.

It's not a contradiction if you believe what you're saying?

I serve on the board for an organization called The Downtowners. Yesterday we sponsored a luncheon that featured a discussion panel on the use of Tax Increment Financing in Kansas City. One of the four panelists was City Auditor Mark Funkhauser who is no fan of KC’s TIF policies (or lack thereof). Another panelist was an attorney from a large law firm located on the Plaza so needless to say he was on the “pro” side. Several interesting points were made and several evasive non-answers were made. All in all it was par for the course as far as discussion panels go. The development attorney maintained that TIF should not be targeted to undesirable areas because “nobody wants to build there anyway.” Huh? Isn’t that what TIF is for? The attorney maintained that government should not be in the development planning business and targeted incentives were just plain wrong. Later on when Mark Funkhauser attacked the use of TIF for retail projects, the same attorney stated “targeted TIF has been very successful in areas like the Plaza.” Contradiction? Maybe not to a powerful development attorney. Funkhauser asserted that retail is a lousy TIF investment because it is so hard to predict. I agree with Mark. Think about it this way. Most TIF projects are projected over 23 years. Do you think we would all still be shopping at Izod World if that idea had been floated back in 1983? I'm sure back then it would have seemed like an awesome concept. While hanging out in the back of the room I noticed David Martin of the Pitch scribbling away in his notebook. Since he’s a journalist and I’m obviously not, I’m sure his write up of the event will be much better. Keep your eye out for next week’s Pitch.

Pocket Change

Last week I attended a City Council business session, which I chronicled in A Little Decorum Please. The main topic to which council members were actually able to force themselves to pay attention was Saundra McFadden-Weaver’s citizen committee report on a landlord registration plan. The committee did not have a recommendation for how to pay for the estimated $765,000/yr the program would cost. Surprisingly enough, since the committee had several landlords on it the suggestion of any type of fees imposed on the landlords themselves was staunchly opposed. (that last sentence was sarcasm folks...) When asked about where this $765,000 was going to come from, Councilperson Weaver went off on a rant about how “we can renovate sports stadiums with millions of dollars and nobody knows where the money is coming from but we can’t find a “measly” $765,000 for the welfare and safety of children living in substandard housing.” Hmmm. I know where the money for the stadiums is coming from, don’t you? 3/8 of a cent on everything purchased in Jackson County. It’s called a sales tax. I think most of us can understand that. I guess it’s just one more example of how elected officials in this town have no concept of finance. As I’ve said before, a few hundred thousand here, a few hundred thousand there, pretty soon you’re talking real money! My head hurts. I’m going to go lay down now.

A Little Decorum Please

I attended the business session of the City Council today. I was there as part of the 311 Oversight Committee who presented an update. I picked up tons of blog material, but the thing that stood out the most to me was the very rude behavior of our elected officials. As the Assistant City Manager over the 311 project began to make his presentation, half the council members simply got up and left the room. The remaining members began chatting amongst themselves like a bunch of 10th graders bored with a lecture on covalent bonding. It’s hard work to get elected. At least I’m working hard! These people go through all the rigors of an election. They tell the voters how badly they want to represent them and what a great job they’ll do. What happens when they get to City Hall? They act like the job is so hard or so boring that they can’t manage to behave in a professional manner for 90 minutes? I see five year olds at church who behave better than what I saw today. Maybe none of the council members have ever had to sit through a two-hour graduate finance lecture. I can assure you I learned to pay very close attention for those two hours. I think I can handle 90 minutes of City business once a week.

Dear David Glass

The people of Jackson County have shown a generosity the likes of which haven’t been seen in this town since the passing of Ewing Kauffman. We are putting up about $200 Million to your $20 Million for what amounts to a new stadium. That’s about 10% you’re putting in? That’s not even a decent tip at a diner. I hope you don’t treat restaurant wait staff like you’re treating Kansas City. You will now have the “world class” facility you desire. There are no more excuses. We demand “world class” baseball to go with the stadium. You have your luxury boxes, your concourses. For that matter you even have your own television network. Put a good team on the field. Quit treating nickels like manhole covers and get some players. Cost cutting may work at Walmart, but this is the major league. You’re not buying bulk plastic crap from underpaid sweatshop workers overseas. There are no championship pennants awarded for best profit margin. This town deserves a good team. This town deserves a good owner. Prove to all of us you really do want to win.