Category: Unified Government Commission

Mayor needs to realize reality of governing

Views
Opinion column

by Murrel Bland

Several years ago, there was a story floating around Kansas City, Kansas, City Hall about a new mayor who wanted to make a substantial impact on the community with his administration. According to legend, a longtime city hall bureaucrat let the mayor know the political realities of city government.

“We don’t even buy paperclips without two votes,” the bureaucrat said. At that time, three commissioners directed city government,

Fast-forward to today. Mayor Tyrone Garner has come to city hall with what he describes as a substantial agenda for change. He needs to understand that he needs at least five votes, plus his, if substantial change is going to occur.

The mayor also needs to understand that many of the same voters who elected him also elected commissioners. People will support those things that they help create. Abruptly ending a recent commission meeting without letting commissioners further express their views sent the wrong message from the mayor.

Chuck Stites, a newcomer commissioner from Edwardsville, probably summed it up very well:

“We just want to know what is going on,” Stites said.

There is controversy surrounding the recent appointment of Cheryl Harrison-Lee as county administrator. The mayor, as chief executive officer, clearly had authority to nominate her; all commission members approved her appointment for one year.

Now commission members are favoring a national search for county administrator, but would have Harrison-Lee invited to apply. She is now auditing Unified Government departments, apparently trying to find ways of saving money. At the same time, a volunteer committee, including Chris Steineger, is focused on governmental efficiency. Steineger, a Democrat-turned- Republican, was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor.

Harrison-Lee was a controversial city administrator at Gardner. She resigned and received $350,000 in severance pay. She continues to be a consultant for Kansas City, Missouri; critics have raised concern about a possible conflict of interest.

The mayor needs to have better relations with fellow commission members. He also needs to remember that he was elected by only about 400 votes more than his opponent, which is not that much of a margin when considering more than 165,000 residents live in Wyandotte County.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is an independent columnist. Opinions expressed here are those of the writer and not necessarily those of this publication.

UG Commission to meet Thursday night

The Unified Government Commission will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 12, with several items on the agenda.

There will be a review of some sections of the Municipal Code, according to the agenda.

Also planned Thursday night is an update on the UG treasury and motor vehicle operations.

An update on a community health assessment, including a plan for data collection, community engagement and analysis, also is planned.

Also on the agenda is an update on grants and grant processes, according to the agenda.

None of those items had a vote scheduled, but they were presented for information only.

Also scheduled on Thursday night is a community comment time, when residents may express concerns about the UG’s areas of interest. Residents are limited to two minutes of comment time. Residents may go to the City Hall Commission Chambers to make comments, or may make comments online. The residents at the Commission Chambers will have priority. The total comment time will end after 45 minutes. If there are more commenters than time allows, there is the possibility that not everyone will have an opportunity to speak.

The UG Commission meeting will be in person and online. The meeting will be in the Commission Chambers at City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kansas.

The meeting will be on Zoom at
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83234846231?pwd=bFZFMGtDYW14ZTJLaHpQU0lzTHJsdz09.

The passcode is 320617.

The public also may connect by telephone, the toll-free telephone numbers are 888 475 4499 and 877 853 5257.

The webinar ID number is 832 3484 6231.

For information about how to engage in a UG Commission meeting, visit https://www.wycokck.org/Departments/Clerks-Office/Engage-in-Public-Commission-Meeting.

The agenda is online at https://www.wycokck.org/Departments/Clerks-Office/Agendas-Minutes.

Proposal moves forward for separate classes for PILOT fee

by Mary Rupert

A proposal that would create a new classification for the PILOT fee moved forward at Monday night’s Unified Government Economic Development and Finance Committee.

In a unanimous vote during committee meetings that lasted for almost seven hours, the EDF committee approved creating a residential category, along with a business-industrial category, for the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) fee.

Next, the proposal moves to the full UG Commission for approval. The committee requested that it be placed on the nonconsent agenda at a commission meeting.

As described by UG staff, if there were two classes for the PILOT fee, which is placed on customers’ BPU bills, then the UG Commission could set a separate fee for each class. It could lead to an opportunity later to lower the PILOT fee for residents.

Currently, there is an 11.9 percent PILOT fee on BPU bills that is voted on each year by the UG Commission.

Kathleen von Achen, UG chief financial officer, said this proposal was a means of reducing the tax burden on residents. She also presented a plan to expand the senior citizen utility tax rebate to include persons of all ages making $25,000 or less per year.

Von Achen said the PILOT fee on BPU bills makes up 20 percent of the Kansas City, Kansas, general fund.

There were slight reductions in the amount of money the PILOT fee collected in 2020 and 2021 because of the effects of COVID on businesses and industries here, as some were shut down for months.

The residential portion is $8.8 million for electricity and $1.7 million for water. Von Achen said the PILOT fee currently collects $28.4 million for electricity and $5.6 million for water, for a total of $34 million.

She said if, for instance, the UG decides to reduce the PILOT from 11.9 percent to 6 percent on residential bills, it would cut the residential revenues in half, collecting $4.4 million for electricity and $800,000 for water.

Although some hypothetical situations were discussed, the committee did not approve any cuts on Monday night that would affect the PILOT fee. According to commissioners, they might consider cuts in August during the UG budget discussions.

Patrick Waters, UG deputy chief counsel, said that the UG’s charter ordinance would have to be amended to add another classification fee. The amendment would take a two-thirds majority, or eight votes of the commission, to pass. Then, under Kansas law, citizens would have 61 days after publication to submit a petition and hold a referendum on it, if they choose.