This week we noticed that Kansas City Mayoral Candidate Mike Burke and his campaign are at a much higher energy level with my new staff on board. Even better, there's news that he plans to be vocal on some major local issues. In his latest presser, he points out how Kansas City has bungled the street maintenance contract and wasted half the summer getting a routine paving contract out.
Check it:
CITY MAINTENANCE SYSTEM IS BROKEN
It is no secret that the city has a history of failure to keep up with maintenance of city streets, parks and buildings. The recently released Citizens Satisfaction Survey, identified the lack of street maintenance as the number one citizen complaint. Sixty percent of Kansas City residents responding are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with street maintenance. This is a number that continues to increase over the last few years. Every year the city issues a street maintenance contract. You would think that with the high level of dissatisfaction and the damage done to our city by a difficult winter that this contract would be a high priority. Unfortunately this is not the case.
The contract was bid April 6th and but the ordinance did not make its way to the City Council until July and the approval to proceed was just issued last week. It is unacceptable that it takes half the summer to get a routine street maintenance contract in place. The City can save both time and money if routine summer construction contracts are bid over the winter and ready to go when the spring comes. The city contracting process should not take three months to get to Council after bids are received. The Mayor and City Council should stay on top of the maintenance issues that are the source of so many citizen complaints. Perhaps that is the reason for the other low score on the Citizen Satisfaction Survey. Sixty percent of citizens are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the quality of leadership provided by the city's elected officials. It doesn't have to be that way.
As mayor one of my highest priorities would be a reevaluation of the deferred maintenance and contracting process. I helped draft the Community Infrastructure Report in 1997. The City Council adopted the recommendations in the report and for a number of years maintenance improved. But with changes in leadership many of the commitments were forgotten or ignored. The level of budget support for maintenance is about the same today as it was in 1997. To become a City of Opportunities we need to first get the routine things right.
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So what else is new it's like this for YEARS and the politicians just now noticed?
ReplyDeleteIs that NE 80th and N Brighton, where Burke took the legal fees for the work on the road and then dropped his client when the client couldn't finish the streetwork. It fell on the City to get the work done. Or is it a road to Renaissance North, where again, he scooped up the legal fees and then dropped the client when he couldn't finish the work. He's got some real cajones talking about the City not getting work done. I hope he knows that if he were to be mayor there would be no legal fees for him to skim off the top of every project before his clients let it tank. Seriously Mike, you've got some real nerve.
ReplyDeleteHow much has Mike made off of the City taxpayers already(in legal services for Port Authority). I heard that it's been something in the neighborhood of 4 million dollars. Quite frankly, I don't know why he's giving up such a lucrative gig just to lose his run for mayor.
ReplyDeleteHe is the fatter version of John Fairfield.
ReplyDeleteouch.
ReplyDeleteI guess that would make Deb Hermann a version of Fairfield with a bigger dick.
I'm thinking she's the Momma from "Throw Momma From the Train"
ReplyDeleteThis is the ONLY thing the city should be focusing on. Screw the money shifting for social programs and get to work on the municipal services. Let the churches and charities take over the social issues and leave the city out of it. Clean up our streets!!
ReplyDeleteDeb is John with a bigger dick! Hahah. I like it, if he had a dick at all it might not be so funny. Go Deb with your big brass you-know-what's!!!" Actually, she doesn't have much in common with him overall that I know of, but it's still funny.
ReplyDeleteBurke has made $4 million from Port Authority and he is still making it, in spite of being asked to resign. Now Bill Sessions, who really doesn't handle the type of legal work the Port Authority needs, has the contract for the agency. He just passes the work along to Burke, who continues to collect fat fees. Funk wanted Burke out of that gig, and all he got was Sessions fronting for Burke. So the mayor is an idiot, Burke is a slick dude and he is making the money.
ReplyDeleteRenaissance North will come back to haunt Burke. It already has.
This posting reminds me of the murder rate in Kansas City. One day after it skyrockets out the roof officials will say " Good Lord we have too many murders in Kansas City.... let's create a task force....let's meet with the youth.... BLAH BLAH BLAH... then the real trick.... We need More tax dollars!!!!!!!!!! For no results.
ReplyDeleteMike Burke is just running interference for Deb Hermann. This is a Northland take over game. He will quit and ask all of you fools to place your vote for Hermann.
ReplyDeleteIt is not that Deb has a bigger dick than John, it is just that Deb has had sex with more women than John.
ReplyDelete