City of Kansas City, MO

03/15/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/15/2021 15:25

KCMO City Manager makes great strides in first 100 days

NEWS RELEASE

Anyone listening to Brian Platt make his case to become the 16th City Manager for Kansas City, Missouri, likely became familiar with a recurring theme that typifies his approach to the job -- identify the problems and then find the right answers to solve them. During his first 100 days here, Platt is doing just that.

'There is often more than one right answer to the problems we face,' Platt said during his interview in October with Mayor Quinton Lucas and the City Council. 'the most important approach to problem solving in local government and the way to find the 'best' right answer is community involvement and collaboration.'

Of course, Platt was answering those questions based upon his experience as City Manager of Jersey City, New Jersey. But since he hit the ground running here in December, he's making good on his promise to tackle our city's problems by using everything from technology to good old-fashioned teamwork.

A late December snowstorm offered Platt the opportunity to dive right in and start making improvements to our snow operation. In a matter of days, he inspired our staff to create and implement a 24-hour snow removal operation that, among other things, added overnight shifts to plow residential streets, increased the amount of salting during storms and substantially boosted the number of available drivers.

'Through a smarter and more collaborative deployment of our already available resources, we will be able to deploy an additional 50 trucks and 100 drivers for all future snowstorms,' said Platt, who spent New Year's Day observing and supporting the team plowing city streets.

But that's merely one area Platt addressed during his first 100 days. His other priorities included:

  • Street Resurfacing - Platt and Public Works Director Michael Shaw crafted a comprehensive strategy to improve street maintenance with three key components: digital analysis of pavement; more than doubling the funding for street resurfacing with a new goal of 100 miles of streets to be paved this year; and adopting a stricter excavation policy that requires better coordination between the city and utility companies.
  • Budget - Proposed a balanced $1.73 billion budget that addresses a pandemic-induced $70 million shortfall that avoids staff layoffs or furloughs, maintains essential city services, and even invests in additional resources and essential programs in key areas.
  • Equity - Worked with Human Resources to take the first of many steps to build a more inclusive workplace by hiring staff to both expand professional development and employee training, with additional efforts to ensure the City's workforce best reflects and supports the people it serves.

Platt has also made efforts to restructure city departments and make leadership changes to ensure the services we provide are the most useful and cost effective. He has appointed several new department directors and has created new positions, including the City's first Transportation Director to handle our traffic safety and Vision Zero efforts, as well as the City's first Chief Equity Officer.

'I recommended Brian Platt as Kansas City's new city manager based in large part on his strong record of responsible budget management, outstanding service delivery, innovative transit oriented development, and affordable housing production,' said Mayor Lucas. 'Today - 100 days into his role - it's clear Mr. Platt was the right choice. As our community continues to grapple with COVID-induced budget shortfalls, Mr. Platt has led generational transformation in our delivery of basic city services. Mr. Platt's early focus on implementing better snow and road resurfacing plans has caught the attention of our residents - many of whom note they saw a snow plow on their street this winter for the first time in years.'

What is next on the list for Platt?

'I have spent a significant amount of time over the first 100 days listening to the people of this city. I have a lot more of that to do. But I am feeling confident about how to address some of the most urgent issues and how to bring new ideas and new approaches to our problem solving. We have a lot of work still left to do.'

Platt's schedule has also been packed with public meetings. In his first 100 days, he has talked with numerous neighborhood associations, chambers of commerce and other community groups so that he can hear the concerns of our residents.

'I am proud of Brian and I look forward to working with him, my City Council colleagues, and our dedicated workforce to make Kansas City a community that works for all - regardless of the neighborhood you're from,' Mayor Lucas said.

To arrange media interviews with the City Manager, contact Communications Director Chris Hernandez at 816-513-3474.