Finances

What The Mayor Thinks:

When I took office, Kansas City’s annual budget was a shell game of overestimated revenues and underestimated expenses. That dangerous game stopped the day I took office.
The previous administration tripled the city’s debt from $500 million to $1.5 billion. That administration was more focused on glitzy projects rather than on basic city services, and it showed. City services suffered; city residents suffered; the city’s overall economy suffered.

What The Mayor Has Done:

Each year since taking office, even against extraordinary opposition and despite the worst period in the U.S. economy since the Great Depression, I have turned the city’s teetering finances around by being smart with the money. I have moved the city toward structurally balanced budgets that no longer push expenses into the future. The city’s budget is sane again. Despite the recession we have held the line on increased debt and brought the city’s “savings account” to the highest level its had in the last ten years.
Our city’s employees are working harder than ever before, because much of this progress is a result of their good work and sacrifices: two years of salary freezes and significant layoffs.
I also have pushed through policies regarding the use of debt to finance needed improvements, and I have been successful reigning in the willy-nilly use of tax incentives for high profile-low return development projects.

What The Mayor Plans to Do:

I have chosen to make the right choices, no matter the pushback. And as a result of hard work balancing budgets, and the sacrifices of our city employees, Kansas City now is well positioned to take advantage of the coming economic recovery. I’m not done yet.
Rest assured, we will make even more progress during my second term by fully restoring financial stability and professionalism to your city government, and by keeping an eye on the city’s proverbial cash register. Being a good steward for your money isn’t just a smart choice, it’s the moral thing to do.