By Mary Wilson
Kansas City Mayor Sly James delivered his State of the City
address to a packed house at Starlight Theater on Tuesday, March 31. According
to James, Starlight Theater embodies what is great about Kansas City: parks,
arts, partnerships and the assets of the city.
Mayor James began his address thanking those whom he has
served alongside for the past year, including sixth district councilman John
Sharp, who termed out of office this week.
“Being mayor is undoubtedly the best job in politics, and
there is one group that I’m compelled and honored to serve with,” said James.
“The members of the council terming out of office deserve our thanks for their
outstanding and committed service to Kansas City.”
He also honored the loss of Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich. “I
do hope that we can learn something from that tragic circumstance. For
instance, that leadership is preferable to politics,” said James. “It is my
hope that over the course of the next few months, we’ll have more leaders
emerge than politicians.”
According to James, more than ever, Kansas Citians are
engaged, thanks to social media and technology. Technology, innovation and
planning contribute to the success of the agenda James has followed since
taking office in 2012. His focus has been on efficiency, employment, education
and enforcement.
“Through focus on these, we strive to make all that we do in
Kansas City the best today, tomorrow, and for the generation to come,” said
James.
The technology foundation, according to James, continues to
pay dividends in improved efficiency in Kansas City. Recently, Kansas City
launched its first-ever digital roadmap, setting goals to secure its place as a
leading digital city. It also supports Kansas City’s future workforce by
addressing digital inclusion and creating a pipeline of home-grown talent.
“It makes Kansas City a smart city,” said James. “We are
using that technology to find better efficiencies in the delivery of city
services.”
A smart city is a technological framework that could bring
things such as interactive kiosks, mobile applications, sensory technology and
smart street lighting.
“Kansas City is once again the envy of our peers because we
do things like this, drawing deeply from our entrepreneurial spirit and from
our technological assets,” said James.
As a result of an open-data ordinance passed last June, data
about Kansas City is more readily available to the public than at any time
during the history of Kansas City. Information searches that used to mean a
trip to city hall are now available online, from anywhere in the world,
instantaneously, according to James.
“I believe that open, transparent government is fundamental
to an efficient and effective democracy,” said James. “The open-data portal
allows for that.”
James added that the opinions of citizens drive cultural
shifts that include data-driven performance enhancements to improve city
departments. The tool for that is the annual citizen’s satisfaction survey,
with the most recent survey results showing significant improvements in
sixty-one separate categories.
“City satisfaction with its citizens is at the highest level
since the city began its survey in 2005,” said James. “Not many cities can say
that. People are noticing the way that we do business in Kansas City.”
The mayor stated that maintaining the city’s streets,
bridges, roads and other city infrastructure remains a priority for him.
Currently, the city funds nearly $77 million per year for infrastructure
services, such as street overlays, snow plowing, striping, signage, maintaining
bridges and more.
“I refuse to kick that can down the road and leave our aging
infrastructure problems for the next generation,” said James. “We have a
backlog of deferred maintenance and my priority is to deal with it.”
According to James, the industry benchmark to fund the
improvements Kansas City’s infrastructure needs would cost nearly three-times
the allotted annual budget.
“Kansas Citians expect better and we need to do better,”
said James.
In June of 2016, Kansas City voters will be asked to renew
the Kansas City Earnings Tax. James said that the city has been good stewards
of this critical resource by making changes like improved budgeting and fiscal
management systems since the last vote.
“We are making budget decisions more closely aligned with
citizen input,” said James.
Last February, Mayor James was invited to the White House
for the unveiling of President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper program,
which addresses strategies to align opportunity gaps faced by boys and young
men of color.
“As I learned about each of the goals of My Brother’s
Keeper, I was struck by the fact that Kansas City is a leader in many of those
areas,” said James. “One of the President’s goals, in particular, is close to
my heart: reading at grade-level by third grade.”
Turn the Page KC, the mayor’s early childhood reading
program, is just one of many of the mayor’s programs focusing on youth in
Kansas City. Turn the Page KC was recently recognized by KCPT for the program’s
focus on all children reading at grade-level, and the White House invited the
program directors to be on a panel to discuss local efforts and strategies to
bridge the word gap.
Combined last year, Kansas City Mayor’s Nights served nearly
6,000 basketball, volleyball and soccer athletes ages 10-25. Last summer, Club
KC served more than 10,000 Kansas City 12- to 18-year-olds, and youth crime
dropped 18% while Club KC was in session.
Another focus of Mayor James has been to narrow the digital
divide in Kansas City, and take full advantage of bigger digital pipelines of
which Kansas City is becoming known nationally and internationally.
“We must make computers, the internet, and digital literacy
training accessible to all,” said James.
James ended his address by stating that gun control
regulation needs to be addressed, and that the senseless killing of children in
Kansas City simply cannot continue.
“I want to thank Kansas City for giving me what I consider
to be an amazing opportunity to serve as your mayor for the past four years,”
said James. “I know that I have the best job in politics, and I hope you know
that I’ve given you my best each and every day.”
Mayor James said he is proud to be mayor of a city that is
reinventing itself.
“Flyover country no more, Kansas City is the center of the
American renaissance,” said James. “We are the city that other cities look to
for ideas. The state of our city is full of opportunity, and I assure you I’ll
continue to seize each and every one with your help and support.”