News for City and County Managers

REGIONAL NEWS

Celebrating public service — Public servants were in the news last month as we celebrated both Public Service Week (May 7-13) and Public Works Week (May 21-27). Thank you for all that you do for the Kansas City area. 

 

June is Pride Month — This month, we celebrate members of the LGBTQ+ community. To learn more about the origins of pride month, read about it here from the Library of Congress.

 

Independence T.O.G.E.T.H.E.R. — The Independence T.O.G.E.T.H.E.R. program, a community partnership between Independence, the Community Services League and MoDOT, pays unhoused residents to clean up roadside litter along main streets in the city. The program has collected more than 50,000 pounds of trash since it began on March 27. 

 

Douglas County receives Clearie — The Douglas County Clerk’s Elections Office recently won a national Clearinghouse Award for  “Outstanding Innovation in Elections — Small/Medium Jurisdictions” from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Also knows as “Clearies,” the awards are presented annually to celebrate the work of election offices across the country.

 

Kansas City, Missouri, repeals individual liquor license requirements for servers, bartenders — Mayor Quinton Lucas signed an ordinance repealing the previous requirement for servers and bartenders to have an up-to-date liquor license. Employees were responsible for paying $42 every three years to maintain the requirement. The goal of the change is to make the hiring process easier. Learn more

 

Mission Gateway developer issued notice of default by Mission for failure to pay taxes — The Mission Gateway Project is in jeopardy as the city claims developer Aryeh Realty, L.L.C., has failed to pay the second installment of its owed taxes. The notice was issued on May 15 and gives the company until July 14 to pay its $447,944 bill. If it fails to do so, the city council will have the right to terminate the agreement.

 

New study on proposed landfill in south Kansas City — A proposed new landfill project, spearheaded by KC Recycling and Waste Solutions, has received pushback over the last few months. Most recently, Mayor Quinton Lucas has introduced legislation that would put a yearlong halt on new landfill developments in order to discuss a longer-term waste management solution. A new study released by the Jackson County Health Department highlights potential impacts a new landfill may have on neighboring communities. Additionally, MARC and the MARC Solid Waste Management District are conducting a landfill capacity study to better understand the region’s needs going forward.

 

RideKC expands in Kansas City, Kansas — RideKC’s popular ebike program announced its intention to expand farther west in the city last month. This announcement, made during National Bike Month, will allow riders to park bikes as far west as the intersection of North 49th Street and State Avenue. More information.

 

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MARC NEWS

MARC Regional Assembly on June 9 — If you haven’t already, make sure to reserve your spot for the MARC Regional Assembly. This year’s event will take place on Friday, June 9 from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. at The Westin Kansas City in Crown Center. It will honor four distinguished and deserving award winners: Dr. Kimberly Beatty, chancellor of Metropolitan Community College; Bryan Dehner, former fire chief of Overland Park; George Guastello, president and CEO of Union Station; and the Parade of Hearts art experience. The event will also feature an address on “Building Civic Culture” from keynote speaker Valerie Lemmie, the director of exploratory research at the Kettering Foundation. Register now.

 

Lemmie to speak at Kansas City Public Library — Valerie Lemmie, keynote speaker at MARC’s Regional Assembly, will also speak at the Kansas City Public Library’s Plaza Branch on Thursday, June 8, with a reception at 5:30 p.m. and the program at 6 p.m. Her address is entitled “Restrengthening Democracy,” and will focus on how communities can create and build trust in divisive times. More information.

 

Social Equity Leadership Conference — The 2023 Social Equity Leadership Conference – Social Equity in Action will focus on putting social equity policy, practices and processes into action, and will take place June 12–14 at The Westin Kansas City in Crown Center. The KU School of Public Affairs & Administration and the National Academy of Public Administration are partnering with MARC on this event to provide a forum for critical conversations about putting social equity into action. Attendees may join either in person or virtually. Register now

 

KC Regional Resource Sharing Agreement webinar — The KC Regional Resource Sharing Agreement (RSA) was designed by a multi-disciplinary group of emergency services professionals to strengthen resource sharing across the region. To date, 21 regional cities and counties adopted the RSA, and MARC encourages other communities to join. The Regional Homeland Security Coordinating Committee will host a webinar Tuesday, June 6 at 3 p.m. to provide an in-depth understanding of how the RSA works. Register now

 

Managers Roundtable 2023 – Save the Dates!

Fri., Aug. 4, 2023, 11:30 – 1 p.m.

Fri., Nov. 17, 2023, 3:30 – 5 p.m. 

STATE & NATIONAL NEWS

End to legislative sessions in Kansas, Missouri — The legislative sessions for both Kansas and Missouri ended in May. The links below provide more information on each session.

Rethinking budgeting — The Government Finance Officers Association teamed up with the ICMA and National League of Cities to produce a set of best practices on rethinking how local governments approach budgeting. They released several reports last month on how to tackle different shortcomings in the budgets of many localities.

 

Managing workforce DEI in local government — A new study conducted by the Mission Square Research Institute explores diversity, equity and inclusion in local government. It looks at the perspectives of focus group participants on supporting efforts toward equity and inclusion.

GRANT OPPORTUNITIES

We took the feedback received at the last Managers Roundtable to heart and have created a more easily digestible way to view grants with upcoming deadlines. Stay tuned for more changes next month.

  • Visit our Grant Opportunity web page for current grant opportunities open to local governments. The page now includes a downloadable spreadsheet with federal grants that have deadlines in the next three months.
  • MARC is also interested in supporting coalitions. MARC can apply for and administer grant funds on behalf of multiple jurisdictions. If you have interest in a grant that might be a good fit for a collaborative, multi-organization proposal, contact Lauren Palmer.

SPECIAL EVENTS

UPCOMING TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

For information and to register see the GTI Calendar of Events.

  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    Through GTI Online on demand

  • Project Management Advanced
    Monday, June 5, 8 a.m.

  • Word Basic
    Friday, June 9, 8 a.m.

  • Excel Basic
    Thursday, June 15, 8 a.m.

  • Excel Intermediate
    Friday, June 16, 8 a.m.

  • Excel Basic
    Monday, July 3, 8 a.m.

  • Excel Intermediate
    Thursday, July 13, 8 a.m.

  • Coaching and Motivation
    Tuesday, July 18, 8:30 a.m.

  • Excel Advanced
    Wednesday, July 19, 8 a.m.



The Mid-America Regional Council is the nonprofit association of local governments and the metropolitan planning organization for the bistate Kansas City region.

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