Weak Mayor, Weak Board

Sorry Jerry, no offense. Class IV cities in MO like WL are often referred to as having a “weak mayor” form of government. What that means is in most cases the mayor does not vote on legislative or matters of appointment unless there is a tie vote on the Board of Aldermen. The mayor is the chief administrative officer of the City. The last meaningful “tie breaker” mayoral vote was Mike Henderson voting in favor of the Sonoma Ridge development after the Board vote was 2 to 2. The real legislative power of the City resides on the BOA. So the influence and power of the BOA to make things happen is real…if it happens.

Trouble is, the current BOA could be described as lackluster, weak. Any leadership on the Board? Not much. Kudos to Tanya Finn for taking on recycling and submitting a grant proposal to MARC which resulted in almost $5,000 in grant money. Delegation and Prettyfication are the mode for the current crew. Multiple committees have sprung up…lots of meetings, not much action. Barry Road continues to loom…not much outrage on the council, at least until it is too late. Prettyfication? Yep, spend money to get the Lodge Look at the CC, get photos in the WLL picking up sticks, watch on the sidelines as some citizens build monuments to themselves.

Heavy lifting? Talk of roads, talk of water, talk of sewer, talk of getting tough with KCMO (remember “the spill”?). Talk of how much we appreciate our employees. Talk of wanting community involvement and then hold meetings during normal work hours. Talk about financials but then ask questions during BOA meetings that clearly show a shocking lack of understanding about the city balance sheet. Talk about planning. Talk about being fiscally responsible and then increase the levy. Discontinue the radio read meter program, and then talk about discontinuing the fee, maybe. Lots of talk.

Which leads me to this. There is a BOA seat on both sides of the lake for the April election. Filing ends next Tuesday, the 20th at 5PM. Surely we are ready for an upgrade? What about you? What about your neighbors? Just a thought.