My Priorities
BUDGET
With my background and education in finance and accounting, the city’s finance committee is an excellent fit for me and I am privileged to serve on this committee. I understand that, unlike the national budget, the city cannot run a deficit. Our budget must balance. It is a fine line, balancing all the things that we would like to do with those that we must do.
Click HERE to learn more about Finance, Administration, and Economic Development.
With my background and education in finance and accounting, the city’s finance committee is an excellent fit for me and I am privileged to serve on this committee. I understand that, unlike the national budget, the city cannot run a deficit. Our budget must balance. It is a fine line, balancing all the things that we would like to do with those that we must do.
Click HERE to learn more about Finance, Administration, and Economic Development.
PUBLIC SAFETY
It is critical that our community continue to be a safe place for all. There have been several issues of great concern to the public that are being considered by the Public Safety Committee as well as the council as a whole. Those issues include expansion of fire services into south Overland Park, whether or not to lift the breed-specific pet ordinance, and the mental health task force recommendations regarding response to growing needs in this area of policing, and more. Having a multi-year background understanding of these issues is helpful in decision-making as we move forward.
Click HERE to learn more about Public Safety.
It is critical that our community continue to be a safe place for all. There have been several issues of great concern to the public that are being considered by the Public Safety Committee as well as the council as a whole. Those issues include expansion of fire services into south Overland Park, whether or not to lift the breed-specific pet ordinance, and the mental health task force recommendations regarding response to growing needs in this area of policing, and more. Having a multi-year background understanding of these issues is helpful in decision-making as we move forward.
Click HERE to learn more about Public Safety.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Overland Park has experienced continued growth and prosperity throughout its history. I am proud of the enhanced development that has taken place during the time that I have served on the City Council. While I have supported many projects that have been developed, there are some projects, like the Brookridge Project that I have been opposed to because I knew they were inappropriate for the site or that they could be better. It is the work with developers, planning, staff, council, and the community that creates the excellence that is Overland Park. New, greenfield development like BlueHawk in the southern part of the city has expanded our city and created growth opportunities. At the same time, redevelopment of areas such as Downtown Overland Park has transformed and revitalized parts of the city that were in decline. Redevelopment and the use of a mixed-use style of development is a more sustainable approach to growth.
Click HERE to learn more about Community Development.
Overland Park has experienced continued growth and prosperity throughout its history. I am proud of the enhanced development that has taken place during the time that I have served on the City Council. While I have supported many projects that have been developed, there are some projects, like the Brookridge Project that I have been opposed to because I knew they were inappropriate for the site or that they could be better. It is the work with developers, planning, staff, council, and the community that creates the excellence that is Overland Park. New, greenfield development like BlueHawk in the southern part of the city has expanded our city and created growth opportunities. At the same time, redevelopment of areas such as Downtown Overland Park has transformed and revitalized parts of the city that were in decline. Redevelopment and the use of a mixed-use style of development is a more sustainable approach to growth.
Click HERE to learn more about Community Development.
PUBLIC WORKS
I am the current Chairman of the Public Works Committee and I have served in this capacity for the past two years. Prior to being Chairman of Public Works, I was Vice-Chairman of Public Works for four years. During this time, I have seen and supported the city of Overland Park in its commitment to connect streets and trails to make our city more bike-friendly by adding hundreds of miles of bike lanes. I am particularly proud of helping city staff rethink the processes for street maintenance since 2018. During the course of this time, the city has been able to implement processes that have lowered resident complaints drastically. As chairman of this committee, I approached staff and the mayor about developing a “long-range look at the future of street maintenance and its funding.” Out of those discussions, the “Infrastructure Advisory Board’ was created in the Spring of this year. This advisory board has been sanctioned by the City Council and will be made up of experts, staff, Overland Park citizens, and other stakeholders. They will be working to make recommendations for public works projects including street maintenance, and stormwater run-off while drawing upon the Mid-America Regional Council recommendations regarding sustainability.
Click HERE to learn more about Public Works.
I am the current Chairman of the Public Works Committee and I have served in this capacity for the past two years. Prior to being Chairman of Public Works, I was Vice-Chairman of Public Works for four years. During this time, I have seen and supported the city of Overland Park in its commitment to connect streets and trails to make our city more bike-friendly by adding hundreds of miles of bike lanes. I am particularly proud of helping city staff rethink the processes for street maintenance since 2018. During the course of this time, the city has been able to implement processes that have lowered resident complaints drastically. As chairman of this committee, I approached staff and the mayor about developing a “long-range look at the future of street maintenance and its funding.” Out of those discussions, the “Infrastructure Advisory Board’ was created in the Spring of this year. This advisory board has been sanctioned by the City Council and will be made up of experts, staff, Overland Park citizens, and other stakeholders. They will be working to make recommendations for public works projects including street maintenance, and stormwater run-off while drawing upon the Mid-America Regional Council recommendations regarding sustainability.
Click HERE to learn more about Public Works.
FINANCIAL STRENGTH
Overland Park holds a unique position in that it has the lowest mill levy rate (property tax rate) among Class A cities in Kansas, while at the same time maintaining a triple-A bond rating from all three national credit rating agencies.
Overland Park holds a unique position in that it has the lowest mill levy rate (property tax rate) among Class A cities in Kansas, while at the same time maintaining a triple-A bond rating from all three national credit rating agencies.
SUSTAINABILITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
By looking to redevelop parts of our city that are aging, I believe that we are promoting a more sustainable environment by curbing sprawl. As a council, my colleagues and I have been promoting the concept of mixed-use in areas where redevelopment is occurring, meaning that single-family homes, multi-family, shopping, and office buildings are in proximity to one another, with green space and walkability. This provides a “live, work, play” environment that is very attractive to many families in our community. We are encouraging our new developments to use more sustainable materials and to design parking structures rather than sprawling asphalt parking lots.
The citizen’s Environmental Advisory Council, of which I have been a part of for 5 years, has created recommendations for recycling, solid waste management, city energy usage, bike plans and other transportation issues. The EAC actively sponsors recycling with the annual “Recycling Extravaganza.”
Click HERE to learn more about the Environmental Advisory Committee.
By looking to redevelop parts of our city that are aging, I believe that we are promoting a more sustainable environment by curbing sprawl. As a council, my colleagues and I have been promoting the concept of mixed-use in areas where redevelopment is occurring, meaning that single-family homes, multi-family, shopping, and office buildings are in proximity to one another, with green space and walkability. This provides a “live, work, play” environment that is very attractive to many families in our community. We are encouraging our new developments to use more sustainable materials and to design parking structures rather than sprawling asphalt parking lots.
The citizen’s Environmental Advisory Council, of which I have been a part of for 5 years, has created recommendations for recycling, solid waste management, city energy usage, bike plans and other transportation issues. The EAC actively sponsors recycling with the annual “Recycling Extravaganza.”
Click HERE to learn more about the Environmental Advisory Committee.
TRANSPARENCY
When I was first elected to the Overland Park City Council, there was only a written record of the meeting minutes available to those interested in looking back in the record. From those days, when I first began to plan that initial campaign for city council, I have advocated for transparency in local government. In the past 8 years, with encouragement from myself and others, the city has adopted several ways in which the activities of local government has become more transparent to the citizens of Overland Park. While some would argue that the city of Overland Park has not gone far enough, the adoption of several technologies has made the city government more accessible to the public. The city has adopted a means of not only recording meetings for the record and posting them online so that interested parties can go back and watch the meetings but also is streaming meetings live online. Most meetings now include public comment opportunities. All council and committee meetings have always been open to the public, they are now all live-streamed, and are recorded and posted on the city website for later viewing if desired. All meeting agendas, documents, including budgets, plans, etc., and meeting minutes are available to the public online or by request. Councilmember names, email addresses, and phone numbers are published on the city website for easy access as well.
When I was first elected to the Overland Park City Council, there was only a written record of the meeting minutes available to those interested in looking back in the record. From those days, when I first began to plan that initial campaign for city council, I have advocated for transparency in local government. In the past 8 years, with encouragement from myself and others, the city has adopted several ways in which the activities of local government has become more transparent to the citizens of Overland Park. While some would argue that the city of Overland Park has not gone far enough, the adoption of several technologies has made the city government more accessible to the public. The city has adopted a means of not only recording meetings for the record and posting them online so that interested parties can go back and watch the meetings but also is streaming meetings live online. Most meetings now include public comment opportunities. All council and committee meetings have always been open to the public, they are now all live-streamed, and are recorded and posted on the city website for later viewing if desired. All meeting agendas, documents, including budgets, plans, etc., and meeting minutes are available to the public online or by request. Councilmember names, email addresses, and phone numbers are published on the city website for easy access as well.