KMBC has been airing the following on City Manager Wayne Cauthen’s suspension (attached below). It makes some good points – Cauthen’s time has passed, and Troy Schulte will do a better job.
It’s time to move on. As much as people try to politicize this issue, Cauthen lost support in the City Council because of his own actions. Had he been more responsive to the Council’s concerns and performed his duties more diligently, this issue never would have come up.
So what is there to complain about? Focusing myopically on the processes of the Council’s vote ignores the larger issue at hand, which is preparing a budget for a city facing a national economic downturn. Cauthen wasn’t up to the job.
Almost completely absent from this debate (if you can call it that) is the argument that Cauthen was good for this city. He wasn’t. Opposition to his removal has been shallow and short-sighted.
Last week, with the support of six city council members, Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhowser suspended City Manager Wayne Cauthen. Our question is why did it take so long?
The suspension follows news that the city is facing a budget deficit of at least $60-million. Council members had urged Cauthen to prepare a spending plan that assumed an economic downturn, but he has offered few new ideas about the way the city spends tax dollars.
Cauthen, along with former mayor Kay Barnes, were cheerleaders for downtown projects, including the power and light district. Cauthen said it would never cost taxpayers a dime. He was wrong about that too.
His problems managing capital improvement projects are legendary.
The Cauthen suspension should be permanent. And it should be a beginning and not an end. Instead of avoiding difficult decisions, city hall must begin to deal seriously and realistically with its finances.
This is a good first step.
It’s time to move on. As much as people try to politicize this issue, Cauthen lost support in the City Council because of his own actions. Had he been more responsive to the Council’s concerns and performed his duties more diligently, this issue never would have come up.
So what is there to complain about? Focusing myopically on the processes of the Council’s vote ignores the larger issue at hand, which is preparing a budget for a city facing a national economic downturn. Cauthen wasn’t up to the job.
Almost completely absent from this debate (if you can call it that) is the argument that Cauthen was good for this city. He wasn’t. Opposition to his removal has been shallow and short-sighted.
Acting decisively now spared Kansas City a much bigger headache in the future.
The editorial follows:
Last week, with the support of six city council members, Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhowser suspended City Manager Wayne Cauthen. Our question is why did it take so long?
The suspension follows news that the city is facing a budget deficit of at least $60-million. Council members had urged Cauthen to prepare a spending plan that assumed an economic downturn, but he has offered few new ideas about the way the city spends tax dollars.
Cauthen, along with former mayor Kay Barnes, were cheerleaders for downtown projects, including the power and light district. Cauthen said it would never cost taxpayers a dime. He was wrong about that too.
His problems managing capital improvement projects are legendary.
The Cauthen suspension should be permanent. And it should be a beginning and not an end. Instead of avoiding difficult decisions, city hall must begin to deal seriously and realistically with its finances.
This is a good first step.
This is obviously a Fox/GOP sponsored site with shots taken at ACORN (leading minority voter registration org.) and reverence for Glen Beck (HateMonger Extrodinare) So not much can be said to change the Status Quo. It just is what it is...Closet Racism.
Posted by: Historian2 | November 23, 2009 at 10:46 AM