A great many local pundits, bloggers and "regular folks" in Kansas City screamed bloody murder this morning over the pay increases for the Mayor and City Council.
It turns out they could care less about calls of hypocrisy over the move, especially during City Hall cutbacks and layoffs.
THIS DARK, RAINY AND CLOUDY DAY MARKS THE MOMENT WHEN MAYOR FUNKHOUSER TRULY LOST HIS CREDIBILITY ON MATTERS OF FINANCE!!!
Sadly, the Mayor wasn't finished insulting the masses today with his selfish pay raise, he seemingly dared Kansas City voters do something about it and I believe he's indirectly referring to Kansas City's low voter turnout with a recent quote he offered as a weak explanation:
Before Thursday's meeting, Funkhouser defended his raise, despite the city's struggles to balance the budget.The reference to City Hall employees is especially condescending and wrong not only because it was his idea to fire so many of them while putting money in his own pocket but also because during his tenure as City Auditor and now as Mayor he has presided over some of the most overworked employees in the nation who desperately need a vacation according to recent studies.
"First of all, this action was taken by the previous council; second of all, it is symbolism," Funkhouser said. "I think they're going to see, yes the mayor and council and about 7,500 other employees are going to get some sort of increase, and yes, there will be some people who are upset but there will be some people who think it's OK, but the vast majority don't care one way or the other."
Still, the Mayor's rep inside City Hall was ruined a long time ago. What's more important is the signal this sends to residents of Kansas City. The Mayor's strong suit of fiscal responsibility is now revealed to be nothing more that a political pose. Raising his own six figure pay combined with the exorbitant salaries in his office demonstrates that he's only out to cut the purse strings that don't affect him personally. It's not leadership by example, it's simply more hypocritical posturing that goes a long way toward proving Mayor Funkhouser is the most stubborn, selfish and uncaring politician in recent Kansas City history.
Typical
ReplyDeleteWhat I find disgusting is that he used the actions of the old council to justify the new pay raise.
ReplyDeleteI saw the quick interview on 5, I think,. Anyway, what I found pissed me off more than the raise was his attitude. It's only 4,000, so he wouldnt really miss it. Knowing that people were going to be pissed and that it looks bad, he opted for the 300 and change extra a month. He is either an oblivious idiot, or an arrogant idiot, not sure which is worse.
ReplyDeleteBut they had no choice. The last council initiated it, and they only approved it. More money for the Mayor.
ReplyDeleteMarcason figured that the Chinese dictators would pay for it like her recent trip to China with her only sometimes Ghey second husband.
ReplyDeleteWhat is new here about the Fiscally Unsound Mayor Funk A Dunk?
ReplyDeleteNothing... end of story.
This is just another piece of wood burning under the pot of boiling water that he and the Squid are sitting in. One day, sooner or later, they will be gone. And all of us will be better for it.
To say he didn'tcare about his $4,000 raise is also disingenuous and just plain untrue. He and the Squid are on the financial balls of their collectivbe behinds... every dollar they collect puts them one step farther away from debtors prison.
ReplyDeleteAt the very least, they can use the extra coin to pay down their mortgage which for all intents and purposes seems to be greater than the market value of their current ramshackle home.
Anon 10:12 they could've voted no in the Finance Committee which would have stopped the legislation from advancing thereby not giving themselves a raise. Even if the Mayor wanted to deny the raise but thought that all the council would pass it he still couldve went on the record voting no at the Council Meeting or addressing the issue during the New Business portion of the meeting which would have put his comments in the books.
ReplyDeleteBut guess what..he didn't.
He sucks.
I think the Parks Board should get a raise too.
ReplyDeletepaintman never says anything related to the conversation.
ReplyDeletepaintman never says anything related to the conversation.
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