PUCK EXCLUSIVE!!! CO-MAYOR FUNKY MIGHT SOON SELL OUT ACTING CITY MANAGER TROY SCHULTE FOR COUNCIL DUDE TERRY RILEY'S SUPPORT ON SCHOOLS FIRST!!!

TKC NOTE: Here's yet another powerful post from Puck regarding even more of Mayor Funky's misplaced priorities and the latest hot mess that will define City Council discussions this week. Check it:

Funk Waffling on CIMO . . . Funk Could Cut A Deal with Terry Riley

Things just keep getting curiouser and curiouser concerning CIMO and the fate of the department. As readers might recall, the last CIMO vote, pushed by Terry Riley, failed in a 7-6 vote. Voting to let the City Manager enact his own CIMO plan were Council Members Skaggs, Hermann, Johnson, Gottstein, Marcason, Circo and Funkhouser. Against were Ford, Sanders-Brooks, Curls, Riley, Jolly and Sharp. The line of demarcation was exactly the same as the vote for the City Manager, and in a way, dear readers, this CIMO vote was a vote for the City Manager all over again.

You see, the Manager has his own plan for CIMO, and it is superior to the money-sucking creation of Wayne Cauthen. Cauthen's plan increased project costs and cost other departments funds. And for weeks, the Mayor has been declaring his support for Manager Troy Schulte and the new CIMO.

SO . . . Why now does the Funk seem to be waffling on this critical issue?

Don't strain your brains, readers, as the answer is quite simple. In two words: Schools First.

Let little ol' Puck connect the dots for you, dear readers. Funk is pinning all his hopes, dreams and aspirations of a second term on Schools First. He truly believes that a successful Schools First implementation will lead to his re-election, where he will be victorious, with Gloria at his side, ready to crucify the city with another four years in office.

This begs the question: How might the Mayor pass his Schools First initiative and get it placed on the ballot, where he wants voters to approve tens of millions of bonds to finance his half-baked scheme? This answer is even easier: Sell your soul to Terry Riley. Apparently, his plan seemingly involves telling Terry he'll vote Terry's way on the CIMO ordinance, if Terry will support Schools First. Tit for tat. As an added bonus, the Mayor wants to set up a new office, brilliantly named the Office of School Support and Public Engagement. The person in the position, who Puck is certain will interview with Gloria, will have the phone numbers of EVERYONE at City Hall, including the Mayor and Councilmembers. What good this does is a big unanswered question, but it's what the Mayor(s) want.

What might be in this for Terry, readers may ask? (Of course, that is the question Terry ALWAYS asks.) Well, readers, that is easy to compute as well. Terry gets to stay on as chairman of the powerful Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Terry will be on the selection committee when $2.2 BILLION of water contracts and General Obligation (GO) bonds could be handed out to his best buddies, like Tetra Tech. Terry will run CIMO, and with it, the construction planning, design and actual construction of every project in the city. Puck shudders to think what else Terry gets out of these deals. It's good work if you can get it. If you can reward your cronies with contracts that make millions, it's even better work.

What can YOU do, readers? Well, since the CIMO vote is scheduled for Thursday at the Council session, you can be proactive. Email or call the Mayor's office (mayor@kcmo.org -- [816] 513-3500). Tell him not to sell out to Riley and Company. Tell him to back up the City Manager on CIMO, as he's been claiming to do for months. Tell him to stand by his man, and by his word as well. Enough double speak and double dealing. If Schools First is such a marvelous initiative, let it stand on its own merits. If his word on backing his City Manager is meaningless and can't be trusted, can we ever trust anything Funk says?

Stay tuned until Thursday. . . And then, readers, you'll have your answer.