Kansas City Considers Private Involvement in Infrastructure Management

State and Local Government | October 6, 2010

By David Stokes | Read Time 1 minute

As I understand it, at their regular meeting tomorrow, Kansas City’s City Council will be deciding on whether or not to proceed with a resolution authorizing the city manager to conduct a study of potential opportunities to contract with private agencies, companies, etc., to manage city infrastructure assets. Needless to say, I think this is an excellent opportunity for the taxpayers and residents of Kansas City. I think that Mayor Mark Funkhouser and the council deserve a great deal of credit for considering this step.

The Kansas City Star is hosting an op-ed I wrote about the benefits of this approach. If you live or work in Kansas City, I encourage you to check it out. You can also see our version of the op-ed, along with other related writings on the issue.

About the Author

David Stokes

David Stokes is a St. Louis native and a graduate of Saint Louis University High School and Fairfield (Conn.) University. He spent six years as a political aide at the St. Louis County Council before joining the Show-Me Institute in 2007. Stokes was a policy analyst at the Show-Me Institute from 2007 to 2016. From 2016 through 2020 he was Executive Director of Great Rivers Habitat Alliance, where he led efforts to oppose harmful floodplain developments done with abusive tax subsidies. Stokes rejoined the Institute in early 2021 as the Director of Municipal Policy. He is a past president of the University City Library Board. He served on the St. Louis County 2010 Council Redistricting Commission and was the 2012 representative to the Electoral College from Missouri’s First Congressional District. He lives in University City with his wife and their three children.

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