Random thoughts from the Interim CM Gerry Vernon
I've had the pleasure to work in multiple Kansas communities throughout my career and I’ve experienced great, adequate and even bad relationships between City and County governments. It seems that in great relationships, both organizations thrive, and the local taxpayer is always the primary beneficiary.
County and City governments are different. Different structures, different goals, and they often serve different clientele, but they derive most of their revenues through a similar source - taxation. Even though they are different, a strong relationship must be established and maintained.
All relationships are difficult and require work to maintain. Great relationships have open communication, respect, trust, collaboration, and the willingness to foster and care. At times, those important relationship components get lost. To me, it is imperative that the elected officials and the local government employees in both organizations remember who benefits from the hard work that creates a great relationship. Opening communication channels is such a great place to start.