Managing a city — isn’t that a mayor’s job? Sort of, but not really. We have a City Manager for that, and his name is Brian Platt.
Recap: “I essentially run the day-to-day operation of this city as directed by the mayor and the council. They set the policy and the vision of the city, and I execute it,” Platt said.
Brian started working in Kansas City in December 2020. Coming from Jersey City, he jumped into a new city and structure of government in the middle of the pandemic. Since then, he’s increased the rate of street resurfacing, improved the city’s snow response, and led plans for a KCI solar farm.
We met up with him (and Mayor Quinton Lucas) at City Hall to learn more about his work.
1. How do your passions show through things happening in the city?
“I’m very passionate about city operations and city services. I think that is the foundation of the role of city manager, to improve the service delivery to our residents to make quality of life better, and that starts at the bottom — street resurfacing, snow removal, picking up trash — all of the basic stuff that we do.”
2. Why do you care about delivering services to people?
“I think I’ve always had an interest in helping my fellow neighbors and making everyone just feel better about themselves and their lives. Just wanted to give back to those around me and help everybody else out.”
3. What big projects are getting you excited?
“The lid over 670 is one, the solar farm at the airport is another one. Those two are great examples of ways that we’re taking this city to the next level. We’re thinking creatively, outside of the box. We’re making investments in infrastructure in different ways, and we’re putting ourselves on the map. Those two projects are things people will talk about as residents for years to come, but also will bring more people and more energy and attention to the city because of how transformational they are.”