UG realigns departments to better serve the community

Published on September 02, 2022

Kansas City, KS – This week interim County Administrator Cheryl Harrison-Lee announced several structural changes for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, KS as a result of this summer’s organizational assessments. The changes will better align the functions of several departments to county administration as the organization works to identify cost savings and operational efficiencies, a critical next step in closing the budget deficit.

“As part of UG Forward, I am committed to reimagining the Unified Government for the next 25 years as we address many of the systemic and financial challenges facing our organization,” said Ms. Harrison-Lee. “This realignment will ensure that our management team is working closely with department leaders and staff to find ways to improve service delivery while eliminating wasteful, often redundant operations.”

Strategic alignment ensures key functions work seamlessly across Unified Government

The changes, effective immediately, follow the recommendations presented to the Unified Government Commission in July 2022 and include the appointment of a new interim assistant county administrator to provide oversight over all administrative services. The following outlines the new organizational structure:

• Becky Berger, Interim Assistant County Administrator of Administrative Services
• Bridgett Cobbins, Assistant County Administrator of Public Safety
• Alan Howze, Assistant County Administrator of Health and Human Services
• Brett Deichler, Interim Assistant County Administrator of Economic and Community Development

The Purchasing Department, for example, will now report to the Finance Department, a requirement of our charter, and an issue identified by the consulting team following their review as presented in July 2022. Additionally, the budget and strategy team will now report directly to Assistant County Administrator Berger, allowing the Unified Government to more closely align the management of expenditures with revenue, separate functions of the Finance Department. Throughout this year’s 2023 budget process, the Commission has been learning more about the structural deficit in the City of Kansas City, KS general fund, approximately $4M, which needs to be rectified for our long-term fiscal health and competitiveness. With inflation and rising costs across the organization and relatively stagnant revenue, the administration hopes to identify a more fiscally sustainable model for the future so elevating budget and strategy will be key to this.

Ms. Berger Announced as Interim Assistant County Administrator

Ms. Becky Berger is the newest addition to the county administration team with the announcement of her interim appointment. Ms. Berger, who joined the Unified Government in January 2022 as Treasurer and Director of Revenue, will provide oversight to all administrative functions of the Unified Government, including human resources, Clerk’s Office, 311, Budget Strategy and Research, Finance, and the Appraiser’s Office. Ms. Berger brings 15 years of experience in local government management, including serving as the city manager and director of finance for the City of Atchison. By bringing all internal services together under one manager, the Unified Government will be able to continue its work to address areas for improvement in human resources, finances, and general operations.  

“We must be internally organized before we can be externally focused,” said Ms. Harrison-Lee. “This is one of many efforts moving forward to look at how we work as the Unified Government to ensure that we can deliver quality customer service. I believe this team will be instrumental in helping us identify additional opportunities for cost savings, innovative best practices, and other improvements in how we work.”

Chief Financial Officer announces her departure later this year

In other staff news, Chief Financial Officer Kathleen VonAchen announced her plans to leave the Unified Government. Ms. VonAchen will work closely with the interim County Administrator to facilitate the transition for the Finance Department.

Since the unification of the City of Kansas City and Wyandotte County by public vote 25 years ago, there has not been a comprehensive assessment of our operations as a unified government. For more information about UG organizational realignment, as well as other UG Forward initiatives, please visit our website wycokck.org/UGForward.