City Leader Profile: Melissa Sieben (Mundt)
Assistant County Administrator for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, KS
“Everybody should be proud of where they’re from. We have performance goals that will show we’re moving the needle.”
Melissa Sieben (Mundt) makes a joke of something that turned out to be no joking matter. Staff analyzing the city’s blight problem discovered that up to a third of the 6,000 vacant or abandoned properties being mowed by the City/County were privately owned. “We were their best lawn mowing service ever,” says Sieben, Assistant County Administrator for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.
What happened next shines a light on how using data to address a city issue can enhance community life. Abandoned homes are going into the tax sale or land bank, giving qualified buyers an opportunity to make repairs and find new occupants for the formerly vacant homes. The Government is now recouping more funds from property owners who weren’t paying taxes, due to more flexible payment plans. Working with What Works Cities, the Government launched an open data portal and a performance management program to drive progress in its blight initiative, launched in response to a residential survey. “Everybody should be proud of where they’re from,” Sieben says. “We have performance goals that will show we’re moving the needle.”
The above profile is an excerpt from “What Works Cities: How Local Governments Are Changing Lives,” a report showcasing accomplishments from cities participating in the What Works Cities initiative over the past two years. Read more profiles and city success stories here.
