Pleasant Hill Mayor & City Council

John VanGorkom Mayor

Paul Beason Mayor Pro-Tem/Councilman, Precinct 21

Chris J Hicks Councilman, Precinct 20

Steve Long Councilman, Precinct 22

Ed Lust Councilman at Large

Administration and Department Heads

Mark Randall City Administrator

Shelby Teufel Assistant City Administrator/Finance Director

Robert Driscoll Police Chief

Randy Miller Community Development Director

Bryan Nolte Director of Parks and Facilities

Bob Kee Public Works Director

City Attorney Kevin Anderson Municipal Judge Roger Potter Financial Auditors Dana F. Cole & Co LLP iii

City of Pleasant Hill Organizational Chart

VOTERS

MAYOR & COUNCIL

MUNICIPAL PARK RECYCLING/ PLANNING & HISTORICAL JUDGE BOARD SOLID WASTE ZONING PRESERVATION COMMITTEE COMMISSION COMMISSION

CITY ADMINISTRATOR

FINANCE/ PARKS/ POLICE PUBLIC COMMUNITY ADMIN FACILITIES WORKS DEVELOPMENT

FINANCE PARKS OPERATIONS STREETS BUILDING CODES ACCOUNTING RECREATION RECORDS SOLID WASTE PLANNING & HR BUILDINGS & ANIMAL ZONING GROUNDS CONTROL WATER/ CITY CLERK SEWER G.I.S COMMUNI- ADMIN CATIONS SUPPORT NUISANCE CODES

MUN. COURT

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About Pleasant Hill

Profile of the City

Pleasant Hill is one of western Missouri’s oldest communities. The first pioneer settlement was built upon a scenic ridge that gave the town its name and the first plat was filed in 1844. The City’s governing Charter was approved by the Missouri Legislature in 1859. After the community was virtually depopulated by Quantrill’s Order No. 11, the community was rebuilt with the coming of the railroad industry, an area now referred to as Downtown Pleasant Hill.

Today, Pleasant Hill is a growing commuter suburban municipality of approximately 8,200 residents. The City limits include 8.01 square miles located on the southeast side of the Kan- sas City metropolitan region. It is situated in northern Cass County and southeastern Jack- son County at the intersection of three state highways — State Route 7 and State Route 58, and State Route 7 and State Route 150. The City is located only three (3) miles south of US Highway 50. The City is on the main line of the Union Pacific Railroad.

The City still operates under Special Charter. The Mayor and Council members serve two- year overlapping terms of office.

The City provides services, including police protection, street and storm drainage mainte- nance, comprehensive recreation, planning and zoning management, codes administration, water distribution and line maintenance, sewer line maintenance, and general administrative services. The City oversees contracts for residential trash service and wastewater treatment. Residents receive fire protection through the Pleasant Hill Fire Protection District.

History of the City

Until the year 1825, the land that now is the site of the City of Pleasant Hill was the home of the proud Osage Indians. In 1828, the first pioneer settlement was built. On March 17, 1859, the Missouri Legislature enacted the City’s governing Charter.

Pleasant Hill still operates one of the few “Special Charter” cities in Missouri. Established in the northeast corner of Cass County only two miles south of the Jackson County line, Pleas- ant Hill became an important stage stop and trade center.

The community has seen highs and lows in the economy and shifts based on transportation modes. The community boomed with the installation of the Rock Island and Missouri Pacific rail lines. The “New Town” site along the railroads saw an insurgence of businesses and in- dustries — including the Kellogg Greenhouse and Colonial Poultry. After World War II, the emphasis shifted away from railroads and toward highway development. This resulted in little growth and development as businesses, jobs, and residents were drawn to other communi- ties located along interstates and four lane highways. As the highway systems improved, Pleasant Hill again became a desirable community. The outward expansion of the Kansas City region allowed residents to live in our small town while enjoying the amenities and jobs of the larger region.

The population of the community has more than doubled since the 1990s.

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Economic Condition and Outlook

The City is encouraged by continued residential development as the overall economy emerges from the recession. The number of single family housing starts has been steadily increasing each year and increased 47% from calendar year 2012 to 2013. The City expects continued growth in residential housing throughout the next fiscal year.

The local economy is diverse, enjoying a blend of service businesses, retail trade, and manu- facturing. In addition to local opportunities, a large segment of the workforce is employed in other parts of the metropolitan region. The City tracks the larger Kansas City metropolitan job and labor market as it has an impact on the City and our residents. It is likely that as employ- ment opens up and wages increase, the suburban nature of the community will continue and the number of residential building permits will rise. Historically, the community has seen the number of new commercial and industrial businesses increase with the residential population.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for all of Cass County is 5.8% as of April 2014. The unemployment rate for the Kansas City region hovers just above 6.2%.

Reliance on Sales Tax

The City relies on Sales Tax for operating revenues in the General, Street, Capital Improve- ment Sales Tax, Park/Stormwater, and Pool Capital Improvement Sales Tax Funds. Sales tax, while typically volatile in nature, appears to be a steady stream for the City of Pleasant Hill. A majority of the sales tax remitted is collected on basic goods which are not easily im- pacted by the economy. We are seeing sales tax rise as consumers have additional money to spend on discretionary items.

Employment

As previously mentioned, a large majority of our residents are employed within the Kansas City metropolitan region. A number of the City’s larger employers are listed below.

Employer Product/Service # of employees Pleasant Hill School District Public education 240 Price Chopper Retail, Grocery 108 ICF Industries Manufacturing 92 Pleasant Hill Health & Rehab Long Term Care & Rehab 91 McDonald’s Food Service 72 City of Pleasant Hill Government 40 National Weather Service Government 40 Sonic Food Service 32 High Quality Plastics Manufacturing 26 Pleasant Hill Bank Banking 26 Dogwood Energy Plant Wholesale Electricity 24 Midwest Lumber Retail, Hardware 24

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The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) presented a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award to the City of Pleasant Hill, Missouri for the Annual Budget beginning April 1, 2013. IN order to receive this award, a governmental unit must publish a budget document that meets program crite- ria as a policy document, as an operations guide, as a financial plan, and as a commu- nications device.

This award is valid for a period of one year only . We believe our current budget contin- ues to conform to program requirements, and we are submitting it to GFOA to deter- mine its eligibility for another award.

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