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mark-funkhouser1

Mark Funkhouser

Former Publisher

Mark Funkhouser, a former publisher of Governing magazine, is president of Funkhouser & Associates, LLC, an independent consulting firm focused on helping public officials and their private-sector partners create better, more fiscally sustainable communities. He served as mayor of Kansas City, Mo., from 2007 to 2011. Prior to being elected mayor, Funkhouser was the city's auditor for 18 years and was honored in 2003 as a Governing Public Official of the Year. Before becoming publisher of Governing, he served as director of the Governing Institute.

Funkhouser is an internationally recognized auditing expert, author and teacher in public administration and its fiscal disciplines. He holds an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in public administration and sociology from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, an M.B.A. in accounting and finance from Tennessee State University, and a master's degree in social work from West Virginia University.

Increasing family wealth is a much better public policy goal than the standard economic development mantra of "jobs, jobs, jobs." And effective strategies won't come from Washington.
Can the state ever find a way out of its structural budget problems? A new book might suggest a path for places wrestling with policy dilemmas.
The standards-setting board for government financial reporting has been embroiled in one controversy after another, but the latest fight could result in the gutting of GASB's influence.
A new book has it right: We need to change the way we budget.
It’s tough to find the money and political support to provide public workers with safe, clean places to do their jobs. Tennessee went the privatization route, and the results look promising.
You can only tell you're not spending enough on public safety when it’s too late.
Wary investors and analysts not only want more information than ever, they want better information and they want it all now. Giving it to them could be a good deal for governments.
Regime change is coming to Detroit. The next mayor will have an opportunity to heal the long dysfunctional marriage between the city and its suburbs.
The pressure to give away the public's money for economic development is as strong as ever, but the pushback is growing.
Bureaucracy allows us to do big things. But like every tool, it needs to be maintained and wielded with care and control.