Incumbent mayor Tony Paolillo is facing a challenge next week in the form of a current member of the board of aldermen – Steven Hoeger.
PAOLILLO
Tony Paolillo, 50, is originally from St. Joseph. Married for 26 years with no children, he attended Missouri Western State University and has owned and operated a deck and fence company for 20 years.
Paolillo has served Platte City for 16 years, with 12 of those years on the board of aldermen and four years as mayor. He has also served as treasurer of the Platte County Regional Sewer District’s board of trustees for 13 years. Additionally, he is a local small business owner.
“I am dedicated to making Platte City more efficient while maintaining our small-town values and continuing to provide superior city services,” Paolillo said. “I am committed to transparency by conducting city business in front of the public and I prioritize keeping city taxes low.”
He points to his years of experience serving Platte City and said he makes decisions based on facts. Additionally, he has launched monthly citizen listening sessions allowing residents and business owners to speak to city officials in an open forum. He also started the annual Independence Day festival.
An issue facing the city is costly mandatory upgrades to the sewer treatment plant.
“The initial design costs were unobtainable for the city to fund, requiring the city to enlist a new engineering company using a phased approach to lower overall project costs,” Paolillo said. “The city will need to continue to work with the engineers for several years in the future.”
Paolillo said his experience and connections with the regional sewer board make him the best person to keep the project on budget.
HOEGER
Steven Hoeger, 54, is originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Married for 30 years, he has two adult daughters. He worked as a paramedic for 30 years and currently works as director of emergency management for a Kansas City-area hospital. He also serves as chair of the Mid-America Regional Council’s healthcare coalition. His first elected office was on the Northland Regional Ambulance District board of directors and was appointed to a seat on the Platte City Board of Aldermen in 2017 and was later re-elected to the board. He has chaired the city’s public safety sub-committee and the personnel committee.
“The experience gained through these previous opportunities position me well to serve as mayor,” Hoeger said. “I have spent my entire working career serving others and taking care of people at some of the worst moments of their lives. This has meant working in high stress situations and finding ways to manage difficult situations and seeking optimal outcomes. The job of mayor is similar in that you often deal with citizens’ complaints and need to seek common ground to resolve issues.”
He said he is the better choice for mayor due to his experience in finding success in collaboration and compromise – traits he shares with the previous administration.
“I watched Mayor (Frank) Offutt and then-City Administrator DJ Gehrt do that successfully over the years I served with them,” Hoeger said. “As a current alderman, I can say there is not that same level of trust and confidence today. It will be challenging for the city to grow and succeed when there is division with the office of mayor and the board of aldermen. If elected, I plan to return that sense of cooperation to city hall.”
Challenges facing Platte City are common to many communities, he said, such as recruiting and maintaining competent staff, challenges to the business community and availability of quality housing.
To address those concerns, he said the city needs to capitalize on its strengths.
“We are close to Kansas City and its amenities, including commerce and entertainment, yet we are far enough away we maintain that hometown feel,” he said. “We have top notch schools, strong public safety resources including the city-run police department, an upgraded fire district including its first ever full time staff and a quality ambulance district.
“I will continue to work with the aldermen to update our economic development plan and recruit new businesses that align with our city’s makeup and culture. Finally, maintaining and upgrading the city’s infrastructure and providing essential services within our limited budgets and a shrinking tax base will be one of my priorities. I plan to do this by taking a conservative approach and advocating for efficient government spending and exploring public-private partnerships to fund infrastructure projects. I also want to focus on encouraging volunteerism and community involvement to supplement services.”