Paul Kramer, the former long-time Leavenworth city manager who has roots in Johnson County, is Shawnee’s new city manager.
Kramer, whose hiring was approved in April by an unanimous city council vote, was formally seated on April 29. He will have his ceremonial swearing in Monday night at the Shawnee City Council meeting at 6 p.m.
After spending more than 14 years in Leavenworth’s city government, he said the offer to be Shawnee’s new city manager was too good to pass up.
“I knew without a doubt that it was the right move for my career and my family,” he said. “Once I closed that page, I haven’t looked back.”
What does a city manager do?
• In the city manager and city council-style government most Johnson County cities use, the city manager manages the day-to-day business at the direction of the city council.
• A city manager, as ordered by Shawnee’s city code, is responsible for the enforcement of city codes, and each department reports to them.
• The city manager is also in charge of hiring decisions for director-level positions and other roles in the city administration in accordance with the budget.
• One of the primary roles is to put up a budget each year that the city council considers.
Kramer has city management experience
A Merriam native and Shawnee Mission North High graduate, Kramer has a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and a Master of Public Administration degree, both from the University of Kansas.
After graduating from KU, Kramer worked in publishing for Lee’s Summit-based Ascend Media. He was later hired as a communications specialist for the city government in Kansas City, Missouri, which gave him the tools to make his next career move.
“I had a lot of exposure to economic development and incentives,” he said. “I was in the communications office because of my journalism background. So, (it was) a lot of working with messaging and communicating with the public, which has really served me well.”
He was in Leavenworth for over 14 years
Making the leap from Kansas City to Leavenworth, Kramer held several different positions through the years, most notably city manager for over eight years and assistant city manager for about six years.
It was a great run for someone who wasn’t originally familiar with the city, Kramer said.
“I didn’t know a whole lot about Leavenworth, but you can’t be real picky sometimes,” he said. “I went up there and it turned into 14 and a half years. It was really fortunate that I landed up there.”
Shawnee shares similarities with Leavenworth, which attracted Kramer to the job, he said.
“I like the opportunity for growth in new projects. But then, I have a soft spot for historic downtowns,” he said. “I like the idea of working on the old and the new, working on infill development, as well as greenfield development.”
Having experience working with local, state and federal offices in Leavenworth, he thinks those experiences will transfer over to the new job.
“I got a lot of good exposure to that, having a lot of interaction with the county commission in Leavenworth and our city commission and our federal representatives,” he said. “Aligning priorities with what’s administratively feasible, I think a lot of that experience in Leavenworth hopefully will serve me well here.”
Kramer sees Shawnee as united
While Kramer is aware of perception of a previously-divided city government in Shawnee, he said that’s less of a concern for city employees who are just trying to make sure residents are happy and services are rendered.
“Day to day, city staff (are busy) carrying out the policies of [the city’s elected officials], delivering service to the residents,” he said. “We don’t really pay attention to that. That just sort of happens at the top level and at elected officials’ meetings.”
With that said, Kramer does tout his hiring by a unanimous vote as a unifying factor for the Shawnee City Council.
“I think the interview process was, from my end, so positive,” he said. “Everybody on the council seemed to want to continue to move Shawnee forward and really just serve the residents and say, ‘We’re open for business and we’re dedicated to providing the service level that people are expecting.’ So, I see nothing but a united front right now as far as moving Shawnee forward.”
Kramer is excited to get back to Shawnee
While Kramer grew up near Shawnee, he hasn’t had the chance to delve into its history and geography.
With his family — wife, Shayla Kramer, and three children — moving to Shawnee in a couple of weeks, he’s excited to dig in deep.
“I grew up down here, but there’s still a lot of Shawnee that I didn’t frequently drive down,” he said. “Most of the stuff north of Johnson Drive, that’s all kind of new to me … Just really familiarizing myself with the streets will be really nice — the projects and the neighborhoods and where certain things are going to be, I’m really looking forward to that.”
Dig deeper: Here’s what’s in new Shawnee city manager’s contract
