Columbia city manager touts year’s accomplishments in annual address

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia's city manager introduced a new way for the public to give its feedback about city services during the annual State of the City address Friday.

De'Carlon Seewood introduced the new "engagement opportunities survey" during his speech. Seewood said the city wants to hear from residents about ways to engage with city government.

Seewood hit multiple topics during a speech that highlighted city government accomplishments, including the health department's loss of federal funding. The department remains committed to its mission despite the funding loss, he said.

During a news conference after the speech, Seewood said the city is soliciting proposals from health insurance providers to possibly replace Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. The provider went out-of-network with one of the city's biggest health providers, MU Health Care, in April.

"We're in the current process of bidding out our health care," Seewood told reporters. "So we're going to go out and do an RFP to see if we can find a different provider. And so, we don't know what we don't know, but we do know we're in the process of bidding them out."

City finance director Matthew Lue said the city often bids out and reviews proposals for health insurance. Purchasing agent Cale Turner said the city last did so in 2022. The dispute with Anthem and MU, Lue said, spurred them to put together an RFP this year. Bids close on June 11. Seewood said any provider switch would take place at the start of 2026.

Another topic was recycling, with Seewood saying city council members will discuss next steps on June 2. A tornado last month destroyed the recycling facility.

The address often serves as a platform to discuss various accomplishments and events in the city government over the last year, as the city prepares to craft and debate a budget. Seewood and finance staff have warned about potential cuts this fiscal year and next due in part to lagging sales tax revenue.

Seewood said he will have to balance that financial situation with the continual growth of the city and the services it needs. Records obtained by ABC 17 News shows the police department has asked for 51 new sworn police officer positions in next year's budget. Chief Jill Schlude said she does not expect to be given 51 new positions in a year, but instead show the public how many new officers CPD needs for a city its size.

"We know that we've been growing steadily for the last few years," Seewood said. "I think the latest census numbers put us at 130,000. And so we are fast-growing city, and probably the fastest growing city in Missouri. And so, ensuring we are providing the quality service to our residents is important. So we just need to figure out how to do that."

Sewood has made several department head hires in the last year. He picked longtime Columbia Utilities worker Erin Keys to lead the department on Wednesday. She will shepherd several large projects forward, including work on the Water Treatment Plant and pursuing a future electric transmission line on the south side of town. Seewood chose Columbia native D'Markus Thomas-Brown to lead the newly-created Office of Violence Prevention in March, and Spokane, Washington, fire chief Brian Schaeffer to lead the Columbia Fire Department in August.

Seewood's address also comes amid a high-profile shooting on Nifong Boulevard on Sunday afternoon. Police have said the incident was sparked by road rage between two drivers, with both firing shots. One of the drivers, 32-year-old Derek Gonzalez, died. The Boone County Prosecutor's Office said it would not file charges in the shooting at this point.

Seewood has overseen some major changes at the police department, as well. CPD purchased and has started installing Flock cameras throughout town. The department is also converting its car camera technology to new Axon cameras, which adds an annual $500,000 expense for the equipment. CPD also graduated its first class of recruits through its new in-house academy program with Lincoln University's peace officer training school.