KANSAS CITY, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
—
The Unified Government's Street Division has watched its workforce shrink from about 80 employees to 46 in less than a decade. But its superintendent says a new digital mapping system, smarter equipment and a philosophy of year-round preparation have the crew ready for whatever this winter brings.
Brandon Wayne, operations superintendent for the UG Street Division, has spent all 15 of those years with the department, starting as an operator and working his way up to overseeing street signs and pavement markings across Kansas City, Kansas.
He and his crews live by the slogan written on their public works trucks: "We can and we must."
"We can go right now,” Wayne said. “If it snowed tomorrow, our guys are ready to go. Everybody's prepped, everybody's trained."
That readiness doesn't happen by accident. Wayne said the division begins planning for the next winter almost immediately after the last snow season ends — ordering salt, assessing pain points and scheduling fall dry runs, including a "snow rodeo" competition with neighboring municipalities.
"We pretty much start preparing for that, for the next winter, right away,” Wayne said.
This year, the division is going deeper into a digital mapping system implemented last year, with a public-facing component expected to launch soon.
It is part of a broader push to work smarter with fewer people.
"We are dealing with a little bit of pain points, just like a lot of other municipalities are, when it comes to our low staffing numbers,” Wayne said.
That strain was tested hard by the August storm that hit Kansas City, Kansas — an event Wayne described as unlike anything he had seen in his 15 years on the job.
"Being here 15 years, I've never seen something so localized in one area, so that was a little bit shell shocked for us,” Wayne said.
At the height of recovery, nearly all available resources were pulled from routine work to deal with the aftermath.
"Basically 95% of our staff was doing the tree removal for the entire time. So, it did hurt those things, but snow removal, we're still pretty much right on schedule,” Wayne said.
The division received help from the National Guard and other local municipalities during the recovery effort.
They are not the only city impacted by staffing shortages. KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne spoke with Kansas City-area crews earlier this month preparing for winter.
To stretch a lean workforce during normal operations, the division — which operates a fleet of about 42 trucks — is investing in equipment that can cover more ground with fewer people.
"This can do a lane and a half worth of traffic instead of having three people, now we can do two people in there, so it's just making smarter decisions and being more creative in our decision making,” Wayne said.
New equipment, however, comes at a cost the budget doesn't always match.
The UG's 2025 Amended - 2026 Budget cites continued inflation and rising material costs as a persistent challenge for public works.
"Cost goes up and budget stays the same,” Wayne said. “It kind of, it's tough, so we definitely feel it all the time."
The long-term goal is to rebuild staffing back to where it once was, and to rely less on borrowed help from other UG divisions.
"Ideally, that is what we would love to get back to (be)cause that's where we were once upon a time,” Wayne said. “And I think we won't be so reliant on other divisions to kind of come back and help us."
Ever since I've covered Wyandotte County, I've heard similar concerns from residents around wintertime.
KCK resident Charlie Freeling acknowledged the reality of the situation in January 2025.
"I would like it if all the roads were cleared, but we can't get everything that we want,” Freeling said.
Despite the pressures, Wayne said the street division's response to snow stays consistent regardless of how a storm unfolds. Crews prioritize high-traffic and state routes first, then secondary routes near hospitals and schools, before moving into neighborhoods — all to keep emergency access open.
"If we haven't got there yet, I promise you we will,” Wayne said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
—
