It's hard enough to get any city employee on the phone, let alone the head of a department. (Go ahead, call 816-513-3600, ask for the head of anything and see what happens.) Millie Crossland not only answered her phone but also seemed excited to take requests. When asked for documents — by, say, reporters — Crossland was quick to deliver. Try that at the City Attorney's Office. Crossland got her start in the public eye as executive director of the Elder Rights Coalition. She served as an aide to Mayor Kay Barnes before being appointed as city clerk in 2003. She quickly modernized the office, making documents and videos of meetings available online. That time in the mayor's office probably taught her the most important skill: how to handle politics. Last year, after a spat with Mayor Mark Funkhouser about where he should hold his inauguration, Crossland quickly took the blame, telling The Kansas City Star: "I made a mistake." Unfortunately, Crossland left KC in July for a job as records manager at the Oakland, California, Police Department, where, we bet, she's still happily answering her phone.
