KC City Council Adopts $1.74 Billion Budget For Fiscal Year 2021-2022

From the City of Kansas City:

March 26, 2021

The City Council on Thursday adopted a fiscal year 2021-2022 budget that nimbly adapts to the negative impact of the global pandemic without compromising staffing levels or essential city services but also investing additional resources in key areas.

The City Council voted to add back several programs, including $400,000 to continue mowing rural areas, that had been cut from the proposed budget submitted on Feb. 11.

The City will greatly benefit from $195 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds that will help replenish the reserves spent to cope with the $70 million shortfall induced by the pandemic. But this budget was still crafted based on how our City can operate even better going forward.

In addition to pouring money back into some areas facing deeper cuts, this budget includes investments of substantial resources into priority areas like:

• Expanded snow removal operations
• Office of the Tenant Advocate
• Improving equity to help build a more inclusive workplace that includes our first Chief Equity Officer and additional staff to both expand professional development and employee training
• Creation of our first Transportation Director and other resources to help us aggressively redesign our streets to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries
• Funding for our continued COVID-19 response

The council made another decision to help KCMO residents and businesses deal with tighter finances by changing the date for filing, paying and requesting extensions for earnings and profits taxes for 2020 to May 17, 2021; and delaying the accrual of any penalty and interest. This move matches the change just announced by the federal government.

“The past year has been challenging, and, like many American cities, the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant revenue reductions for Kansas City — which has required tough financial decisions to balance our budget while continuing to provide basic City services for all Kansas City neighborhoods,” said Mayor Quinton Lucas. “I am proud that the Kansas City Council today passed our responsible budget, which cuts inefficiencies, prioritizes pothole filling and street repair, fully funds the Office of the Tenant Advocate and assistance for affordable housing, and keeps our promise to protect our City workforce so that no City employee will lose their job due to budget cuts.

“I will continue working with my colleagues to ensure federal stimulus funds received by the City supplement our ongoing efforts to ensure equity in housing, to pick up the trash and clean our city, and supports our continued COVID-19 response efforts.”

The adopted budget closes the budget shortfall with strategic cuts and adjustments, which include:

• Transitioning to “in-house” waste removal and leaf and brush collection services
• Negotiating reductions in healthcare costs for the city and auditing existing coverage to ensure cost effectiveness
• Converting streetlights to lower cost, energy-efficient LED lights
• Right-sizing the KCPD budget to match current staffing and consolidating services to improve efficiencies
• Voluntary retirement incentive
• Sale of unused city property Refinancing debt
• Reducing contracts with outside vendors including security guards, jail contracts, and lobbyists
• Identifying new ways to increase revenue collections through EMS, courts, and tax offices
• Closing the Hale Arena, which costs the city $1.7 million a year to maintain

The adopted budget focuses on funding public safety, capital improvements and transportation – priorities reflected in the Annual Resident Survey.

For budget information, visit kcmo.gov/budget and follow us on Twitter @KCMO and the Budget Office @KCMOBudget.

This press release was produced by the City of Kansas City. The views expressed here are the author’s own.