‘Show us the money’: Cost-saving measures at KCPD raise new spending concerns
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- City leaders and advocates demand transparency after KCPD suspends overtime and hiring.
- KCPD says cuts are routine year-end measures to curb overtime and avoid service cuts.
- Council seeks budget briefing as department requests a roughly $417M budget.
Cost-saving measures at the Kansas City Police Department have raised concerns among community advocates and city leaders, with some calling for greater transparency and accountability over how public dollars are being spent.
Gwendolyn Grant, president and CEO or the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, said she spoke with Police Chief Stacey Graves after learning of what she described as “drastic” cost-saving measures being implemented through the end of the current fiscal year.
Grant said she was told the measures amount to a routine end-of-year budget right-sizing intended to close the fiscal year in a positive position.
“We have to raise questions about the fidelity that they’re exercising over our public dollars, and they should not have the freedom to just overspend and then cut budgets and say, ‘It’s going to impact our spending,’” Grant said Monday.
“Our question is, where is the money? Show us the money — $300-and-some-odd million.”
The memo, obtained and reviewed by The Star, calls for sweeping cuts to ensure basic services within the department can continue through the end of the fiscal year by suspending overtime. In addition to suspending overtime, Graves paused all hiring for staff positions and halted all purchases for “non-critical supplies and equipment.”
Police Department officials responded to requests for comments on Tuesday, saying the move is common in the final months of a fiscal year and that there would be no cuts to services.
“There will be no disruption of police service in Kansas City,” said police spokesperson Sgt. Phillip DiMartino. “KCPD call takers will be answering 911 calls, our officers will be responding to calls for service and detectives will continue investigating cases.”
“We diligently monitor our budget throughout the year and make needed adjustments. With the needed reduction in overtime costs, we are confident the budget will be rectified by April 30,” DiMartino said.
Budget imbalance raises concerns
Kansas City council member Melissa Robinson said the budget imbalance was concerning.
“We’re still looking into this particular memo that supposedly went out last week over the weekend to the rank and file,” Robinson said. “The most concerning part is about overtime.”
She said it is important that basic police services are not interrupted by pausing overtime, citing how long officers could remain on the scene of an accident or shooting.
“When you have memos that are going out saying that you cannot do overtime, that is going to impact public safety and our ability to respond to crucial, critical needs,” Robinson said. “We’re getting ready to embark upon the World Cup. This is not a time for our city to be saying that we don’t have the coverage that we need for public safety.”
Robinson said there needs to be accountability with funding and making sure the department is living within its means, saying that finding where the money is spent is critical during the ongoing budgeting process for the new fiscal year.
The current fiscal year budget for the Police Department is roughly $343 million, and the department has requested an increase for the next fiscal year, with the budget topping roughly $417 million.
Missouri state law, under legislation passed by voters in 2024, requires the city to spend at least 25% of its general revenue on police. The city has historically exceeded that percentage.
“As a council, there’s been a call for a business session to learn more about the budgetary process and what’s happening with KCPD, and so we hopefully look to get more information so that we’ll be able to share with the public,” Robinson said.
