Kansas City police chief says proposed city cuts could be ‘devastating’ to department
The Kansas City Police Department would have to cut its staff by 400 people, close divisions and eliminate other services to meet proposed budget cuts due to COVID-19, Chief Rick Smith said in a blog post.
“Quite frankly, it would be devastating,” he wrote.
Like other city departments, the police department was asked to provide scenarios for what an estimated 11% budget cut would look like. For the police department, that would be nearly $26 million.
The remainder of the staff, after hundreds are cut, would have to take two-week furloughs, Smith said.
Last week, Kansas City asked its city departments to forecast the impact of another round of cuts to address a $60 million decline in tax revenue created by COVID-19. The details of the 11% cuts will be revealed in the next budget proposal released in February and voted on in March. The city’s fiscal year runs from May 1 to April 30.
After a Police Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday, Mayor Quinton Lucas said on Facebook that he does not “believe in cutting staff or closing stations.”
The city’s finance department has found $59 million in areas of overlap where there might be further saving opportunities, Lucas said. Those areas included medical and life insurance, communications, information technology, facilities and building maintenance and operations, dispatch services and data research and development.
“I hope all can work together on administrative adjustments that can help address our budget challenges but still keep our residents safe,” he wrote.
Lora McDonald, executive director of MORE2, said that perhaps local control and new leadership is what will be necessary to find suitable budget cuts that benefit this community.
“These kind of scare tactics are meant to create a reaction from the community,” she said. “Reality is, this department needs to stand up to scrutiny, from the budget to its command staff.”
The organization is one of several civil rights groups who have called for Smith’s resignation.
To meet its portion of the 11% cut, the police department is considering the following:
- Closing a third of the department police stations by consolidating the North Patrol with the Shoal Creek Patrol and the Central Patrol with East Patrol.
- Eliminating the helicopter unit, a traffic enforcement squad, community interaction officers, school resource officers, the Police Athletic League, CAN Centers, social workers and a majority of the Impact Squad officers, who proactively address crime. Those officers would be reassigned to patrol and answering 911 calls.
- Reduce the number of property crime detectives.
- Instituting a hiring freeze and having no new academy classes in 2020 or 2021.
- Cutting 13 positions at the Kansas City Regional Crime Lab.
- Eliminating an unspecified amount of support staff positions in areas ranging from information technology to its fleet operations.
Smith said said the proposed cuts could also result in issues such as longer response times to 911 calls.
Police would need to prioritize response to violent crime, in this case, Smith said. He said it is possible police would not be able to respond to non-injury crashes, home break-ins and other property crimes. Instead, victims would need to go to police stations.
The cuts would also have residual effects in the community, he said. For example, Police Athletic League is funded by a nonprofit organization that pumps about $500,000 into the urban core. The proposed cuts could take that community investment away.
“These cuts are not a foregone conclusion,” Smith said. “City leaders have a choice to make between now and when the new fiscal year starts. “
This story was originally published September 30, 2020 at 8:42 AM.
