Kansas officials push Kansas City to take action on long-stalled border war pact
Even though Kansas and Missouri agreed to cease their long-running economic development “border war,” a central element of the truce may still be far off.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas in September introduced legislation meant to adhere to the agreement reached by officials in both states. But that plan remains stalled in a City Council committee. Last week, Kelly told the Star that she wants to see action.
Now Lucas is pushing back, calling for cities in Kansas to take some kind of action as well.
“I think it’s very unfair for the people of Kansas City, Missouri, to be the only ones who are asked to or asking their leadership to say that we believe in making some key, concrete change,” Lucas said last week.
For years, Kansas and Missouri threw major tax incentives at companies to poach jobs from each other. The practice was regarded by many as a waste of taxpayer funds because it didn’t necessarily create any new jobs for the region. This summer, both Kelly and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson agreed to stop. Now, the states will only offer incentives to companies creating net new jobs in the region rather than those moving them across state line.
But when Kansas signed on, Kelly included a demand in her executive order: that cities in Missouri cannot provide heftier deals than cities in Kansas are allowed to give. Under the Kansas Constitution, cities can only abate property taxes for 10 years. Missouri cities have an advantage: They can offer 25-year packages.
Lucas heralded the border war truce and introduced a proposal in September that would adopt a 10-year incentive limit for companies moving from border communities. But a council committee has put off voting on the issue five times. It won’t come up again until January.
In the meantime, Lucas has started to call for some kind of reciprocal action from cities on the Kansas side, but he didn’t specify how those cities should change their development policies. He suggested other communities could pass resolutions stating their support for the truce.
“I guess I could play city attorney for another jurisdiction, but I would encourage them to be as creative as possible so I can tell my peers and my residents that it’s not us alone but that everyone is resolved, including at the municipal level, to try to uphold the border war truce,” Lucas said.
But Kelly argues Lucas “doesn’t really need to worry” about it because of the existing limitations on cities in Kansas.
“All we’re asking is for the locals in Missouri to commit to not offering more than Kansas communities can, bound by the Constitution,” Kelly said. “That’s all.”
She said she can be patient.
“I understand sometimes things don’t go as smoothly as you hope that they will,” Kelly said, “but I have every hope that they will come forward in January and level the playing field and that other communities on the Missouri side will follow suit.”
Earlier this month, Lucas inflamed tensions in Kansas by criticizing the $200 million in incentives Overland Park recently approved for the $2 billion Brookridge mixed-use development.
“If they want to have a real conversation about border war truces, why don’t we talk to Overland Park, (which) continues to be an incredible incentive provider?” Lucas recently told The Star.
At the same time, Kansas City is weighing a $39 million incentive package to move Overland Park-based Waddell & Reed to 14th Street and Baltimore Avenue downtown. Kansas officials said the state considers that project grandfathered in and not a violation of the newfound agreement.
Kansas Secretary of Commerce David Toland said that the lines of communication between Kansas and Kansas City remain open and that he spoke to Lucas just last week.
“It’s hard to achieve a peace and it’s hard to keep the peace,” Toland said. “But I think all the parties are committed to trying to maintain this cease fire. And we’re confident that that can happen.”
