Missouri is voting on KC police funding — again. What to know before primary election
Early voting is officially underway across Missouri for the statewide primary election Aug. 6, and voters may see a familiar question when they step into the ballot box.
A 2022 measure that would increase how much Kansas City spends on its police force is back on the ballot this year after the Missouri Supreme Court ruled its original vote invalid this spring. If passed, the state constitutional amendment would allow Missouri to raise minimum funding requirements for police departments overseen by state boards.
The only police department that currently matches that description is the Kansas City Police Department.
That means the future of KCPD funding is in the hands of voters across Missouri — not just those in Kansas City. Here’s a closer look at what this ballot question, known as Amendment 4, means and why voters are being asked to weigh in a second time.
How would the ballot question impact police spending in Kansas City?
In the summer of 2022, Missouri lawmakers passed a bill to increase the amount of Kansas City’s budget that needs to go to KCPD from 20% to 25%.
However, the Missouri Constitution says that the state is not allowed to give mandates to cities without providing any funding to carry out those mandates. Since the change would cost Kansas City money and the state isn’t planning to chip in, this law has been the subject of legal battles for the past two years.
The law went into effect after the November 2022 vote, but was blocked earlier this year when Missouri’s Supreme Court rejected that vote’s results.
The ballot question voters will weigh in on in a few weeks would cement the state’s power to enforce that 2022 law by adding an exception to the state constitution for police budget minimums.
What does my vote on Amendment 4 mean?
Voting “yes” on Amendment 4 would give Missouri the authority to raise the KCPD’s minimum budget requirement. Kansas City would then have to pay that additional cost out of its general revenue fund.
Voting “no” on Amendment 4 would block the 2022 law and keep the KCPD’s funding requirement at 20% of the city budget — although the city could still choose to spend more than this amount on the police.
Haven’t Missourians already voted on this?
Yes. In November 2022, Missourians voted on a previous version of this same question. However, the 2022 version falsely stated that the constitutional change would cost no money to local governments.
Missouri’s Supreme Court ruled in May that because the change would cost Kansas City money, the 2022 question was misleading and its result is invalid. Now, the question will be back in voters’ hands this week with different wording. Here’s what Missourians will see on their ballots:
“Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to authorize laws, passed before December 31st, 2026, that increase minimum funding for a police force established by a state board of police commissioners to ensure such police force has additional resources to serve its communities?
This would authorize a law passed in 2022 increasing required funding by the City of Kansas City for police department requests from 20% of general revenue to 25%, an increase of $38,743,646, though the City previously provided that level of funding voluntarily. No other state or local governmental entities estimate costs or savings.”
How much does Kansas City currently spend on the KCPD?
In 2022, the city allocated 23.4% of its general revenue fund toward policing, according to a letter sent on behalf of the city to Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft.
And this spring, the city allocated $317 million, or 25.03% of its general revenue fund, toward policing for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, which started this month. That amount is more than would be required even if the ballot initiative passes. Police funding in Kansas City was also above 25% of the city’s general revenue fund last year, when the 2022 law was in effect.
Why does the whole state get a say on KCPD spending?
The KCPD is the only police force in Missouri overseen by a state board and with state control over its budget. That’s because of a law from way back in 1939 — although the validity of this law has recently come into question.
Four members of the state board that oversees KCPD are appointed by the governor, and the mayor has a seat on the board as well.
A federal lawsuit filed by the local civil rights group MORE2 argues that this setup insulates the department against accountability from the citizens it is sworn to protect — including over issues of racial discrimination in policing. State control of just the KCPD also means that while voters across Missouri will weigh in on the ballot question, its outcome will only affect police funding in Kansas City.
So the 2024 ballot question isn’t just about the specific amount of funding the KCPD receives — it’s also part of a larger conversation around local control in the state’s more progressive cities.
From the minimum wage to plastic bag bans to firearm laws, Missouri’s state government has taken measures for decades to supersede cities’ authority over aspects of their local governance.
The debate often echoes political divisions, with the state’s Republican-led government exerting control over more progressive urban areas like Kansas City and St. Louis.
What will happen if the ballot question passes or fails?
If the ballot question passes, as it did during the 2022 vote, not much would change this year — Kansas City already spends more than 25% of its general revenue fund on policing.
But in future years, the city would not be allowed to lower KCPD funding below this threshold, even if the city determines that its money would be better used elsewhere.
If the question fails, the 2022 law may never go into effect. That means the current 20% minimum police budget would remain.
The city could continue choosing to spend more than 20% of its revenue on policing, but it still would not be able to spend less than that.
Do you have more questions about what’s coming up in the August primary election? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published July 24, 2024 at 1:38 PM.
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