Council members must step up now to protect Kansas Citians with real police reform

It will be up to members of the Kansas City Council’s Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee to show purpose and resolve -- backbone -- when they meet Wednesday to finalize the next city budget.

Here’s how.

The committee should cap the police department’s budget at 20% of the city’s general revenue, the amount required by state law.

It should then set aside the additional amount available to police, roughly $33.4 million, if the Police Board agrees in writing to spend the money on city priorities, including mental health counseling, community outreach, crisis intervention and neighborhood policing.

The committee may be headed in the right direction. On Tuesday, there were indications it would discuss a “grant fund” of $33 million, which would disburse money to the police after an application, just as they do with any other grant.

The police would be required to spend the grant as promised, in writing. It’s one approach, and a good one. Other options include a binding contract, or a clear, enforceable memorandum of understanding for the $33 million.

This path is obvious and simple, despite the efforts of Mayor Quinton Lucas and Police Chief Rick Smith to muddy the waters. Kansas Citians have a unique opportunity now, through their elected representatives, to exert at least some oversight over the city’s most important function.

The City Council must take that opportunity. The six-member Finance Committee should take the first step Wednesday, and the full City Council should ratify the budget the next day.

We’re deeply frustrated with Mayor Lucas’ shifting views on this issue. Do you remember? He was the person who first proposed a separate fund for community-related police reforms last May. We enthusiastically endorsed his approach.

From that day to this, our commitment to enforceable police oversight has never wavered. Sadly, Mayor Lucas has put his finger to the political wind shifted accordingly.

He’s introduced an ordinance that provides the police with $269 million. It would then establish the city’s “expectation” for how $33 million of that money would be spent, including police raises, new hiring, additional 911 call takers and other line items.

The mayor’s approach is unacceptable. It’s unenforceable and meaningless: the court has said, in no uncertain terms, that once the police budget is set, the City Council can’t make any unilateral changes to it. For those who believe in real police oversight, it is literally now or never.

Sure, the council can “expect” the department to spend the $33 million on raises and officers, and may even be relying on a letter from Chief Smith promising to meet its spending priorities. But the letter isn’t worth any more than a handshake: the Police Board would be free to buy chocolate and cheese and the City Council would be legally powerless to intervene.

No. The City Council must insist on a firm agreement on how the extra cash will be used, and a mechanism for withholding some spending if the department fails to achieve goals the City Council sets.

Such an agreement need not be reached in the next 48 hours, by the way. The council could approve $236 million for police as one line item Thursday, then set aside the $33 million in a separate grant fund. Negotiations could continue.

This approach would have the added value of giving a new police chief some say in any new contract or MOU. Chief Smith -- a disaster in almost every conceivable way -- will be gone. A new chief deserves a clean slate, and this approach could help provide it.

Let’s be clear, again. This isn’t defunding the police. The department can get every penny it wants by agreeing to city oversight of a small part of the budget. If the Police Board fails to reach a deal, it will have defunded itself.

This argument has never been about money. It’s about accountability. Who should run the police: the people’s elected representatives, or an unelected body appointed by a far-away governor whose disdain for urban concerns is legendary?

Should police govern themselves, or should the people play a role?

Starting Wednesday, Kansas City can assert some authority over its police department. There are six council members on the Finance Committee: Katheryn Shields, Kevin McManus, Heather Hall, Lee Barnes, Melissa Robinson and Ryana Parks-Shaw. Four votes will be needed to require a binding agreement for the $33 million.

Call them. Ask them to show backbone. There won’t be a second chance.