Kansas City, don’t give a $6 million handout to pay off KCPD legal claims | Opinion
The Kansas City Council has a tough decision to make: to fund or not to fund legal settlements tied to police department lawsuits. In a city that doesn’t control its own police force, I could see how this conundrum would cause angst among those elected officials who have considered the issue for weeks.
Last week, the council tabled for the second consecutive week a vote on two separate proposals that would cover legal claims made against the Kansas City Police Department. After the latest meeting, I asked Mayor Quinton Lucas, who sponsored the dueling proposals, to differentiate between the two.
One measure would allocate $5.9 million from the city’s legal expense fund to the police department to pay legal settlements before the end of the month, he said.
The second proposal would establish an overage fund to help KCPD pay off lawsuits each year, Lucas said. If approved, the city would provide funds ($5.9 million) that would exceed the minimum 25% threshold required by law.
“One just provides a longer process on how you engage with paying the overage long term,” Lucas said. “The other is just saying we’re going to pay off your debts this year, and we’ll probably come back to the same spot next year.”
Paying for problems
To be completely honest, I’m not a fan of either proposal. A better idea would be for Lucas and his fellow members of the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners simply to offer problem officers reasonable settlements to go away — similar to the $50,000 separation agreement with former officer and repeat offender Blayne Newton.
However, I would reluctantly support allocating $5.9 million this year as a one-off. In case you missed the distressing development, the police department has budget issues and needs a lifeline until May 1 to settle pending legal claims, Lucas said.
“I don’t have the exact number of the lawsuits, but it is several that gets you to that sort of structured settlement we’ve had over a series of years,” he said.
I wholeheartedly believe anyone who has been brutalized, killed or discriminated against by Kansas City police officers deserves to be compensated. Yet, I see no compelling reason to give the agency almost an additional $6 million annually to cover its officers’ misconduct.
Or as 1st District Councilman Nathan Willett said at the meeting, “I think this is unnecessary. Traditionally, Kansas City has funded our police well over 25%.”
Although the ordinance establishing the overage fund would allow City Manager Mario Vasquez to negotiate with the police commissioners on how to pay the settlements, KCPD has to do a better job of getting rid of officers who have proven to be a liability to the department and taxpayers.
Millions in legal payouts
In 2025, KCPD paid out close to $14 million in legal claims, which, along with overtime staffing and other issues, has contributed to its budget woes.
Each year, Kansas City regularly funds the police department over the required amount — the agency’s overall budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year is nearly $364 million, about a 5% increase from the year before. About $331 million, or 27.2%, will come from Kansas City’s $844 million general fund, Vasquez told city council members at a recent meeting. In addition, the budget includes $4 million for lawsuits.
Tax dollars from hardworking Kansas Citians already provide the police department with hundreds of millions of dollars each year — KCPD’s next budget million will be its highest ever. The City Council has done its job by adequately funding a department it has no control over. Creating an overage fund won’t change that very sobering dynamic.
In the best interest of all Kansas Citians, the City Council must reject any proposal that would provide more money for the police department to settle litigation claims on a yearly basis.
