Missouri Voters Again Tell Kansas City to Increase Police Funding, But By a Narrower Margin

Missouri voters once again approved a ballot measure that requires Kansas City to increase its minimum police funding – but by a much narrower margin than in 2022.

Amendment 4 passed with 51% of the statewide vote, compared to 63% of voters supported the measure. The measure requires Kansas City to spend at least 25% of its general revenue on the Kansas City Police Department, up from 20%. The city has already been meeting that funding threshold since the measure first passed two years ago.

When Amendment 4 first appeared on Missouri ballots in November 2022, every county in Missouri passed the ballot measure, except for the city of St. Louis and the Kansas City portion of Jackson County.

This time around, “no” votes prevailed in a number of Missouri counties, even in rural parts of the state. Voters in the Kansas City portion of Jackson County rejected Amendment 4 by 66%. Jackson County voters outside Kansas City supported the measure by 57%.

The ballot measure went before voters again because the Missouri Supreme Court ruled in April that Amendment 4’s fiscal note summary, the last line voters read before choosing ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ was “so materially misstated” that it “actually misled voters” and the only remedy was to order a new election.

The fiscal note summary in 2022 said “state and local governmental entities estimate no additional costs or savings related” to the measure.

But that ignored Amendment 4’s financial impact specifically on Kansas City. This time around, voters saw language stating that the measure would cost Kansas City about $38.7 million per year.

Officials have said that means less money for city services that rely on general revenue, which include road infrastructure, fire services and neighborhood programs.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton opposed Amendment 4. He said in a statement that “telling the truth narrowed it to a virtual tie.”

“I thank Missouri voters for their good judgment and look forward to presenting them with a future ballot issue that stands for local control in all of our communities,” he wrote.

Amendment 4 went to a statewide vote because the KCPD is a state-controlled police force, and Kansas City is the only major U.S. city that does not have local control of its police department. St. Louis police also used to be under state control, until Missourians voted in 2012 to return department oversight to the city.

Missouri Republicans passed a bill in 2022 that required Kansas City to increase its minimum police funding, but that law could not go into effect without statewide voter approval.

Supporters said KCPD needed more money so officers can fulfill their duties. Lawmakers who supported the bill in the legislature said they wanted to prevent local efforts to “defund” the KCPD, though no elected Kansas City officials ever attempted to decrease the police budget — and can’t, because of state control.

Opponents of Amendment 4 said it undermines local lawmakers’ ability to make the best decisions for residents, and that the state should not get a say in local issues like policing.

Celisa Calacal covers Missouri politics and government for KCUR 89.3, where this story first appeared. KCUR is a member of the KC Media Collective.