The proposed budget was finalized at Thursday's Kansas City Council session.
The Kansas City police did not receive the requested $1.7 million increase in funds.
Related: KCPD Chief Darryl Forte announces his retirement
The Kansas City Fraternal Order of Police wanted to pay KCPD officers more money, but it says it needed the City Council to approve a $1.7 million budget increase to make that happen.
The Kansas City FOP Lodge #99 released the following statement after the council vote:
We are extremely disappointed in the City Council’s decision not to approve a requested $1.7 million
additional dollars to the police departments budget. It is a dangerous time to be a police officer and we are
seeing more and more men and woman leave law enforcement to pursue other careers. Additionally, across
the nation, police departments are having a tough time getting qualified applicants for recruiting classes.
Right now the KCPD is short more than 100 officers. In the coming months we will lose dozens more.
The requested money was needed to keep KCPD competitive with neighboring agencies. We have one of the
best police academies in the country. We train men and woman to protect those who visit, live and work in
Kansas City but yet we are losing the officers we train to nearby agencies more than ever before.
When looking at the top 12 largest law enforcement agencies in the metro Kansas City comes in first for
starting pay/minimum salary. Kansas City drops to 4th in the ranking for police officers median salary and
down to 10th for police officer maximum salary. This is unacceptable. Studies done at the request of the
City Council prove pubic safety ranks towards the top of citizens priorities but yet we are being given the
funding to hire and retain qualified officers.
We appreciate those on the council who supported us and who continue to support our officers.
Brad Lemon
President, FOP Lodge #99
While the request has been in the works for a while, it is a bit controversial because it comes just a day after Chief Darryl Forte announced his retirement.
When he walks away from the police department, he'll retire with $500,000 in unpaid sick and vacation time.
Story: Huge payout due to Forte on retirement
Critics say the department shouldn't have asked for money with such a large payout coming up.
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