KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is scheduled to attend at least a pair of events next week he believes will increase the safety of Missourians.
On Monday afternoon, June 27, the governor will sign SB 678 at the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department Headquarters building downtown.
The legislation increases the percentage of the Kansas City, Missouri, city budget that must be allocated to the Kansas City Board of Police from one-fifth of the budget to one-fourth of the city’s general revenue.
Missouri Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R - Parkville) was the bill’s sponsor. Luetkemeyer has been outspokenabout the bill ever since KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas led a council effortto change the way police department funds were allocated last year.
“It increases the mandatory funding threshold for the KCPD from 20% of the city's general revenue up to 25%, that 25% number is more reflective of the modern funding needs of the department and also the amount that the city has funded the department in recent decades,” Luetkemeyer said in an interview last November with KSHB 41 News reporter Emma James.
Parson's signature on the bill isn't the final step for the new funding requirement to become reality.
The legislation included a corresponding joint resolution that requires Missouri voters to approve a constitutional amendment. That question will likely be on this November's general election ballot.
Just before signing the state legislation at KCPD, Parson plans to hold a joint event with the Missouri Chamber of Commerce to announce a “new, statewide, business-led focus” on crime.
A press release from the Missouri Chamber described the effort as a partnership with the Missouri General Assembly and Parson “to pass innovative new policies to reduce crime.”
The event will be held at the Transition Center of Kansas City.
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For jurisdictions that utilize the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline, anonymous tips can be made by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
