KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The amount of police funding a Missouri city is required to provide is on November's ballot.
Amendment 4 ask Missouri voters if the state constitution should be amended to increase the minimum funding for a police force.
“I’m going to have to side with our state on this and not our local government," said Kim Scheerer, a voter. "We need our police force. We need them to have the funds to protect our city.”
“I voted no on that," said Gilbert Lowe, another voter. "I think that the city should have some more voice in that.”
In Kansas City, KCPD is under state control. The city has provided 20% of funding for the department.
Last spring, a budget battle erupted between city and state leaders over police funding when KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas introduced two ordinances that would re-allocate money to a fund aimed at enhancing police-community relations.
This summer, state lawmakers approved legislation that would increase required funding to 25%.
Lucas has expressed opposition to Amendment 4, writing on Twitter, “Amendment 4 has nothing to do with our safety or officers and everything to do with advancing the careers of non-KC based Republican politicians.”
One of the politicians the mayor called out is Missouri Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer of Parkville who sponsored legislation requiring a funding increase.
In response to Mayor Lucas' comments, Luetkemeyer said in a statement, “He knows passage of Amendment 4 forecloses any future radical attempts to defund the KCPD.”
Amendment 4 is one of many topics on the November ballot. In Missouri, voters will need to bring photo identification to the polls. The last day of no-excuse absentee voting is Nov. 7.
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