KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Another packed house showed up for the last of Kansas City, Missouri, city government's public budget hearings on Saturday, seeking answers about a proposed $1.73 billion spending plan during a meeting at the Gregg/Klice Community Center.
“The problem with any budget is you have unlimited numbers of needs and only so much availability to take care of them,” City Council Member Scott Wagner said.
One hot topic at the meeting was plans for the KCMO Health Department.
“I'm concerned about the proposed cuts to the Health Department fund as well as the health levy,” Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center CEO Faisal Kahn said.
Kahn runs a community-based health center, which received enough money from the city last year to buy a mobile health unit.
"This is not one they can afford drop, because these people serve the very underserved, the very poor, the marginalized,” Kahn said.
Funding for Kahn's group comes from the health levy, which is drawn from property taxes, but that money is shifted to pay for ambulances in the new proposed budget.
“Last year, we had set aside some funds for our health-care providers, the safety-net providers in case they were running out of funds," Wagner said. "It appeared that they weren't."
Kahn said his goal remains unchanged, secure the City Council’s help to make Kansas City healthier.
“At the end of this, it's not dollars and cents," he said. "It's people: men, women and children in the Kansas City area."
The City Council will revisit the budget after gathering community input and put forward a final proposal at the end of March.
