INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — The Independence City Council voted on Monday to pass an ordinance to reallocate funding received from American Rescue Plan and use it to buy equipment for the city's police and fire departments.
In total, the city is expected to receive about $20.3 million from the American Rescue Plan.
Independence resident Tara Kruse was back at council chambers Monday evening, to let city leaders know more resources need to go to the men and women who protect and serve.
Kruse also spoke at the meeting on Oct. 7, where a proposal to use more than $670,000 from federal stimulus money to buy body worn cameras for officers got nixed two weeks ago.
That idea was introduced by councilman Brice Stewart, who was also looking to bring ShotSpotter technology to Independence, as well as a simulator to help IPD officers train in de-escalation techniques using stimulus dollars.
At Monday's meeting the Shot Spotter technology got taken off the table and the resolution for the simulator failed.
"I feel like they felt other things were more important than the funding for what the police officers had requested," Stewart told KSHB 41 News.
Instead, another proposal that also uses money from the American Rescue Plan, will allow Independence police to purchase new sniper rifles, a K-9, cameras for their detention unit and do maintenance on their current radio tower camera system
Funding from the Independence City Hall security and citizen interaction improvements project will be reduced to make way for the City to purchase the equipment.
Under the same resolution. that passed unanimously Monday, the fire department will add a ladder truck to its fleet replacing an old model.
Following the decision, $193,769 will be reallocated into the fire department and $156,311.70 into the police department.
"We want the results for improved public safety, we want firefighters to have what they need, the police to have what they need and so I’m going to support this but I’m disappointed that we could do better, elected not to do better," Councilman Michael Steinmeyer who represents the city's district 3 said.
In the most recent citizen survey, under public safety, residents were least satisfied with the city’s efforts to prevent crime and felt that needed to become a priority.
