KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability and solutions. Share your story with Isabella.
Kansas City, Missouri, leaders want to build a new jail as one solution to the problem of crime in the city.
Kansas City does not have its own municipal detention center.
In less than a month, voters will vote to decide how the proposed detention center will be funded.
If Kansas City builds its detention center, it would go next to where Jackson County is building its jail.
It would cost more than $200 million to build, which is an expense Kansas City Councilman Crispin Rea explained is only possible if voters renew the public sales tax.
"We've already paid this tax for 15 years," Councilmember Rea said. "There will be no increase in sales tax. It will be a quarter-cent sales tax, which is what we have utilized in the past."
The tax currently funds public safety infrastructure, including Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department and Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department buildings and resources.
"Kansas City residents pay this tax, but so do a lot of visitors," Rea said. "Anytime someone is coming and making purchases in Kansas City from outside of Kansas City, they're paying into the sales tax, and we get to utilize that revenue to make our city safer."
Multiple businesses suffered from the recent string of property crimes.
The Bar West Plaza has been broken into twice. Owner Amy Turpin supports the detention center as a part of the solution.
"More taxes, we all can't wait for that," Turpin laughed. "But if it's for the better, then we'll just have to suck it up."
Grunauer Restaurant is located in the Crossroads Arts District, the center of where property crimes have been occurring in Kansas City.
The restaurant's owner explained that a local detention center is an important part of public safety in the city.
"Not having a detention facility for a city our size is a major handicap for police to be able to do their job," Nicholas Grunauer said. "The benefit of paying taxes is that you have a safe and stable community. This isn't necessarily going to guarantee that, but it's a necessary step to tackle a lot of these quality of life issues."
Everyone agrees that Kansas City, Missouri, crime needs a strong solution, but there's a disconnect on what should be funded by taxpayers.
"It's about trust, it's about accountability, and it's about whether our city makes fiscally responsible decisions," Decarcerate KC Executive Director Amaia Cook said.
At a town hall forum Monday in south Kansas City, opponents of the sales tax renewal argued the money should go toward crime prevention, not incarceration measures.
"I don't want us, our kids, and our grandkids having to pay for a tax that isn't going to address these root causes and going to continue to cycle people in and out of jail," Cook said.
Proponents like Councilwoman Melissa Patterson Hazley noted a concerning challenge of not having a local detention center.
"These [repeat offenders] are fully aware that they can keep misbehaving, and there's not really a lot that we can do about it," she said.
Another problem is that offenders placed in Vernon and Johnson County jails aren't under Kansas City jurisdiction, often leading to premature releases.
"If we have somebody who is combative or extremely mentally ill, [the jails] are saying we won't take them, and we have no place to put them," Municipal Court Judge Martina Peterson said. "They release them back on the street."
