KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City, Missouri City Council will vote today to finalizetheir budget for the next fiscal year.
The budget will run from May 1, 2025 to April 30, 2026.
The budget is broken down into different sectors.
The submitted budget for this year gives KCPD $25 million more than the previous year, for a total of $343 million.
The city hopes it will help KCPD recruit and retain quality officers.
For KCFD, the city is increasing their budget by nearly $46 million more, for a total of $321.5 million.
The budget also includes $8 million for violence prevention and intervention.
Another big part of the budget is transportation.
KCATA has been concerned the budget doesn't include enough money for them and would force them to make cuts.
There is a new proposal on the table that could be voted on this afternoon, that could fully fund them for 6 months. It's unclear what would happen after that.
The budget also includes money for affordable housing and homelessness assistance.
The Council will also discuss the suspension of City Manager Brian Platt this afternoon.
Platt has been suspended with pay since March 6th.
The suspension came one day after a jury awarded former City Communications Director Chris Hernandez nearly $1 million in a civil suit against the city.
The jury decided in favor of Hernandez' claim that he was retaliated against for whistleblowing, accusing the city of trying to mislead the public.
Hernandez worked as a television reporter and anchor for KSHB 41 News prior to his city position.
The full City Council meeting is at 2 p.m.
We will let you know what happens.
