KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A legal claim made this week by four of the five members of the Kansas City, Missouri, Board of Police Commissioners alleges the city engages in a practice of “undercounting revenue.”
The claim, made Tuesday, comes as part of an ongoing civil lawsuit filed in September 2021, in which Gwen Grant, CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, said the funding setup of the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department represents taxation without representation.
Attorneys representing police commissioners Mark Tolbert, Cathy Dean, Don Wagner and Dawn Cramer said in the cross-claim motion, which is made against Mayor Quinton Lucas and the city’s director of finance Tammy Queen, that the city has a practice of “undercounting revenues.” This leads, they allege, to an underfunding of the police department.
The issue is particularly timely as earlier this month, Missouri voters approved Amendment 4, which increased the percentage of general fund revenue KCMO has to devote to police from 20% to 25%.
While the vote was conducted state-wide, its effects are primarily in KCMO, where voters overwhelmingly rejected the measure. According to results (page 15) from 84,113 voters counted by the Kansas City Election Board, more than 61% voted against Amendment 4.
The cross-claiming police commissioners believe the city uses earmarks and “other accounting practices” to “undercount” revenues. They cite developer incentives as one example.
Indeed, when asked for comment by KSHB 41 News, a spokesperson from Mayor Lucas' office forwarded an e-mail the mayor sent to several area attorneys representing development projects. In the email, Lucas wrote the filing, if accepted, could have a "detrimental impact on the development community."
"The Board's assertions, if adopted, likely will have a substantial chilling effect on all development in the City and are likely to have material financial impact on your past, existing and future clients," Lucas told the group.
Pat McInerney, the lead attorney representing the BOPC in this week's filing, told KSHB 41 News the board is not attempting to control the city's budget, but that they just want a "full and fair accounting" of general revenue in Kansas City.
McInerney said he doesn't believe their filing will have an effect on development in the city.
KSHB 41 News' Sean Hirshberg contributed to this story.
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