By Leslie Collins

Northeast News

Kansas City police officers packed the 26th floor council chambers Feb. 9, sending a clear message to the city council – they’re not finished negotiating their budget contract with the city.

As officers filed in, the chambers became standing room only for the city council’s business session.

Mayor Sly James outlined his recommendations for the fiscal year 2012-2013 budget, stressing how the city must tighten its purse strings.

“There is simply not enough money available to us to devote significant sums to every significant issue at the same time,” he wrote in his budget letter to the council.

Kansas City’s $1.3 billion budget contains little flexibility, despite laying off 25 percent of the city’s workforce since the year 2000, he said.

One of the dilemmas facing Kansas City is its population per square mile, he said. According to 2010 Census figures, Kansas City’s population is 441,545 with a population of 1,460 per square mile. In comparison, Minneapolis, Minn., which has a population of 382,618 has a population of 7,088 per square mile and Boston, Mass., has a population of 589,141 and a population of 12,793 per square mile.

“Kansas City is a huge physical mass. It consists of 313 square miles,” James said. “We have a similar amount of infrastructure as Los Angeles. In other words, we have similar amounts of road miles, pipes and sewers as the second largest city in the entire United States. Eight-thousand people pay for every lane mile of roadway in Los Angeles while only 1,460 pay for that same lane mile in Kansas City.”

James said his two biggest concerns for Kansas City are education and infrastructure.

For years, Kansas City has deferred its maintenance and infrastructure needs, he said. More than 2,000 miles of water mains must be replaced at a rate of 55 miles per year, which will cost $1 million per mile, he said. While the city has more than $60 million of serious bridge maintenance needs, the city only budgeted $800,000 to address the issue. In addition, there are more than 14,000 abandoned lots and boarded up structures in Kansas City. Each structure will cost approximately $7,500 to demolish and the city manager’s budget has allocated $1 million for the demolition of 125 structures.

“These situations aren’t going to get any better. They’re not going to solve themselves,” James said.

To attack this issue, James is proposing a two-pronged approach which includes attaining $100 million of General Obligation (GO) bonds each year for the next 10 years. Kansas City’s present bonds will retire this spring.

One of his plans for the GO bonds includes rebuilding depressed neighborhoods six square blocks at a time, which would include removing blight, repairing infrastructure and lighting, rebuilding areas with in-fill housing and “green space amenities” and securing public and private partnerships for the project.

James is also proposing the city use revenue bonds for water and sewer projects.

As for the city manager’s proposal of cutting 105 positions from the fire department, James didn’t agree. While he agrees with the need to trim $7.6 million from the fire department’s budget, the city shouldn’t dictate how the fire department makes those cuts, he said. Fire Chief Smokey Dyer, a nationally recognized leader, should be given the discretion to make strategic cuts, James said.

Other recommendations include allotting $1 million to address specific issues involving basic services, public safety, world-class amenities and liveable, sustainable, healthy neighborhoods and a strong urban core. Within that $1 million includes $200,000 for additional summer programming for youth and extended hours at certain community centers. It also includes $25,000 to support the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s Urban Neighborhood Initiative.

James also recommended the city reevaluate its current revenue structure, including the earnings tax.

KCPD concerns

James said he didn’t know why the KCPD turned out in mass, since his budget letter didn’t mention the police department. However, the city originally scheduled a joint meeting with the Board of Police Commissioners during the same time, which was canceled at the police board’s request since several of its members were unable to attend.

City Council member Scott Wagner said the police department’s main concern revolves around the city’s push for the police department to join the city’s health care plan.

“It’s a cost savings issue,” Wagner said of the city’s reasoning. “It’s estimated we will receive $2.1 million in savings by having their plan combined with ours.”

In his budget proposal, City Manager Troy Schulte allotted $5 million for KCPD employee raises, but only if the police department joins the city’s health care plan.

The $2.1 million savings could be used to hire more officers, fund KCPD initiatives, or go toward whatever the board of police commissioners decide, Wagner said.

While joining forces would lower premiums for city employees, it would raise premiums for KCPD officers.

“What they (KCPD) have countered with is it’s not a great deal for them,” Wagner said. “They would be spending more in premiums to realize these savings… For all intents and purposes, they lose out because they have less buying power because of the higher premiums.”

For years, the city has pushed for the joint health care, which past chiefs refused to consider. However, Chief Darryl Forté has been “open” to the discussion, Wagner said.

“My opinion is we have to find cost savings where ever we can and at this point, there’s really no sacred cows in anything,” he said.

At the same time, the city must ensure it’s paying fair wages to employees and take into account the rising cost of living, he said.

“At the end of the day, I don’t think it makes good policy to essentially give relief to one group of city workers at the expense of another group of city workers,” Wagner said. “You’re really just shuffling the deck but not really making much of a change.

Standing room only. Kansas City Police Department officers fill the council chambers Feb. 9 to protest the city’s push for officers to join the city’s health care plan. Leslie Collins