Budget Hearing #3 Kansas City, Missouri (March 7, 2026)

By Bunny Pederson, Kansas City Documenter

These notes were produced through Kansas City Documenters, which trains and pays community members to take fact-checked notes at public meetings, strengthening transparency and accountability in local government.

Summary

• Kansas City hosted its third community budget hearing at Winnetonka High School in Kansas City’s Northland.
• Main concerns brought up during public comment were cuts to public transit, the arts and violence prevention programs.
• About 30 people signed up to speak during public comment, including representatives from the Missouri Workers Center, city public works staff, Sunrise Movement Kansas City, arts organizations, nonprofit programs and domestic violence service providers, as well as bus riders and other Kansas City residents.

Notes

Meeting Attendance

• Johnathan Duncan, City Council, 6th District
• Melissa Patterson Hazley, 3rd District
• Wes Rogers, 2nd District
• Nathan Willett, 1st District (left after the presentation)
• Andrea Bough, 6th District at large
• Ryana Parks-Shaw, 5th District
• Lindsay French, 2nd District at large
• Mario Vasquez, city manager
• Brenton Siverly, deputy finance director 

Greeting 

• Bough presented on the state of the city’s budget deficit and the City Council’s efforts to address it.
  • She also emphasized that this is a draft budget.
• Vasquez appeared to be on his phone for approximately 20 minutes during the first portion of the meeting.

Budget Presentation

• Siverly presented an overview of the proposed 2026-2027 budget with slides.  
• Highlights from the budget presentation: 
  • Housing and Healthy Communities
    • $12.5 million from voter-approved bonds for the Housing Trust Fund to support low-income housing development.
    • $3.9 million to support animal control operations, which are being brought in-house.
    • $250,000 to continue the city’s free tree program for residents. 
  • Public Safety
    • $4.2 million to hire additional staff, including 50 police officers, 10 call takers and 10 dispatchers.
  • Infrastructure and Accessibility
    • $77.8 million to fund the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, maintaining the same funding level as the previous year.
    • $30.9 million for street resurfacing, enough to cover about 300 lane miles.
    • $5.7 million to maintain snow removal operations at the current level.
  • Inclusive Growth and Development
    • $5 million for capital improvements at the T-Mobile Center, including security system replacement and audio/visual and IT upgrades.

Public Comment: About 30 people signed up to speak for the allotted two minutes.

Public Works

• City public works staff representing the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 500 asked for a budget that allows for wage increases that compete with the private sector.
  • More than 20 city workers attended in support of higher wages. During testimony, Reginald Silvers, president of Local 500, asked the workers in attendance to stand so the council could see how many were present.
  • Workers said they have to work multiple jobs to survive. 
  • Some described hazardous winter working conditions, including frostbite risk, while earning about $19 per hour.
  • One worker testified that they do not get paid when they work over their “allotted time” and will be forced to work until 4 a.m., but only get paid until 3 a.m. “because of budget.”
  • Speakers also raised concerns about city work being outsourced rather than done by city employees.
  • Multiple speakers expressed frustration that much of the budget goes toward the fire and police departments instead of other city workers.

Public Transportation 

• Testimony came from public transportation workers, Sunrise Movement Kansas City members and people who use transportation regularly.
  • Speakers asked the council to prevent additional bus route cuts and potential future layoffs of transit workers.
    • An Area Transportation Authority employee with more than 30 years of experience said, “We had another class that was supposed to start last week, and they had to cancel that because they’re looking at layoffs, cutting routes and all.”
    • Several commenters said limited routes and infrequent service already make the system difficult to rely on.
  • Some criticized the city for planning frequent transit service for World Cup visitors while regular bus service for residents faces cuts and underfunding.

Arts

• Several speakers spoke in support of restoring funding for ArtsKC and other arts programs.
  • French says they are working on restoring arts funding.
• One speaker from the Social Symphony of Kansas City said restoring funding would represent less than a 1% increase to the Neighborhood Services budget.
• Bough clarified that no final decision has been made yet on arts funding.

Violence Prevention Fund

• Several residents urged the council not to cut funding for domestic violence services and the Violence Prevention Fund.
  • A domestic abuse therapist and survivor urged the council to stop cutting funding in the domestic abuse services.
  • Another speaker said she recently lost her job at a domestic violence shelter due to funding cuts.
  • Multiple residents warned that budget cuts could put survivors and their children at greater risk and potentially cost lives.

Other comments

• A representative from the City of Fountains Foundation asked the council to allocate more funding to repair and maintain the city’s fountains.
• Another speaker questioned why the city is funding businesses and development projects that do not sufficiently benefit residents.
  • “We’re willing to give $121 million to corporations to develop in our city, who’s not giving us good paying jobs, who’s not giving back to the community. But we’re not willing to invest in the needs and the values that the city needs.”

Closing Remarks

• Duncan said he was happy to see so many residents engaged and speaking about issues affecting the Kansas City budget, and noted that many people stayed until the very end of the hearing.
• French acknowledged the concerns about transit, domestic violence, arts and public works staff wages.
• Parks-Shaw asked for the contact information of some of the residents who spoke so staff could follow up.
• Patterson Hazley acknowledged the Local 500 workers and their request for a livable wage.

Observations & Follow-Up Questions

• Mayor Quinton Lucas was not present. His absence was referenced by several speakers during public comment, though he was not scheduled to attend.
• When bus fares are reinstated, will the revenue be reinvested in the bus system? Additionally, are there plans to maintain current service levels, or could additional cuts to bus routes occur after the World Cup?

Read more about this meeting and see all Kansas City Documenters notes here.