Over the past year, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) has considered tax exemptions for a string of mixed-use housing developments across the city. Among them are an apartment building in Waldo, a downtown high-rise building and two developments coming to midtown — one along the streetcar extension and another at 39th Street and State […]
Josh Merchant
Josh Merchant is The Beacon's local government reporter in Kansas City. After graduating from Seattle University, Josh earned a master’s degree in investigative journalism from Columbia Journalism School with coursework in data journalism. Josh has contributed reporting to The Seattle Spectator, The South Seattle Emerald and THE CITY in New York. They're a former Beacon intern. At The Beacon, they reported on issues of traffic safety, with a focus on roadway design, as well as tax-incentivized development at a variety of Kansas City agencies. They have lived in Kansas City since 2021.
Posted inDIY Democracy, Local Government
Follow the money: Police budget raises a $5.6 million question
Thanks to a statewide vote in November 2022, Kansas City will be required to increase its minimum funding for the Kansas City Police Department from 20% to 25% of the city’s revenues. How will KCPD spend the money? That might not be easy for the public to find out, based on the department’s recent responses […]
Posted inDIY Democracy, Housing, Local Government
Decoding the language of Kansas City’s tax incentives: Key terms to know
Kansas City is known far and wide for its use of tax incentives. Researchers have studied the use of incentives to move development projects back and forth across the state line as part of the “border war” between Kansas and Missouri. Many local landmarks, including the Power and Light District, Hotel Phillips and the midtown […]
Posted inLocal Government
State control of Kansas City’s police has roots in the Civil War
Kansas City is the only major city that lacks control over its own police department. The oft-stated rationale for state control is to prevent local partisan politics from interfering with the workings of the department. Champions of the unusual setup often cite the political corruption under the Pendergast political machine in the 1930s as a […]
Posted inDIY Democracy, Local Government
The informal workings of Kansas City’s state-appointed police board
Kansas City’s Board of Police Commissioners on Thursday carried out one of its highest-profile responsibilities when members announced they had chosen police Maj. Stacey Graves as the new chief of police. The hiring of Graves, the first woman to lead the department on a non-interim basis, concluded a process that began when former Chief Rick […]
Posted inDIY Democracy, Housing, Local Government
Landlord ignoring your complaint? Here’s how to get your apartment fixed.
As temperatures dip in the winter months, safe homes become all the more critical. Broken furnaces, moldy ceilings and crossed wires all endanger residents who are spending more time indoors. For tenants, problems in their units can be a source of anxiety, especially if their landlord is reluctant to fix them. To protect tenants, Kansas […]
Posted inHousing, Local Government
Behind the tax incentives ordinance stuck in Kansas City Council limbo
Backers of Ordinance 220701 say it will bring consistency to the way Kansas City government and affiliated agencies can grant a tax break to developers. But it has been on a rocky road. In the four months since the proposed legislation was filed in Kansas City Council’s Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee, it has been […]
Posted inElections, Local Government
Data map: How did your neighbors vote in Kansas City, Missouri?
After a long and contentious midterm election, the election boards representing Kansas City voters have released their official election results for 2022. The results among Kansas City precincts offer a detailed look at the political landscape within the city, with clear political divisions visible on election maps within and across county lines. With another election […]
Posted inLocal Government
The Unified Government is run by an 11-member board. Here’s what they do.
Among the counties in the Kansas City metropolitan area, Wyandotte County is unique for its Unified Government, which merges the city of Kansas City, Kansas, with the county government. Nearly half of the elected representatives of the county government will be up for reelection next November, including four commissioners representing districts in the southeastern portion […]
Posted inElections, Local Government
Missouri votes to increase KC’s police budget despite local voters’ wishes
The Kansas City Police Department will see a budget increase in spite of Kansas City voters’ wishes, following a statewide vote on Constitutional Amendment 4 on Nov. 8. Within the Kansas City Election Board’s jurisdiction — the part of Kansas City located in Jackson County — 61% of voters opposed the amendment, with all precincts […]