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Mayor's Budget Spares Police, Cuts Stadiums

City Council members Russ Johnson, Ed Ford and Bev Herman study the mayor's budget memo.
Video frame courtesy of KCCG, Channel 2.
City Council members Russ Johnson, Ed Ford and Bev Herman study the mayor's budget memo.

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-824486.mp3

Kansas City, MO – Two weeks later than the council would have preferred, Mayor Mark Funkhouser submitted his budget suggestions for the coming year on Thursday. No one commented or asked questions as the mayor delivered his budget memo, which makes about $20 million worth of adjustments in the budget that was proposed by the city manager.

Ten million would restore most of the cuts the city manager recommended for the police department. The rest would rescue services like community centers and avoid a property tax hike in the city manager's budget. Funkhouser would lay off an additional 100 city employees, raise fees at city parking garages and golf courses, consolidate the ambulance service into the fire department and airport security into the police, and end the subsidy to the sports complex.

The council also directed the city manager to look into ending subsidies at Kemper Arena and the American Royal Complex. The transportation committee sidelined a proposal to privatize the airport.

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