A petition asking Kansas City voters to limit property tax abatements has been certified by the City Clerk’s office and had a first read before the City Council on Thursday, the Kansas City Business Journal reports.
The clerk's office certified 2,321 valid signatures on a petition sponsored by the Coalition for Kansas City Economic Development Reform. That well exceeds the 1,708 signatures required to force a vote.
The petition would cap property tax abatements approved by the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority of Kansas City, PortKC and the Tax Increment Financing Commission of Kansas City at 50 percent. It also would extend the cap to two other city incentive tools: Chapter 100 sale/leasebacks and Chapter 353 abatements.
The petitioners are aiming for a vote in the Aug. 6 election. The matter now goes to the City Council's Finance and Governance Committee for review.
Read the full story in the Kansas City Business Journal.