By any measure, the Kansas City Council’s Feb. 5 business session looked as dry as it always does.
But if you listened closely, it was the city government equivalent of a visit to the public woodshed, with Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves called to question on her recent memo outlining “drastic cost-reduction measures.”
In part, that’s because the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners approved paying out $10.9 million this fiscal year in legal settlements to people victimized by officers, ending up in the form of wrongful death lawsuits and other excessive force cases.
Because Kansas City is one of the only U.S. cities without local control of its police department, the five-member Board of Police Commissioners has oversight of KCPD. Four of the five members are appointed by the Missouri governor, and the mayor always has the fifth seat.
“We’re often writing checks that we can’t cash, if we’re settling cases for $14 million, $5 million, another $5 million, $800,00,” Mayor Quinton Lucas said. “Even if they’re structured settlements, the board, which is not elected by the people of Kansas City, save one, are making budgetary decisions for the people of Kansas City for a number of years.”
That practice could end under an ordinance Lucas has introduced. Currently, 25% of the city's budget must go to police, thanks to a voter-approved constitutional amendment in 2024. Lucas' ordinance would require any legal settlements above that 25% threshold to be assigned to the city’s legal expense fund. Then, the city manager would negotiate with the police board, and the city council would have to approve it.
Commissioner Tom Whittaker, president of the police board, didn’t say whether he would support Lucas’ plan, and said only that the department will meet with the city “to better understand the proposal.” Gov. Mike Kehoe’s office didn’t return an email seeking comment on the ordinance.
The last time Lucas tried to assert some control over the KCPD budget was in 2021. His effort to earmark some of the budget for community services and crime prevention was ultimately struck down by a judge.
Telling the council she regretted using the term “drastic” in her memo, Graves promised there would be no disruptions in services and that such cutbacks are common at the end of a fiscal year, which is April 30. She suspended all overtime, and all noncritical supplies and equipment purchases are now on hold, she said.
“At no time did I ever propose cutting essential police services,” Graves said. “I took action in doing what should be expected of me.”
Last February, KCPD asked for $2.5 million for lawsuit settlements, which Lucas questioned at the time. The state allots $1 million for legal settlements, so the total budget was $3.5 million.
Then came one of the largest settlements of this year, the $14 million won for the wrongful conviction of Ricky Kidd, who spent 23 years in prison for a double homicide he didn’t commit. Those payouts are staggered across budget years.
Another high-profile payout was the $3.5 million paid in late 2025 to families of two people fatally shot in 2023 by Officer Blayne Newton, who ultimately resigned last Friday with his own $50,000 settlement.
Budget woes
The large payouts fall amid the city’s other budget woes. In October, Lucas called KCPD’s initial request for a nearly 22% budget increase “not feasible” while the city faces a $100 million shortfall.
Councilwoman Melissa Robinson said Graves’ memo called “a level of alarm and concern,” especially with a ban on any officer overtime.
“I think, how is that going to impact my constituents? How is that going to impact response for service?” Robinson said. “Are we going to be able to call KCPD and say, ‘Hey, we have a hot spot, we need additional support?’”
Graves admitted to cuts being made because of the large settlements. It’s difficult to plan for such large payouts, she said, given the yearslong legal process.
“It’s been a tough year for us. There’s nothing more on the table that we can sacrifice, but we are sacrificing a lot of our overtime,” Graves said. “We’re finding creative ways to get the job done.”
Councilman Eric Bunch wondered why city council wasn’t warned about the large payouts.
“We are the 13 people who are expected to know these things,” Bunch said. “So when we find out of a $14 million, an $8 million (payout), it makes us look like we don’t know what’s going on because sometimes we don’t.”
The city council begins to consider the upcoming fiscal year's budget during the next few weeks.
