Kansas City Council

Kansas City elected officials are bracing for a challenging 2026 legislative session. Here’s what they hope to see passed — like World Cup funding — and what looks unlikely — such as local control of the KCPD.

The Kansas City Council created a Housing Trust Fund seven years ago to support the development of more affordable units. In 2025, the city saw some of its first projects come to life — but the money is running out next year.

Kansas City Council is considering a plan to overhaul the Country Club Plaza, with much taller buildings and a new public square. But not all residents are convinced — and now Lockton Companies is moving its headquarters to Leawood.

The city is giving the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority an additional $13 million as part of a contract agreed on in August. But the KCATA still plans to cut two bus lines and limit hours on more than a dozen others.

Under the new ownership of Dallas-based Gillon Property Group, a plan to revitalize Kansas City's Country Club Plaza is underway. Now, city officials and community leaders are facing a massive tax incentive request that they worry could hurt Kansas City Public Schools and other government services.

Kansas City lauded its new “collaborative public safety” model for breaking the lease of a downtown convenience store, which attracted 184 police calls over two years. But Downtown Market, at 11th Street and Grand Boulevard, is still open.

One agreement pays Platt $192,000, and the second, $308,000. The Kansas City Council fired Platt in March after losing a whistleblower lawsuit that cost the city almost a million dollars.

Former Kansas City Manager Brian Platt was fired by City Council in March, after the city lost a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit he was involved in. KCUR obtained details of the $192,000 settlement through a Missouri Sunshine Law request.

Kansas City Life Insurance Company demolished nearly two dozen buildings at the north end of the Valentine neighborhood last year, and has more planned. In July, the Valentine Neighborhood Association applied for a portion of the neighborhood to be designated a historic district, and the Kansas City Council could vote as early as this week on the proposal.

"Free buses" is one of the big ideas that helped Zohran Mamdani win the Democratic mayoral primary in New York City. But in Kansas City, the bus system is going the opposite direction after years of free fares — mostly because of a lack of transit funding.

The Kansas City Council moved forward with a plan to build a modular jail with about 100 beds. Officials say the temporary facility is necessary, as plans to build a permanent municipal jail will take years.

Kansas has been trying to sway the region’s NFL and MLB teams to cross the border. Lawmakers in both Kansas and Missouri have lobbed tax incentives and construction fund packages at the teams.