Public Safety

Kansas City officials have said the bulk of the money generated by the quarter-cent public safety sales tax will go toward a new municipal detention center.

Missouri will hold municipal elections on April 8. Voters across the Kansas City area will weigh in on issues like investing in public safety, improving infrastructure and electing their school board members. Here's a guide to what's on your ballot, plus what you need to vote.

Kansas City voters soon will decide whether to renew the public safety sales tax. City leaders would use that money to build a new jail, but not everyone likes the idea.

Kansas City voters will decide on April 8 whether to renew the public safety sales tax for 20 more years. Officials plan to use the bulk of the money to build a new municipal detention center. Despite concerns about property crime and gun violence, some residents don’t want a new jail built.

Voters in Independence, Missouri, will consider whether to approve a $197 million general obligation bond on April's ballot. The majority of the money would fund building a new police campus, but money for infrastructure and the city's youth sports complex are also under consideration.

Kansas City voters will be asked in April's election whether they'll support a renewal of the city's public safety sales tax, which city officials want to use to fund a new jail. Plus: A small park in Westwood has sparked legal battles, heated city council meetings and even protests. Now, voters will decide its fate.

The community policing and engagement plan is one of the last major actions required by a 2016 federal consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice. "We are not the police department of 2014," said one longtime resident.

Financial troubles with the KCATA could come at a cost to bus riders in the future. A budget shortfall could mean the end of free bus service, a reduction of routes and layoffs if the agency can't secure additional funding. Kansas City Mayor Pro Tem Ryana-Parks Shaw says that no matter what, service will look different in the future.

With plans to beef up funding for law enforcement and have the state take over control of the police department in St. Louis, Kehoe hopes to make public safety the cornerstone of his administration. He's also promised to eliminate the income tax.

Kehoe highlighted a number of new budget items that seek to reduce the state’s crime rate, including a new state crime lab and more money for local departments. He also reiterated his support for a state board overseeing St. Louis Police, taking away local control from the city.

Missouri this year raised penalties for distracted drivers with its "hands free" law. The state has joined 29 other states and Washington, D.C., in banning phones behind the wheel.

Kansas City made a concerted effort to support unhoused individuals in the first major winter storm of 2025, Mayor Quinton Lucas said in an interview with Up To Date. But the mayor admitted the city isn't where it should be in its housing policies — including in building a low-barrier shelter.