City Manager Discusses 2024-25 Budget with South Kansas Citizens
KANSAS CITY, Mo – The Kansas City City Council approved the largest budget in the city’s history at $2.3 billion for the fiscal year 2024-2025. Ahead of the budget going into effect on May 1, City Manager Brian Platt reached out to explain, discuss, and answer questions about the budget and its potential impact on South Kansas citizens.
“Community engagement is the backbone of everything we do,” said Platt who was at hand to elucidate and gain feedback from citizens. “The purpose of our jobs is to make sure we are reflecting the needs of the people of Kansas City. What better way to do that than to hear from them directly.”
Focus on Service Improvements
“There is a lot that is in this budget about improving services, improving service delivery and the needs of all of our communities,” added Platt. The budget outlines pay raises for Kansas City Police Department officers, violence prevention measures, and channeling nearly $35 million towards street resurfacing. Provisions have also been made for significant issues such as trash cleanup, homelessness prevention, and housing.
Direct Engagement with the Community
At the South Kansas City Alliance meeting held on Monday, Platt responded to questions from neighbors about everything from potholes to trash collection, World Cup traffic, and public transportation. There were also discussions on improving connectivity for those living in South Kansas City to public events in and around the downtown area.
“On March 22, we resurfaced 500 lane miles to fix potholes. We encourage continued feedback from the community on what they want fixed,” Platt said. The budget includes fund allocation for city street and sidewalk repairs.
Preparation for World Cup Traffic
With the World Cup expected to clog traffic routes, especially in downtown Kansas City, the City Manager mentioned certain strategies laid out in the budget. These include the expansion of bus routes and potential procurement of larger buses to handle the surge in passengers.
Priority on Service Delivery to Kansas Citizens
Platt indicated that improving service delivery to Kansas Citizens remains a top priority in the budget. This includes tasks as mundane as “Street resurfacing, snow removal, planting trees, picking up trash,” said Platt. Crime prevention is another large part of the budget with new funds and revenue allocated towards police department resources to improve starting pay, officer pay, recruitment, and retention bonuses.
Future Plans
Platt’s interaction with the South Kansas City community came right after he expressed his intention to stay with the city until 2027. “We are excited to be here to continue the great work that we’ve done and looking forward to another great few years,” Platt commented. He affirmed that the city plans on having more meetings like this in the future to maintain active civic engagement.
