Missouri Amendment 4: What you need to know about the ballot question on funding Kansas City police | KCUR

If you see the same question about funding Kansas City police on your Aug. 6 Missouri ballot as you did two years ago, that’s no mistake — in April, the Missouri Supreme Court ordered the state to re-do the vote.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas’ lawsuit over police funding prompted the court to throw out the November 2022 results and order new elections for August 6.

Here’s everything you need to know about the ballot measure:

Wait, why did the Missouri Supreme Court order a new election?

The court ruled that the budget summary—the last paragraph voters read before voting—was so inaccurate and misleading to voters that it warranted re-run.

The summary prepared by the Missouri State Auditor General states: “State and local authorities believe that this proposal will not result in additional costs or savings.”

But according to the court ruling, Kansas City officials told the auditor that the ballot item, known as Amendment 4, would cost about $38.7 million per year, which would have a “negative financial impact.”

Missourians did not see any of this information when they voted on Amendment 4 in 2022.

Following the court’s ruling, Missouri Governor Mike Parson and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, both Republicans, ordered a new election for August. The court upheld that decision, even though Mayor Lucas had asked the court to postpone the election until November.

What does Amendment 4 say?

The wording of the ballot paper is:

“Should the Missouri Constitution be amended to authorize legislation passed before December 31, 2026, increasing the minimum funding of a police force established by a state police council to ensure that such police force has additional resources to serve their communities?

This would authorize legislation to be passed in 2022 that increases the City of Kansas City’s required funding for Police Department requests from 20% of general revenue to 25%, an increase of $38,743,646, even though the City has previously voluntarily provided that level of funding. No other state or local government entity estimates costs or savings.”

The Missouri State Legislature passed a bill in 2022, signed by Governor Parson, requiring Kansas City to increase the KCPD’s minimum funding from 20% to 25% of its general revenue.

But that law violated Missouri’s Hancock Amendment, which prohibits the state from mandating local action without appropriate funding, so lawmakers were forced to put the question to voters first.

What happened when Amendment 4 was put to the vote in 2022?

Voters approved the ballot proposal by 63% to 37%. Voters in the Kansas City portion of Jackson County rejected Amendment 4 by 61%.

The following year, Kansas City allocated $284.5 million to KCPD, reaching that threshold. This year, the department received $320.8 million for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

Why vote for Amendment 4?

Those in favor of Amendment 4 say the police department needs a larger budget to do its job. Missouri Republican Senator Tony Luetkemeyer introduced the bill that led to Amendment 4. He said the current 20% budget for the police department was not enough.

“The rising crime rate in Kansas City is a bad thing for our city,” said Senator Luetkemeyer, whose district includes Buchanan and Platte counties. “We need to make sure we have a well-funded police force that has the resources it needs to keep our citizens safe.”

Why vote against Amendment 4?

Opponents believe it is unfair that the state of Missouri has a say in decisions regarding local policing in Kansas City.

“To me, Amendment 4 is yet another attempt to take that authority away from the citizens of Kansas City,” said Mayor Lucas. “It takes away the creative solutions of the citizens of Kansas City, dollar for dollar.”

Melesa Johnson, director of public safety in the mayor’s office, said the financial impact of Amendment 4 – about $38.7 million a year – would mean less money for other city services such as fire, public works and health.

“It negatively impacts every single other city resource, every city program, every city department and every city benefit that we provide to the citizens of Kansas City,” Johnson said.

Johnson said Kansas City should have a say in how police spend the city’s money, rather than signing a blank check. She said the city has never tried to defund the police, and pointed out that city officials exceeded the 25% mandate this year, giving police about 31% of total revenue.

“We have chosen to go above and beyond the call of duty because we want our officers to get raises and we want them to be able to hire and retain more officers,” she said. “But this measure completely discredits our ability to have more influence over not only how much money the police get, but how it’s spent.”

If Amendment 4 only applies to Kansas City, why is it being voted on statewide?

The reason for this is that Kansas City is the only city in Missouri – and the only major city in the United States – where control over the police department is not at the local level.

The KCPD is controlled by a police board, four members of which are appointed by the Governor of Missouri and the fifth member is the Mayor of Kansas City.

State control has its roots in Missouri’s Civil War days, which promoted slavery. That means Kansas City’s elected officials can’t set department policies or discipline officers. They can only approve the department’s annual budget – often the largest of any city agency.

“Amendment Four implied that we shouldn’t have the same rights as people in Reno or Oklahoma City,” Lucas said. “I think this election is really about local control.”

The St. Louis Police Department was also under state control until 2012, when Missouri voted to return control to the city.

What should i know?

The last day to register on time for the August election is July 10. You can check your voter registration here.