Hear the latest important city and state government news at the South Kansas City Alliance monthly meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, March 13, in the community room in the front building of the South Patrol Police Campus, 9701 Marion Park Dr.
Krista Morrison, KCMO Budget Officer, will explain the major changes and initiatives in the proposed city budget being considered by the City Council for fiscal year 23-24 that starts May 1 and the impact they will have on south Kansas City neighborhoods and residents.
The budget is scheduled for adoption by the Council on March 23.
Michael Shaw, KCMO Director of the Public Works Department, will explain soon to be implemented improvements to the city’s bulky item collection and curbside recycling programs and the city’s just announced IRIS on demand low cost transit service for city residents in partnership with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority.
Shaw will also update attendees about upcoming household hazardous waste collection and neighborhood cleanup events.
State Representative Mike Haffner of Pleasant Hill will discuss legislation he sponsored (House Bill 909) that would likely block approval of a controversial landfill proposed in south Kansas near Raymore.
House Committee Substitute for House Bill 909 provides that the Missouri Department of Natural Resources shall not issue a permit for the operation of a solid waste disposal area to serve Kansas City within a mile of an adjoining city without the approval of that city’s governing body. Current law only allows an adjoining city to block such a landfill within a half mile of its boundaries.
This bipartisan legislation has been recommended for passage by a 14-0 vote of the House Local Government Committee and by an 8-0 vote of the House Rules – Administrative Oversight Committee and is awaiting a vote by the House of Representatives.
State Representative Mark Sharp of south Kansas City will discuss legislation he sponsored (House Bill 640) to remove the out-of-date and non-competitive salary caps in state law for officers of all ranks in the Kansas City Police Department and discriminatory language in state law that prohibits hiring anyone over 60 years of age as police chief. This bipartisan legislation has passed the House as House Committee Substitute for House Bill 640 and House Bill 729 and now awaits Senate consideration. It’s designed to help the Department recruit and retain high quality officers and to stem the loss of officers to surrounding jurisdictions with higher salaries.
He will also discuss House passage of Blair’s Law that he sponsored that’s designed to deter the barrage of celebratory gunfire that plagues KCMO and other Missouri cities on holidays like July 4th and New Year’s Eve and special events like the Chiefs’ latest Super Bowl victory by making discharging a firearm within or into city limits with criminal negligence a serious state offense instead of just a city ordinance violation.
Blair’s Law was added by amendment to an omnibus crime bill (House Committee Substitute for House Bill 301). A Senate Committee Substitute for that legislation has now been recommended for Senate passage by the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.
