Kansas City Mayor Q Hypes Police Pay Hike After Deadliest Year

Today, Mayor Q delivered his "State Of The City Speech" to a smallish crowd that didn't include many, if any, people whose salaries weren't dependent on taxpayer dollars.

The main takeaway that'll be hyped and propagandized by mainstream media: Mayor Q is raising salaries for police and workers throughout KCPD. 

That's nice after a welcomed reversal after INTENSELY BITTER years of fighting over funding. 

Hopeful chatter about trash cash & carts came first but the performative bowing to po-po took up the bulk of the Mayor's remarks. 

The main question from our perspective . . .

WAS IT REALLY JUST ARCTIC COLD THAT'S LOWERED HOMICIDES IN 2024 OR CAN KCMO BUILD ON THIS PAUSE IN LOCAL KILLING?!?

Rampant shootings around town this afternoon probably answer that question.  

For now . . .

We witnessed the speech and, for our blog community, we decided to make a transcription of Mayor Q's remarks concerning public safety. 

This text is to the best of our ability and there might be a few minor differences with our interpretation but we attempted to stay true to the verbatim comments of Mayor Q when addressing historic violent & deadly crime in KCMO. 

Here's the segment that resonates and offers a glimpse at budget policy regarding KCPD & efforts to reduce violent crime . . . A link to the 12th & Oak presser is also included at the end of this post.

Accordingly . . . 

Here's the crux of what Mayor Q had to say about his solution to violent crime in KCMO:

"In a city that has improved in almost every measurable way since 2020, violence remains our greatest challenge. Many of the programs we discussed before: Housing, equitable development, healthcare, addressing poverty certainly will help reduce our violent crime numbers. But so do some things that are simpler.

"We have to have enough police in this city. We have to have call takers who answer 911 when our residents call. We have to have services for those in crisis. We have to have a place for time out for those who commit offenses on our streets. And we have to speak to our young people before they resolve their disputes with violence.

"And we as leaders and as adults have to show a path of collaboration in how we address our issues.

"Sometimes I joke about 2020 with a heavy dose of truth; that actually I forgot about everything that happened in 2020 after about the February Chiefs parade. Because as you all may remember, after that point, through pandemic and protests we saw battle lines form that, for years after, defined how we would respond to our homicide epidemic in Kansas City and in other American cities.

"What many along the way forgot, was that we all were on the same side.

"I never want to go to the funeral of a teenage murder victim again.

"Our police never want to work the scene of a preventable tragedy again.

"We all want our families to be safe during a day out in Kansas City.

"And lawlessness and shootouts in the heart of our city have no justification and will never be tolerated.

"In this year's budget we worked to collaborate more than we ever have in my previous 8 years in office.

"Our budget proposal is that the city fully fund the Kansas City Police Department personnel request and, indeed, exceeds the Kansas City Police Department's submitted personnel budget request. Proposing pay raises for all offices and a $15,000 or 30% increase in starting salaries from $50,000 a year to $65,000 for Kansas City Police Officers.

"In this year's budget we propose a hiring and retention incentive for all 911 call takers and dispatchers of $2,500 per employee and propose that incentive also be applied to all civilian employees who do important work with the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department.

"I also call on my colleagues on the Board Of Police Commissioners . . . And thank you Commissioner Cramer for being here . . . To continue to do the important work of a salary study. To make sure we are paying competitive wages for everyone who works with KCPD. To ensure that no one ever, in the future, has to wait on hold when calling 911 and facing, potentially, one of the greatest emergencies in their lives.  

"Police Officers, call takers and dispatchers have uniquely challenging jobs and their reward should be more than our thanks.

"Our budget proposes the most aggressive salary increase for police in more than a generation. And we hope and expect that the Board Of Police Commissioners will ensure that money goes only to salaries not contracts. To people, not professional services. And that we remove the need for any late year budget transfers to cover other operational expenses.

"Much has been said about legal and political debates over state mandated funding and a lack of local control of our police in Kansas City -- And no other major cities in Missouri or in our country.

"Now let me be clear, I'm not changing that much.

"My view on the rightness of local control, self-determination for Kansas Citians and accountability to the people of Kansas City remains. But while our discussions can persist in courtrooms and legislative chambers, we have to provide all tools available to make our communities safe.

"This year's budget proposal for the police exceeds the state law mandated amount Kansas City is required to give to the police department. This year's budget proposal does not address all of our long term fiscal challenges that the city and the department will have to address in future years.

"This budget proposal, however, recognizes the central role of the police in addressing our public safety crisis.

"Our recommendation and my faith are based in no small part on my confidence in the woman leading our police department: Chief Stacey Graves. In little over a year, Chief Graves has shown a refreshing willingness to enter any room, consider any creative idea that will make Kansas Citians safer and support the men and women of the Kansas City Police Department in so doing.

"I, and we, expect a lot from our police. We thank you Chief Graves. We thank you to the Command Staff and all of our officers for being strong partners in that endeavor. Thank you Chief Graves.

"I hope the city's investment will help give them the resources they need as we all work together to make our streets safer. 

Thus far we're at 5 homicides compared to 15 at this point last year. I pray, and we all pray, that the current trend continues.

"But ending gun violence also means stopping it before it starts. It's why we continue to prevent dangerous people or youth from getting their hands on guns. Over the past year, city council has passed legislation prohibiting the sale of bullets to minors and another banning the use of switches, which make guns much deadlier. We also continue to invest millions in violence prevention funding for community-based interventions and youth focused programming to keep our kids enriched during the Summer and after school. And importantly, we will continue to work with each of our school districts to make sure they are not alone as they work with conflict resolution, as they work to build strong, talented and respected young people. And that we recognize that breaking down silos -- Be it the police, be it schools, be it city hall -- is key to how we build a Kansas City for tomorrow.

"This year in the budget we'll propose an allocation of $7-million-dollars, started last year, dedicated to violence intervention and prevention. We'll also continue to bolster our Partners For Peace program which reached more than 500 people impacted by shootings last year -- Giving them the resources to heal and to lead a successful life. We know that when people have their needs met, included safe-housing, employment, access to mental health and substance abuse support, they are less likely to engage in violent behaviors."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Mayor Lucas Delivers State of the City Address

Developing . . .