Learn more about what’s in the proposed budget and make a plan to go to one of the three public meetings.
It’s that time of year in KCMO: budget season! Each year, in February, the Office of Management and Budget releases a proposed budget for the fiscal year, starting May 1. Over the course of about a month, the City Council works with each department and others to shape the budget and determine funding for various priorities before the legal deadline at the end of March. The deadline for this year is Thursday, March 27. You can learn more about the proposed budget by clicking here.
The KCMO budget has a critical impact on multimodal priorities for the city, funding everything from staff and equipment to key projects. It represents one of the best opportunities to urge city leaders to support the needs of people who walk, roll, bike, and use public transportation.
The proposed budget for 2025 is no different. In particular, BikeWalkKC will be advocating for the following:
- Vision Zero – The proposed budget increases funding for Vision Zero from $4 million to $8 million, doubling funding for these efforts. This could be used for safety improvements across the city, and will likely focus on portions of the High Injury Network.
- ADA & Sidewalks – There’s also a major boost in funding for ADA and sidewalks. In addition to the ongoing $5 million for sidewalks and $2.5 million for ADA projects through GO Bond funding, the city is allocating an additional $14.6 million for sidewalks around elementary schools through the Capital Improvement Sales Tax.
- Bus Service – The proposed budget slightly increases transit funding, but it’s unclear whether this will be sufficient. Especially against the backdrop of transit service cuts in other municipalities, it’s important to preserve funding and routes in KCMO. More broadly, it is clear that a regional funding strategy is necessary to remove the funding burden from local municipalities that simply can’t shoulder the cost alone.
City leaders are planning three public meetings to discuss the proposed budget, and that’s where you can make the greatest impact:
Public Budget Meeting #1
Saturday, February 15 from 9am to noon
Gregg/Klice Community Center
1600 E. 17th Terrace
Language Access Available (request by Friday, February 7)
Public Budget Meeting #2
Monday, February 24 from 6-8:30pm
Auditorium at Woodneath Library Center
8900 NE Flintlock Road
Public Budget Meeting #3
Saturday, March 1 from 9am to noon
Goppert Performing Arts Center at Avila University
11901 Wornall Road
Language Access Available (request by Friday, February 24)
Kansas City’s Office of Language Access (OLA) will provide interpreters for ASL, Spanish, Swahili, and Chinese. Residents requesting interpretation services in these or other languages should contact OLA at (816) 513-1067 or OLA@kcmo.org.
If you’re unable to attend one of the public meetings, use this link to send a message to the city council.
There’s a number of multimodal elements in the proposed budget. To ensure they get funded, we need YOU to show up and speak out for safer streets.
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