Updated 11/8/20 - Ordinance 200497 to be taken up in the Neighborhood Planning & Development Committee on December 2, 2020, 1:30pm on the 26th floor of City Hall.
As we reported earlier, Councilmembers Melissa Robinson and Ryana Parks-Shaw introduced an ordinance to prohibit economic development property tax abatements within the boundaries of the Kansas City, Missouri, Independence, Center, Hickman Mills, Grandview, Raytown, and Lee's Summit School Districts. The ordinance exempts severely economically distressed census tracts.
Testimony was heard at the August 19, 2020 meeting with the Neighborhood Planning and Development Committee, although not all was read into the public record.
Residents can still email "publictestimony@kcmo.org" and copy "clerk@kcmo.org" with their comments but it might be more impactful to reach out to each individual councilmember through phone or email.
The ordinance number (and committee sub) is listed as 200497.
Mayor Quinton Lucas (PROMISED REFORM) - (816) 513-3500 - MayorQ@kcmo.org
1st District - Heather Hall - (816) 513-6505 - Heather.Hall@kcmo.org
1st District At-Large - Kevin O'Neill - (816) 513-6503 - Kevin.ONeill@kcmo.org
2nd District - Dan Fowler - (816) 513-6509 - Dan.Fowler@kcmo.org
2nd District At-Large - Teresa Loar - (816) 513-6507 - Teresa.Loar@kcmo.org
3rd District - Melissa Robinson - (816) 513-6513 - Melissa.Robinson@kcmo.org
3rd District At-Large - Brandon Ellington - (816) 513-6511 - Brandon.Ellington@kcmo.org
4th District - Eric Bunch - (816) 513-6517 - Eric.Bunch@kcmo.org
4th District At-Large - Katheryn Shields - (816) 513-6515 - katheryn.shields@kcmo.org
5th District - Ryana Parks-Shaw c/o Angela Pearson - (816) 513-6521 - Angela.Pearson@kcmo.org
5th District At-Large - Lee Barnes - (816) 513-6519 - Lee.Barnes@kcmo.org
6th District (and Mayor Pro Tem) - Kevin McManus c/o Fred Wickham - (816) 513-6525 - fred.wickham@kcmo.org
6th District At-Large - Andrea Bough (816) 513-6523 - Andrea.Bough@kcmo.org
Update from October 28, 2020:
After multiple zoom meetings between interested parties who were all clamoring to have their input into Ordinance 200497, the Coalition for Kansas City Economic Development Reform issued this statement:
The Coalition would like to thank Councilwomen Robinson and Parks-Shaw for their diligent and dedicated work on this ordinance. The Coalition is not able to support the ordinance as it stands.
We do not see meaningful reform in the latest version. We are advocating for no incentives unless in a severely distressed census tract. We are also concerned that the lifespan of a development, in some cases, exceeds the life of the materials used in construction.
Ordinances need to match what we need. We have critical needs at this point which should be addressed urgently. Ordinance 200497 does not meet the criteria.
We need more residents to weigh in on this Ordinance to let city hall know that we tired of diverting our public tax dollars away from services which are in high demand during this crucial time for luxury apartments, hotels and office buildings in non-distressed areas.