A year-round homeless shelter, more addiction treatment, and a central hub for services are among the ways a proposed countywide health sales tax could be spent, a local mental health provider told the Unified Government Board of Commissioners on Thursday, Oct. 15. Voters will decide the quarter-cent tax on Nov. […]
Politics
UG files suit after stadium negotiations break down
This morning, the Mayor CEO/Christal Watson announced that the Unified Government has brought legal action against the state of Kansas, opposing the state law that created the sports authority to administer the proposed Chiefs stadium in western Wyandotte County. The announcement follows Thursday evening’s special meeting of the UG commission […]
Commissioners push back on state stadium law in surprise meeting
The Unified Government Board of Commissioners voted 9-0 Thursday, Oct. 8 to exempt the UG from parts of the state law that created the Kansas Sports Facilities Authority. Commissioners also left the UG’s tax pledge for the Kansas City Chiefs stadium unchanged, dropping a scheduled vote to remove most of […]
UG Commission nixes Holliday Drive mine recovery project
The Unified Government Board of Commissioners voted 9-0 Thursday, Oct. 1, to deny a special use permit that would have let developer Inland Bluffs work to recover about 100 acres of Holliday Drive and Inland Drive. Once home to extensive limestone mines, the land is now unstable and unable to […]
Committee freezes community benefit outlay for possible storm damage assistance
The Unified Government’s Economic Development and Finance Standing Committee on Monday held back about $283 thousand that an advisory board proposed to spend on park projects. Several commissioners said residents hurt by the recent storm may need the money more. The committee voted 6-1 to send $90 thousand to the […]
Edwardsville stays revenue neutral as residents protest soaring appraisals
The Edwardsville City Council voted 4-2 on Sept. 14 to set the city’s 2027 property tax at the revenue neutral rate of 34.346 mills, turning back a push to collect more from a rising housing market. The vote came after a string of residents told the council their county appraisals […]
Commission holds tax rates flat for 2027 after a grueling budget fight
Mayor breaks tie to hold line on city levy Ten days after a packed public hearing where seniors on fixed incomes pleaded for relief, the Unified Government Board of Commissioners adopted its 2027 budget on Thursday, Sept. 3, holding the property tax rate flat for both the city and the […]
Justice Department sues KCKPS over transgender guidelines
The U.S. Department of Justice sued Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools on Sept. 1. The suit asks a federal court to order the district to drop guidelines that it says would allow the district to help students change their gender identity at school without telling their parents. The department’s Civil […]
Commission puts two sales taxes to voters, delays budget decision
Pinched between rising expenses, citizen expectations, and property tax discontent, the Unified Government Board of Commissioners reached out for another revenue source Thursday, voting to place two sales tax questions on the November 2026 ballot. The first, a county-wide measure would fund health care programs. The second, specific to KCK, […]
Unified Government unveils $551 million budget, gets clean financial audit
Interim County Administrator Alan Howze presented a proposed 2027 budget of $551 million to the Unified Government Board of Commissioners on Thursday, Aug. 6, and made fiscal discipline its cornerstone. “We have had expenses that have exceeded our revenues over a period of time, and that is not sustainable,” he […]







