The Kansas City mayor introduced an increased budget for the coming year in his annual State of the City Address last week.
Mayor Quinton Lucas announced the 2026-27 budget proposal of $2.5 billion, an increase of $200 million compared to last year’s $2.3 billion.
Lucas says the budget reflects the priorities of Kansas City residents with “key investments in public safety, public infrastructure, housing, and the City’s neighborhoods.”
Lucas emphasized inclusivity and a sense of “welcome” in Kansas City, even speaking Spanish in part of his Wednesday speech.
“If you are fleeing bigotry of a former home and seeking acceptance of who you are or who you love, you are welcome here,” he said.
Even the numbers in Lucas’ proposed budget reflect the mayor’s fixation on inclusivity – such as an $8.5 million increase for “Inclusive Growth Development,” which seeks to direct economic activity to benefit certain demographic groups.
“Growth, my friends, is important,” Lucas said.
Events such as the 2026 World Cup will “deservedly” receive a lot of attention, Lucas noted. Meanwhile, he said, investments in other Kansas City attractions such as the American Jazz Museum, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, playgrounds and the filming of Ted Lasso are expected to bring lots of visitors to the area.
Public safety investments make up 75% of the general budget, with the fire and police departments taking the majority of that fund. A total of 200 new jobs will be funded to strengthen “the city’s ability to keep residents and visitors safe.”
The budget presents a $20 million increase for KCPD intended to increase officer pay and hire 50 additional officers. Last year the police department welcomed its largest recruiting class since 2007.
“Recent efforts to build a safer city have indeed yielded strong results,” Lucas said.
In 2025, homicides in Kansas City decreased by 5%, nonfatal shootings by 31% and robberies by 27%, the mayor said.
The Kansas City Fire Department will also get pay raises as part of its $336.6 million budget.
The budget allocates $30.9 million to resurface 300 lane miles in Kansas city. After this year, 40% of the roads in Kansas City will be resurfaced, Lucas said.
“Whether you take the bus, drive, bike, or walk, you deserve infrastructure that works,” Lucas declared.
In addition to road quality, sidewalks are also a priority as part of the Public Works Department budget increase to $54.3 million.
The mayor shared a story about sixth-grader Russell Dorn who attends school in Center School District. He lives within walking distance to his elementary school but he would have to cross a busy street, making it unsafe – and appeared before the city council to support an ordinance banning right-turn-on-red in school zones..
“We’re listening, Russell, and we thank you for your courage and your leadership,” Lucas said at the city address.
In contrast, some departments and programs such as the Law Department, Human Resources and Neighborhood Services will see reduced budgets. The Health and Medical Care program, which uses property tax revenue in the Health Fund to offset health care for uninsured patients, was reduced by 7.3% in the proposed budget.
“We have either frozen or reduced budgets in a majority of departments and programs for the next fiscal year,” Lucas said. “We do that to ensure that unlike in other cities, states, and the federal government that we will have no mass layoffs, we will fulfill our pension obligations, we will get our workers’ families the highest quality health care access they deserve.”
The proposed budget will go through three public meetings to hear from residents and for officials to answer any questions.
“We’re excited to get to work for more great moments and successes, large and small, ahead in 2026 and 2027 in Kansas City,” Lucas said. “And more importantly, we’re all excited to see your success, our success, in a place that we are blessed to call home.”
