Time is ticking.
Kansas City Council only has 36 days left to decide how it will frame a proposed $800 million infrastructure bond, the largest general obligation bond proposal in city history.
While the council believes it has the necessary community support, council members disagree on how it should be done. For example, how specific the proposal should be - if the proposal should include specifics like an animal shelter, bridges, public buildings or if it should say how much will be allocated to roads versus sidewalks.
“Whatever we do binds the future,” said mayor pro tem Scott Wagner.
If passed, the funds from the bond would be used to repair, replace, rebuild and maintain existing infrastructure.
Kansas City Council has until January 19 to finalize the language for the proposal in order to get it on the April ballot.
“In the inner city we need more than just sidewalks and curbs,” said Vernon Howard JR, SCLC president and senior pastor of St. Mark Union Church.
Howard is part of a coalition that created its own ballot measure for a city-wide sales tax increase to support East Side development. His coalition gathered nearly 1,900 signatures. They needed 1,708 valid signatures to place the measure on a city ballot.
"There has been a grave disadvantage in terms of the investment dollars for economic development. We think it is only fair,” he said.
Some believe the East Side development measure, which would increase sales tax by 1/8 cent for 30 years, competes against the city’s own infrastructure bond plan on the April ballot. However, both Howard and Wagner told 41 Action News they are confident their independent measures will pass.
"I feel confident what we put out there we will be able to communicate effectively, we will be able to show value and at the end of the day people will look at that and say that’s something they want to buy,” said Wagner.
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Ariel Rothfield can be reached at Ariel.Rothfield@KSHB.com.
