KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The City of Kansas City, Missouri, said the demands outlined by the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners in a lawsuit over the city's police department violate a Missouri statute.
In response to the lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday, the city argued Missouri statue 84.730 "explicitly states that 'in no event shall' the City be required to fund the Board in excess of one-fifth general revenues."
The BOPC filed the lawsuit in May, in an attempt to overturn two ordinances introduced by KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas.
After KCMO City Council passed the ordinances the same day they were introduced, some of KCPD's budget was shifted into a Community Service Fund.
In the response, the city argues that if it were to return the $42 million to the department's budget, it would exceed the one-fifth of the city's revenue.
"Each of the Board’s arguments requires the City to fund the Board in excess of its statutory obligation, thereby violating § 84.730," the city said in the response.
