City Council in the latest round of redistricting included language that there should be consideration to expanding the number of council people that serve our city. Well…if you have been paying attention during this budget season it appears an additional council member has been added without getting elected: Police Chief Rick Smith of the newly created 1125 Locust District.
To keep the "Community Policing Fund" from becoming a slush fund and to garner any real support from the populace, the council would need to designate by ordinance and budget exactly how the money would be spent. The council has proven time and again they cannot be trusted with anything less.
It could be argued that the council politicized the department's funding when they hopped on the defund bandwagon (and dont kid yourself, another slush fund without designated spending allocations is a slush fund in KCMO). Chief Smith is following their lead and using the tools at his disposal to push back, and per numerous polls and the quick pullback of the council on the effort, the majority of the populace seems to agree with him.
To keep the "Community Policing Fund" from becoming a slush fund and to garner any real support from the populace, the council would need to designate by ordinance and budget exactly how the money would be spent. The council has proven time and again they cannot be trusted with anything less.
It could be argued that the council politicized the department's funding when they hopped on the defund bandwagon (and dont kid yourself, another slush fund without designated spending allocations is a slush fund in KCMO). Chief Smith is following their lead and using the tools at his disposal to push back, and per numerous polls and the quick pullback of the council on the effort, the majority of the populace seems to agree with him.
Heck Rick Smith