Decarcerate KC, KC Tenants, and Sunrise Movement mobilize opposition to Question 1—the upcoming vote on ‘Public Safety Sales Tax’

Members of Decarcerate KC speak at a rally on April 6, 2025. // Photo by Emily Wheeler

On April 6, Decarcerate KC hosted a rally to galvanize opposition to the renewal of the Public Safety Sales Tax, which will appear on the April 8th ballot as Question 1. The rally was part of a broader effort by a city-wide coalition, including Decarcerate KC, KC Tenants, and Sunrise Movement KC, to challenge the sales tax, which they argue disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color.

The proposed sales tax, if renewed, would largely fund the construction of a new municipal jail. The jail is projected to cost $250 million to build, with long-term operational expenses potentially exceeding $800 million.

What is Question 1?

“Shall the City of Kansas City continue to impose a sales tax authorized by Section 94.577 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri for a period of 20 years at a rate of 1/4% to be used for police, emergency medical services and emergency management associated with administering public safety within Kansas City, including the construction, operation, and maintenance of capital improvements, which may include the retirement of debt under previously authorized indebtedness or to repay bonds not yet issued? This sales tax would continue the existing sales tax authorized by Section 94.577 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri and scheduled to expire on June 30, 2026.”

A vote ‘no.’

Opponents of the sales tax argue that funds should be directed toward addressing the root causes of crime, such as social programs, housing, and education, rather than investing in incarceration.

“Research overwhelmingly indicates that building new jails does not make a community safer,” reads a letter from a coalition of local groups opposing the tax renewal that includes Decarcerate KC, KC Tenants, Missouri Worker Center, and Stand Up KC.

Pateisha Royal with Decarcerate KC echoed the call for alternative solutions to public safety. “Jails continue to perpetuate trauma,” Royal says. “We can’t keep applying Band-Aids to deep wounds.”

Sherri Wilson, a resident of the 3rd District and a member of Decarcerate KC, shared her personal experience. “My sons have been affected by continuous jailing,” she says. “People doing misdemeanor crimes are the ones that are suffering; those are the ones being locked up for months,” Wilson says.

“Yes, there is high crime in Kansas City, Missouri, and there is going to be as long as our mayors and council people continue to ignore what is the real issue. They have not gotten to the root cause of what these people are doing and why they are doing it,” she says.

“There’s a revolving door in jails, people going in and out,” Wilson explained. “Unless that help is received and those resources are given, they’re going to continue going back and forth to those jails.”

Wilson also spoke about her concerns for future generations. “I have six grandbabies. I don’t want them growing up in a city that continues to think that it is okay to just lock up. That doesn’t solve anything, and it is definitely not the answer.” She urged voters to vote no on Question 1 and yes for the KCPS bond, calling it a choice between incarceration and investing in the city’s future.

Jordan Daniels, a senior at Lincoln College and Preparatory Academy, shared her experiences as a student in Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS), where she has witnessed firsthand the dire state of school facilities. “As a student of KCPS schools, I work alongside diverse minds who produce fantastic work, but I also work in facilities that do not maximize educational experience. Somewhat, it diminishes it,” Daniels says.

Daniels described the deteriorating conditions in KCPS schools, citing problems like rats in classrooms, water leaks, and pipe bursts. “This is the student experience offered at KCPS,” she remarked.

Daniels strongly urged voters to prioritize the school bond issue, stressing that it is “dystopian to give equal weight to education and incarceration on the same ballot.”

A vote ‘yes.’

A ‘yes’ vote will renew the 1/4-cent public safety sales tax for another 20 years. The tax generates approximately $24 million annually. Revenue from the tax will largely go toward a new municipal jail and rehabilitation center.

Supporters of the sales tax argue that Kansas City urgently needs its own detention and rehabilitation center. The city has been without one for a decade. Advocates believe the new jail will help improve the city’s ability to handle incarcerated individuals and provide mental health care services that are currently lacking.

Kansas City stopped running its own jail in 2015, and officials struck a deal to send city inmates to the Jackson County jail. The city’s agreement with Jackson County ended in 2019. Currently, the city sends people to jails in Vernon County and Johnson County, Missouri.

The proposed jail will be located along U.S. 40 Highway near the former Heart Village Mobile Home Park, which was sold to the county in 2021. The sale required the relocation of over 100 residents.

The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City have endorsed the Public Safety Tax renewal. “The funds generated have been instrumental in supporting essential services that protect our community, our workforce, and our businesses,” they said in a statement. The endorsement stated that the renewal of the Public Safety Tax would be a continuation of an existing commitment to public safety.