Jackson County legislators could finally end 6-month budget freeze. What to know

Yahoo

08-06-2025

After nearly six months without an active budget, Jackson County legislators are seeking community feedback on Monday as they may finally be reaching a compromise to get something passed.
The half billion-dollar budget has been held in flux since the beginning of the year throughout months of infighting between members of the legislature and County Executive Frank White, who vetoed the proposed budget in its entirety on January 9.
Now, the legislature will be voting on its latest round of edits to the plan on Monday.
Monday's meeting will kick off with a public hearing regarding the budget before legislators vote on the proposal.
However, a double final vote — on whether to approve the proposed amendments, then whether to pass the budget — will not take place until the legislature's next meeting, at the earliest. The legislature typically meets weekly on Mondays.
All meetings of the Jackson County Legislature, including Monday's hearing, are open to the public.
Legislators initially voted 5-4 to approve this year's budget for the first time at the very end of last year, on Dec. 31, before White vetoed it.
In a letter to the legislature sent the same day of his veto, White called the proposed budget legally and fiscally irresponsible. He criticized its proposed increases to the legislature's own operating budget and its proposed cuts to public safety, arts and corrections staff.
'This budget, as amended, does not reflect the values of Jackson County,' White wrote. 'It prioritizes political gamesmanship over public safety, economic stability, and the well-being of our residents.'
Months later, county legislator Charlie Franklin introduced a further amended version of the budget, with over $11 million in additional appropriations included to be allocated to various county agencies.
That's what legislators will be voting on on Monday.
The proposed amended budget would put additional money toward the public safety and parks departments, as well as toward county administrative offices and the legislature itself. While some of the extra money would be allocated from the county's 2025 general fund and other budget categories, more than $10 million would come from taxes collected from marijuana sales.
In the months that legislators and White have remained at an impasse over the budget, multiple county agencies and services — including the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office, the Parks and Recreation Department and dozens of tax-funded programs — have been unable to access the majority of their funding.
Some 'emergency' funding has been released on a case-by-case basis to maintain the day-to-day operations of municipal organizations or satisfy specific grants and contracts. For example, before Monday's meeting, the budget and finance committee will vote to advance an ordinance releasing funding for renovations at Jackson County's family court, and to fill a two-year contract for food services at the Jackson County Detention Center.
In the months the budget has remained frozen, tension between the county executive and the legislature has continued to build.
Four members of the legislature sued White in February over his budget veto, and three legislators wrote to Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey in May, asking for an investigation into White's conduct.
Meanwhile, an effort to recall White is in full swing, with organizers gathering more than half of the signatures needed to put a recall vote on the ballot. The recall effort primarily stems from voters' frustration with how White, along with county assessment director Gail McCann Beatty, set property tax values on real estate during the 2023 assessment cycle.
Whenever it is passed, the budget will remain in effect through December 31, 2025.