Independence voters pass 1 of 3 bonds, rejecting boost for police, public buildings

Yahoo

09-04-2025

Independence voters passed one of three general obligation bonds Tuesday night, shooting down funding intended to rebuild public safety buildings and refurbish historic and athletic sites but approving funds to reconstruct streets and sidewalks.
The general obligation bonds before voters Tuesday, dubbed IndeGO, represented the first GO bond program in city history. The three programs together would have created $197 million in funding for these civic improvements.
In cities like Independence, GO bonds are backed by property taxes. These bonds are often used to pay for construction and improvement projects in city buildings, parks and roads. Each measure required just over 57% voter approval, or 4/7 of the total vote, to pass.
'This was not a resounding 'no' on all three questions,' Mayor Rory Rowland said in a statement issued Tuesday night. 'This was residents asking us to build a better plan. Some of these votes were not 'no's' —they were 'not yet.''
The public safety bond question, which failed with only 47% of votes in favor, would have generated a $130 million budget used to build a new justice center, revamp the Independence Police Department headquarters and purchase the Jackson County Regional Animal Center.
The bond would have been used to tear down the Independence Police Department headquarters at 223 N Memorial Drive - a $4 million demolition project - and build a new criminal justice campus including an all-new police headquarters, according to the city website. The campus would also have included a new municipal court building.
In a bond FAQ page published on the city website, Independence officials wrote that IPD has 'outgrown' its current space, and that criminal justice operations being spread out across multiple buildings at different locations has been inefficient. The current IPD headquarters also has problems with raw sewage seeping in through the ceiling, city officials wrote.
The land previously belonging to IPD headquarters would have been redeveloped in connection with an existing city council project to expand and remodel the Independence Square district.
The funds would have also allowed the city to buy and fix up the Jackson County Regional Animal Shelter, which is currently operated by the city but owned by Jackson County. City officials described the animal shelter's current state as dilapidated and underfunded, with HVAC issues, flooding, holes in the city and severe wear and tear.
Nearly 61% of voters approved a $55 million bond issue earmarked for rebuilding and overlaying streets around Independence, with a dual focus on bridges and on sidewalks and streets near schools.
According to city officials, Independence has more than 500 miles of roads within city limits. Bond funding will double the amount the city spends on repaving roads each year.
Previous votes and funding decisions have stalled more than $430 million of proposed road improvement projects around Independence, according to the city's GO bond FAQ site.
City officials have proposed allocating $10 million in bond funds toward improving roads near seven elementary schools in the Independence and Fort Osage school districts, including Blackburn, Cassell Park, Fairmount, Ott, Mill Creek, Cler-Mont and Elm Grove elementaries. These schools were identified by superintendents of both districts as having the highest level of needs for students who struggle to commute by foot or bike, according to the city.
A city committee will work to split the $55 million budget equally between road improvements in Independence's four council districts, with a focus on major throughways like Noland Road. The city has also identified 13 bridges in need of repairs.
In a statement issued Tuesday night, City Manager Zach Walker described the passage of the bond question as a 'historic moment for Independence.'
'This is a major step forward and we're going to make the most of it.' Walker said.
The final bond issue, which garnered 55% of the vote but did not get the 57.1% needed, would have allocated $12 million to update the Independence Athletic Complex and three key historical sites.
The $5 million Athletic Complex facelift would have included renovations to the concession sales area, as well as a new field lighting system and new playground equipment.
The remaining $7 million would have been split between refurbishment efforts at the the Vaile Mansion, Bingham-Waggoner Estate and Truman Memorial Building. All three sites play host to various community events throughout the year but have begun to show signs of disrepair due to age, city officials said.
The Truman Memorial Building has also suffered from water damage and needs HVAC system repair, according to city officials.
State law prohibits city officials from using or earmarking voter-approved bond money for anything other than the purposes described and voted on.
Affirmative votes on each bond would lead to a property tax increase for Independence residents, which city officials have said will be phased in slowly over time. Per the city's website, if all three initiatives had been approved, property taxes would have increased by $19.57 per month for a home in Independence valued at $150,800.
Residents who qualify for Jackson County's Senior Property Tax Credit Program can apply to receive a tax credit in 2026 that will offset any property tax increase, including any caused by passage of a GO bond question.
In a letter shared with The Star on April 3, Independence City Council At-Large Member Bridget McCandless urged residents to approve all three bonds, referencing a trade-off between affordability in Independence and longstanding public maintenance delays.
'It is finally time for Independence to invest in itself,' McCandless wrote.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article misstated the results of the third bond question, which gained a simple majority of votes but failed to gain the required 4/7 of votes.