Latest news with #FrankWhite
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jackson County legislators could finally end 6-month budget freeze. What to know
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.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Frank White recall supporters owe $150K to local polling firm
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A local group owes money to a polling firm that's collected signatures to try to get Jackson County, Missouri Democratic Executive Frank White recalled. The group is called Democracy in Action. Its Executive Director spoke to . Bridgette Williams is the Executive Director of the Heavy Constructors Association. She's the sister-in-law of Guy Howard, the Executive Director of Democracy in Action. ICE detains mother at citizenship appointment in Kansas City, family says Friday, County Executive Frank White wouldn't comment on this issue. Williams said Democracy in Action owed the polling firm co/efficient about $150,000 to get the signatures released from them, so they can send them in to the Kansas City and Jackson County Election Boards. 'Democracy in Action's trying to raise the money,' Williams said. 'There are many people out there that would normally contribute that are afraid of retaliation from the County Executive if it becomes known that they've contributed.' Friday, Williams said the same thing Howard told FOX4 in December. They were not going to disclose who their donors are because they don't have to as a 501(c)(4). 'They are gun-shy,' Williams said of the donors. 'There are things that happened with the Mayor's 501 (c)4 where contributors were released, and so there is a fear. We are not that kind of organization.' Williams was talking about the Mayor's Corps of Progress for a Greater Kansas City. It faced scrutiny at the end of 2024 and at the beginning of this year when it became public that Mayor Quinton Lucas used money in that entity to pay for his trips to the Super Bowl. In March, White said the recall effort had to do with the fact that he was on the 'vote no' side when it came to the stadium election in April of 2024. Williams' entity, on the other hand, was on the 'vote yes' side. 'I'm not going to deny those stadiums will put people to work and will continue to keep people working,' Williams said. 'And will benefit the Heavies,' FOX4 interjected. 'And will benefit the construction industry as a whole,' she followed up. 'However, Frank White has proven that he does not care about what these increases in property taxes will do to the citizens.' Wednesday, Republican Legislator Sean Smith told FOX4 that once Democracy in Action sends in those signatures, they'll have more than the 42,900 number needed to get closer to a recall election. That day, Smith also said Democracy in Action had collected about 29,000 signatures. There's no word when the group will get the money necessary to release the signatures. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Three Jackson County legislators call on AG Bailey to investigate Frank White
FOX4 reached out for comment to a spokesperson for Frank White, but has not received a response back. KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Three Jackson County legislators have called on Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to investigate County Executive Frank White amid a two-year-long battle about potentially illegitimate property tax assessments in the county. On Monday, April 21, Jackson County Legislators Sean Smith, Manuel Abarca IV and Venessa Huskey wrote a letter to Bailey, listing four 'concerning' actions of White and his administration and why an investigation is necessary. Missouri Tax Commission orders Jackson County to roll back 2023 assessments The first complaint says White failed to work at the Office of the County Executive full-time, despite being required by Article III, Section 7 of the Jackson County Charter. The legislators claim, during weekly legislative meetings since May 2024, that the Chief of Staff has been 'unable to account for Mr. White's whereabouts,' and that White's role as a minor league baseball coach for the Monarchs hinders his ability to fulfill his duties as a county executive. Secondly, the letter says White's recommended annual budget documents failed to include the required corresponding figures for the previous completed fiscal year and the current fiscal year. Any 2025 budget documents must include actual numbers from 2023 and up-to-date numbers for 2024 before it is created. However, as of today, the letter says White has not included the 2023 or 2024 numbers in this year's budget recommendation, despite the figures being available. In relation to complaint two, the legislators say the county has been disputing the previously approved 2025 budget after White vetoed it in December 2024. According to the letter, because of the veto, there is no definitive 2025 budget. This has led White's Administration to direct staff to upload the 2024 budget in its place. The legislators say this removes 'critical financial controls meant to prevent expenditure of funds that have not been lawfully appropriated,' and that the majority of the legislators have restricted their expenditures due to the uploaded 2024 budget being unlawfully enacted. It is also said that restricted expenditures can be temporarily taken from the prior year's budget amounts, as long as they relate to salaries, per County Code of Ordinances 530.2. However, it is alleged that White didn't limit his expenditures of the prior year's budgets to only salaries, but made an 'unlawful' and 'egregious' disbursement to a Non-Governmental Organization for a $5,000 scholarship. Lastly, the legislators call for the investigation due to White's recent veto of the State Tax Commission's August 2024 order concerning the 2023 biannual property reassessments in the county. Download WDAF+ for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV According to the letter, the ordinance simply directs his administration to 'follow the law' with respect to the STC, and that vetoing the ordinance 'signals his intent to defy compliance with the STC order, even after it was challenged by the administration and was upheld.' The legislators say investigations by the AG's office are more urgent than ever because Jackson County's 2025 biannual assessment is nearing its statutory deadline in June, when the county will share valuation notices to property owners. These notices are said to be subject to limitations on increases depending on the prior assessments' . 'By ignoring the STC Order, Mr. White is placing another assessment year in serious jeopardy with grave consequences for property owners, our taxing jurisdictions and even the fiscal stability of the county,' the legislators say. Read the legislators' full letter here. Legislator Smith will be speaking in a news conference at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday about the recent updates in the Jackson County property assessment saga, and will join community volunteers to turn in thousands of signatures calling for the resignation of White. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jackson County approves ordinance requiring Frank White to follow judge's order on property taxes
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A razor thin majority of Jackson County legislators want the Jackson County Executive to end a legal battle and follow the law. It all stems from property tax assessments that skyrocketed for many homeowners back in 2023. Those property tax assessments are what protesters who rallied in Independence Monday say started a recall petition for Frank White. That effort has since been renewed. Lawsuit filed after Kansas City metro man, DACA recipient is deported to Mexico 'It was time that we said look we've had enough, because this thing should not drag on as long as it has,' Les Williams said at the rally. A judge ruled in favor of the State Tax Commission last week that Jackson County violated state law raising a majority of homeowners property taxes by more than 15%. 75% saw what equate to illegal increases under the law, some people saw them nearly double. Questions arose when White didn't immediately say — or write to legislators Monday — that increases would be clawed back to 15% based on the ruling. 'We will not rush into any decision that could compound the confusion, misapply the law, or create further inequity in our property tax system,' White wrote in the letter. 'It's all the gamesmanship coming from the Executive and his cronies. We just need to get down to the brass tacks. We need to fix people's property taxes and we've got to stop doing these dramatic increases,' Legislator Manny Abarca said. At Monday's meeting 5 of 9 legislators ordered White to follow the ruling and the law. 'The county does not escape this without taking corrective action nor should we. We did it wrong, we should fix it and we should fix it soon so we don't continue to compound the problem,' Legislator Sean Smith said. 'It's shocking that anyone would vote against following the law but thank God we had enough people to show that we should follow the law,' homeowner Ginny Henson said. Those who voted against the ordinance pointed to the list of all the cities, schools and fire districts who could lose revenue, money already spent, with no clear answers from the State Tax Commission on how long they'd have to issue tax credits. See the latest headlines in Kansas City and across Kansas, Missouri The debate comes as the Jackson County Assessor nears a June deadline to issue 2025 assessments. Smith raised questions whether caps on increases would use the starting point on your home's assessed value last time, or the maximum it should have been legally. White, who was not at Monday's meeting, said . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
