YES

Kansas City has increased the amount of money allocated to settling police-related lawsuits by millions in its latest budget.

For the 2026-27 fiscal year, the City Council approved $6.5 million for lawsuit settlements, a $4 million increase from the previous year. The overall police budget was increased by $17.8 million, bringing the total to $364.5 million.

Kansas City's current budget allocates $2.5 million for police-related lawsuit settlements. However, in the 2025-26 fiscal year, the city paid out nearly $13.8 million in police settlements.

Kansas City spends significantly more on police than cities of similar size: Omaha spends $216 million and Oklahoma City spends $298 million. Columbia’s police budget is $35 million.

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Sources

KCUR: What to know about Kansas City's funding for police, buses and more in the $2.6 billion budget

KMBC: Kansas City has paid more than $10.7M in KCPD lawsuit settlements this year, more coming

The Beacon: ‘What the hell are we doing here?’: Weeks into the fiscal year, KCPD has already maxed out its lawsuit fund

City of Columbia website: Fiscal Year 2026 Adopted Budget (PDF)

Kansas City website: Submitted Budget FY2026-27