KC Mayor Lucas rolls out $2.5B budget for 2026
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Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas used his State of the City address on Wednesday to lay out a $2.5 billion budget and a list of priorities for the 2026 World Cup and day-to-day needs.
💵 City budget
The proposed fiscal year budget is $2.5 billion, with more than $930 million allocated to city salaries and benefits.
- The city has reduced budgets across most departments and programs to avoid layoffs and protect pensions.
🏘️ Housing
Lucas pointed to the city's 10,000-unit housing goal set in 2022, saying KC has ramped up affordable and mixed-income development.
- The proposed 2026 budget includes more than $5 million for year-round emergency shelter and homelessness prevention, he said, and the city recently launched the Housing Gateway Program to house more than 600 people.
The latest: The Housing Trust Fund, founded in 2018, has given about $39.7 million to housing projects as of December 2025, supporting projects that have added an estimated 2,433 affordable units, according to a KCUR report.
🚨 Public safety
Public safety will remain the largest slice of the general fund at 75%.
- He said the city is proposing a 5% increase for KCPD and wants the department to hire 50 additional officers and 20 call takers and dispatchers.
🛣️ Transit and roads
Lucas leaned hard on moving people safely, regardless of how they get around.
- He said the city will spend more than $4 million on Vision Zero projects and highlighted the ordinance banning right turns on red in school zones.
- The budget includes $30.9 million for resurfacing 300 lane miles.
The bottom line: Lucas says KC should feel welcoming.
- "If you are a traveler from Argentina or anywhere else," he said, "know that we are in a position to welcome you here."