Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said Thursday that her call for “drastic cost-reduction measures” was not due to mismanagement, but she owned a lack of communication in releasing a memo that caught city leaders off guard.
Why it matters: The internal memo, first reported by FOX4 on Sunday, caused alarm among council members and the mayor and sparked debate over police funding after the department’s budget increased by 7.64% in 2025 from the previous fiscal year.
Driving the news: Graves told City Council on Thursday that legal settlements and overtime pay were the biggest ballooning costs.
- KCPD is cutting high overtime usage and freezing hiring until a new budget goes into effect in May.
Zoom in: Graves said police have paid $10.9 million in legal settlements so far for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, well over the $2.5 million allocated in the budget…