A Jackson County judge ruled Wednesday that Independence residents could not put the city’s more than $6 billion in tax breaks for an artificial intelligence data center on the ballot.
Residents sued the city earlier this month after it rejected their efforts to put the 20-year, 90% tax incentives on the ballot for voters to get the final say.
Independence officials argued that the city charter did not allow a referendum because the ordinance granting the tax incentives had already taken effect. Residents believe the charter allowed for a vote on the issue, and the ordinance could not take effect until the referendum process played out…