KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas held his annual State of the City address Wednesday afternoon at the Children’s Mercy Research Institute.
He’s proposing a 30% increase in starting salaries for Kansas City Police Department officers, going from $50,000 a year to $65,000.
Man pleads no contest in 2021 Olathe police shooting outside Strip’s Chicken
“In this year’s budget, we propose a hiring and retention incentive for all 911 call takers and dispatchers of $2,500 per employee and propose that incentive also be applied to all civilian employees who do important work with the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department,” Lucas said during his prepared speech.
Lucas’ remarks on pay raises for 911 call takers and dispatchers come as the average wait time for somebody calling 911 was 37 seconds in September 2023 .
On Wednesday, Lucas thanked Board of Police Commissioners Vice President Dawn Cramer for being in attendance. KCPD Chief Stacey Graves was also in attendance.