Jackson County Legislature aims for November Chiefs only ballot initiative
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jackson County Democratic Legislator Manny Abarca is sponsoring two different pieces of legislation aimed at trying to keep the Kansas City Chiefs in the county.
A 3/16ths cent sales tax solely for the team was scaled back to a smaller amount—1/8th of a cent—during the Finance and Audit Committee meeting Monday.
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He’s also sponsoring a piece of legislation that would give 3/8ths of a cent in sales tax money just to the Chiefs. He introduced that during Monday’s county legislative meeting.
That piece of legislation was also referred to the same Finance and Audit Committee that the 1/8th of a cent sales tax legislation has already been referred to.
“The Chiefs have reached out since the introductory to ask more clarifying information for which that I think is a welcome opportunity,” Abarca said, when asked if the Chiefs are even on board with his proposals. “I think there’s a lot more to talk about that I look forward to that I think as a legislature we should get our affairs in order and figure out what our strategy is moving forward.”
Our phone calls and emails to workers in the Chiefs communications department were not returned Monday. Thursday, Kansas City, Kan. Mayor Tyrone Garner spoke to FOX4 just minutes after Kansas Democratic Governor Laura Kelly said she wasn’t negotiating with the Chiefs.
“We know that the Lieutenant Governor is going to be after July 1… hopefully will be in some really hard core negotiations with them on seeing how to get them here,” he said.
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“Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland is ready to have conversations with any professional sports team that would like to consider moving to Kansas,” Kansas Department of Commerce Marketing & Communications Director Patrick Lowry said in a statement sent to FOX4.
Monday was also the day the STAR Bonds bill Governor Kelly signed Friday, June 21, took effect. It’s aimed at luring either the Chiefs and or the Royals to the Sunflower state.
“Do the Chiefs want that same offer?” Abarca said in his interview with FOX4 Monday in relation to the Kansas one. “Which is why the three-eighths cent sales tax is being proposed in full for just the Chiefs to be competitive, so that would generate probably between $2.2 and $2.4 billion over a 40 year time frame just for the Chiefs, which is enough to be competitive with the STAR Bonds by itself.”
Abarca also talked about his proposals during the Finance and Audit Committee meeting Monday.
“As we’re talking now in comparison to Kansas, you’re talking about two brand new stadiums,” Abarca said. “It’s hard to now fathom that a potential Chiefs remaining in Arrowhead as it is with a renovation compared to a brand new stadium across the state line. We may even need to start considering something there different as an option whereas one-eighth cents is not going to fund a brand new stadium for 25 years.”
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The 1/8th of a cent initiative is for 25 years. It would also give the county an opportunity to give the Royals sales tax money in a future election yet to be specifically determined. The 3/8ths of a cent fully for just the Chiefs involves keeping the team in the county for 40 years.
Each sales tax proposal did not get the full approval of the county legislature Monday. It would also require a vote of the people during the General Election on Nov. 5 of this year. A similar vote failed April 2 of this year, but the sales tax money at that time would have gone to both the Chiefs and the Royals.
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