County executive vetoes Royals, Chiefs stadium tax ordinance
27 January 2024
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — Jackson County Legislative Chairwoman Jeanie Lauer spoke to FOX4 Friday about Missouri Governor Mike Parson’s proposed budget that came out Wednesday as it relates to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Royals.
“At his State of the State Address and as he presented the dollars that he had outlined in the budget, there was nothing specific for the Chiefs, nor it for the Royals,” Lauer said.
Lauer’s comments back up what Parson told FOX4’s John Holt the day before.
“At this time, we’ve already got that budget already in the process, so without knowing those things,” Parson said to Holt that day.
The thought early on in January was the teams wanted to get this issue in front of Parson because he may have been more willing to give the teams money than whoever becomes the governor after him in 2025.
“They’re a business operation,” Parson said of the teams. “I got to a look at it from a business perspective. I’ve got to see what’s best from the state of Missouri.”
FOX4 showed that part of Holt’s interview with Lauer.
“It sounds as though he has similar questions to what I’ve had and the county executive has had in the county about what their plan is, the location, what the sales tax is going to do, and just the unknowns that are still out there,” she said.
“Governor Parson will do what he can to support the Chiefs and Royals. Their economic impact in Missouri is too great to lose. However, the unknowns of the Jackson County sales tax situation need to be resolved before any state proposal can be finalized,” Parson’s Deputy Communications Director/Press Secretary Johnathan Shiflett said in a statement sent to FOX4 Friday.
Both the Chiefs and the Royals are not commenting about being left out of Parson’s budget right now.
“I would not bet on it because the budget has to be passed in early May constitutionally,” Lauer said when asked if money could be put into the budget later on for the teams. “Again, to get a big-ticket item like that done in an election year is going to be very, very difficult to do.”
Lauer and Legislative Vice Chairwoman Megan Marshall were the only two legislators not to override County Executive Frank White’s veto Monday. The legislature has nine members on it.
Friday, Lauer told FOX4 she was never optimistic about state money going to the teams.
“I had talked with Governor Parson about it to find out if indeed there was a commitment, and his concern was first of all that the tax would be put in place, but certainly that again, we have two baseball teams, and that the budget wouldn’t support monies for two.”
Whether state money is approved for the teams or not, Jackson County residents will be voting on this issue on Tuesday, April 2. Absentee voting begins Tuesday, Feb. 20.