Fix aging civic buildings by replacing retiring debt, with no projected property tax rate increase.
Shall the City of Kansas City, Missouri, issue its general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $100,000,000.00 for the purpose of paying for the acquisition, construction, renovation, improvement, equipping, and furnishing of City convention facilities and building facilities constructed before 1950 that are used primarily for governmental administration, convention, or public assembly?
The authorization of the bonds will authorize the City to maintain tangible property tax rates sufficient to pay the interest and principal on the bonds until fully paid.
Kansas City's signature public buildings are wearing out. Bartle Hall and the Municipal Auditorium make up the convention center that competes for the events, visitors, and spending that flow into the local economy, and City Hall, which opened in 1937, still houses core city government nearly 90 years later. Their heating and cooling, electrical, plumbing, and building systems are aging out. City staff have identified roughly $51 million in repair needs at City Hall alone, far more than this measure can cover, including HVAC for floors 1 through 15, about $10 million in water piping, fire alarm and intercom replacement, exterior window replacement, and waterproofing of the building envelope.
Question 2 authorizes the City to issue up to $100 million in general obligation bonds to acquire, renovate, improve, equip, and furnish City convention facilities and pre-1950 government buildings used for administration, convention, or public assembly. City staff plan to direct about $75 million to the convention center and about $25 million to City Hall. Within the convention center share, roughly $49 million is planned for architectural projects, $23 million for mechanical projects such as a new heating and air conditioning system, and $3 million for electrical projects such as conference center lighting. The City is partnering with the design firm Populous on the convention center work.
The City’s convention and entertainment facilities director, Kimiko Gilmore, calls these core infrastructure investments, not cosmetic projects, that directly affect the City’s ability to operate its buildings safely, efficiently, and competitively. A convention center that cannot reliably heat, cool, and power its halls loses bookings to other cities, and those lost events mean lost hotel stays, restaurant tabs, and jobs. City Hall is where residents do business with their government every day. Letting these buildings decline costs more to fix later.
A YES vote authorizes the $100 million in repair bonds and lets the City keep its debt-service property tax rate flat by timing the new borrowing to replace older debt that is being paid off. Because this is a general obligation bond on a primary election ballot, it needs a four-sevenths supermajority, about 57.1 percent, so every YES vote counts toward that higher bar.
A new heating and air conditioning system for the convention center, part of the $23 million mechanical share
Conference center lighting and other electrical upgrades, part of the $3 million electrical share
City Hall HVAC for floors 1 through 15, about $10 million in water piping, fire alarm and intercom replacement, exterior window replacement, and building envelope waterproofing
This is a general obligation bond backed by the City’s existing debt-service property tax levy, so it is not tax-free, and the ballot says so plainly: it authorizes the City to maintain property tax rates sufficient to pay the bonds until they are fully paid. The reason there is no projected rate increase is timing. The City plans to issue this $100 million (together with the $100 million housing bond) as roughly $200 million of older general obligation debt is being completely paid off, so the overall debt-service rate is projected to stay flat. You keep paying the rate you already pay rather than a higher one. The catch worth stating honestly: the ballot authorizes, but does not cap or prohibit, the levy needed to repay the bonds, and the $25 million planned for City Hall is only about half of the roughly $51 million in repairs staff have already identified there.
How the financing works
General obligation (GO) bonds, not to exceed $100 million, repaid from the City’s existing debt-service (tangible property) tax levy. The bonds are timed to replace roughly $200 million of older GO debt (this question plus the housing question) that is being fully paid off, so the City projects no increase in the property tax rate. This is not a tax-free measure: the ballot expressly authorizes the City to maintain property tax rates sufficient to repay principal and interest until the bonds are paid in full.
As a general obligation bond, this question needs a four-sevenths supermajority (about 57.1 percent), not a simple majority. Turnout and margin both matter.
Always confirm the final wording and official question order on your authenticated sample ballot from the Kansas City Election Board.
Vote on or before August 4, 2026. Polls are open 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM.