The door is open — albeit slightly — to dissolving the 25-year-old Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. The mayors of Kansas City, Kansas, Edwardsville and Bonner Springs announced Wednesday they will meet with residents in the coming months to hear complaints and solutions to what they say are mounting financial problems. One possible solution? Breaking apart the Unified Government. “The three of us mayors recognize the need to review and evaluate the current state of affairs,” said Bonner Springs Mayor Jeff Harrington. On April 1, 1997, Wyandotte County residents voted to consolidate the the governments of Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County into one. At the time, Kansas City, Kansas, was in a tailspin — property taxes were the highest in the state, people were moving away to neighboring Johnson County and Missouri, and rumors of government corruption were rampant. Wyandotte County on the other hand, was relatively well-run and already covered 94% of all county residents.
Source: KCUR News
