http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-939168.mp3
Kansas City, MO – When someone gets tax abatement for a development project, they enter into a contract - they say how much the project will cost, how many jobs created, and often agree to pay the city back for work it has to do.
But an audit released yesterday says Kansas City doesn't even know whether the work is done or the bills paid - at least in the six cases reviewed. As for how many of the tax break deals exist, Bob Langenkamp of the Finance Department said he could give only a an estimate so rough he would "hate to even try and speculate."
Five of the six developers the audit studied did not file all the reports and at least one did not pay the bill. If their contracts had been revoked, the city would have collected $337,000 more in taxes.
The Planning and Zoning Committee will start work on an oversight plan next week.