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Pause. Kill. Replace.

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    11  minutes read
Hue America Insights

PAUSE.
KILL.
REPLACE.

Five Bills. Three Moves.

Five ordinances could rewrite how Kansas City awards $5.81 billion in contracts. Here's what each one actually does.

Committee hearing August 11  •  No opinions. Receipts.
messengerink.com• • • • • • • • •01 / 11
Filed July 31 — Nine Sponsors, Including the Mayor

It's Not One Bill.
It's a Menu.

260688
Pause
both programs
260689
Pause
M/WBE only
260690
Kill
M/WBE, permanently
260691
Kill
both, permanently
260692
Replace
new small-business program
Council isn't choosing one policy. It's choosing how far to go, how fast, and whether a replacement travels with it.
messengerink.com• • • • • • • • •02 / 11
Files 260688 & 260689
Pause

Suspend Now.
Promise Later.

260688
60
DAYS

suspends BOTH programs —
business and workforce

260689
30
DAYS

suspends M/WBE only —
the workforce floor survives

The clock: how long until new programs are “reported back” — not in force.
A report-back is a homework deadline, not a program.
messengerink.com• • • • • • • • •03 / 11
Files 260690 & 260691
Kill

Not Paused.
Repealed.

260690 erases the M/WBE program from the city code.

260691 erases the workforce program with it.

1981 - 2026
45 YEARS
of program history, ended in a paragraph.
messengerink.com• • • • • • • • •04 / 11
File 260692 — 48 Pages
Replace

It Doesn't Just Delete.
It Builds a Replacement.

35%
city-wide small & local business goal —
bigger than the old 14.7 + 14.4 combined
UNDER $400K: RESERVED
a sheltered prime market for emerging firms
10% pre-pay, no retainage, payment every two weeks
no sub counts toward a goal until the sub is paid
a graduation ladder: emerging → small → large → out
messengerink.com• • • • • • • • •05 / 11
File 260692 — What It Deletes
35% GOAL.
0% RACE OR GENDER MEASUREMENT.
0
Not in certification. Not in reporting.
The same package orders another disparity study in five years — while turning off, on day one, the data that study would need.
messengerink.com• • • • • • • • •06 / 11
The Shared Fine Print — All Four Demolition Files

Read the Clauses
Twice.

STOPS THE COUNT

M/WBE participation on existing contracts stops being recorded the day it passes.

REACHES BACKWARD

goals stripped from bids already advertised, zeroed on bids let but unawarded

LOCKS THE DOOR

a new disparity study “in five years' time” — the earliest any remedy returns

BUYS NO PEACE

the AG's office: litigation continues regardless of what the Council does

messengerink.com• • • • • • • • •07 / 11
Before You Vote — The Preview Already Exists

Tampa Already
Ran This Bill.

1990

Suspended under legal pressure — the PAUSE move. Participation fell 22% → 5.2%. Black-owned awards fell 99%.

2025

Suspended again — but kept certification and the public scoreboard. Publishing quarterly numbers right now, one year ahead of KC.

KC's own study measures its no-goals market at 4% — the same -76% drop, 35 years later.
Don't predict the future. Watch Tampa.
messengerink.com• • • • • • • • •08 / 11
The Draft, As Filed
(remove?)
Yes. That's in the ordinance as filed.
Two section numbers, completely empty (3-449, 3-450)
A placeholder reading “Code Section XXXX”
One threshold listed as both $759,000 and $750,000
The old 14.7 / 14.4 goals still sitting in the new goal table
A 48-page program that will govern billions — scheduled for a vote in under two weeks.
messengerink.com• • • • • • • • •09 / 11
Build the replacement.
Keep the scoreboard.
Leave no gap.
A floor that doesn't disappear mid-stride.
A scoreboard that still counts.
Committee Hearing — Tuesday, August 11
City Hall 26th floor  •  clerk.kcmo.gov  •  Public.Testimony@kcmo.org
Full analysis: Hue America Insights — messengerink.com
messengerink.com• • • • • • • • •11 / 11

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