Think of all the perks of living in a large metropolitan area we have here in Kansas City: the Zoo, KCI airport, the Truman Sports Complex, Bartle Hall, and soon the Sprint Center with the accompanying Power and Light district. Residents of Johnson County frequent these facilities just like everyone else in the metro area, but refuse to pay taxes to help support them. The last two bi-state proposals failed when put to the vote, dealing with Arrowhead Stadium improvements and light rail. Jackson County residents seemed to understand the regional implications and came to the rescue on both issues. Imagine the finger that would have been pointed across the state line if the Chiefs had packed up and left town as promised if the stadium wasn’t improved. Jackson County’s response would have been, “where were you two years ago?”

So here is the problem: Jackson County is losing residents and taking on more fiscal responsibility to keep this city running, while Johnson County is growing and weaning themselves from the rest of the metropolitan area. One sees evidence of this in transportation policy. Every other county in the region uses The Metro as their bus service, but not Johnson County. They wanted nothing to do with light rail, but half the area’s population lives on the Kansas side of the state line. The message to Missouri seems to be, “thanks for getting our town started, now stay out.”

One solution to this problem is to hit them where it hurts: the wallet. Prices at these places of public ownership should be raised across the board, and residents of Jackson, Platte, Clay, and Wyandotte counties should get a discount equaling the original purchase price. Here’s an example: If you buy an airline ticket, the price is ten dollars more. After you prove that your address is within one of those four counties, a ten-dollar discount is applied. You like seeing the Chiefs play in that Jackson County facility? The ticket is now ten dollars more, except for Jackson County residents. The excess money could be put into the General Fund for the city. Structuring the legal framework could be difficult, but that’s why there are lawyers.

Even if such legislation could never pass, a proposal might open up Johnson County to the realities of living in a city split by a state line. Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. worked together on a regional transportation plan, as did New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts," a wise person once said. Only when residents on both sides embrace this idea will our officials start working together instead of competing against each other. There is vested interest on both sides.

Tell us what you think. Write Spectrum at editor@mcckc.edu.

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