09/15/2026
Highlights from Monday night's City Council Regular Session meeting included:
- Mayor Canuteson read a proclamation recognizing Sept. 17 - 23 as Constitution Week in the City of Liberty.
-- The City Council set the 2026 municipal property tax rate at the same rate as 2025 (0.7699), which is tied with the 2025 rate as the lowest City of Liberty levy since 2009. The City Council has been committed to minimizing any increase to the municipal property tax, and has in fact rolled it back on several occasions over 20+ years.
Property taxes support the general services such as police, fire, emergency medical services, street maintenance, engineering and planning, senior citizen programs, and park maintenance and recreation programs. You can view a year-by-year comparison of the property tax rates dating back to 2018 at https://bit.ly/4cI3Xoq. The 2026 rates will be added once all jurisdictions set their respective levies.
-- The City Council approved various ordinances for the Liberty Drive Sidewalk/Trail Missing Link Connection Project. This long-awaited project will provide a sidewalk along the south side of Liberty Drive from Wilshire Boulevard to Midjay Drive. Public Works staff applied for and received federal funding towards this project in the amount of $332,000.
Actions at Monday night's City Council meeting included:
• An ordinance accepting a construction inspection and material inspections/testing contract with Olsson, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $99,378.35.
• An ordinance amending Ordinance No. 11556 approving amendment No. 4 with QK to increase the contract amount from $175,247.50 to $181,081.50. As construction is about to begin, a final amendment is necessary to authorize funding for Designer of Record construction services.
-- The City Council approved the purchase of seven thermal imaging cameras to assist the Liberty Fire Department – three SEEK FirePro cameras and four Bullard QXT cameras. These will replace cameras that were purchased in 2014. With technology improvements over the past 12 years, these cameras not only enhance the ability to look for downed victims and firefighters, they also allow for different ranges of heat and cold detection to find hidden fires or victims in moderate-temperature environments.
-- Approval of an ordinance amending Ordinance No. 12207 accepting amendment No. 1 with JEO Consulting Group, Inc. for the Liberty Stream Bank Stabilization Project by increasing the contract amount from $280,283 to $700,567.
In November of 2025, the City entered into a three phase contract with JEO Consulting Group, LLC: 1) Concept level design, 2) Full design, and 3) Construction related services. Now that Phase 1 is complete and an assessment of the cost to continue past Phase 1 has been done, it was determined that they needed to restructure the work included in each phase. This is necessary because the cost to move into full design is prohibitive. The City will complete the preliminary design before determining which project's location or components should move into the final design phase. The new structure of the phases will be: 1) Preliminary design for all three project locations, 2) Final design, and 3) Bidding and construction services.
-- The City Council approved a resolution, on a recommendation from the Park Board, to support efforts to become a designated Bird City, which is a conservation initiative led by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and Environment for the Americas (EFTA). To become a certified Bird City, municipalities must complete specific local actions across four core categories:
• Habitat Creation
• Community Forestry
• Threat Reduction
• Public Education
The City of Liberty already meets several criteria through ongoing park and landscaping efforts:
• Native Plantings: Establishing native prairies in Northwyck Park, Stocksdale Park, and the Capitol Federal Sports Complex.
• Invasive Species Removal: Clearing low-quality food sources like bush honeysuckle and bradford pear trees.
This resolution supports continued invasive species removal and outlines ways residents can help at home, such as switching from white porch lights to bird-friendly amber lights or turning off outdoor lights at night.
Want to see what other items were on this meeting's agenda, watch the meeting online? Head to our City Council meeting portal at https://bit.ly/3UMvzN7
Want to know what's on tap for the next City Council meeting?
-- Agendas for the City Council meetings are typically posted on Thursdays ahead of the Monday meeting » https://bit.ly/3UMvzN7
-- Sign up for the Liberty News Flash, a weekly e-newsletter delivered straight to your inbox with the City Council agenda, news and events » https://conta.cc/3PjcTDs
The next City Council meeting is a Regular Session on Monday, Sept. 28.
