Fulfilling Our Mission
Most of our work can be divided into two types of projects: Port KC-owned and partnership projects.
Investing in Our City
We are a public agency that generates our own revenue. While we exist by state statute, and were chartered by the city, we don’t receive tax allocations from either. Our revenue predominately comes from long-term land leases, and we also apply for grants and federal funding supported by our own matching dollars.
All projects that we take on must adhere to our mission, and portions of our project revenue goes back into the community through strategic reinvestment.
Improving Our Community
We thoroughly vet our partners and select projects that add community and social
equity benefit in areas of need.
Projects
Learn about what projects we are working on.
Development Finance
Learn about our development finance process
What Does Missouri Enable Us To Do?
We can use the development tools established to encourage local economic growth. Our tools fulfill two primary purposes. One, they generate interest in our city, regarding everything from transporting goods through our city to attracting new jobs. Two, they enable port authorities to generate revenue since we do not receive tax allocations at the city, state or federal level. For a given period of time, our projects may utilize one tool, multiple tools, or no tools at all. Initiating use of any of our tools must go through the public process required by state statute.
Port Improvement District
A Port Improvement District (PID) is authorized to levy a sales and use tax of up to 1% and/or a real property tax within its boundaries. This means only users, tenants and/or property owners within the PID pay the tax(es). The collected taxes are used within the PID boundaries to fund or reimburse eligible improvements.
All PIDs are created through a public process and require Commission and circuit court approval. The implementation of any sales and use and/or real property tax requires a separate approval from either the registered voters or property owners within the PID boundaries.
AIM Zone
AIM Zones provide port authorities with a revenue stream to fund infrastructure and attract projects that fulfill its core mission.
Through the program, we receive 50% of state withholdings taxes derived from net-new jobs that meet a certain salary threshold. AIM Zone revenues are primarily used to fund our investments in public infrastructure. A portion of those funds may also be used to pay or reimburse eligible costs incurred by a developer in creating the new jobs.
All AIM Zones are created through a public process and are subject to Commission and Missouri Department of Economic Development approval.
Conduit Bonds
We periodically issues its revenue bonds for the purposes of financing improvements to property owned by us and leased to a third party. These bonds allow us to provide certain property and sales tax exemptions on projects that have demonstrated need and will generate economic growth.
All potential bond issuances undergo a public process (link to process map) for consideration by our Commission
Transportation Facilities Tax Incentive
This incentive creates income tax deductions for entities transporting cargo through water port and airport facilities. The port and airport must be located in Kansas City, MO, to qualify and must ship a minimum of 75 net tons of cargo. They must also increase cargo shipped through a port 5% over the previous year or ship at least 25,000 TEUs through a new port.