Columbia city manager to discuss the ‘State of the City’ on Friday

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia City Manager De'Carlon Seewood addressed Columbia residents at the State of the City on Friday.

In the past, the meeting has been a reflection of the past year. In 2025, Seewood spoke about the city's destroyed recycling facility, potential budget cuts and crime. Details for Friday's speech were released right before De'Carlon addressed the city. Here are a few things the ABC 17 News is keeping track of:

The Columbia City Council voted Monday to put a 1% sales tax for public safety on the August ballot. The revenue would go directly to the Columbia Police and Fire Departments, and it would generate an estimated $38 million in revenue.

Both departments would use the funding to keep up with Columbia's growing population. CPD would hire 50 new officers, and CFD would hire 40 new firefighters.

De'Carlon mentioned public safety funding, although he didn't directly speak about the sales tax.

"As we continue to evaluate long-term funding options for public safety, we remain focused on making strategic investments that support our police, fire and supporting services," De'Carlon said. "These investments are critical as we respond to increasing service demands in a growing community and work to ensure we are positioned for the future."

CFD responded to over 16,800 calls for service in 2025, according to De'Carlon, a record-breaking number.

The relationship between Columbia and the University of Missouri leadership became tense after a Stephen's College student was shot and killed downtown in September. MU President Mun Choi and Columbia and Boone County leaders have been meeting monthly to discuss safety -- these meetings typically happen behind closed doors.

One of the priorities that Choi has been pushing for is increased foot patrol downtown and reviewing crowd control ordinances. The city council passed a median ordinance in February that would limit which roads people can stand on.

CPD has been posting on Facebook about how the median ordinance will work once it goes into law July 1.

Check back for updates.