COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) After months of wage negotiations, the city of Columbia has reached a deal with local union LiUNA 955 to implement new pay adjustments. However, the union says it still has concerns about the agreement. The deal includes a 3.5% raise for the roughly 300 city workers LiUNA represents. All eligible members will
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) GoCOMO bus riders will be token-free for another year after the Columbia City Council approved another year of suspended bus fares at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Transportation operation costs that were adopted for fiscal year 2025 were over $7.8 million in the City of Columbia’s budget. Both the council memo and the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The window for bids from companies to clear out homeless camps around the City of Columbia closed on Friday. Documents showed the city was looking for bids totaling fewer than $50,000. City spokesperson Sydney Olsen said the contractors would be on standby for when the city needs them. The contract would start
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The City of Columbia’s Office of Violence Prevention is considering adding two “community navigation liaisons” to help defuse problems on the city’s public transit. “What this program does is it puts individuals on the transit lines with the driver to de-escalate and to actually navigate folks to services so that they’re not,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia City Council on Monday evening voted 5-0 to change its water rates. According to council documents, the water ordinance would increase revenue by $3.6 million, or 12%, and would take effect with the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1. The council will decide on changing electric rates at
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) With less than a month before the 2026 fiscal budget is expected to be approved, the City Council will hold the second of three public hearings at City Hall as staff brace for a tighter budget after expected tax revenue fell 3% short last year. The 2026 budget projects roughly $560 million
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The City of Columbia’s recycling center is completely demolished, and city workers are testing equipment for a reopening. However, assistant utilities director Tom Ratterman said Friday that workers are restoring power to the equipment. He said that it should be complete in two to three weeks. “We tested it with a generator,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Department of Public Works at Wednesday’s Parking Commission meeting said it would recommend the City Council to raise downtown parking meter prices to $1 per hour. On-street parking is currently 60 cents per hour from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Columbia Public Works spokesman John Ogan wrote in an
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Homeowners living near the site of a planned subdivision in east Columbia are raising concerns about traffic and other issues. Troy Miller Properties LLC is asking the City of Columbia to approve a development plan for 77 new housing units on 24.13 acres off East Broadway near the Brooks subdivision. The Columbia
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia City Council tabled a vote on proposed water rate increases for fiscal year 2026. The council discussed the proposal during Monday nights meeting and heard public comments. According to the city, the proposed changes would increase water utility revenue by 12%. However, despite the increase City of Columbia expects water bills
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The City of Columbia agreed to amend its existing agreement with the transportation service First Last Mile to include the company in a pilot “ride home” program aimed at assisting members of the city’s homeless population. The city inked a deal with First Last Mile in January 2024, using a portion of
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Fire Department leaders say services won’t be cut despite a 1% drop in the department’s fiscal 2026 budget. The city is predicting it will bring in around $560 million in revenue for fiscal 2026, for around $600 million in spending, leaving a deficit of $40 million, nearly double the city’s deficit
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Donations continue to come in for both of Columbia’s candidates in the Second Ward special election. Election Day is Aug. 5 and both candidates have filed their eight-day-before-the-election report. Elwood’s has totaled $19,245.54 in donations this election and currently has $7,306.21 on hand; while Rice raised $7,519.30 this election and currently has
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The City of Columbia will hold more town halls about the fiscal year 2026 budget on Monday, Aug. 11, according to a Monday press release from the city. The release says the meeting will run from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. in conference rooms 1A/1B at city hall. The same information
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The City of Columbia will begin building a new roundabout Monday on a road that draws heavy commuter traffic. The $2.4 million project to build a roundabout at West Route K and West Old Plank Road aims to improve safety and traffic flow at the intersection, which has a skewed angle that
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The City of Columbia and local union LiUNA 955 remain locked in wage negotiations, with the next bargaining session scheduled for July 24. The union has criticized the city for only offering a 1% cost-of-living adjustment. Talks have been ongoing since April as union members continue to push for higher wages, citing
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The quarterly report filing for the Missouri Ethics Commission shows a few high-dollar donations being made in Columbia’s Ward 2 race. Campaigns for Vera Elwood and Ken Rice submitted reports for the July 15 quarterly filing. Rice’s was submitted on July 10, while Elwood’s was submitted on July 14. Documents show that
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Water and Light discussed changing the water rate during a budget meeting on Wednesday. The rate increase would increase revenue 12% — or $3.6 million — in fiscal year 2026 that should also lower prices for near two-thirds of residential water customers. The change would increase the base rate of meters
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Columbia Solid Waste Assistant Utilities Director Tom Ratermann is encouraging the public to listen to new guidelines a day after the city announced it would begin recycling some materials. Columbia’s recycling trucks will collect some materials and bring them to Jefferson City. The effort is part of the city’s first major step
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Columbia Board of Realtors hosted a forum for the candidates for Columbia’s Second Ward on Wednesday. Candidates Ken Rice and Vera Elwood each took questions. The special election for the vacant Ward 2 seat will be held Aug. 5.
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