KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Jackson County legislator is paying the price for angering his fellow lawmakers, KMBC's Micheal Mahoney reported Monday.

Robert Stringfield got almost $23,000 cut from his office budget, which was more than any other legislator. The cuts included $8,300 from Stringfield's staff salary fund, $1,600 from his personal computer fund and $50 from his copier paper fund.

Collectively, the other eight legislators lost $28,000 from their office budgets, Mahoney reported.

Stringfield said the cuts are an insult to the people in his district.

"What they've done is they have actually, I think, sent a message to 116,000 people that they're not going to listen to them," Stringfield said.

Mahoney reported that several county legislators are upset with Stringfield because he is suing them. Stringfield claims the legislators have broken the state's Sunshine Law by holding closed meetings.

Mahoney reported that the savings from the cuts will go into a special fund to fight the Stringfield lawsuit.

"This wasn't to send a message to Mr. Stringfield about his frivolous lawsuit. It was just a matter of trying to figure out where the money is going to come from," county legislator Dennis Waits said.

Chairman Dan Tarwater said the budget cuts were "not vindictive."

"I mean, we could have taken away the whole budget. He's still one of our fellow legislators, and we'll still try to work with him," Tarwater said.

The Jackson County Legislature passed the 2006 budget Monday. Stringfield was the only legislator who voted against it.