As coronavirus economy hurts KC workers and busineses, mayor suggests budget relief
Kansas City officials are evaluating 11th-hour additions to the city’s annual budget that could provide relief for individuals and businesses hurt economically by the spread of the novel coronavirus, Mayor Quinton Lucas said Monday.
In a news conference about the city’s response to the disease, COVID-19, Lucas said the city is looking at possible relief in the budget, which the City Council is expected to pass later this week. He noted that some businesses will be able to bounce back and that some workers will be able to work from home or take time off, but that’s not true for everyone.
“There are families that will have to make very difficult choices about what bills to pay, and that is something that weighs on all of us before decisions are made,” Lucas said.
Lucas last week issued a 21-day emergency declaration barring all public gatherings of more than 1,000 individuals. Sunday night, he extended that to eight weeks and lowered the ceiling to 50 people. He has acknowledged the moves, while important to stem the spread of the virus, will harm tourism and entertainment industries.
Lucas said Kansas Citians have “already been impacted” by the slowing economy. He said he would also be willing to lobby for direct federal relief for workers who are losing wages, such as restaurant servers and bartenders.
“I’ve talked to workers who have lost jobs,” Lucas said. “I’ve talked to business owners who have elected to shut their businesses.”
As far as what that aid may look like, Lucas has yet to announce details, but he said relief for businesses could include tax breaks, extensions of tax due dates, fee waivers and other efforts.
As of Monday morning, Kansas City, Missouri, still had no confirmed cases of COVID-19, but numbers are rising elsewhere in Missouri. On the Kansas side, numbers are rising in Johnson County, and the area’s first coronavirus-related death was in Wyandotte County. Officials are encouraging social distancing to limit the spread of the illness.
Lucas said he would announce further restrictions on public gatherings later Monday, including limiting bars and restaurants to only serve a percentage of their normal capacity. For example, a restaurant that can normally serve 100 patrons might be limited to serving only 50 at a given time.
This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 11:25 AM.
