Jackson Co. legislators OK $4.5M coronavirus aid to Truman Medical, talk tax relief
The Jackson County Legislature approved a $4.5 million coronavirus aid package Monday that will address health care needs, while also passing a resolution aimed at providing relief to taxpayers whose finances may take a hit from the economic damage the disease has caused.
It recommends that assessed tax values on real estate be capped at 2019 levels for the 2021 reassessment cycle so that people wouldn’t see big swings in property taxes at a time when many might still be recovering from lost jobs and business setbacks.
However, the county doesn’t have the power to do that on its own, so the measure has no practical effect. Missouri laws require that values be set to market values every two years. It would take an act of the General Assembly to change that to provide tax relief to property owners, many of whom saw their values soar last year.
But the coronavirus funding that was approved will provide a much-needed influx of tax dollars to help in the fight against COVID-19, the deadly respiratory disease caused by the virus.
Truman Medical Centers will get $4.3 million to help pay for testing and other costs associated with tracking the spread and treatment of the disease. The other $200,000 will allow the county medical examiner to buy a Lodox high-volume X-ray machine, which the funding ordinance says “will be of critical importance in that office’s response to the emergency.”
The full-body scanners allow forensic pathologists to conduct an examination quickly, without doing a full autopsy, which involves cutting open the body and removing organs. Some religious groups and cultures object to invasive examinations.
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, the medical examiner’s office had asked the county legislature for money to buy such a machine, but none was appropriated.
It was not part of the $10 million coronavirus response package County Executive Frank White proposed a week ago, which the legislature reduced by half.
But his package also proposed spending more than $4 million on aid to Truman Medical Centers, which is conducting drive-through coronavirus testing at both its Lakewood and Hospital Hill campuses, medical center president and chief executive officer Charlie Shields said Monday.
Legislators have said they are open to funding other elements of White’s plan. County Administrator Troy Schulte said a $2 million proposal to help pay for personal protective equipment for first responders and others would likely come before the legislature next week.
He said the county assumes that the state and federal government will reimburse most if not all of the $4.5 million approved Monday.
