Jackson County has $123 million in COVID-19 aid. Here’s why it won’t share with KC
Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick has asked the White House to help settle a dispute between the state, Jackson County and Kansas City over the distribution of federal coronavirus aid.
Kansas City didn’t get its own direct payment to cover pandemic-related costs — millions for equipment, overtime for emergency workers —because it fell just short of the required 500,000 population threshold.
State officials say the county should share a portion of the $123 million it has received from the federal government. More than half of Kansas City’s residents live in the county.
The two sides disagree over what the law actually says.
County officials maintain that the city should get its aid through the state, which received more than $2 billion to help cover state and local government expenses. Federal requirements, they said, prevent them from simply writing the city a check.
“It would certainly be in the best interest longer term for the county to be willing to work with the state and city to ensure the city receives its fair share of that,” Fitzpatrick said Thursday, after county officials rebuffed his request to give the city a cut of the cash.
“They were of the opinion that they could not disperse money to other political subdivisions,” Fitzpatrick said. “Our interpretation of that is not the same as theirs.”
Fitzpatrick has asked the Trump administration to mediate the dispute.
In the meantime, Kansas City is scrambling to find a solution about how it will pay its health and public safety costs at a time when city tax revenues are plummeting.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas has been pleading his case to state and county officials after efforts to persuade the U.S. Treasury Department to approve direct aid for the city failed.
Lucas wrote to Fitzpatrick on April 23 asking for a share of the state’s aid, noting that the city’s first responders are serving more than 8 percent of Missouri’s population.
He wrote a similar letter the following week to Jackson County Executive Frank White, asking the county to set aside $54.6 million, more than a third of its federal aid, to cover city expenses.
Fitzpatrick is charged with overseeing the $2 billion the state received from the federal government. More than $500 million will be distributed to the city of St. Louis and 114 counties, including Platte, Clay and Cass. — all of which are partially within the Kansas City limits.
There was no aid specifically carved out for Kansas City. But Fitzpatrick and Lucas said that these three counties have agreed to share funds in proportion to the number of their residents live in who the city.
Little leverage
Jackson County hasn’t made the same pledge.
“As far as I’m aware Jackson County is the only county of four that has not made that commitment yet,” Lucas said Wednesday. “We fully expect them to do so… That’s what the governor’s expecting.”
Clay County announced this week that 54 percent of the $29.3 million it received from the state will go to Kansas City, citing guidance from Fitzpatrick’s office. But when the county commission met Friday it only approved $11.7 million as direct payment to the city, which was $4.1 million less than Lucas’ office had expected.
Cass and Platte both received about $12 million from the state, but have yet to distribute it.
Fitzpatrick has little leverage over Jackson County, which received its money directly from the federal government and has rebuffed his request to steer a portion of its aid to the city.
The county will ultimately be responsible to ensure proper usage of the funds, which is why county officials have drawn a hard line.
“In order to receive funding directly from the federal government, Jackson County was required to make certain assurances about our usage of the funds. Due to those requirements, the County is not able to simply cut a check to any governmental entity, business or person,” said Marshanna Smith, a spokeswoman for the county, in a statement.
Smith said the spending already approved by the county has primarily benefited the city.
“To date, the majority of coronavirus-related funding approved by our County Legislature has been spent within Kansas City. For example, millions of dollars of support has been provided to support both Truman Medical Center locations, which are located within Kansas City,” she said.
“In addition, the County was asked by the City to partner in creating an isolation space for individuals infected with the virus and without a safe space to recover. In response to that request, the County agreed to cover 100% of the costs for the space, which we believe will be operational by week’s end.”
‘My name is on the money’
While this spending will help Kansas City residents, they won’t help the city cover the cost of the expenses it’s already incurred responding to the crisis. Asked if the city could submit expenses to the county, Smith said all distribution funds would have to be approved by the Jackson County Legislature.
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri, said he’s met with both Lucas and Jackson County Executive Frank White in an effort to resolve the conflict.
“It’s clear to me that we don’t have any time for the city to hate the county and the county to hate the city over this funding,” Cleaver said. “One of my staffers reached out to Treasury and their conclusion was that the county had the money and they have broad discretion to handle those dollars.”
Cleaver said the came away from his conversation with White confident that the county will spend money in ways that will benefit city, but he said it’s unlikely the county will shift funds to the city government.
“As Executive White told me, he said, ‘Look, my name is on the money,’” Cleaver said, noting he’ll be pushing for direct aid for Kansas City in the next bill.
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, said he has reached out to the Treasury Department on behalf of the city.
“In my view, there’s nothing in the CARES Act that would prohibit counties from distributing funds to cities. I have personally spoken to the Treasury Department and encouraged them to issue a determination to help resolve this issue if an agreement cannot be reached,” Blunt said in a statement Friday.
Can of worms?
A memo from the city’s attorney’s office states that the federal legislation makes it clear that states can share their aid with local governments and it’s logical to infer that the same rule applies to county governments receiving state aid.
But the memo also acknowledges there’s nothing in the federal legislation requires the county to share.
Caleb Clifford, Jackson County Executive Frank White’s chief of staff, has previously referred to guidance it has received from the National Association of Counties when suggesting to The Star that the county’s restricted from the sharing the funds.
But the association’s spokesman Paul Guequierre appeared to contradict that in an email.
“A representative from Treasury told our members that counties are permitted to share funding with municipalities within their borders. The county remains accountable for the proper use of the funds,” Guequierre said. “That is what the Treasury Department has said. That is not guidance from NACo.”
If the county refuses to share with the city, the other solution to ensure aid goes to the city is for the state to step up with its remaining funds. Cleaver said this would help eliminate conflict.
But Fitzpatrick was hesitant to commit to that, contending that it would overweight funds to the Kansas City region by letting the county and city double up on aid. He said this would be unfair to other communities in the state and also reward Jackson County for its refusal to cooperate.
“We want to be sure to not do something that opens a big can of worms,” Fitzpatrick said.
“My interest and the governor’s interest is to make sure that the citizens of the city and the county are equitably treated… so that’s why we’ve been proactively working with all the counties involved in the Kansas City situation,” Fitzpatrick said.
The Star’s Allison Kite contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 4:05 PM.
