Jackson County, state offer dueling plans for sharing coronavirus aid while KC waits
The state of Missouri has offered to shield Jackson County from financial responsibility if Kansas City misuses any federal coronavirus funds the county agrees to share with the city.
County officials have shown no sign that they will accept the proposal from Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick, which would require the county to relinquish control over millions in federal aid and shift it to the city.
The offer is meant to resolve lingering questions about how Kansas City will pay for expenses it’s facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including protective equipment and overtime pay for health and public safety workers.
County officials would prefer that the city to submit its expenses for approval by the Jackson County Legislature before it can receive a check, an approach that will give the county tighter control.
Kansas City fell just short of the 500,000 population threshold for direct federal aid. In recent weeks, state and city leaders have sought to pressure Jackson County to share with the city a portion of the $123 million it received. Kansas City accounts for nearly half of the county’s population.
The U.S. Treasury Department said last week that a county can transfer funds to a city, town, or school district under the legislation passed by Congress in March — but is not required to do so.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas has asked Jackson County Executive Frank White to set aside $54.6 million for the city based on the fact the city accounts for 44.5 % of the county’s population.
County Administrator Troy Schulte told the Jackson County Legislature last week that the county would be “on the hook to repay the federal government” if the city misused the funds.
Kansas City ‘unique’
Fitzpatrick’s office presented the county with a proposed solution last week in which the state would agree to shoulder the responsibility instead, according to documents obtained by The Star.
Under the proposed agreement, the county would essentially meet Lucas’ request — relinquish federal aid proportional to the number of Kansas City residents in the county — while the state would agree to “indemnify and hold harmless” the county for the money.
The city would commit to spending the funds only for purposes approved by federal guidelines under the proposal.
Fitzpatrick has negotiated similar terms with the three other counties that span Kansas City— Clay, Cass and Platte — which have received at total of more than $50 million from the state. The counties are too small for direct federal aid.
“The only reason we are involving ourselves in the Kansas City situation is because... there is no city with the volume of cases combined with the sheer population, their own health department,” Fitzpatrick said in an interview last week. “There are a lot of factors that make Kansas City unique.”
None of the counties have yet signed onto the memoranda of understanding drafted by Fitzpatrick, which would commit them to steering a portion of their aid to the city. A meeting of the Clay Commission erupted into a shouting match last week over the amount of its state aid going to Kansas City.
Mary Compton, a spokeswoman for Fitzpatrick, said Tuesday that the treasurer’s office is giving the four counties time to review the proposals.
Clay, Cass and Platte are reliant on the state for the funds, which gives Fitzpatrick more leverage. Jackson County, on the other hand, received its money from the federal government.
Schulte floats idea
Fitzpatrick said last week that Jackson County leaders “have a decision to make on whether they want to support the other local governments within them like all the other counties in the state have agreed to do or if they want to chart their own path.”
Marshanna Smith, a spokeswoman for Jackson County, didn’t directly say whether the county planned to accept or reject Fitzpatrick’s proposal.
She instead described an alternative plan that would require the city to submit its expenses for approval by the Jackson County Legislature. She said the county has made Fitzpatrick aware of this plan, which would establish a process “for all jurisdictions within Jackson County” to seek reimbursement.
Schulte, who served as city manager for Kansas City before transitioning to county administrator late last year, floated the idea last week at a meeting of the Jackson County Legislature.
“What I’m proposing is that Kansas City—if it’s the will of the Legislature— Kansas City, the city of Independence, the city of Blue Springs would bring their actual COVID-related expenses… put an agreement in place, have you approve it, and then we would either reimburse for their actual expenses or pay expenses on their behalf, however we wanted to do that,” Schulte said.
Jackson isn’t the only county in the metro opting for tight control of its federal funds. Johnson County in Kansas said cities within its borders have been instructed to seek aid from the state of Kansas rather than the county, which received $116 million in federal aid.
Kansas City leaders were hopeful that Jackson County, the largest county in the metro, would sign onto Fitzpatrick’s proposal last week. But as of Tuesday evening, that appears unlikely to happen.
“We implore all four counties to ensure necessary funds flow quickly into our community for the benefit of the Kansas Citians that reside in their counties,” said Lucas’ spokeswoman Morgan Said.
She said that Fitzpatrick’s idea presented a common sense approach to ensure the city has money for “equipment and overtime pay for our paramedics, firefighters and police officers, housing for our homeless population, aid for small businesses, and additional testing to contain the spread of this terrible virus in Kansas City.”
This story was updated to include comment from spokespersons for Kansas City and Jackson County.
This story was originally published May 12, 2020 at 4:41 PM.
