Kansas City mayor’s pitch to Jackson County for share of COVID-19 aid falls flat
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas walked away empty handed Monday after pressing the Jackson County Legislature to write a $54.6 million check to cover bills that city departments have paid or expect to incur because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Legislators did not vote on Lucas’ request. But their comments and lack of action clearly indicated that a majority was not inclined to hand over a lump sum from the $122.6 million in COVID-19 aid the federal government awarded Jackson County.
Following the mayor’s pitch, County Executive Frank White and County Administrator Troy Schulte reaffirmed the current policy. The county will reimburse the city for its expenses, if and when they are submitted for approval. That way the county won’t be ordered to repay the federal treasury if an auditor later finds that the money was misspent.
“I don’t think it’s our intention to be handing over checks,” White said.
Kansas City officials were stung when the city failed to qualify for direct federal funding for COVID-19 costs under the CARES Act. Washington gave each state a pot of cash, based on population, to pay for the coronavirus response on the state and local levels.
The money is supposed to go for costs related to testing, public hospitals, masks for emergency responders and other critical items.
Direct aid was available only to cities and counties with at least 500,000 residents. With a population around 700,000, Jackson County qualified. But Kansas City fell just below that threshold and must request federal funds from the four counties that comprise portions of the city.
The bulk of Kansas City’s residents -- 320,000 out of 492,000 according to a 2018 Census Bureau estimate — live in Jackson County and, therefore, Lucas feels the city deserves a proportional share of the stimulus money.
Over the last several weeks, he has been working behind the scenes to try to make that happen, while making public statements to reinforce his position that Kansas City should get its share of the cash up front rather than having to seek multiple reimbursements.
On Monday he went a step further, presenting White and county legislators a three-page, single-spaced letter that explained in detail how the city intended to spend the money. He proposed giving $11.3 million to the city’s health department, for instance, and spending $18 million in assistance for small businesses and $1.5 million to aid local artists and arts organizations hurt by the pandemic.
Lucas’ letter also outlined a mechanism that he said would shield the county of any liability, if a federal inspector general found fault with how Kansas City used the money.
By making state government a middleman in the fund transfer, Lucas argued, the county would be off the hook, if the feds wanted reimbursement. Missouri Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick even drafted a memorandum of understanding that, according to Lucas, said “the state will indemnify and hold harmless Jackson County” for any issues concerning the federal money.
But several legislators weren’t reassured by that .
“I have real concerns about indemnity,” legislator Tony Miller said.
County officials don’t trust the state to make good on its promises, often complaining that the state shorts county government when it comes to upholding its promises to provide adequate financial support for everything from property reassessment to the cost of jailing prisoners awaiting trial on state charges.
Legislator Charlie Franklin also raised a concern over whether it would be fair to write Kansas City a lump-sum check, but not doing the same for the dozen other cities and townships in the county.
County officials say they would rather be the central source of CARES Act to help Kansas City, Raytown, Lee’s Summit and other communities acquire personal protective equipment for emergency responders and over related costs.
“If we can work together, I think that;s the best thing to do,” legislative chair Theresa Galvin said.
Also Monday, White announced that former Kansas City Mayor Sly James will head an advisory oversight committee to oversee how the CARES Act money is spent. Former Kansas City Councilwoman Cindy Circo is also among the committee’s five advisers, which also include Mary Anne Jackson, dean of the medical school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City; accountant Rachelle Styles; and Clara E. Irazábal-Zurita, director of the Latinx and Latin American Studies program at UMKC.
The appointments of James and Circo, in particular, were seen by members of White’s administration as a signal to Kansas City officials that the city’s interests will be a priority.
