Jackson County can spend $70 million in federal COVID relief funding on projects and programs across the county, but the legislature can’t agree on how to use it. If they don’t come to terms by the end of the month, it will go back to the federal government.
The deadlock over the funds surrounds a county building in downtown Kansas City at 1300 Washington St., which the previous legislature bought with the same federal COVID relief money. The building is meant to serve as an administrative building for county business.
Some current legislators don’t think the American Rescue Plan dollars should be put toward rehabilitating the new facility. They want the county to sell the building, or to use other funds from the county’s reserves to reconstruct it.
Fighting between the legislators and County Executive Frank White, Jr. has stalled other county-level decisions since the latest group of legislators began their term in 2023. Negotiations with the Royals and Chiefs over new stadiums, property assessments and recent gun restrictions have all been caught up in standoffs between White and some legislators.
Legislator Manny Abarca was one of five legislators who sponsored an ordinance to direct the federal funds to initiatives like senior services and affordable housing.
“We owe it to the constituents in Jackson County to make sure this money, a large portion of it at least, goes towards the actual intended expenditures that Congress had planned,” Abarca told KCUR. “Although we can use this money for infrastructure, it was never intended to be used for deferred maintenance.”
White vetoed that ordinance. In response, Abarca, Sean Smith, Donna Peyton, DaRon McGee and Venessa Huske skipped the next legislative session, calling the veto an “orchestrated crisis” and stalling a decision on the money until December.
An ordinance introduced by Legislator Jalen Anderson during that failed meeting would spend the money on things like housing and food insecurity. It would also allocate more than $17 million to improve the 1300 Washington building.
White believes the improvements on 1300 Washington would help speed along county administrative services, like property taxes, and make room for the courthouses to run more efficiently.
“Federal deadlines mean options for using these funds are shrinking every day that we delay,” White told KCUR. “We risk missing the chance to invest in urgent needs like public health infrastructure and community support.”
White says legislators did not follow the necessary procedure to divide funds in their previous proposal. Abarca and Smith have accused White of refusing to meet and stalling the process inside county departments like finance.
“The county executive, through his staff, have repeatedly said that they would rather send the money back to Washington, D.C. than to do other things with it if they can’t have the money they want for that building,” Smith said on KCUR’s Up to Date.
Both factions of the legislature have said they’re willing to compromise. But Abarca and White accuse the other of being unwilling to come to the table.
The legislature often sees this back and forth. Less than two months after being sworn into office, Abarca called out White for not attending meetings and accused him of secrecy about the budget.
When property assessments rose by an average of 30% and up to 100% in some cases, Abarca and Smith said the county executive’s office wasn’t transparent about the process. The Missouri State Tax Commission later ordered the county to roll back assessments to previous, lower levels.
White said the move would be catastrophic and vowed to fight the order. Abarca, Smith, Donna Peyton, DaRon McGee and Venessa Huskey — the same five legislators who protested the legislative meeting after White’s veto — supported the Tax Commission’s order. A judge later dismissed the state’s rollback requirement.
The failed stadium sales tax extension vote in April also led to contention between legislators and White. The Royals and Chiefs wanted the 40-year extension to fund a new downtown baseball stadium and renovations to Arrowhead.
The legislature originally approved putting the sales tax measure on the ballot before White vetoed the measure. He said the county needed more details from the teams before rushing to a vote; legislators said it should be up to the residents to decide. The legislature overrode White’s veto.
The legislature did not vote on community benefits agreements or leases before the vote, though White said they needed to before putting the extension on the ballot. Both the teams and the legislature accused White of stalling negotiations.
More recently, White vetoed a bill that bars the purchase, possession or transfer of weapons by people 21 years old and younger. He said he did so out of concern it would trigger lawsuits against the county. Missouri does not allow cities to pass local gun laws.
The legislature overrode his veto to pass the Abarca-sponsored bill. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey sued the county over the bill less than a week later.
Abarca says he is pushing for a better organization within Jackson County, and that the constant fighting has “stunted” the opportunity for the legislature to work together with the executive’s office.
“(White) is standing in the way,” Abarca said. “He wants to control everything. And unfortunately, he doesn't know how to manage a government or a county, or anything for that matter.”
For his part, White says he has met with legislators since they were sworn in last year. He says the legislators are “relatively new” and don’t have the experience he’s had in the county. He attributes much of the feud to “political theater.”
“We always have to weed out the politics of it,” White said. “Sometimes people say things to cast a shadow on something maybe they're trying to get away with, or trying to hide. I'm not going to be out there trying to defend what they're saying. But, sometimes when you don't want to do nothing, then you look to blame folks for it.”
Despite the repeated conflict, both White and Abarca say they have faith that the legislature will appropriate the money before the looming deadline.
For Abarca, that compromise looks like spending minimal COVID money on the 1300 Washington building and the vast majority on county services. For White, that means spending more on the building so the county doesn’t deplete its reserves while still appropriating money toward other community needs.
The legislature meets again next week, where they will once again consider an ordinance to spend the money — the same one Abarca and the others protested earlier this month. They must reach a compromise by Dec. 31 to keep the funding.
