The Jackson County Legislature approved a plan to spend $70.4 million in COVID-19 relief funds on Thursday, coming to a compromise less than two weeks before they would have had to send the money back to Washington.
Under the agreed-upon plan, the county will spend the American Rescue Plan funding on existing county contracts and salaries for employees of the county’s public health and safety departments over the next three years. The legislature would then use the freed-up money from the general fund to spend an equal amount on community services and county infrastructure.
Eight of the nine county legislators approved the ordinance with just 12 days to spare, putting an end to a monthslong feud over where the money would be most useful. Legislator Sean Smith abstained from the vote.
After the compromise ordinance passed, putting tensions — at least temporarily — to rest, Legislator Jeanie Lauer joked with Manny Abarca and other legislators.
“This is something to celebrate,” Lauer said. “Again, thanks to all the colleagues for everybody’s work on getting this done.”
During Thursday’s special session, County Executive Frank White Jr. introduced an amendment to create two accounts for the freed-up money, one for infrastructure and one for community groups. The ordinance needed unanimous approval to pass, which it received because Smith left the chambers.
Over the preceding months, the legislature had split into two factions. One, made up of legislators Megan Marshall, Jeanie Lauer, Jalen Anderson and Charlie Franklin, supported White and said the other group’s plan did not follow federal rules.
White wanted to spend some of the money on county infrastructure, mainly an administrative building at 1300 Washington St. purchased under the previous legislature and overdue repairs at the county’s downtown courthouse.
The other side, led by legislators Abarca and DaRon McGee, wanted to spend the money on projects led by community groups and local governments. Abarca, McGee, Smith, Vanessa Huskey and Donna Peyton opposed spending the money on 1300 Washington.
The groups finally compromised after a call with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II, who convinced Abarca’s faction to back down after agreeing with White that their plan didn’t meet federal standards.
“It became obvious to me that the members of the legislature may not understand the finality of a federal deadline,” Cleaver told The Kansas City Star Tuesday.
Abarca’s plan included 25 ordinances that would have given the money to various nonprofit groups and municipal projects. But those ordinances didn't follow federal and local guidelines, which county administration said would nullify Abarca’s plan and consequently send the federal dollars back to Washington.
Upon passage of the deal, White congratulated the legislature on compromising on “my offer” to help the community and fund fixes to the county’s aging buildings. He also scolded Abarca’s faction because, he said, they would “rather burn the house down than to lift it up” by promising money to community groups that it couldn’t legally pledge.
“I believe the agencies and the nonprofits through this process were misled,” White said. “It is my hope that, at some point, when this is all settled, that those agencies and those nonprofits are taken care of in some way.”
The legislature also passed two ordinances that would allocate ARPA money to Oak Grove and Blue Springs. Smith, who introduced the ordinances, said he expected White to veto them. Like Abarca’s ordinances, White believes these are illegal, though Smith disagrees. If White doesn’t veto them, Smith believes it could open the county up to lawsuits from the two cities.
“If he chooses not to veto them he’ll leave us in a state of limbo,” Smith said. “But it seems like when we’re in a state of limbo, the county executive just does what he wants.”
The final passage of the compromise, which seemed unlikely just days ago, was a relief to many legislators and county officials. People in the room clapped when it passed.
The ordinance would still require legislators to agree on where to spend the freed-up money, something they did not do leading up to the deadline.
