ST. LOUIS — The federal recovery package could leave Missouri’s two largest cities waiting weeks for money from Washington to help manage the new coronavirus outbreak, while ºüÀêÊÓƵ County and Jackson County quickly receive direct aid worth nearly $300 million.
And ºüÀêÊÓƵ — with many of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the state — could be in worse shape than Kansas City, which is within a county that will receive direct aid. ºüÀêÊÓƵ city serves as its own county and its population is below the threshold for direct federal aid.
The federal relief bill approved a week ago included $150 billion in aid for state and local government costs related to the coronavirus, though only local governments with more than 500,000 people are allowed to receive direct federal assistance. ºüÀêÊÓƵ, with a population of just over 300,000, will have to wait for Missouri to appropriate some of the $2.1 billion it will receive.
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ºüÀêÊÓƵ County is estimated to receive $173.5 million, based on estimates from And though Kansas City, with a population of 492,000, falls just below the threshold, much of the city is within Jackson County, which at about 700,000 residents, is eligible for direct assistance. Jackson County could help pay for coronavirus related expenses within Kansas City.
Not so for the independent city of ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
“We thought that would be an error or something,†said Steve Conway, chief of staff to ºüÀêÊÓƵ Mayor Lyda Krewson. “So no city in the state of Missouri got direct (federal) money.â€
Krewson sent a letter to Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday seeking guidance on how ºüÀêÊÓƵ can quickly access some of the money distributed to the state.
The city is anticipating a shortfall of $55 million to $63 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, according to Krewson’s letter.
“An analysis by our budget director indicates that the City of ºüÀêÊÓƵ is facing major losses in revenue while accumulating additional expenses related to the COVID-19 crisis,†Krewson’s letter says. “The City of ºüÀêÊÓƵ is prepared to rapidly restart our businesses, jobs and taxes for both the state and city. To do this, it is imperative that we maintain our level of services to the community.â€
It’s unclear just how long it will take for the state to get money to local governments to help with the coronavirus response — or how much it will send their way.
Seeking more US aid
Already, mayors and local governments are urging Congress to pass a second stimulus that provides direct relief to help local and state governments plug budget holes rather than money that can only be used for COVID-19 expenses.
“It’s a disappointment that the City of ºüÀêÊÓƵ may apparently not benefit from this first round of federal relief related to COVID-19,†ºüÀêÊÓƵ Comptroller Darlene Green said in a statement. “We are hopeful that the City of ºüÀêÊÓƵ will qualify for a second round of federal relief.â€
Municipalities within ºüÀêÊÓƵ County likely won’t be able to use the money because public health operations are run at the county level.
The federal relief cash isn’t to fill budget shortfalls, said Pat Kelly, executive director of the Municipal League of Metro ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
“The municipalities don’t provide health services or those kinds of things,†Kelly said. “There may be some minimal costs associated with the epidemic, but generally speaking there isn’t really anything the cities could submit reimbursement for.â€
St. Charles County, with over 400,000 people, is also urging the state to quickly remit money to smaller jurisdictions.
“We had a conference call with the governor the other day and impressed upon him the fact that we are already well into our reserves trying to finance our effort to stop this epidemic,†St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann said. “We’ve got to order more things, and we’ve got to get those things as soon as we can and we just don’t want to have to wait any more or any longer than necessary for him to decide how to distribute these funds. ... The things we need to order are flying off the shelves.â€
‘Needed those funds yesterday’
It’s not clear if the federal relief cash will have to go through the legislative appropriations process — eating up more critical time. The hope is that the governor can just direct the money to where it’s needed.
“We needed those funds yesterday,†said St. Charles County Public Health Director Demetrius Cianci-Chapman. “The local public health authorities throughout the state are worried that because so much of this response has been placed in our lap, the funding for this response is going to get caught up — before it ever reaches us — in some red tape bureaucracy...
“People are dying in our communities,†he continued. “We have hoped for testing equipment. We have hoped for better guidance from the federal government. We have hoped for clearer and more uniform orders for social distancing. And none of that stuff has come to fruition yet.
“So now we’re hoping for the funding that is intended for this, and frankly we’re out of patience and losing hope quickly.â€
Editor's note:Â This article was updated to correct the amount of funds the state must use and how much it can allocate to local governments.Â