KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas says he has asked Jackson County to accelerate a portion of the federal CARES Act funding that the mayor says the city is eligible to receive.
Lucas on Tuesday announced he asked the Jackson County Legislature for $27.1 million from its portion of CARES Act funds, which will go toward the city’s health, fire and police departments, as well as sanitation efforts.
In his letter to County Executive Frank White Jr. and the county legislature, Lucas said that during his formal request for $54.59 million in funding during the legislature’s meeting on Monday, he heard “a willingness to fund relief” for efforts related to testing and contact tracing within the Kansas City Health Department and support for first responders.
“Based on the Legislature’s discussion, I write to request initial and quick funding of a $27.1 million portion of CARES Act funds for the hard costs of our COVID-19 relief efforts in the City of Kansas City,” Lucas wrote in the letter.
Lucas said that funds received from Jackson County will stay within the parts of KCMO located in the county.
The request for accelerated funding includes $11.3 million in Health Department spending for increased testing and contact tracing; $12.5 million for the police and fire departments, which includes protective equipment and overtime wages related to quarantines; and $3.3 million in facilities sanitation.
Kansas City was not eligible for an initial wave of CARES Act funding because it does not meet the 500,000 threshold. Jackson County received a $122.7 million disbursement from the state.
Read Lucas' full letter to the Jackson County Legislature below:
