Jackson County legislature approves ARPA spending package after heated debate over late changes and shelter grants

Jackson County legislators on Dec. 31 voted to approve an ordinance and a series of cooperative-agreement resolutions that move federal ARPA funds toward community agencies after a contentious, sometimes personal debate over last-minute distribution changes.

The legislature adopted ordinance 6051, an appropriation tied to ARPA funds, and later approved a larger funding package in resolution 22-144. The clerk recorded the ordinance vote as 8 yes, 1 no. Resolution 22-144, which authorizes cooperative agreements up to $32,590,000, passed after debate; the clerk reported the final tally as 6 yes, 1 no and 1 abstention.

Why it matters: Jackson County received $136,500,000 in ARPA allocations and, according to the county executive, has spent about $66,000,000, leaving roughly $70,000,000 still available. County leaders said distributing those dollars to local agencies and projects has been a priority for months.

County Executive remarks set the tone for the meeting. The County Executive said, “Jackson County received $136,500,000 … since then, Jackson has spent $66,000,000 … There is $70,000,000 left. Of that $70,000,000 it is money that should have been out to our agencies … and the fact that it has not been out there is reprehensible.” He also said he had contacted the state auditor and is requesting a full audit of ARPA receipts and expenditures dating to the first dollar received.

Administration and staff framed the mechanics. Steve Arvo, the county administrator, told the legislature the ARPA money had been placed in holding accounts under previous administrations and that the ordinance would designate a special account to permit distributions. “The money has been identified, it was held … through your action today, it gets assigned to an account in which these distributions … can be made,” Arvo said.

Process and partisan friction: Much of the meeting focused not on whether to distribute funds but on how the final list of award amounts changed in the days before the meeting. Several legislators said they had not seen the latest version of the funding list, that about 49 organizations present on an earlier list were now omitted, and that changes were circulated only hours before the vote. One legislator listed reductions to dozens of nonprofit awards (for example, American Jazz Museum from $500,000 to $250,000; Boys and Girls Club of Greater Kansas City from $300,000 to $200,000; Performing Arts Foundation from $85,000 to $0; and reductions to other organizations including the YMCA and multiple service providers).

Debate over domestic-violence shelter funding produced the most direct clash. The county executive proposed a floor amendment to equalize funding for four DV agencies at $300,000 each by reallocating money from some of the largest awards. A motion to adopt that floor amendment failed on a roll call (1 yes, 4 no, 4 abstaining). Supporters of the equalization said it corrected an inequitable distribution; opponents said the change was made without adequate notice and cut scores of organizations from the list.

Legislator Barca pushed for moving the funds quickly. “We should vote on this. We should get this money out the door,” Barca said during the floor debate, urging members not to delay further.

Votes across related measures: The legislature also approved related cooperative agreements in smaller amounts. The clerk recorded the adoption of resolution 22-146 (not to exceed $350,000) with a tally reported as 5 yes, 1 no, 3 abstaining; resolution 22-145 (aggregate not to exceed $2,060,000) was also adopted by roll call. A larger resolution that had been introduced on the agenda authorizing cooperative agreements up to $35,000,000 (resolution 22-143) was withdrawn by the mover.

Requests for follow-up: Multiple legislators asked the administration to provide documentation explaining which organizations were removed and why; issues flagged included expired certificates of insurance and other paperwork discrepancies. The County Executive said he will request an audit from the state auditor to document ARPA inflows and outflows and the administration said it would consult compliance staff and return information to the body.

What’s next: The legislature’s next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 12 at 3 p.m. in the Eastern Jackson County Courthouse. Sponsors and administration staff said they expect disbursements to proceed after the documentation and compliance checks are completed.

(Reporting based on the Dec. 31 special meeting audio/transcript of the Jackson County Legislature.)