• About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Pickem Terms and Conditions
Monday, July 4, 2022
The Platte County Landmark Newspaper
  • Home
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Pickem!
    • Login / Sign-up
    • Results by Week
    • Pickem Rules and Help
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward
  • es_MXSpanish
  • Home
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Pickem!
    • Login / Sign-up
    • Results by Week
    • Pickem Rules and Help
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward
  • es_MXSpanish
No Result
View All Result
The Platte County Landmark Newspaper
No Result
View All Result

Commissioners too generous with our money

Landmark Staff by Landmark Staff
July 31, 2020
in Letters to the Editor
grants

Platte County has no limits on grant request amounts

13
SHARES
318
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via Email

EDITOR:

Thanks to the Federal CARES Act, Platte County received more than $12.2 million of our funds from the United States government. It appears the Platte County Commissioners have decided to dedicate virtually all our $12.2 million to giving grants to businesses.

RelatedNews

The GOP and diabolical forces

The constant lying by politicians

Voter registration reminder

While assistance to small businesses should be part of our overall recovery plan, what about the Platte County Health Department, the four school districts, the municipalities, and other public agencies in Platte County that we support with our local tax dollars?

Regardless of your perspective on the COVID-19 situation, it clearly has had a wide financial impact in Platte County, and we need a comprehensive approach instead of the narrowly focused one currently pursued by the commissioners.

The Platte County Commissioners should be obtaining information from the Platte County Health Department to determine what their needs are. They should also be communicating with the school districts in Platte County to identify added costs related to opening schools during the pandemic. Schools may be receiving some other grant funding (businesses did too) but will still have some costs that are above what was provided. And the commissioners should work with all the municipalities in the county to ascertain what additional expenses they have incurred that are eligible for reimbursement.

According to federal guidelines, the grant funds “may only be used to cover costs that are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019.” Those guidelines describe eligible expenses including medical expenses, public health expenses, payroll expenses for public safety, public health and similar employees, and expenses related to the provision of economic support. Examples of eligible expenses include acquisition and distribution of medical and protective supplies, costs of COVID-19 testing, and “costs to facilitate distance learning to enable school closings.” One of the examples is “expenditures related to the provision of grants to small businesses to reimburse the costs of business interruption caused by required closures”.

Other counties are providing grants to small businesses, too. What is unusual about Platte County’s program is there is no definition of small business, nor a limit on the amount of the grants. Other counties I researched generally limit the grants to under $10,000 to businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Platte County Commissioners are much more generous with our money when it comes to giving it to businesses. For example, on July 24, the commissioners approved a grant of $226,540 to one “small” business.

The health department, schools and municipalities incurred substantial additional expenditures that are eligible for reimbursement, but it appears the commissioners will give all the CARES funds to businesses instead. That means those additional costs will fall to local taxpayers like you and me to shoulder.

–David Park

Platte County

More commentary on the county grant program here

The list of the first 160 county grant applicants can be found here

Tags: covid-19Health Departmentplatte countyPublic Safetytaxes
Landmark Staff

Landmark Staff

Related Posts

Fireworks, Greitens, sashes

Fireworks display in Platte City

by Ivan Foley
July 3, 2022
0

There is a fireworks show set in Platte City the night of Monday, July 4. The fireworks display will begin at 10 p.m. at the campus of Platte County R-3 School District along Hwy. 92 in Platte City. There will...

Dunk tank

Downtown Platte City free festival set July 4th

by Ivan Foley
July 3, 2022
0

Free food, games, entertainment from 10-2 Platte City's downtown July 4th Celebration will kick off at 10 a.m. on Monday, July 4. The event will run until 2 p.m. KC Wolf, mascot for the Kansas City Chiefs, will help get...

Parkville Mayor Dean Katerndahl

Landmark Live with Parkville’s new Mayor Dean Katerndahl

by Landmark Digital
July 2, 2022
0

https://youtu.be/Gt4UinmypLI Landmark Publisher Ivan Foley, Parkville's new Mayor Dean Katerndahl, and local musician Brad Carl chat about all things Parkville and other current events. hey everybody welcome in it's landmark live we are back after a long absence i'm ivan...

Evergy Platte City

Evergy catching static

by Ivan Foley
June 30, 2022
0

'The people and businesses of Platte City deserve reliable electricity' (EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first entry in a two-part series focusing on frequent power outages in a major portion of Platte City) Electrical provider Evergy is catching some static...

Next Post
Education

Crime, real estate and education

Popular News

  • Mexican restaurant

    Mexican restaurant opens in Briarcliff Village

    91 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 23
  • Authorities seek two persons of interest in shooting

    31 shares
    Share 12 Tweet 8
  • Evergy catching static

    18 shares
    Share 7 Tweet 5
  • July 4th in Platte City: Free food, music, games

    43 shares
    Share 17 Tweet 11
  • Free food awaits July 4th Celebration attendees

    10 shares
    Share 4 Tweet 3
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Pickem Terms and Conditions
Call us at 816-858-0363

Copyright © 2019-2020 The Platte County Landmark Newspaper - All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Subscribe Online
  • Home
  • Local News
  • Opinion
  • Landmark Pickem
    • Results by Week
    • Pickem Rules and Help
  • Landmark Live!
  • Looking Backward
  • es_MXSpanish

Copyright © 2019-2020 The Platte County Landmark Newspaper - All Rights Reserved

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?