JEFFERSON CITY聽鈥 Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder was the lone dissenter today when the Missouri Development Finance Board approved a $100,000 grant for the Ferguson Commission.
The Ferguson Commission is a聽16-member committee convened by Gov. Jay Nixon to address the 鈥渟ocial and economic conditions鈥 highlighted by protests after the killing of Michael Brown. More than 300 people applied to be on the commission. Nixon swore in the members .
Kinder, a board member, said similar studies have been done since the 1960s. He doesn't think this one, which "will gather dust on lots of shelves, will be an important part of the solution to Ferguson."
Other board members didn't agree. Board Chairwoman Marie Carmichael called the commission timely.
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"I think these events have brought people together in a way that creates a sense of urgency that might make it possible to bring an outcome on these social issues," Carmichael said.
The grant -- which will come from the board's cash reserves -- will be administered by the United Way of Great 最新杏吧原创. As of Sept. 30, the board had $12 million in cash and investments from聽issuance fees of tax credits and bonds. This money is used to聽pay the board's operating expenses, "including staff and all other economic development efforts," said Amy Susan, Missouri Department of Economic Development spokeswoman.
Additional funding for the Ferguson Commission will be sought through private contributions. Department Director Mike Downing said the commission could need $1 million. Downing, also a board member, requested the funds to support the commission's "operating costs, research and other related expenses," according to a Nov. 12 letter to Carmichael.
