Overland Park is considering using a portion of its nearly $3.9 million alcohol-tax reserve to replace federal grant funding it stopped distributing directly to local nonprofits. Officials have not specified how much money the proposed replacement program would receive.

The city ended its practice of distributing Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds directly to nonprofits after the Trump administration began requiring cities to collect and report the immigration status of all program recipients, as the Johnson County Post reported in August. Rather than comply, Overland Park redirected its CDBG allocation to parks and public works projects. The city received about $700,000 in CDBG funds in 2025.

That left organizations like Friends of JCDS without funding they had counted on for years. The nonprofit, which builds and renovates housing for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Johnson County, had received about $100,000 annually through the program.

City Attorney Michael Koss told the Community Development Committee that a 2018 charter ordinance gives Overland Park a workaround, the Johnson County Post first reported. The ordinance expanded allowable uses for the city's Special Alcohol Control Fund beyond the state law's standard categories of substance abuse treatment, parks and the general fund. It added domestic violence prevention, mental health care and other supportive programming.

The fund, generated by a state by-the-drink tax, held close to $3.9 million in carryover money as of Jan. 1, 2026, according to city budget documents. Overland Park receives about $2 million a year for the fund and sends roughly $1.3 million of that to United Community Services of Johnson County.

The reserve is substantial. Koss said it could support a parallel program focused on services that prevent substance abuse while also helping low- and moderate-income households. He did not specify an exact dollar amount but said it would be comparable to what nonprofits had received through CDBG grants. The city had planned to distribute $425,000 in CDBG funds to those groups in 2025 and distributed about $300,000 in 2024.

Janel Bowers, executive director of Friends of JCDS, said the new funding source may not work for every organization the same way CDBG money did. Her nonprofit used those grants primarily for capital projects like driveway replacements and bathroom renovations at its homes.

"It's not something I could use to replace a driveway," Bowers said, adding that the alcohol fund money appears better suited for groups focused on programming.

Sara Prem, chair of the city's CDBG Advisory Committee, called the proposal a step forward but said she wants to see the program's terms before fully endorsing it. The advisory committee itself is being dissolved as part of the plan.

The Community Development Committee voted 4-2 on Wednesday, Oct. 7, to advance an amended Citizen Participation Plan that eliminates the advisory committee. Councilmember Inas Younis, who previously served on the CDBG Advisory Committee, voted in favor. Council President Melissa Cheatham and Councilmember Amy Scrivner voted no, citing lingering concerns.

The amended plan goes to the full Overland Park City Council for a public hearing on Monday, Nov. 16. Koss said the Finance, Administration and Economic Development Committee could review the new program's terms later this year, with funds potentially distributed to nonprofits in 2027.

Residents who want to weigh in can attend the Nov. 16 City Council meeting.