KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas City's Finance and Governance Committee agreed to a new plan to give the American Jazz Museum more money than it typically does on several conditions. The plan calls for $730,000 instead of the typical $500,000 annual allocation.
This year the American Jazz Museum has been bouncing checks to vendors. It's also in about $1 million worth of debt.
The city will hand over the money if the museum replaces its board of directors by May 15 and uses the city’s auditing system to track how it addresses the 26 recommended changes from a consulting firm.
The city hired Museum Management Consulting to look into the museum. It issued a scathing report of the museum earlier this month.
The chair of the museum board did not object to the city's conditions.
“One of the things I'm most proud of is that through all of this both the staff and the board have been crystal clear about what is of greatest import: that is the sustaining and the future of the American Jazz Museum,” Anita Maltbia said.
The committee’s proposal will need the approval of the entire city council before it can go into effect.
"This sets forward a path that allows for us to move in the right direction. This is what I think is one of many steps to come. There are a lot of things happening, but they cannot happen overnight," explained council member Jermaine Reed.
On Wednesday, the museum's executive director announced she will step down from her role.
