Clay County Administrator Stephen Larson breaks down CARES Act spending for the Clay County Commission

Karen Newman

The August 4 meeting of the Clay County Commission found members working with dollar allocations for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act money.

Clay County Administrator Stephen Larson reminded the board that the total Clay County share of CARES Act dollars is $7,843,443.  He reviewed the six-category spending framework proposed by the Clay County CARES Act Committee and approved by the Clay County Commission at their July 28 meeting. Larson said, “During the past week, the Clay County CARES ACT Committee proposed allocations of CARES dollars to be spent in each category.”

· Small Businesses $2.25 million

· Community Resiliency-$750,000

· Public Health Outreach and Service-$2 million

· County Infrastructure-$1.5 million

· County Reimbursements for COVID-19 Responses-$1 million

· Small Communities (under 200 citizens)-$86,161

· Total allocated-$7,586,161l

· Miscellaneous-$257,282 (recommended by federal guidelines to cover unanticipated needs across spending categories)

Larson provided more information about small business relief grants. The CARES Act Committee defines a small business as having 2-20 full-time or full-time equivalent employees. A qualified business may be eligible for up to $10,000 per application. Sole proprietorships are limited to daycares, including home daycares, and businesses with an established business location. These businesses may qualify for up to $3,000 per application A committee made up of community members and county representatives will consider grant applications. Commissioner Mongeau added that the goal is to make the application process as stream-lined as possible. 

The $750,000 allocated to community resiliency will be divided into to a $250,000 allotment for non-profit foundations and charities classified as 501-c-3 under IRS code and for veteran groups classified as 501-c-19, under the IRS code. The remaining $500,000 will be used for emergency assistance programs and school-based and community-based mental health programs.  Commissioner Campbell emphasized that the county committee group works on partnerships with groups already providing services such as Clay County Public Health. Commission Mongeau said, “We want to make sure the commission knows where our conversations are going and how we can address all the needs we see in the community.”

Clay County Public Health Director Kathy McKay and her department received praise from County Administrator Stephen Larson for the leadership role they take, under the guidance of the Minnesota Department of Health and the CDC, in the pandemic fight.  The $2 million allocated to this group will be used for an extension of Clay County Public Health’s efforts in the community resiliency sector:

· Community Education and Outreach

· Texting

· Contact Tracing

· Case Investigation

· Equipment required to respond to the pandemic

Commissioner Campbell said, “We want to be very careful that we don’t under-fund this one.  We are cautiously optimistic that $2 million will be enough but this is the front-lines in fighting the pandemic.  We need to be sure that we put adequate dollars there.”

The County Infrastructure allotment of $1.5 million will be used mainly for restructuring how county employees work in the current and post-pandemic world.  These funds will be allocated to ensure Clay County has adequately equipped remote-location infrastructure and equipment in place to ensure maximum efficiency.  The initial spending for this category will be up-front equipment purchases. Funding will also be used to make sure that Clay County buildings are compliant with health and safety regulations.

As it did in other counties around the country, COVID-19 pandemic brought unanticipated funding issues to Clay County. The $1 million dollars in CARES Act funds is designated for use in reimbursing Covid-related expenses from March 1, 2020 to December 1, 2020. The pandemic-related expenses incurred include personal protective equipment, extra wages and overtime for county employees, cleaning buildings, sanitizer and miscellaneous costs such as signage and plexiglass.

Small cities and townships under 200 people may be entitled to a share of Clay Counties’ $86,161 CARES dollars allocation for COVOD-19 expenses. Qualifying counties and townships will apply through completion of a County Coronavirus Fund Small City and Township Expense Reimbursement and Certification Form that accompanies each application.

Larson concluded with a message for recipients of CARES funds, “Just as a reminder for cities and townships, they have until November 15, 2020 to spend their allocations.  The county has until December 1. Any unspent funds go back.”

The commission approved the dollar allotments for each category as proposed by the Clay County CARES Act Committee with the understanding that allotted amounts are flexible.