Beltrami County Board Updated on CARES Act Funding

At the Beltrami County Board of Commissioners meeting held last night, the commissioners were briefed on funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act. The county received $5.88 million in total. A committee was specifically created within the county in order to distribute the fund.

County Administrator Kay Mack gave a presentation on where the CARES Act funding had gone in the county. She outlined the following expenses:

• Acquisition and distribution of protective supplies for staff.
• Disinfection of public areas and facilities.
• Payroll for public safety, public health, human services, maintenance, and any staff dedicated to mitigation or response.
• Food and/or prescription drug delivery to residents.
• Improvements to telework capabilities for public employees to enable compliance with precautions.
• Providing sick and family leave to employees for compliance.
• Maintaining County Jail operations.
• Facility projects including the addition of sneeze guards, dividers, signage, and traffic flow stands.

The data provided to the Commissioners also broke down the amounts of expenditures and expected expenditures.

• Public Health measures, $557,600.
• Payroll, $726,406.
• Measures to comply with health mandates, $4.4 million.
• Economic support for businesses, $200,000.

Mack explained that funding from the CARES Act has to go to things related to the public health emergency – the funds can not be used for other county expenses. The funding must also go to things that were not accounted for in the most recent budget, which was approved in December.