Of the $300 million in CARES Act funding that has been allocated to local governments to reimburse them for expenses caused by COVID-19, the City of Owensboro is eligible for more than $4 million while Daviess County Fiscal Court is eligible for nearly $3.5 million.
Though they know the amounts, what remains unclear is how much of that funding must be used for COVID-19 costs and how much can be used to support loss in revenue due to the coronavirus.
“It’s supposed to cover COVID-related costs, but we’re wondering if we’d be able to use that money to replace lost revenue,” Judge-Executive Al Mattingly said. “We’re hoping to take some of that money and put it in the hands of citizens and small businesses.”
Mattingly said Fiscal Court was approved for a $3,456,063 reimbursement, calling the amount “a good deal, if we can use it.”
“If we can’t get it into the hands of people who need it, it doesn’t do us a whole lot of good,” he said. “We have nowhere near the $3.4 million in expenses. We’re all struggling on the revenue side.”
The funding is allocated toward COVID-19 expenses that weren’t part of local governments’ budget. Even though Fiscal Court has spent additional funding toward the coronavirus, the depreciation of revenue related to the virus — including job losses, small business closures and tax deadlines being pushed back — has had a far greater impact on the County’s revenue stream than anything else.
The U.S. Department of Treasury has offered guidelines for the usage of the reimbursement, but Mattingly said Fiscal Court won’t know how much lost revenue was incurred for the 2020-2021 budget until at least the middle of fall, and there are still many questions that need definitive answers.
Luckily, the deadline to apply for reimbursement isn’t for another six months.
Similarly, the City of Owensboro is eligible for a $4,300,651 reimbursement from the CARES Act to go toward unbudgeted COVID-19 expenses.
City Manager Nate Pagan said his staff was working to figure out the costs associated with COVID-19 from the City’s end.
“We are monitoring and tracking our COVID-related expenses,” Pagan said.
—–
