Coronavirus Funding: Salt Lake County disburses CARES funds to municipalities

SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4 News) – Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to provide emergency assistance and health care response for individuals, families, and businesses affected by the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

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The CARES Act established a $150 billion and provides these payments to states, local, and tribal governments.

Salt Lake County has announced that it will distribute $34 million to municipalities to meet the needs at the local level. The County says the funds will be distributed to municipalities based on population.

“I am pleased that Salt Lake County is in a position to offer direct funding to its cities, townships, and towns. Funding will go a long way in providing resources for local governments to address the needs of COVID-19. Our local governments have done a great job in addressing this emergency and, provided the federal guidelines are followed, funds can be used locally for both emergency response needs as well as economic impact. I am proud to partner with our communities to have such a long-lasting impact,” said Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson.

County officials say they have been reviewing the allowable uses of these funds, assessing the cost of on-going needs for the primary health purposes of the funds as well as assessing opportunities to distribute funding within the county. Salt Lake County received approximately $202 million, which they say is being used to address the COVID-19 response.

The CARES Act provides that funds may only be used to cover costs that:

Are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (“necessary expenditures”);
Were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020; (the date of enactment of the CARES Act for the State or government; and
Were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020.

The U.S. Treasury has determined that funds may be used not only “to respond directly to the emergency, such as by addressing medical or public health needs” they may also be used “to respond to second-order effects of the emergency, such as by providing economic support to those suffering from the employment of business interruptions due to COVID-19-related business closures.”

Salt Lake County says its goal is to align funding distribution with the state’s distribution timeline of early June, contingent on several conditions being met. Agreements are currently being prepared and will be sent out when available.

Below is a breakdown of the Salt Lake County CARES distribution to municipalities: