COVID-19 News: Area towns determining eligible requests for CARES Act funding

KLGR-area city councils and staffs are currently working out how to use CARES Act funding to make up for COVID-19 related expenses wrung up since March. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act — CARES Act for short — is designed to provide economic help to entities struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the League of Minnesota Cities, eligible expenses are, “Necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19…. Expenditures must be used for actions taken to respond to the public health emergency, including expenditures incurred to respond directly to the emergency, as well as expenditures incurred to respond to second order effects, such as by providing economic support to those suffering from employment or business interruptions due to COVID-19-related business closures.”

Eligible categories include expenses for:

• Medical expenses (public hospitals, clinics, testing).
• Public health (personal protective equipment, enforcement of public health orders).
• Payroll (public health and public safety workers, employees repurposed for COVID-19 response).
• Unemployment Insurance costs for reimbursable employers.
• Public health measures (food delivery to vulnerable, required paid leave for employees, telework capabilities).
• Economic support (provision of grants to small businesses to reimburse the costs of business interruption caused by required closures).
• Any other COVID-19-related expenses reasonably necessary to the function of government that satisfy the fund’s eligibility criteria.

CARES Act funding amounts for Redwood County communities:

BELVIEW: $27,273

LAMBERTON: $60,197

MILROY: $18,534

MORGAN: $65,094

REDWOOD FALLS: $394,482

SANBORN: $23,657

VESTA: $22,376

WABASSO: $52,211

WALNUT GROVE: $61,628

CARES Act funding amounts for Renville County communities:

BIRD ISLAND $74,512

BUFFALO LAKE $50,779

DANUBE $34,732

FAIRFAX CITY $86,792

FRANKLIN CITY $35,711

HECTOR CITY $81,066

MORTON CITY $27,951

OLIVIA CITY $183,755

RENVILLE CITY $92,442

SACRED HEART CITY $37,971