$63M virus aid must be spent by year’s end
Orange County officials ponder where the money should go
With $180 million in CARES Act money already spoken for, Orange County is looking at how to spend the remainder of its allotment that came as part of the pandemic relief package from Congress.
“We anticipate we’ll have some dollars left to do more good in the community,” County Manager Byron Brooks said.
The money is part of the $243 million package Orange County received from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, known as the CARES Act, a $2.2-trillion economic stimulus bill passed by Congress and signed into law in March. Local governments are required to spend the money before the end of the year or return it to Washington, though some local officials have called on Congress to extend that deadline.
Brooks said county administrations would present spending recommendations to the mayor in the next two to three weeks.
“That may mean reopening one of the previously popular programs like Individual and Family Assistance, maybe doing some more business assistance or it may be looking at some of the areas where we’ve seen a [need] in the community…” he said.
Brooks said $102.7 million of the county’s relief package has been spent and another $78 million is pending disbursement.
Meanwhile, smaller counties like Osceola and Seminole are still
waiting for portions of their allotments from Gov. Ron DeSantis. Because Orange County is so large — about 1.4 million people — it received its share of the federal package directly from Washington. But the state is acting as the middleman for counties with fewer than half a million people.
Officials in Osceola and Seminole have said the delay from the state is hurting its residents and small businesses still reeling from the pandemic-related shutdowns.
Mayor Jerry Demings said federal authorities have given no indication they will extend the spending deadline and, as a result, he would prefer to spend Orange’s share on local causes rather than return the money to the federal government.
When the pandemic struck in mid-March, the mayor — like leaders in most jurisdictions — activated the Emergency Operations Center and ordered all but essential businesses to close in an effort to slow the spread of the potentially deadly coronavirus.
The county used the relief to supply residents and businesses with personal protective equipment, including face masks and hand-sanitizer; pay for virus-test kits; and fund programs to help suddenly idle workers and shuttered businesses pay rent.
The county has given away 12 million facial coverings to block the virus, which is often spread through respiratory droplets.
Another $36 million in federal COVID-19 aid was set aside for social service agencies and non-profits to provide food, job training and programs for people facing homelessness, mental health crises, addiction and child-care dilemmas because of the virus.
Nearly half of the $36 million will go to either job training (up to $9 million) or food programs (up to $8 million).
Many of the county’s assistance programs have nearly burned through their allotments because of high demand.
A small-business assistance program, which offered up to $10,000 each to eligible businesses, has given away $53.3 million so far with 1,900 more applications in the review process, said Eric Ushkowitz, county economic development administrator.
“I feel like we’ve got enough in the pipeline,” Ushkowitz said.
The Individual & Family Assistance Program, which offered up to $1,000 each to households hurt economically by mandated restrictions on businesses, has handed out $29.7 million, though its application portal was plagued by technical glitches at the start.
Another $20 million was earmarked for an “eviction diversion” program intended to keep people in their rental homes — and help landlords, too. Both the landlord and the tenant must agree to the program’s terms before payment of up to $4,000 is made.
More than 2,500 landlords and 2,500 tenants have signed up but only 841 have matched, and just 45 have gotten money.
The average pay-out of back rent has been about $3,100, said Roseann Harrington, the mayor’s chief of staff.
She said the program is intended to keep families in their homes at least through the end of the year.