CARES funding reallocated

County commissioners approve reallocation of some CARES Act funding

Lorain County commissioners approved amended resolutions to reallocate some CARES Act funding and clarify language in legislation in order to keep the funds in the county.

Lorain County Assistant Prosecutor Gerald Innes said during a Nov. 20 commissioners meeting that the state auditor had some concerns with the county’s allocation of funding to public health services.

“We had followed exactly the guidelines that we had gotten from the (United States) Department of Treasury, so that came as kind of a surprise to us,” Innes said.

Language was clarified in an amendment to a resolution for Lorain County employee hazard pay and adds Department of Treasury guidance to a resolution that also reflects an increase in about $1 million to be sent to the Lorain County Jail.

“...it’s better than moving too quickly and then finding out that money had to go back.”

— Commissioner Sharon Sweda

The Clinton Avenue ditch stormwater management facility expansion in Wakeman, which previously had almost $190,000 allocated from the COVID-19 fund, now is being allocated from the stormwater contract services fund instead.

County administrator James Cordes said the administration was talking about the guidance from the federal government this past summer, calling it “very tight” in its assessment of funding being used for practical purposes.

After initial guidance was given earlier this year, and encumberment originally was required by October and money spent by Dec. 31, Cordes said the expectations were “horrendous.”

“We’ve made a Herculean effort,” he said.

Since the secondary guidance was given in July, Cordes said securing CARES Act funds for county costs and preventing it getting sent back to the federal government has taken place.

As a part in that process, funding received by the county was shifted to different projects and organizations to give administration some breathing space for further allocation and spending of the funds.

“It’s just impossible to spend that kind of money in four months,” Cordes said.

Commissioner Lori Kokoski said if the funds were not allocated in the way they are now, each purchase through different departments and projects would need to be audited, which requires extensive receipt documentation.

Even with the redistribution of funding, Cordes said there’s still $4 million to $4.5 million of funding allocated to different projects that will need to be audited.

“A good chunk (of fund allocation) will just simply be a justification for expenditure, and others will be more tightly reviewed,” he said.

Commissioner Sharon Sweda said county officials previously were criticized for not acting on certain fund allocation sooner, but approaching it more slowly was necessary for proper guidance from the state and federal level.

“I know folks were anxious, but at the same time, it’s better than moving too quickly and then finding out that money had to go back,” Sweda said.