West Siloam Springs to apply for covid-19 money

WEST SILOAM SPRINGS, Okla. — The Board of Trustees and Municipal Authority passed a resolution during a special meeting on Thursday to apply for coronavirus relief fund money.

West Siloam Springs is eligible for $66,211 in relief money, according to town accountant Kris Kirk. When the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act was signed into law in March by President Donald Trump, the state of Oklahoma was sent $1 billion from Washington for coronavirus expenses, Kirk said.

“The federal government sent a bunch of money to states to use for coronavirus amelioration,” Kirk said. “Part of the program was that if cities and counties spent extra money on fighting covid-19, they will be reimbursed by the state.”

Many towns did not spend any extra money, therefore the state has to get rid of this money or send it back to Washington, so the state is dispersing the money to cities and counties based on population. The amount given to cities and counties per resident is $77.08, Kirk said.

“Basically the state of Oklahoma has said you can say all of the money that you spent (was) for public safety salary, (such as) police officers, firefighters, ambulance anything like that,” Kirk said. “You can say that is all coronavirus related even though it isn’t.”

On Aug. 6, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announced the state allocated approximately $250 million in CARES Act coronavirus relief money to Oklahoma cities and counties based on their population, according to a news release from Stitt’s office.

“After working with and observing the fiscal impact of covid-19 on local governments, I directed our team to streamline its reimbursement process and to deliver more flexibility for getting these critical funds out the door,” Stitt said.

Kirk said he is unaware of any expenses West Siloam Springs incurred related to the coronavirus and the town will discuss how to properly apply the funds at their next regular board meeting on Sept. 21.

Other business discussed and voted on by the board include:

• Purchase of a new excavator for the water department for $58,750;

• Tabling a discussion about offering a cost of living increase to town employees and omitting their annual evaluations.