Oregon County Spends $1.2 million in Cares Act Funds

Alton, Mo. – In June, Oregon County Presiding Commissioner Patrick Ledgerwood said not a dime had been spent of the funding the county receives due to COVID-19 preparedness. Months later, the county is following the government guidelines to use the funds to the best and highest purposes.

Who Gets The Funds?

Now, approximately four months later, Ledgerwood said the county has issued funds to the four schools (Alton, Couch, Koshkonong, and Thayer), to law enforcement agencies, and to the Oregon County Health Department.

Ledgerwood was confident in each schools’ administration knowing the best way to use the funds. He said,

Some of the schools were very precise in what they needed the money for, such as virtual learning, whether it be an online program fee, devices or assisting families with internet services.

Ledgerwood said that taking care of the senior center agencies is a high priority. Meanwhile, after the first initial phases, the county plans to re-visit the schools and could possibly provide them with more funding. He further said,

One thing that was allowable since police officers are considered front-line workers – even if they are doing normal duties – they are out there, so we can help with payroll for them. The health department made some requests so we gave them what they wanted.

When talking about the guidelines and reporting issues related to the CARES Act funds, Ledgerwood expressed frustrations and concerns. “Our hands are so tied. How this has been handled is a joke,” said Ledgerwood. It is frustrating to him as a county leader to have funds available, but with so many restrictions and guidelines on how the money can be spent, there is a high probability not all $1.2 million will be spent. “Spending it all in an allowable manner,” is the challenge the county faces.

Ledgerwood explained that “one size fits all approach” ^[1]  is hard to do in rural communities.

Private Business?

The next phase of dispersing funds deals with non-profits and private businesses. Even though Ledgerwood wants to see businesses receive some much deserved and need assistance, he also wants to protect them for what may come as a result of receiving funds.

Not only do the guidelines on the funding restrict things, but the stress of dealing with an audit is inevitable. Ledgerwood went on to say,

With this much money, you are going to get audited.

His fear is that in the future a local business will be audited and it’s determined that the business didn’t spend the funds within the “guidelines”. They will be required to pay that money back. Ledgerwood said the auditing requirements are just as challenging to deal with as the guidelines.

The county has been reaching out to businesses and asking them what are some things that they had to do to prevent the spread and still be in business? Loss of revenue is something that is allowable, but Ledgerwood said proving loss of revenue will be required due to auditing requirements.

Oregon County Sales Tax

Ledgerwood discussed the sales tax in Oregon County, which is up. He has observed an economic trend over the years. When gas prices are down, local sales tax goes down and when gas prices are up, local sales tax goes up. He said the COVID-19 pandemic has had a similar effect of high gas prices, and people have stayed close to home.  “The sales tax revenue being up tells me that there is a percentage of businesses that have lost no revenue because of this. It will be interesting and educational in this process, to see which ones have hurt and which ones haven’t.”

The clerk’s office is open for inquiries at 417-778-7475.

Timeline

Ledgerwood originally thought there would be an extension from the Dec. 31 spend date, to use the funds. However, now he doesn’t believe there will be an extension. “I’m not saying we can’t spend all of it, but I have my doubts,” said Ledgerwood. If there are funds leftover from the $1,235,262, it will be sent back to the state.

The amount of funds received is based on the county’s 2019 population of 10,529.