Boone County News Release

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Boone County Commission Releases Plans for CARES Act Funding Distribution

December 9, 2020 – The Boone County Commission has announced its plans for the distribution of the remaining portion of the $21.1 million in CARES Act funding received earlier this year from Governor Mike Parson. The County was assigned the responsibility of allocating these funds to eligible organizations meeting the criteria prescribed by the US Treasury Department. The State of Missouri received approximately $4.5 billion dollars in CARES Act funding and announced its plans for distribution earlier this week.

In September, Boone County opened an application portal that enabled governmental entities, local hospitals, non-profit organizations, small businesses, and other organizations to apply for funding that could be used for economic relief and the reimbursement of expenses directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since opening the portal, Boone County has received more than $40 million in funding requests. The County allowed applicants to apply for reimbursements through November 16 with the hope that organizations could recover the majority of accumulated expenses incurred through the entire eligibility period ending on December 30.

“We discovered early in the process that there were many unanticipated circumstances related to COVID-19 and the needs in our community have evolved dramatically in recent months,” said Boone County Presiding Commissioner Dan Atwill. “We also wanted qualifying organizations to be able to claim the full extent of their related expenses through the eligibility period. Had we awarded funding back in August or September, these organizations would have been denied a significant portion of the funds they were entitled to receive.”

Once applications were received through the portal, County employees began the exhaustive process of reviewing claims, verifying eligibility, and documenting the criteria set forth by the US Treasury Department. The County utilized staffing from its Community Services department and Office of Emergency Management to review applications. The County Commission delegated the review of applications for utility assistance to Central Missouri Community Action. The Commission also enlisted the services of the City of Columbia’s Housing Programs department to review applications for assistance submitted by small business owners.

Due to the overwhelming need in our community, County officials consulted with a variety of local stakeholders to assess the greatest needs in our community. Unable to fund 100 percent of the requests, a considerable amount of time was spent evaluating the funding applications that would have the greatest impact in helping the citizens of Boone County recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the highest priority assigned to public health and educational needs, emergency funding requests from the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services and all six of the public school districts in Boone County were fulfilled in August.

Adding a layer of complexity to the allocation process, some organizations which had previously applied for funding from Boone County have recently withdrawn their applications because they have now received CARES Act funding from other sources. The Commission will now be required to review reimbursement formulas to allocate these additional funds.

Because the likelihood of an audit of CARES Act funding by the US Treasury Department remains high, contracts specifying eligibility requirements and allowable expenses are being sent to all organizations that have been selected to receive funding from Boone County. As of Tuesday, December 8, 90 percent of the organizations selected to receive funds have already received contracts from Boone County. Once these contracts are signed and returned by applicant organizations, commission orders will be created and the Boone County Commission will expedite the final approval process and issue payments to those organizations that have been approved for funding. The County Commission sent letters to all organizations whose applications were denied for CARES Act funding late last week.

“We had a lot of very worthy organizations apply for funding,” Atwill said. “Unfortunately, due to limited funding, we were compelled to only fund the organizations that had been impacted most by the pandemic and those organizations that would play the greatest role in Boone County’s recovery. We were forced to make some very tough decisions.”

Because the vast majority of CARES Act funding will be used for the reimbursement of expenses already incurred by local entities, County officials are confident that recipients will have no issues complying with the federal guidelines requiring that these funds be expended by December 30.

The County Commission is scheduled to approve 12 additional funding requests (valued at $2,415,832.82) at its regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, December 10. Pending final verification, all remaining contracts will be sent to approved applicants by Tuesday, December 15. The Commission is confident that 100 percent of its CARES Act funding allotment will be allocated before December 30.

The following is a list of organizations that have already been funded by the County:

Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services $1,799,004.64 (for contract tracers and case investigators)

Boone County Public School Districts $504,800.00 (for Wi-Fi hot spots to provide internet access)

Sturgeon School District $11,995.00 (for body temperature scanners)

Carahsoft Technology $122,753.28 (software used in the evaluation of CARES Act applications)

Central MO Community Action $500,000.00 (for utility assistance programs)

City of Columbia $495,000.00 (for small business grant applications)

Stephens College $13,402.90 (for PPE expenses)

Total $3,446,955.82

For more information on the County’s CARES Act funding process, please contact Michele Hall at 573-886-4307.

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The Government of Boone County, Missouri employs over 500 people and serves more than 162,642 citizens across 691 square miles by administering and enforcing state and local laws, collecting taxes, assessing property, maintaining roads, conducting elections, recording public documents, and much more.