Pennsylvania counties could be seeing some relief in the new federal COVID-19 relief bill.
According to the National Association of Counties (NACo), the bill allocates $350 billion to help states, counties, cities and tribal governments “to cover expenditures, replenish lost revenue and mitigate economic harm from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
According to NACo, funds would be distributed mostly in correlation with each state’s share of unemployed workers. Local governments would receive about $130 billion split evenly between cities and counties.
“We don’t know all of the details at this time, but NACo told us about a few things that money can be used for,” Clarion County Commissioner Ted Tharan said. “It will be tied to lost revenue and COVID costs.”
According to NACo, the U.S. Treasury Department would oversee and administer the payments to state and local governments, and each county would receive a direct allocation from the Treasury. The funds would be available until they are expended by the recipient.
Clarion County also has applied for other grants to help with the recovery.
“We have also applied for a state “hospitality” grant in the amount of $435,000,” Tharan said. “That is designed to help businesses that have lost revenue.
“The Northwest Commission is one of two agencies that can run that program. They would determine the eligibility. We don’t know all of the details because we only had one day to apply for this grant.”
Clarion County received more good news on another front.
Tharan said the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have both told the county those agencies will pay the cost of the clinic.
“We have applied for reimbursement on all of that money, too,” he said.
“We also have the cost of all the employees who have helped at the clinic,” Tharan said, and Clarion Hospital could also get back the costs it has had in paying “pharmacists, nurses and everything else.”
“It may also cover the loss the hospital had during the shutdown when they could not do any elective surgeries. The hospital probably lost a boatload of money. The ambulance companies lost of a lot of money, and this would help them out.”
Tharan said the county is not aware of “what strings are attached at this time. We are waiting for their guidelines.”
He said the county is taking a proactive approach.
“We don’t know if this is over or are there new strains (of the virus) developing,” Tharan said. “Will we need to continue to give vaccinations? I am thinking we should be prepared for what may happen in six months.
“The current vaccinations are only good for three or four months, like a regular flu shot. We need to take part of the Sorce building (911 Emergency Center) and have a vaccination center there permanently.”