Item:
Title
Durham County's Amended Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) Plan (20min)
Body
Date of BOCC Meeting: September 8, 2020
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is requested to suspend the rules and take action to approve the amended Durham County Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) plan required to be submitted by September 15, 2020. The CRF is established under the federal CARES Act and is administered by the North Carolina Pandemic Recovery Office (NC PRO). HB 1023/S.L. 2020-80, Section 3.3(2), has appropriated an additional $150 million to be distributed to county governments, based on their population according to 2019 Vintage Year Census Bureau estimates.
S.L. 2020-80 made a significant change to the language regarding the municipal share of these funds. In previous legislation (HB 1043/S.L. 2020-4), counties could choose to share these funds with their municipalities. S.L. 2020-80 changed that language directing counties to give a minimum of 25% of their total allocation to municipalities. Durham County is required to give the City of Durham $2.9 million which represents 25% of the County's total CRF allocation.
The County submitted its first round CRF plan in the amount of $5,480,715 in early June 2020. The County's second funding allocation is $3,309,388 bringing the County's total CRF allocation to $8,790,103. The County is required to amend its' plan to include the second funding allocation. A copy of the allocation letter from the NC Office of State Budget and Management is attached.
The expenditure categories remain the same for round one and two of CRF funding. Eligible expenses include:
* Medical expenses, such as the COVID-19 related expenses of public hospitals and clinics, the establishment of temporary medical facilities, COVID-19 testing, emergency medical response expenses, and public telemedicine capabilities.
* Public health expenses, such as communication and enforcement expenses, the acquisition of personal protect...
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