By K.D. Norris
The Kent County Board of Commissioners voted Thursday to allocate $94.2 million of a $114.6 million federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act grant to assist “a range of local governments, community partners, and small businesses which experienced costs due to COVID-19,” as well as to reimburse the county’s direct coronavirus mitigation efforts.
The remainder of the CARES grant available, $20.4 million, was placed in reserve for a possible second wave of COVID-19 infections, according to the June 11 county statement.
But Kent County’s efforts to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, and assist other county entities impacted, started almost on Day 1, when the crisis was labeled as such in late-March, including quickly applying for and receiving the CARES Act grant and forming a COVID Relief Subcommittee to spearhead a countywide effort starting in April.
Prior to this week’s formal county commission action June 11, WKTV talked with Kent County Administrator Wayman Britt about the county’s efforts and expenditures.
“First and foremost, we wanted to keep this community safe,” Britt said in a late May interview. “We wanted to communicate (with the public) right off the bat, and we have pushed hard on our communication. The health department has been stood up with additional resources … county staff has managed the communication … that was first and foremost, right up front, making sure we got out in front of this.”
Britt said county representatives, in the first days of local impact of the pandemic, “got out” and met a wide range of community groups via Zoom meetings, “with church leaders, with the black community … the Latinx community, the Vietnamese community. We got out to the chambers, the Grand Rapids chamber (of commerce). The business side of things.
“Communication was really huge. Developing the relationships, continuing to grow the relationships. … Really just getting ahead of it. Every day (to begin with) we conducted command meetings, emergency management meetings every day, but that is ramped back now.”
The county either set up or assisted in setting up homeless shelters and isolation centers. They worked with Grand Valley State University and Michigan State University and a host of other organizations. They focused on reducing the risk at high-risk facilities such as the county correction facility and juvenile detention facility. They focused on developing hotspots across the county.
“The team has done a fantastic job, getting out to the nursing homes, to the convalescent centers. Making sure we jumped on that,” Britt said.
“I can’t believe the work we put into this thing. It is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my life. It is just every day grind it out. … We have weathered the storm. We weren’t ready but we got ready quick. Unfortunately we lost 70 plus (county deaths to the virus as of late May, the number now stands at 111), but compared to other parts of the state … this community has responded.”
County leadership led funding process
Considering the often slow response time of many governmental entries to form and execute a plan as complex as Kent County’s COVID-19 response and recovery plan, the action this week by the Board of Commissioners was fast — by design.
“The COVID-19 public health crisis has significantly affected residents and businesses across our county, and it was critical for our board to allocate this federal funding as quickly as possible,” Kent County Board of Commissioners Chair Mandy Bolter said in supplied material. “As we do on so many issues, we worked closely with several businesses, organizations and non-profits to develop a comprehensive plan to ensure the funds meet the needs of our community and reflect the intent of the federal legislation.”
As part of the Federal CARES Act, Kent County was awarded a grant of $114.6 million from the U.S. Treasury on April 24 from which the county could gain reimbursement for COVID-19 mitigation expenses and economic relief for a wide range of economically impacted community groups and businesses.
According to Britt, Kent County was one of only four counties in the state, in addition to the City of Detroit, to receive CARES Act grants. But to take advantage of the grant, to be able to seek reimbursement, the county had to review needs, plan for how those needs would be met, and formally allocate funds to meet those needs.
That is where the COVID Relief Subcommittee — basically the already formed county commission Executive Committee, with some others added for specific needs such as state legislative liaison — came into play.
“Their charge was to analyze all available funds coming into the county, and how they are being applied,” Britt said. “The needs of the community. The process and strategies to allocate and disperse CARES funds under the guidelines established by the Federal Government. … We don’t want to duplicate efforts, but we want to make sure we can push those dollars to as many places as we can.”
The county, in addition to the CARES Act grant of $114.6 million, is also looking at other funding reimbursements sources for COVID-19 expenses and recovery efforts, including possibly from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The COVID Relief Subcommittee met twice a week during the past two months and, according to supplied material, “received testimony from representatives of underserved communities who are being disproportionally impacted by the pandemic, as well as representatives of local chambers of commerce” and other groups and individuals.
County expenses and community support
A set of funding recommendations — and executive report — was then developed for the full Board of Commissioners’ review and approval. Among the funding approvals was $35 million in direct county expenses —including community education, emergency operations, homeless population response, surveillance and contact tracing, testing, public safety and correctional facility.
As of a May 3 estimate of Kent County expenses, the latest report available, the county has spent or committed to spend about $6.3 million of the $35 million allocated. The major expense areas are $1.86 million in payroll — including $1.3 million in county Health Department payroll — as well as a separate expenditure of $1.5 million for “Essential Worker Compensation”.
“There are these essential workers who have no alternative but to be here (and can’t work from home) — they have to be here,” Britt said. “Our health department, our nurses who are engaged with setting up the homeless shelters. Our sheriff’s correction officers. Our road patrol officers. Those are essential workers. … What’s happening there is we are providing them eight hours of vacation for every week worked during the COVID, because they are on the front lines and to offer incentive for them to be here.”
The essential workers “have been very supportive of doing what is necessary to keep our community safe. … We have to have the right people on staff to ward off this terrible pandemic.”
The other major county expenditure included in the May 3 report are $1.1 million in medical and safety supplies.
Other CARES reimbursable expenses approved by the board this week included $25 million in business assistance, $15 million in assistance to local governments, $12.2 million for care of venerable populations, $3 million in “return to work” personal protective equipment (PPE) for county businesses, and $3 million to aid the county’s existing and newly homeless.
Administrator Britt and county administration will now develop a “process to distribute the funds” in partnership with the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, the Heart of West Michigan United Way and other groups. Additionally, “the County will contract with a firm to conduct an audit on the distribution and use of the CARES Act funding,” according to the county’s June 11 statement.
The CARES Act funds must be fully spent by Dec. 30 or will be forfeited back to the federal government.
For more information on Kent County’s CARES Act and COVID-19 related activities, visit here. Copies of the COVID Relief Subcommittee Executive Report is available in English and Spanish here.
