Morrison County gives go-ahead for CARES Act allocations

The Morrison County Board granted County Administrator Deb Gruber authorization Tuesday to distribute CARES Act funding to local entities.

The CARES Act was signed into law on March 27 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure made federal funding available to local, state, and federal agencies for use on unbudgeted expense items incurred due to the public health emergency. Morrison County received $4,083,740 in CARES Act funding — “to directly apply to a broad range of necessary expenditures,” according to the resolution — on July 3.

“We’re wrapping that up and kind of concluding this effort when it comes to CARES dollars, which has been a task that’s been pretty huge in the last several months,” Gruber said.

The Morrison County Board has approved the allocation to each entity listed on the spending breakout provided by the county administrator’s office. Tuesday’s resolution provided for the distribution of those funds. Those receiving aid include businesses, schools, and nonprofit organizations along with county projects and expenses. Each city and township with a population greater than 200 people could apply for CARES Act funding on its own. The money allocated by the county serves as reimbursement for necessary expenditures incurred by each entity.

The largest portion of CARES Act funding, $2.445 million will be spent on payroll-related expenses within the county.

“Morrison County personnel in nearly all departments, in particular Public Health and Public Safety, have been actively involved in a direct response to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, or have been tasked with substantially different duties and responsibilities,” read the resolution.

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