Federal aid underwriting law enforcement, public safety, health department expenses amid pandemic

The county already has received roughly $472,605 in federal pandemic reimbursement funds and officials estimate taking in up to another $680,000 from Washington, D.C., by the New Year, with the lion’s share likely going to law enforcement.

The dollars come from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, a $2.2 trillion stimulus bill signed into law in March. Part of the package — of which Montana received $1.25 billion — includes funding for unforeseen pandemic-related spending by local governments.

Local officials used the first influx of federal dollars to help balance the budget in early September. Faced with a roughly $670,000 shortfall, the 11th hour arrival of federal funding for government expenses came as welcome relief.

Of the $472,605, about $219,070 went to cover law enforcement and emergency medical services in the county. The dollars accounted for regular and overtime pay, according to county documents. Another $50,753 was allocated for dispatch services with $94,758 designated for Lincoln County Detention Center personnel.

The money for law enforcement expenses proved a timely boon. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office spending, which has increased by about $1 million in three fiscal years, accounted for the biggest fiscal headache as officials attempted to make the agency's $4.57 million request fit into a $10.6 million countywide operating budget.

Public health staff received $47,537 for regular and overtime pay and $44,116 for equipment, facility expenses and contract staffing related to testing efforts. Another $1,838 covered the cost of personal protective gear.

The county also received $823 for Plexiglas windows and $1,648 for supplies and equipment related to social distancing efforts. Another $139 went to cleaning supplies while $547 covered signs explaining social distancing rules as well as closures.

Regular and overtime pay for county employees outside of public safety and health was eligible for $11,377 in federal funding.

The figures provided by the Lincoln County Finance Department include only reimbursement costs and does not account for all of the CARES Act funding coming into region. The county health department, for example, has received the go-ahead to hire a disease intervention specialist, funded for two years through the federal legislation. It also does not include dollars received by the local school districts or aid offered to area businesses.

To receive reimbursement funding, county finance staff review data provided by county departments. The information is submitted to the state, which is administering CARES Act reimbursement dollars. State officials then make any necessary adjustments and corrections before providing the funds, said Wendy Drake of the county finance department.

Guidance from Helena on reimbursement requires that the costs covered by the federal dollars were directly related to pandemic, not covered in a previous budget and incurred beginning on March 1. The U.S. Treasury Department carved out an exception for public safety and first responder expenses, allowing local officials to seek reimbursement for funding already budgeted toward such agencies through August 2020.

Otherwise the dollars are not eligible for “shortfalls in government revenue or to be used to replace lost revenue” or workforce bonuses. Local officials are barred from double dipping, such as asking for reimbursement for expenses already covered by federal funds.

Looking forward, county estimates see the potential for another roughly 680,000 million in reimbursements by the end of the calendar year. Of that, $450,000 is expected for law enforcement and emergency medical services. About $150,000 in public health regular and overtime wages could be eligible for federal reimbursement.

Officials predict receiving $50,000 for wages and overtime for other county employees spending the bulk of their workday on coronavirus-related tasks.

Additionally, officials foresee spending $1,000 on cleaning supplies, $500 for signs, $5,000 on protective gear and $20,000 on testing expenses. A further $500 is slated for Plexiglas service windows while officials expect to spend $3,000 for supplies and equipment related to social distancing efforts.

All told, county officials hope to see $1.2 million in local spending reimbursed with money from federal coffers by the year’s end.