By: Adam Rollins, Staff Writer
The Warren County Commission this week outlined a series of phases for how $4.1 million from the federal CARES Act will be spent for local COVID-19 prevention and aid. Commissioners also announced the members of an advisory committee that will evaluate uses for the funding.
As of Wednesday morning, COVID-19 cases in Warren County stood at 28 identified cases, 20 people recovered and zero deaths.
The federal relief funding was discussed at a May 12 meeting between county officials and the mayors of Warrenton, Wright City, Marthasville and Truesdale.
Presiding County Commissioner Joe Gildehaus said the first round of funds will go to reimburse what cities and local emergency districts have already spent on personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies to prevent the spread of COVID-19. First responder agencies are currently submitting detailed purchasing information from March and April, Gildehaus said.
Any reimbursement from the federal funding needs to be related to COVID-19 expenses, Gildehaus said, and could be subject to audit.
“All this could be audited a year from now or two years from now. If we don’t do it right, this money may have to be paid back,” Gildehaus explained.
Once those reimbursements have been done, Gildehaus said the county will begin procuring 90 days worth of PPE for every emergency response agency. PPE orders will be based on information submitted by each agency.
The third phase of funding could be stretched through the end of this year, which is the deadline for expenses to qualify for the grant funding. That phase will involve holding the funds in reserve in case of a spike in COVID-19 cases later this year. The third-phase funding will be primarily dedicated to additional staffing or overtime for emergency districts if such an outbreak happens, Gildehaus said. The mayors were asked to compile a broad estimate of what their overtime expenses might be if a spike in cases happens.
Two mayors, Chris Watson of Truesdale and Dan Rowden of Wright City, asked if certain police salary expenses they’ve already borne can be reimbursed by the grant. Overtime and additional police pay in those cities have been directly caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, but aren’t necessarily related to the response.
Gildehaus said a reimbursement is possible, but the funding request would have to be reviewed. He commented that the county will be very cautious and transparent about how the CARES funding is spent, to make sure there is money available if the emergency worsens late this year.
“Some of this money is going to be sitting, and we’re not going to spend it (immediately),” Gildehaus said. “If we don’t need it, then we don’t need it. ... I don’t want to spend it all now, and then have all this overtime (later).”
Gildehaus specified that although the funding is allowed to be used for economic relief, the commission isn’t currently planning to allocate any money to local businesses.
Committee to advise spending
Although the county commission has an initial use in mind for the CARES Act funding, commissioners said further expense are going to first pass through an advisory committee comprised of three local business people. The committee will review qualifying funding requests and make recommendations about approval to the county commission.
The commission announced Tuesday that Tom Kemper, Ed Buscher and Burt Schweissguth will make up the committee.
Tom Kemper is a retired Warrenton business owner and currently involved with the Greater Warren County Economic Development Council. Ed Buscher is president and CEO of The Missouri Bank headquartered in Warrenton. Burt Schweissguth is a retired business owner in the Marthasville area.
Several mayors asked the commission if their cities will also have a representative on the committee.
“There’s going to be a lot of questions (from our board of aldermen). They’re going to ask if we have representation,” said Warrenton Mayor Eric Schleuter.
Commissioners answered that they want a small advisory committee made up of neutral people who don’t have any stake in the funding.
“We purposely (got) people who are totally removed from this,” said Northern District Commissioner Dan Hampson. “We don’t want to have it where there is pressure from outside people to make these decisions. Ultimately (the funding) is our decision.”
However, the commissioners clarified that each city and emergency district is welcome to designate a liaison to communicate with the advisory committee and make their needs heard.
