By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Buchanan County might have to return nearly $200,000 in federal coronavirus relief money if Congress doesn’t change CARES Act funding rules.
Western District County Commissioner Ron Hook says the commission first sought to help small businesses hurt by coronavirus restrictions through a $5,000 grant.
“The $5,000 is not a lot, but it did keep some of the doors open that we were hoping to keep open,” Hook tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline.
Hook says Buchanan County had allocated nearly all of the $10.2 million given it by the state. Between $175,000 to $200,000 has been returned by agencies, school districts, and businesses which had over-estimated their needs.
The money came back too late to re-direct to another group.
“So, of the 10.2 million, 10 million of it was pretty much spent and allocated out to the various businesses, companies, school districts, emergency managements, police, fire, sheriff’s department that needed it to help them out with the COVID issues,” Hook says.
Hook says the County Commission is hoping for a change in CARES Act funding rules.
“We’ll send back about 200,000 unless the rules change and we’re hearing that there may be some extensions to the December 30th drop dead date. It may go into March,” Hook says. “We’re hoping it will so we can allocate the other 200,000, but at this point the amount that we have left over has to go back to the state.”