CARES Act funding causes frustration among rural counties

OREGON — The state of Oregon received over one billion dollars from the federal government for Covid-19 relief, as part of the CARES Act.

Some say there are disparities between the Portland metro area and other counties in Oregon when it comes to how it can be spent.

“None of it can be used for business relief grants and that was one of the stipulated uses that congress intended this money to be used for, especially at the local level,” Rick Dyer, Jackson County Commissioner, said.

According to Dyer, the state is proposing $400,00 for distribution to local jurisdictions. The governor suggests half should go toward reimbursing Covid-19 expenses, while the other half should cover continuing costs of PPE, contact tracing, testing and isolation. The rest of the money given to the state is being withheld. He says it’s about $106 million and he argues it should go toward local economies and small businesses.

“Washington and Multnomah counties can use this funding for as much business relief, economic recovery programs as they like,” Dyer said.

On the other hand, Dyer says the Portland metro area was directly allocated $246.8 million from the federal government due to their size. Governor Brown recommended it use 75% of the funds toward reimbursement of Covid-19 expenses and continuing costs. Dyer says this leaves 25% in the Portland area for businesses or economic recovery efforts.

“Some of the push back is coming from local governments to say, ‘Yes we need PPE, and the public health piece is important but so it the business relief piece,'” Gina Nikkel, Association of Oregon Counties Executive Director, said.

The governor’s office declined an interview, but said in a statement, “Our office we will be issuing a list of allowable expenses for reimbursement and a submission process within the next week. We are committed to solutions that work across the state, including for smaller cities and rural counties.”

Dyer says hopefully the fund allocation can be re-looked at, as the details are still being discussed.

“I think that that’s an inequitable situation. I think it’s egregious that congress intended large counties to be able to use this money for those purposes but not smaller jurisdictions,” Dyer said.