Washington submits CARES grant application

The city of Washington submitted its application for a grant through Washington County’s distribution of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
According to Washington Councilman Joe Manning, the city’s total costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic were around $133,000, but the application limited each municipality to a maximum of $93,000.
Manning, director of the city’s finance department, said officials started keeping track of pandemic-related costs in the spring.
“We had gone through similar situations where costs were over and above what we generally identified in the general fund budget,” he said.
Any CARES money the city receives will go toward reimbursing the general fund and specific line items from which money was taken for pandemic-related reasons, like personal protective equipment, overtime costs for police and fire departments, and laptops and software to allow employees to work remotely.
“Primarily, the biggest line item would be for the overtime and labor costs,” Manning said. “That was the lion’s share of what we had to expend.”
Manning said he wasn’t sure when the city will receive the CARES money, but the county is supposed to have the funds distributed by the end of the month. Manning said county officials previously told him it would be a “pretty quick turn around.”
The city mayor and council is expected to approve its final 2021 budget during its Thursday meeting.
“At the moment, we have a balanced budget,” Manning said. “Obviously, we have a major concern with the budget going into 2021.”
As COVID-19 case numbers continue to climb, Manning suspects those overtime hours could continue, if employees are exposed or need to quarantine.
“It’s not even slowing down,” Manning said. “I anticipate, if anything, that our expenditures are going to increase.”