Approximately $800,000 of more than $1.1 million received by Howard County in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding has been spent, according to the Howard County Commission.

The county received $1,173,317 in May to help pay for defenses and to offset economic hardships faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Any funds not spent by Dec. 31 will have to be paid back. The county set a deadline of Dec. 15 for CARES Act money applications.

A special board composed of the three county commissioners, along with County Clerk Shelly Howell, and Howard County Emergency Management co-directors Bill John and Bryan Kunze, was formed to distribute funds according to state and federal guidelines. 

Since the county received the money those guidelines have been under near-constant fluctuation. Because of this, the board has taken a somewhat conservative approach when awarding the money to applicants. “I don’t know if we did everything we could, but I feel like we did a lot,” said Presiding Commissioner Jerimiah Johnmeyer. “We always tried to double-check before we sent anything out.”

Final tallies were still being determined as this newspaper went to press on Tuesday. Johnmeyer said he expected the county to pay back around $50,000. Additionally, all counties that received CARES Act funds will face an audit, the cost of which may also be paid for with those funds.

Missouri has received more than $3 billion in funding from the legislation. Howard County is one of more than 100 local governments that received nearly $468 million in early May. 

More than half of the funds received by Howard County have gone to local schools. Public school districts received around $309,000 to help buy Chromebooks and pay for other tools deployed for online learning. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies were also bought with CARES Act funds.

Central Methodist University received $300,000 to help pay for testing. The university is one of only two colleges in the state that tested its students more than once. 

In August the board made available $1,000 for each of 159 businesses located in Howard County. Only nine applied for the funds, to which seven were awarded. Two business did not meet the criteria to receive funds.

Making up the approximately $200,000 were funds distributed to cities and county services such as the Sheriff’s Department and Ambulance District. The County Commission made available $10,000 for each city for technology such as laptops and other equipment so that employees could work from home and meetings could be held virtually. Fayette received around $8,300, Glasgow $9,600, and New Franklin $5,400.

The Ambulance District was awarded money to help with hazard pay for EMTs and to help cover additional equipment. The Sheriff’s Department and jail also received funds for hazard pay and cleaning equipment. In addition, the costs associated with the recent housing inmates in Cooper County after the Howard County Jail temporarily closed down due to an outbreak of the virus, will be paid for with CARES Act funds. Salaries for county employees placed on quarantine are also covered under the fund guidelines.

Food pantries in Fayette, New Franklin, and Glasgow were each allocated CARES Act funding, with the stipulation that food should be purchased from businesses in Howard County. “The plan was to buy as much locally as possible,” said Johnmeyer.

The county also purchased special sanitation equipment, such as an ultraviolet light that can disinfect entire rooms. backpack sprayers, and PPE.