LIHU‘E — The County of Kaua‘i has expended 96.1% of its COVID-19-relief funds, and still has some more time to exhaust the more than $28 million allotted by the state.
Last year, the federal government extended the use of funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to the end of this year, rather than the end of 2020 as initially considered.
In a memo to the state, Nicholas Courson, Kaua‘i Emergency Management Agency project manager and compliance officer, mentions that the state has offered to extend its deadline for counties.
“As you know, the federal government extended the deadline for (CARES) act funds until Dec. 31, 2021, and the state of Hawai‘i has indicated that the deadline for the county will be extended, subject to a subsequent amendment of the handbook,” Courson wrote in the Jan. 8 memo.
A remaining $1.1 million, or less than 4%, is left of the county’s $28,715,55 in CARES Act funds, a sub-recipient of the state’s $1.25 billion in federal aid.
In the month of December, the county spent about $3.6 million.
The county split up its CARES Act money into 21 different subsections, offering nonprofits six different areas ranging from food support to agriculture assistance to economic diversification to transforming tourism for community-led projects or programming, totalling over 40 grant recipients and projects around the island.
According to the latest report, those in the grant sectors were allocated $13,044,073. In November, $2,360,070 was spent, $480,592 of which went toward operations. In total, around $8.5 million has been spent out of the $13 million.
Payroll came out to about $76,000 for the Emergency Operations Center and various other department labor.
The county allocated $6,473,637 toward public safety, with a remaining $476,010 that has not been expended or encumbered.
Much of the remaining $1.1 million the county has in funds will go toward overtime, a county spokesperson said.
“Some of the remaining 4% of funds are payroll costs for December that will not be processed until January,” the spokesperson said. “Whatever remains will be used to cover public-safety overtime and some compliance costs.”
