From WRIL -
On Thursday July 17, 2020 the announcement was made by the governor's office that 22 eastern Kentucky governments would be granted CARES ACT (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) monies they had applied for earlier in year for a total of $5,523,949.
This was in collaboration with the Department for Local Government giving assistance with expenses related to COVID-19. The reimbursements will cover payroll expenses, personal protection equipment, sanitizing, and telecommuting supplies.
In a social media post on Friday, July 18th, Harlan County Judge Executive Dan Mosley stated that:
"Harlan County Fiscal Court will be applying for CARES Act funding through the Department of Local Government very soon. The Fiscal Court passed the resolution to apply for funds at our May meeting. Our county treasurer has been tracking expenses related to COVID-19 since March 1st. Our first request for these funds will ask for reimbursement of expenses through the end of the fiscal year, which ended June 30th. We are presently awaiting canceled checks to complete the paperwork. I can tell you that through that time frame, we have incurred more than $250,000 in COVID-19 expenses related to labor, PPE, cleaning supplies, equipment, and materials."
On Thursday the 17th neighboring Bell County was granted $332,732 to be used for payroll for the sheriff’s department and first responders, Middlesboro will use $670,599 for PPE and payroll expenses, and Whitley County will use $524,735 for cleaning supplies, signs to encourage social distancing and payroll for law enforcement, emergency management and EMS personnel.
Judge Executive Mosley went on to say that: "many of those counties applied earlier due to being strapped for cash as a result of loss of occupational tax. We don’t have an occupational tax in Harlan County so that has not been an issue here. There is an allocation that we are eligible for made by Governor Beshear out of the allotment provided to the state from the federal government." Mosely finished by stating: "Long story short, Harlan County has not been left out despite what some want to lead you to believe."
Since the application was released earlier in May, the DLG has received approximately 140 applications for reimbursement from city and county governments across the commonwealth that are pending approval until all documentation is submitted. In addition, 67 applications have already been approved totaling $32,018,551.