Sedgwick County gets nearly $100 million for coronavirus fight; but how to spend it?
Sedgwick County will get nearly $100 million to aid in the local battle against coronavirus COVID-19, county commissioners were told Tuesday.
The money, $99.6 million, will come from recent federal action in Washington, Assistant County Counselor Kevin Stamper told the commissioners at a staff meeting conducted online.
The first half of the money is expected to arrive into the county’s bank account “imminently, sometime this week, potentially,” said County Manager Tom Stolz.
How that money will be spent will be up for discussion at the commission’s regular meeting on Wednesday, commissioners said.
It’s clear that some of the money can be used to pay for direct expenses such as coronavirus testing and supplies, protective medical equipment and employee overtime, said Commissioner David Dennis.
Also on the table are actions the county is taking in conjunction with cities, including the hasty conversion of the basement of Wichita’s Century II Performing Arts Center into an impromptu station for decontaminating county ambulances between calls, officials said.
“It’s got to be corona-related actions,” said commission Chairman Pete Meitzner. “It’s supposedly not to make up for (declining) revenues.”
So far, the county hasn’t gotten a lot of guidance on what qualifies as coronavirus-related, Stamper said.
“That’s a pretty broad category, almost big enough to drive a truck through,” he said. “At some point they’re going to come back and look at that expense and determine whether it’s coronavirus related.”
If the federal government decides the county spent money on ineligible expenses, the county would have to pay the money back, with interest, said Finance Director Lindsay Poe-Rousseau.
Stolz said the county has appointed eight staff members to a review team and also will be bringing in outside expertise to make sure the money is spent legally.
“You have to be accountable and prudent with the money and have a good paper trail and have good documentation,” Stolz said.
The commission will meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Because of the current limitations on public gatherings, the public and press are not allowed to attend, but can watch the proceedings on KPTS-Channel 8.
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 3:57 PM.
