State of Oregon pushes CARES Act funding to counties – gives little time to spend funds
On December 1st, the state committed to a baseline of $500,000 in unspent CARES Act funding for every county. Funding must be allocated for impacted businesses by the end of the year and counties have been given a fair amount of freedom in choosing how to distribute the funds.
The announcement gives businesses very little time to apply for the grant and counties little time to spend the funds.
Gilliam County has been allotted $516,773 for disbursement to small businesses. In the Dec. 2nd Gilliam County Court session, the court opted to contract with the Condon Chamber of Commerce, who has an established grant committee. The Condon Chamber will receive 10% of the funding to administer the program. Applications for the COVID-19 Relief Grant in Gilliam County are due by 5 PM on December 20th.
Wheeler County has been allotted $511,685. Applications are available on the Wheeler County website and are due by December 18th. Businesses are encouraged to apply and to contact Tami Stockton, in the Economic Development Dept. with any questions.
Sherman County has been allotted $515,615. Judge Joe Dabulskis said that the court had mailed the application to all businesses in Sherman County and that they are relying on word of mouth to reach everyone. Applications are due in Sherman County on the 21st of December. “We encourage businesses to put in,” said Judge Dabulskis.
Typically, rolling out such a large amount of funds would take several months. Now, counties have just a couple of weeks to expend much needed aid for businesses.