COLUMBUS, Ind. == Columbus is preparing to appropriate $318,000 to pay for costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including paying for personal protective equipment, costs for the FairOaks Mall test site, cleaning supplies and improvements to city hall’s lower entrance.
The Columbus City Council has approved the first reading of an ordinance outlining appropriations in three categories with the following maximum amounts: $318,000 from the city’s general fund for COVID-19 expenses, $225,000 from the CEDIT Fund reserves for fee-for-service agreements and $1 million from a Community Crossings Grant in the general fund.
Ordinances require two readings by city council in order to be approved. The council’s next meeting is scheduled for March 2.
Director of Finance, Operations and Risk Jamie Brinegar said that the city received slightly more than $1.5 million in funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act in 2020.
“We were supposed to be reimbursed as we submitted, but there were several changes to the way the state wanted to provide the money to us, so we ended up not receiving that money until Dec. 30,” he said.
The city received the “vast majority” of its CARES reimbursement funding on Dec. 30, and the money went into the city’s general fund, Brinegar said.
For more details and the complete story, see Sunday’s Republic.
