At Wednesday’s Sedgwick County Commission meeting, we learned that the county must spend the remainder of its CARES Act funding, $5.3 million in all, by the end of June. County leaders say those funds will be reallocated toward temporary employment services responding to the pandemic.
The county has spent over $9 million so far in 2021 for its COVID response and projects to spend another $7.2 million by the end of the year.
Commissioner David Dennis asked if the county was planning to ramp down its vaccination efforts. Deputy County Manager Tim Kauffman said the medical community is waiting for the COVID-19 vaccine to be available in single dose vials. Once that happens, the transfer to the private sector can take place.
The county now has $50 million via the American Rescue Plan Act but a spending plan must be drafted and approved prior to use.
In related news, the county's 2020 financial audit report was released. An independent party declared a clean audit, with no adverse findings. At the end of 2020, the general fund balance was at $93.9 million. The county's reliance on other governments for funding typically runs around 15 percent, but in 2020, it spiked to 30 percent thanks to CARES Act funding.
The county's property tax collection rate is at nearly 98 percent, as it has become increasingly reliant on property taxes to fund its operations.
Commissioner Jim Howell called the report the best one he had seen in his time on the commission. The deadline for the report’s completion was within 180 days of the end of the fiscal year.