RALEIGH – Following the passage of the 2020 COVID-19 Recovery Act, State Representative Donna White (R-Clayton) announced today that Johnston County will be receiving $3,656,014 to cover immediate expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ninety-seven of North Carolina’s counties will receive funding through the 2020 COVID-19 Recovery Act, which established a $300-million Local Government Coronavirus Reserve. Half of the reserve is being directly distributed to counties.
“I am pleased that we could direct this funding from the CARES ACT to the County Commissioners. This infusion of much needed appropriations will assist them to stabilize the county budget that has been impacted by increased usage of all county departments and the continuing stress that this virus is bringing to our local government,” Rep. White said.
Counties that did not receive funds from the federal CARES Act are eligible for a base payment of $250,000 with additional money allocated based on per capita population.
The money can only be used to offset coronavirus-related costs including, but not limited to, establishing temporary medical facilities, testing, disinfecting public areas, public safety measures, and purchasing and distributing protective supplies. Counties can allocate portions of the funds to municipalities for those expenses.
The funding is part of a nearly $1.6 billion COVID-19 relief package that was unanimously approved by the state legislature and signed into law by the Governor earlier this week. The overall bill provides significant new resources across the state to support hospitals, research, testing, small businesses, school nutrition and much more.
