Utah County amends 2021 budget to appropriate anticipated COVID-19 grant funds; commission asks for technical corrections

The Utah County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to adopt a resolution amending the 2021 county budget to appropriate anticipated COVID-19 grant revenues and create restricted accounts for those funds.

County staff told the commission the amendment is a procedural step that allows the county to receive and immediately program federal and state funds from sources such as FEMA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and CARES-related programs. Staff said the amendment moves expected revenues into restricted accounts so those monies are available for time-sensitive pandemic response if and when the grants arrive.

Rudy, a county budget official, told commissioners the change does not authorize spending until the county receives the grants and the commission subsequently approves specific transfers. "We put them into a category that's essentially anticipated grant revenues and then we budget restricted expenditures that will go against that funding," Rudy said, adding that some funds (FEMA reimbursements, for example) require the county to spend first and seek reimbursement.

Staff identified several categories the amendment would cover. They said the health department has funds already and the county placed $2,000,000 in a restricted health account to cover nursing costs related to extended hours and hires. Staff also said the county is tracking increased marriage-license and passport revenue and projected additional revenue of about $500,000; $400,000 would be placed in restricted accounts and $100,000 would be made available for time-limited staffing (approximately $85,000 in personnel and $15,000 in supplies) to handle the extra workload.

During debate commissioners pressed staff to correct and reconcile several spreadsheet formula errors and to clarify which funds are restricted versus immediately available for hiring or operations. Commissioners also questioned large, illustrative estimates staff included for potential federal programs; staff described those figures as planning estimates and said they would supply corrected schedules before the end of the day. "We're estimating what congress is talking about and applying formulas based on county size," a county staff member said, noting the $230,000,000 figure discussed was an estimate of potential total grant funds and not a guaranteed amount.

The commission passed the resolution adopting the budget amendment with added language requiring technical corrections and clarified schedules. Staff said they would deliver a corrected budget schedule the same afternoon and that the county—s accounting systems would keep FEMA-related spending and reimbursements separated for future audits.

The commission's action authorizes the county to recognize anticipated grant revenues and create restricted accounts; individual transfers or spending still require either staff programming after revenue receipt or further commission action, depending on the fund and the proposed use.

The commission adopted the resolution (item 17) by unanimous vote and asked staff to provide corrected line-item schedules and documentation of how restricted accounts will be programmed.