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Utah County approves CARES-funded IT, finance positions to handle COVID workload
Summary
County commissioners authorized several grant‑funded positions using CARES Act funding to bolster IT, clerk/auditor, and finance capacity for pandemic response and election needs, stressing strict documentation to meet Treasury requirements.
The Utah County Commission approved multiple grant‑funded hires at its March 1 meeting to handle pandemic-related workload, including remote‑work infrastructure, election processing, and COVID expense tracking.
Commissioners discussed guidance from the U.S. Treasury and the need to maintain a clear separation between work funded by CARES Act dollars and routine county responsibilities. Commissioner Lee and others emphasized that employees paid from CARES funds must document that their time is devoted to COVID‑related work and not supplant previously budgeted duties.
Patrick Worrall, the county IT director, told commissioners the hires will focus on building remote access and internal systems so county employees can work securely from offsite locations. Finance and clerk/auditor staff said they lack the internal bandwidth to document and process the volume of COVID‑tagged invoices and that a dedicated COVID budget manager and additional finance staff are needed to comply with Treasury documentation and audit expectations.
Commissioners approved the staffing authorizations by voice votes: item 19 (addition of full‑time, grant‑funded programmers and a network administrator) and item 20 (additional grant positions to support COVID work) each passed with recorded results of “passes 3 0.” Item 21, a senior programmer position that had been budgeted in prior planning and is expected to be ongoing, was also approved.
The commission noted these CARES‑funded positions are temporary and expected to end when the grant period ends. Commissioners directed departments to track hours and tasks, and to provide reporting so the county can demonstrate compliance with federal guidance.
