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Utah County committee outlines plan for leftover CARES Act funds as second grant round closes
Summary
Mountainland Association of Governments reported the county’s CARES Act program awarded roughly $13.9M in round one and is in a second round; the committee recommends holding any leftover funds to accept city proposals allocated by population, while the county auditor cautioned about timing, accountability and the need for a formal interlocal amendment.
Michelle Carroll, representing the Utah County COVID‑19 Economic Recovery Committee and Mountainland Association of Governments, told commissioners the county’s CARES Act program started with a $20,000,000 allocation: about $15,000,000 for small‑business grants and $5,000,000 for nonprofit awards.
Carroll said the first round approved 774 businesses for about $8,900,000 and awarded $5,000,000 to 53 nonprofits, leaving roughly $6,062,000. The committee opened a second round for small business grants Oct. 2–19; Carroll reported 57 submitted applications totaling about $540,000 and about 120 pending applications collectively requesting roughly $1,000,000 as of her report.
“If we don’t have $6,062,000 in eligible asks from the second round,” Carroll said, “the committee is requesting that they can entertain proposals from each jurisdiction for economic support and then expend the funds that way, and the dollar amounts would be based on population.” She said the committee would vet city proposals to ensure they meet the program’s economic‑support guidelines.
Commissioners pressed several procedural and oversight questions. One commissioner said the county’s contract governing the program currently includes a deadline for returning unspent funds; Carroll emphasized the committee was not asking for an extension to expend funds but for authority to accept jurisdiction proposals if money remained after awards were finalized. Carroll said the committee expected to know final second‑round totals by Oct. 19 and to convene Oct. 20 to act.
The county auditor raised practical concerns about late distributions. “If we give it to the cities in November, and then they have less than 30 days to do turnaround,” the auditor said, “If it doesn’t get spent, then it’s coming out of my bank account.” The auditor asked for plans showing why businesses did not apply and that recipients would be eligible under program rules before any county transfer.
Carroll said the committee would return with additional information and noted it would accept applications from businesses that have received other economic support. Commissioners asked the committee to return with formal recommendations and with proposed contract or interlocal agreement amendments if the committee seeks authority to change the distribution timeline or method.
Next steps: the committee will finalize second‑round awards, tally any remaining funds, and return to the commission with formal recommendations and, if needed, proposed amendments to the interlocal agreement or contract language governing the CARES funds.
