Madison County board adds $4.9 million for COVID contact tracing and approves several small emergency grants

Madison County officials on Aug. 19 approved a $4,905,792 immediate emergency appropriation from the Illinois Department of Public Health to fund local COVID-19 contact tracing through May 31, 2021, with no county match required. The Board adopted the appropriation under authority cited in the resolution language for emergency budget adjustments.

The funding was described as federal IDPH money intended to expand contact tracing capacity in the county. Health Department committee chair Ray Wesley presented the measure and the Board approved it as part of a package of seven resolutions read during the meeting.

The Board also accepted smaller, targeted emergency appropriations: $12,610 for a Self-Help Legal Center program to support domestic-violence outreach, $6,489 from Phillips 66 for technological costs at the Child Advocacy Center due to COVID-19, and a $1,000 grant from the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Illinois/National Children’s Alliance for similar purposes. The resolutions specify the grant periods and note that unspent 2020 funds would be re-appropriated into FY2021 where applicable.

Finance Chair Don Moore framed the appropriations as grant receipts that increase specific funds in the FY2020 budget. The contact-tracing grant drew minimal debate in the meeting record; the Health Department director and committees will manage subcontracting and testing partnerships authorized in accompanying resolutions, including a sub-contractual agreement with Southern Illinois University School of Medicine to expand community testing.

The Board’s action allows the Health Department to hire or contract for tracing and testing work immediately; the grant period and reporting requirements were specified in the resolution. The County Clerk recorded the resolutions and the Board moved on to other business.