Rep. Keith Kidwell Announces Coronavirus Relief Funding for Local Counties | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    Raleigh, N.C.     Following the passage of the 2020 COVID-19 Recovery Act, state Representative Kidwell announced today that Beaufort & Craven counties will be receiving 1,014,608 and 1,911,835 respectively 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.

    Rep Kidwell said, "This money should go a long way towards covering the financial burden Beaufort and Craven counties have incurred from the COVID-19 virus. This burden would likely have created a situation that would have forced our commissioners to raise county property taxes. I am hopeful this funding will avoid that completely."

    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.