MANSFIELD — Richland County elected officials on Tuesday at 9 a.m will discuss the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state-ordered shutdown in March and expectations going forward as Ohio continues to battle back economically.
The online meeting will be hosted by county commissioners.
The county permissive sales tax revenues for June, reflecting March’s receipts, were almost 19 percent below the same month for 2019, according to the county auditor’s office. The bulk of the county’s general revenue fund comes from the sales tax, roughly 63 percent in an average year.
The good news is the county was off to a good financial year, trending ahead of 2019 for the first five months of 2020 (reflecting sales tax receipts from October, November, December, January and February).
The fast start means the county is 1.75 percent ahead of 2019 in terms of sales tax ($9,992,795 vs. $9,818,143), for the first half of the year, though it’s about 4 percent behind the year’s projected revenue.
The auditor will also go over the county’s other primary funding sources, including local government funds, investments, real estate, conveyance fees, permits and casino revenues, all of which have been impacted by the pandemic.
Commissioners will also lead a discussion of plans for the $2 million the county has received in federal CARES Act funds.
Commissioner Tony Vero said the federal Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, & Economic Security Act provided $150 billion to state and local governments. He said the State of Ohio received $4.5 million and has kept $2.5 billion for its own needs.
In order for the county to use the funds, the costs must be incurred between March 1 and Dec. 30, 2020. The expenditures must have been incurred as a result of the public health emergency and were not accounted for in the county’s approved 2020 budget.
At this point, commissioners are looking to reimburse county agencies and departments for direct COVID-19 related expenses; assist in providing mobile internet hotspots for individual families as local school districts plan for at least some degree of online instruction; and also for grants to small businesses in the county.
John Leutz with the County Commissioners Association of Ohio will also participate in the meeting to provide an update on state planning.
