An estimated $1.7 billion in federal relief dollars tied to the coronavirus pandemic has already been allocated to Orange County governments, universities, healthcare facilities and residents. And $1.6 billion more is expected to come soon to help local hospitals, residents and K-12 schools.
But nearly a month after the federal government approved the $2.2 trillion CARES Act relief package, and with a new $484 billion stimulus plan expected to pass the House this week, local cities so far have been largely left out in the cold.
Also, while funding has been promised, the money has been slow to arrive at Orange County schools and hospitals. And so far, little information is available about how much money local corporations and small businesses received through the federal stimulus plan, prompting some to call for more transparency and oversight.
Here’s a look at how the money is being divvied up and what questions remain:
County gets boost; cities sweat
The CARES Act created a $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund to help states and local governments, which have seen a dramatic drop in the tax revenue that they need to fund public services even as businesses shut down to slow the pandemic.
California got $15.3 billion through that relief program. And on Wednesday, Orange County announced it received $554 million in federal relief funds.
But only local governments with populations of 500,000 or more can get any money directly from the federal government. That doesn’t apply to any Orange County cities, which are now left hoping that either the state or the county will pass along a share of their funds to close city budget gaps that are growing by the week.
Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido led a group of 31 out of 34 OC mayors in writing to the county asking for a share of that $554 million split up by population. He wants to use his city’s potential $58 million share to do aggressive testing, provide free masks for residents, set up portable hand-washing stations and to help businesses.
But while the federal officials released guidelines Wednesday for how governments can use relief dollars, the document didn’t clarify whether counties can transfer funds to cities. Orange County spokeswoman Molly Nichelson said the county hopes to have “maximum flexibility” to use that money for expenses tied to the coronavirus that weren’t included in the county’s annual budget.
The county and local cities did receive $14.9 million in CARES Act funds from increases in Community Development Block Grants, which can be used to expand community health facilities, child care centers, food banks and senior services. The largest award went to Santa Ana, which got $3.4 million, followed by Anaheim, which received $2.5 million.
The county also received $2.2 million in Emergency Solution Grants, which can help address the impact of COVID-19 on people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Schools wait for promised funds
Orange County should receive at least $288.5 million out of the CARES Act’s $31 billion Education Stabilization Fund. But, to date, very little of that education money has been distributed.
The fund includes $13.5 billion for K-12 schools. In California, that’s expected to come out to $293 per student. And with 473,612 students enrolled locally, OC schools should receive roughly $138.8 million to help implement distance learning programs and meet other needs tied to the pandemic.
But the Orange County Department of Education said Wednesday that the federal government hasn’t yet allocated those funds, with the application period for one category not even open yet.
The CARES Act education fund also includes $14 billion for colleges and universities. At least two dozen institutions in Orange County have been awarded $149.7 million from that pot. Cal State Fullerton received the biggest local award, at $41 million, followed by UC Irvine at $36.7 million and Fullerton College, with a $9.7 million grant.
Colleges must use at least half of the CARES Act funds they receive for emergency grants directly to students. That money is supposed to help with urgent needs such as food, housing, course materials, technology, healthcare and child care.
So far, only 0.5% of institutions have actually received CARES Act money and there isn’t yet a clear timeline for when money will come through, according to Fullerton College’s financial aide director, Greg Ryan.
The college did get $200,000 in federal money to continue to pay some 200 students who typically work on campus but are unable do to so during the shutdown, Ryan said. And the school has been able to loosen rules for an existing grant program to hand out $1,000 awards to any student in need. They’re getting roughly 100 calls a day for those grants, Ryan said, with about $300,000 handed out since the school shut down and another $250,000 in the pipeline.
Money trickles in for healthcare
Orange County’s hospitals are also hoping to get a share of $100 billion that was allocated in the CARES Act. That money will help cover the costs of treating coronavirus patients and offset losses from canceled elective procedures and visits. Based on population, the county might expect to get $1 billion from that pot.
But less than a third of that hospital money has been distributed to date, the Wall Street Journal reports, with local hospitals reporting they’re still waiting to hear back on their applications.
Meanwhile, news of some grants to local healthcare facilities is starting to trickle in, including $881,570 to UCI Medical Center, $649,385 to Hurtt Family Health Clinic in Tustin and $852,290 to St. Jude Neighborhood Health Centers in Fullerton and Orange.
Some individuals got paid
Roughly $1.5 billion is expected to flow directly to Orange County residents through individual stimulus checks, based on calculations from national estimates.
Some 64% of the people who expected to get the checks have already received them. That would mean more than $1 billion has likely already been deposited directly into OC residents’ bank accounts. It’s unclear when the other 36% will get their funds.
Other relief programs are also benefiting individual OC residents, including expanded unemployment, paid sick leave and deferred payments on federal student loans.
But the biggest question mark in stimulus funding is how much has come to local businesses.
Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine, is pushing for more transparency and oversight of those funds. So far there isn’t public data on how the now-depleted $887 billion that was set aside for corporations and small businesses was divvied up.
