Pierce County Recognized For Effective Use Of CARES Act Funding

PIERCE COUNTY, WA — Pierce County is being recognized for its effective use of CARES Act COVID-19 relief funds, and may become a model for how other counties use relief funding going forward.

The county is being recognized because the National Association of Counties requested the National Academy of Public Administrators (NAPC) study "innovative county response strategies" for relief spending. The NAPC then identified six counties across the country who were "paying special attention to programs focusing on inclusive economic recovery and on assisting vulnerable and underserved populations," which included Pierce County.

Other counties used for the study include Franklin County, Ohio, Lee County, Florida, and Cook County, Illinois.

The NAPC found that most counties faced significant hurdles last year including:

• Steep losses in revenue due to losses in sales taxes and decreased tourism.
• Empty government positions because of hiring freezes, plus short and long term staffing reductions.
• The closure of many county facilities and programs.
• Pay cuts for county employees, including furloughs and unpaid overtime.

However, they say Pierce County was able to overcome those challenges by setting a strong standard for CARES Act spending, while also remaining flexible enough to meet new challenges as they arose:

"Relying on past experiences with county economic support programs, Pierce County initiated several innovative small business support programs. County and community leaders convened approximately three weeks prior to the passage of the CARES Act, allowing leaders in various sectors to identify the areas that should be addressed to both initiate economic support and maintain agility. Over time, Pierce County was successful in adapting existing programs to new resources made available through the CARES Act."

Pierce County received roughly $158 million from the CARES Act. Of that money:

• 42% went to public health emergency response, buying PPE and expanding COVID-19 testing.
• 29% went to economic stabilization and recovery, supporting businesses through grants and workplace safety training.
• 21% went to community resilience, paying for housing stability, child and family services.
• 8% went to essential government services, financing the county's response to the pandemic.

Related: Pierce County Report Breaks Down How CARES Act Funding Was Spent

In particular, NAPC's review highlights two programs that were innovating and effective at supporting local businesses.

First is the county's Emergency Small Business Relief Grant program, which provides loans to struggling small businesses with 20 or fewer employees. As the study says:

"As a result of the relief grant, 6,751 employees were able to retain their jobs. Pierce County takes great pride in this relief grant because it provided economic support to small businesses representing a diverse population of business owners with 38% minority owned, 50% women owned, and 9% veteran owned."

The second program of note was October's Restaurant Rally, which encouraged customers to visit local restaurants by offering a 30% discount at participating restaurants, while reimbursing those restaurants 50% of their sales. 283 restaurants ultimately took part, reflecting roughly 72% of the county's full-service restaurants.

The study also notes that the county was quick to adapt this program when the situation changed. Due to a sharp increase in daily coronavirus case counts, Gov. Jay Inslee issued a two-week ban on inside dining right in the middle of the rally. To adapt, the county helped pay for restaurants as they transitioned to take-out only and reimbursed 100% of their costs the following week.

Read the full report from the National Academy of Public Administration.