A look at Marion County’s CARES Act distribution processes

On Aug. 18, 2020, Marion County entered into Coronavirus Relief Fund grant agreements with both the Ocala-Marion County Chamber of Commerce, Inc., (CEP) and the Community Foundation for Ocala/Marion County, Inc.

The agreements allowed the two entities to handle the distribution of federal funds the county received as part of the CARES Act passed in March of that year.

The grant agreements dictated the dispersal of CARES Act funds, stipulated and capped what sort of expenses would be considered reimbursable during the process as well as set the terms of deadlines and audits, amongst other conditions.

They also determined the CEP handled disbursement to local businesses and for-profit entities, while the Community Foundation focused on disbursement to nonprofit organizations in Marion County.

Kevin Sheilley, the president and CEO of the CEP, detailed the thought process when it came to facilitating the funds to local businesses.

“We wanted to make sure that it went to the places where there was the greatest need. And so, when we put together our proposal from the county from the beginning, we really did a lot of talking to businesses, looking at what other places were doing,” he said.

Lauren Deiorio, the president & executive director of the Community Foundation for Ocala/Marion County, also knew there was a need, and described the steps they took to get the funds to non-profits as fast as they could.

“So, when it came time to get the ball rolling, […] we wanted to get things up as quickly as possible because we knew the nonprofits were suffering. We developed the application based upon Treasury guidelines, we vetted it past [Former Assistant County Administrator] Jeannie Rickman and her team at the county. And they approved it and the advertising was up on our website. And we did other advertising to the nonprofits. We utilized a software system to gather all the documents and the applications,” she said.

Stacie Causey, a spokesperson for Marion County, detailed a few of the provisions included in the contracts between the county and the CEP and the Community Foundation.

“The federal guidelines for CARES Act funding allow for reimbursement requests of administrative costs to include expenditures such as travel, supplies, and equipment,” Causey wrote in an email.

According to Marion County Fiscal Manager Michael McCain, the Community Foundation was responsible for administering $4,156,642.74 in CARES Act money to non-profits and was reimbursed $213,450 in administrative costs in the process.

Additionally, McCain noted the CEP was responsible for administering $7,068,443.60 in funds and was reimbursed $89,873.75 for doing so.

According to invoices submitted by the CEP and the Community Foundation and provided by the county, reimbursable items for the CEP included payments made to local and national media companies (including the Ocala Gazette’s parent company, Magnolia Media Co.) advertising the available funds to local businesses, software companies such as Adobe, and to pay for salaries and other associated administrative costs.

The invoices showed the Community Foundation’s reimbursable items included payments such as purchasing grant-specific software, reviewing applications, and consultation hours with applicants.

The agreements stated the funds were to be exhausted by Dec. 30, 2020.

Despite the contracts being signed in mid-August, Deiorio said the process of getting the funds from the federal government to the county, and then to the Community Foundation, took about two months once the contract was signed.

The agreements also stated that audits were required, and would be conducted at the cost of either the CEP or the Community Foundation–something Causey reiterated.

“Per federal requirements, which are included in the contracts with Marion County for the CEP and [the] Community Foundation, the CARES Act funding must be audited. Once these audits have been submitted to the county, they will be public record and held by the clerk’s office which functions as the county’s official record keeper,” she wrote.

Sheilley relayed the funds have undergone several rounds of audits to this point, and they expect to have the final one completed early next year.

“We’re having a full program audit done…so actually, our program audit will be done in January. There was a county internal review, and then a consultant reviewed the audit of the program, and now, we’re having the third audit really be the program audit,” he said.

The original agreement called for the necessary audits to be completed at the cost of either the CEP or the Community Foundation. However, subsequent amendments allowed for them to be funded out of any unused administrative fees, provided the administrative fee cap had not been exceeded.

Deiorio pointed out that because non-profits, especially smaller ones, are not always familiar with the intricate and extensive grant application process, and as a result, her staff spent extra time assisting them in applying. Because of this, the Community Foundation exceeded the funds allotted for their administrative services and funded their own audit.

Additionally, according to Deiorio, even though the balance of the funds had been allocated before the Dec. 30 deadline, a few of the payments were issued in January 2021, meaning the Community Foundation will be responsible for an additional audit in 2021.

Sheilley mentioned the CEP, unsure as to how long the pandemic would last and looking to keep administrative costs streamlined, utilized a group of individuals with financial and business knowledge to assist with the selection process.

“So, we would do a cursory review of every application. ‘Does this meet the definitions as a qualified?’ And for the most part, almost everyone that we reviewed, we would then pass on to the committee. And the committee was individuals who are members of the Industrial Development Authority, a county-appointed board that all have financial backgrounds, to approve additional revenue bonds for the county. They didn’t act as Industrial Revenue Board but instead acted in their individual capacities. But they would meet…and go over every application,” he said.

According to McCain, the county undergoes annual audits as part of federal funding contracts for more than $750,000. To access the county’s annual Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), click here.