June 30, 2020 – El Paso County Controller Nikki Simmons delivered the first transparency report regarding how the County has used CARES Act funding. The transparency report given to the Board of County Commissioners will be updated and redistributed monthly. It is available online in both PDF and excel formats. During the meeting, Controller Simmons also updated the Commissioners on future plans for how the County will use funds to ensure the continuity of operations and facilitate the response, recovery, and resiliency to COVID-19.
“Transparency is one of our core values in El Paso County government,” said Board Chair Mark Waller. “This report is the first of many to come. We are committed to doing the most good with this money and being transparent and ethical in how the funds are spent every step of the way.”
A video clip of the presentation is available here, and you can view the power point presentation here: CARES Act Presentation 6-30-2020
El Paso County received approximately $125 million from the federal government as part of the CARES Act legislation passed earlier this year. The legislation allocated $150 billion to help local governments pay for increased costs associated with responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the funds were distributed to the states for sharing on the local level, but El Paso County met the population threshold to apply for the funds directly. The ability to apply for funds directly has benefited both the County as well as local cities like Colorado Springs, Fountain, and Monument because the State of Colorado declined to share all but a small amount of their CARES Act funding with local governments statewide.