Pulaski County has declared a public health emergency. A resolution declaring the emergency was approved by the county commissioners Monday. Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer explained that it will make Pulaski County eligible for federal reimbursement for certain COVID-19-related expenses.
“If we need to obtain face shields, masks, sanitizer, et cetera, et cetera, plus mileage, overtime, those sorts of things, those costs incurred directly related to this, this will get the county eligible for reimbursement,” Origer explained.
Meanwhile, an incident management team of about eight members is now meeting every morning to discuss the county’s response. Commissioner Kenny Becker suggested allocating $250,000 in Riverboat Fund money for the response effort, to be reimbursed with federal funding later. An additional appropriation would have to be approved by the county council.
Meanwhile, Becker’s orders to extend the county’s temporary workforce reduction through April 20 and keep county facilities closed to the public were ratified by the entire board of commissioners Monday. Certain “non-essential” employees are allowed to stay home while continuing to get paid. They’re technically on-call to perform essential functions to keep the government agencies running.
Commissioner Mike McClure asked what would happen if the stay-at-home order continued and the county felt the need to start laying people off. County Attorney Kevin Tankersley said he’s working with the auditor to make sure furloughed employees can get the benefits provided by the federal CARES Act. “The question becomes, how do we deal with their health insurance benefits, their PERF,” Tankersley added. “How do we pay for that? How much do they pay for that? So we’re working on that.”
The commissioners also updated the county’s holiday schedule, to reflect the move of Primary Election Day from May 5 to June 2.
