County to receive more than $520,000 in relief money

Quay County is receiving more than $520,000 and the city of Tucumcari more than $40,000 in federal coronavirus relief money.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office on Sept. 1 announced a total of more than $150 million in aid to 83 local New Mexico governments from the federal CARES Act passed earlier this year.

The news release stated the grants are designed “to cover the cost of necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency.”

Applications were open to almost all of New Mexico’s local governments, excluding only the city of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, which received CARES Act funds directly from the federal government.

The New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration scored applications based on criteria related to local government revenue lost due to expenses made responding directly to the health crisis.

The total amount requested exceeded the funds made available by the federal government; awards therefore were prorated based on need as articulated by the entity’s application.

All requests for amounts less than $50,000 for direct local government grants were awarded in full.

Quay County received $152,550 and Tucumcari $13,221 in direct local government grants. Eligible expenses for the grants included small business continuity grants, childcare assistance, purchase of personal protective equipment required to conduct government business, expenses incurred to mitigate the spread that included sanitizing and public service announcements, public health and safety personnel costs and senior programs, corrections, police, fire and EMS.

Quay County also received $372,750 and Tucumcari $27,956 for small businesses. Eligible expenses included non-owner employee payroll, rent, scheduled mortgage payments, insurance, utilities and marketing, reconfiguring physical space, installing plexiglass barriers, purchasing web-conferencing or other technology to facilitate work-at-home, PPE for employees and temporary structures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Neighboring Harding County received a total of more than $72,000 in aid. San Miguel County received more than $214,000. Guadalupe County, in a joint application with Santa Rosa and Vaughn, received more than $1.46 million.