DID RICKETTS SHORTCHANGE NEBRASKA’S LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ON COVID AID?

OMAHA - The federal government, through its $150 billion CARES Act relief fund, sent Nebraska $1.25 billion in aid to help cover such expenses. But Gov. Pete Ricketts allocated only about one-fourth of the amount suggested by the federal Treasury Department for reimbursing Nebraska counties, cities, and public utility districts.

Ricketts set aside $100 million for those local governments; a federal guidance document suggested $425 million. The situation is dire for the City of Omaha, which estimates that it may have $90 million to $100 million in virus-related costs by the end of the year. The bulk of that is to finance the entire budgets for the Police and Fire Departments.

Ricketts laid out his allocations on May 28. The biggest were for stabilizing the state’s unemployment insurance fund ($427 million), grants to struggling small businesses and livestock producers ($392 million) and reimbursing state and local governments for their COVID-19 expenses ($180 million). He later generated controversy when he told counties that they won’t get any CARES Act money if they mandated that members of the public wear face masks in county buildings.

The neighboring states of Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming and Kansas — which also got $1.25 billion in CARES Act money to dole out — all provided less than the $425 million recommended for their local governments.

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