The Washington County Board of Supervisors continued discussion of how federal COVID-19 relief funds will be administered to the county at their meeting Tuesday.

Supervisor Marcus Fedler informed the board that the first department head meeting was held last week to review the seven guidelines of how these funds can be spent, which are to support the public health response, address the negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency, serve the hardest-hit communities and families, replace lost public sector revenue, provide premium pay for essential workers, invest in water and sewer infrastructure, and invest in broadband infrastructure. Board Chair Richard Young mentioned that they won’t have a clear view on how they will spend the approximate $4.27 million they’ve been allocated until the final rules are published anticipated this August, “Once that happens, we will know exactly how that money can be spent. Until then, I believe we have to wait until those federal rules get published. So we’ll continue working on this and have it on every week if we need to talk about it.”

The supervisors’ weekly meeting also included a closed session to discuss matters that are either in litigation or where litigation is imminent, and approved an engagement proposal to retain Ann Smisek of Ahlers & Cooney, P.C.