94 Oklahoma cities, counties apply for reimbursement for coronavirus expenses

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH)--Cities and counties in Oklahoma have until June 10 to submit their first round of applications to the states CARES FORWARD team to receive reimbursement funding for local government expenses incurred as a result of the coronavirus.

The state of Oklahoma announced on Monday that 94 cities and counties have requested to participate in the CARES FORWARD reimbursement platform.

“The State has put into place a sound platform to thoroughly review and quickly process reimbursement needs from cities and counties impacted by COVID-19,” said State COO John Budd. “We have 94 cities and counties who have already engaged with the State, and we encourage all others to reach out to the State as soon as possible to begin discussions on how these federal funds can support their services impacted by the novel virus.”

Cities and counties will have the first 10 days of every month to submit applications for reimbursement, the remainder of the month will be reserved for the state to review applications and process payments.

CARES FORWARD will process coronavirus related reimbursements until the end of January 2021.

The federal funds are available because of the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) which delivered $1.2 billion to Oklahoma to support the coronavirus outbreak.

The money included expansion of testing and tracing, purchasing personal protective equipment, and improvement of infrastructure for delivering public services impacted by the virus.