MOUNT OLIVE – According to a press release issued by Governor Murphy’s office yesterday, $37 million will be available to 12 additional counties to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The 12 counties include: Atlantic; Burlington; Cape May; Cumberland; Gloucester; Hunterdon; Mercer; Morris; Salem; Somerset; Sussex; and Warren. These counties were previously ineligible for Coronavirus Relief Funding because their populations are below 500,000.

“There is no denying that COVID-19 has placed an incredible amount of strain on resources across all levels of government,” said Governor Murphy. “I’ve been clear from day one of this crisis that we’ll spare no expense to protect the health and safety of New Jerseyans, and that requires us to provide our communities with the support they need. Together, this funding will help us save lives and emerge stronger as one New Jersey family.”

The first portion of funding, approximately $15 million in total, provides counties with a reimbursement for COVID-19 related expenses to date. This money represents 25% of the county cost share with FEMA paying the remaining 75%, along with other eligible Coronavirus Relief Fund expenses. These funds will be made available to all 12 counties upon signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and upon proper documentation of the expenditures.

The second portion of funding will help counties stand up and maintain testing sites. All 12 counties will receive $357,500 for this purpose.

The final allotment is based on population size, and each county will receive funds from the CDC’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for the Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases to support ongoing testing of vulnerable and high-risk populations. Counties will receive this funding only after submitting a testing plan and gaining approval of that plan by the Department of Health. The sum total of this portion of funding is $17 million.

A breakdown of funding by county can be found here.

We will continue to update you on new developments. Please visit our COVID-19 Resource Page for more alerts.

Feel free to contact any member of our team at (610) 828-1900 (PA) or (732) 341-3893 (NJ) with questions. You can contact me at Richard.Higgins@MCC-CPAs.com and Marty at Marty.McCarthy@MCC-CPAs.com. As always, we are happy to help.