Douglas County to give $25-million in CARES Act funding to Omaha

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners is showing a preliminary look at how 166-million dollars of CARES Act money might be spent in the county.

On Tuesday the board heard an initial plan where $25-million would go to the city of Omaha.

Mayor Jean Stothert says the city faces an $80-million shortfall due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under these initial plans, the state and the county would come together to give money to Omaha.

"In discussions with the state of Nebraska, they said they're willing, they want to work with us as partners in this so we've identified and we're hoping and leaning towards doing a 50/50 split where both the state and the county would contribute,” said Joe Lorenz, the Budget and Finance Director.

Mayor Stothert has said in the past the general fund has taken a large hit from the pandemic. The general fund mostly covers public safety. The county's budget and finance director says from his understanding, all law enforcement expenditures will not be covered by the CARES Act.


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