More help is on the way for Manatee County residents, business owners who have experienced financial setbacks and for non-profits and governments involved in the public response to COVID-19. Manatee County Commissioners today approved the outline for a plan to provide financial recovery assistance of $17.5 million that will go to help those hit hardest by the coronavirus. The funding is the first phase of Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act federal funding arriving through the State of Florida.

Deputy County Administrator Karen Stewart, delivering an update on the plan to County Commissioners today, said Manatee County's plan distributes funding into four categories: Public Health/Safety (30 percent), Economic Recovery (30 percent), Community Health and Wellbeing (30 percent), and Government and Community Facilities (10 percent).

"Manatee CARES funding allows us to expand the HAP program to others in Manatee County who can show they’ve been impacted by the pandemic," Stewart told Commissioners today. "The CARES act money funding opens up the ability for a broader number of residents to receive funding under this program."

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