Coronavirus: Montgomery County provides face mask stipend to workers

Each of Montgomery County’s more than 4,200 employees will be offered $60 through July to offset the cost of face masks to comply with Ohio’s new stay-safe order that mandates facial coverings in businesses and offices.

A $20 monthly stipend will go directly into the paychecks of employees from May through July. Commissioners will reevaluate the payment for August, according to the resolution passed by county commissioners Tuesday.

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Montgomery County Administrator Michael Colbert said the stipend will allow employees to protect both themselves and the public during the coronavirus pandemic.

“This is going to allow us to ensure that we have enough face covering, as mandated by health, for all of our employees,” Colbert said.

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The cost could reach $254,340 if all the county’s 4,239 employees receive the stipend through July. Colbert said the county would seek reimbursement of the cost through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act.

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