County, city leaders receive guidance for COVID-19 relief funding
JACKSON, Tenn. — Local government leaders can now can decide what to do with the latest COVID-19 relief funding.
City and county officials from 21 counties in West Tennessee gathered at Jackson State Community College to receive the latest information and guidance on federal funding through the American Rescue Plan.
“The thing I’m urging them to do today is to be strategic on how they spend this, look at each individual community, see how I can do the greatest good for the greatest number of citizens in my community,” said Jason Mumpower, Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury.
Each county and city is receiving a portion of the $1.9 trillion package, and must spend it by Dec. 31, 2024. However, there are certain guidelines on how they can spend it.
The money can be spent on:
- Supporting public health expenditures.
- Addressing negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency.
- Replacing lost public sector revenue.
- Providing premium pay to essential workers.
- Investing in water, sewer, broadband infrastructure.
“No expenditures should be made before you are certain that the use of funds comply with the provisions of the American Rescue Plan. I mean that’s pretty simple. Before you spend the money, know the rules,” Mumpower said.
If the money is not spent correctly, the federal government will get their money back by taking it from local money.
Mumpower advised the officials to wait 60 to 90 days before they engage on spending it. The funds are non-recurring and tax payers will being paying these off for a very long time.
“This money is not going to last forever. Let’s do it right the first time, let’s partner with neighboring communities, let’s bring in citizens, let’s hear how should we spend this money. Let’s think about it before we spend it,” Mumpower said.
More federal guidance will be delivered to help our local governments best utilize this money and also best benefit our citizens.
For more information, click here.
