It’s like Brewster’s Millions for local government.
When the American Recovery Act of 2021 was passed on March 11, it set aside hundreds of millions of dollars for the nation’s counties and municipalities.
But as it was with the 1985 movie, there are both stipulations on how it can be spent and a relatively narrow window for spending it.
The four Golden Triangle counties will receive a combined $26.7 million from the latest round of COVID-19 relief.
According to The National Association of Counties (NACO) database, which lists the funding for every county in the U.S., Lowndes County will receive $11,364,139, Oktibbeha County will receive $9,617,093, Clay County will receive $3,746,219 and Noxubee County will receive $2,020,313.
Unlike the funds set aside for municipalities with a population of fewer than 50,000, those funds will come directly from the U.S. Treasury, Lowndes County Administrator Jay Fisher said.
“What we were told is that the money would come in two payments,” Fisher said. “Half of the money is supposed to be distributed 60 days after the passage of the bill with the other half coming on the same day a year later.”
As of this week, cities have yet to learn how much money will be flowing their way.
Columbus Public Information Officer Joe Dillon, who participated in a Recovery Act teleconference this week, said the Treasury Department will release details on May 11.
“The only thing we were told is that, compared to the CARES Act, this is going to provide more money,” said Dillon, noting that Columbus received $556,000 from the initial COVID-19 relief package.
Fisher said the funds will be targeted for use on specific things. It can’t be used to fill budget shortfalls, for example.
“I think from the county’s perspective, after our Mississippi Association of Supervisors meeting, the recommendation was that we not do anything until there is some clarity,” he said. “There are some general areas for spending, but until we know the specifics, the feeling is we wait.”
Fisher said he hoped to know the exact specifications around the time the first half of the money arrives in May.
“That might be optimistic, but that’s what I’m hoping for,” he said. “I expect what we will do is put the money into a separate account until we have more information. It’s too early to make plans on how to spend it, but not too early to be thinking about it.”
Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill said from her understanding, the funds can be spent on COVID-19 related losses and unpaid CARES Act reimbursement claims. In Starkville alone, unpaid CARES claims amounted to about $200,000, she said.
“One example is that we weren’t fully reimbursed for overtime for the fire department,” Spruill said. “When firefighters had to quarantine, they had to pull in other fighters to cover for them which created the overtime. There were several things like that that we weren’t reimbursed for.”
The funds also can be spent on infrastructure, broadband internet service and tourism, among other areas, she said.
“I wouldn’t want to speculate,” she said. “Right now, we don’t know what we will be getting or any real specifics on how it can be spent.”
When local governments do have the information they need to proceed, they’ll have to move decisively.
“One thing we do know is that the money has to be spent by Dec. 31, 2024,” Fisher said. “That’s three years, basically, which isn’t very much time for, let’s say, a big building project.”
Dillon said that one of the programs mentioned during the teleconference was support for city-supported airports.
“We’ve spoken to the mayors of Starkville and West Point and everyone has agreed that we will work on this together, not only for Golden Triangle (Regional) Airport but for the county airports, too,” Dillon said.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.