President Joe Biden’s administration is giving state and local governments greater flexibility in spending $350 billion in federal COVID-19 aid.
State and local governments will have greater flexibility to spend $350 billion of federal COVID-19 aid under new rules from President Joe Biden’s administration which take effect April 1, 2022. This is music to the city of Inglewood’s ears as they have been awaiting direction from the government before spending $15.5 million received last July.
The final U.S. Treasury Department rules come nearly 10 months after Biden signed the massive $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that included aid for state, local and tribal governments. The money was intended to help shore up their finances, pay the ongoing costs of fighting the virus and invest in longer-term projects to strengthen communities.
But some city and county officials had complained that the Treasury’s initial guidelines, issued last May, were too rigid. In addition to pressing the Treasury for changes, local government groups also had been lobbying Congress to intervene with relaxed criteria.
One of the most significant changes will let state and local governments claim up to $10 million of revenue losses during the pandemic without having to prove it. Federal money used to replace lost revenue comes with maximum flexibility, meaning it can go toward projects such as road repairs that would not otherwise be eligible. That $10 million threshold covers the entire allotment for many smaller cities and for about 70% of counties.
“It really allows for counties to be able to use the funding in ways in which they know can best support their communities and residents,” Eryn Hurley, deputy director of government affairs for the National Association of Counties, said Friday.
Local officials also had pushed for greater flexibility on infrastructure spending, which is generally limited to water, sewer and broadband internet.
The final rules allow money to be used for culvert repairs along roads and to rehabilitate dams and reservoirs that supply drinking water. The ruling doesn’t mention using the money on the transit connector Mayor Butts.
Inglewood will get the second $15.8 million payment in July 2022.
Associated Press contributed to this article
1 Comment
Before we get all excited about this supposed “replacement for lost revenue due to the pandemic” let’s realize this is not money off the federal money tree. This is the money those of us without loophole opportunities automatically “donate” under penalty of audit to the IRS each year one paycheck at a time all year long.
YEP our hard earned dollars!
Does anyone else believe James Butts and Company will find a creative way to use this money not for our needs and services but for the Benefit of his most beloved Billionaires?
Let’s look at the creativity so far….
The creative language providing to the low-end just-barely- a-Billionaire James Dolan the “ no-need-to-pay-back loan” ( aka gift ) for the renovation of the Forum was almost a magical means of wealth transfer from the needy to greedy wasn’t it ? That sweet sanctification by a then reigning now faded-from-sight “religious star” blessing was a well crafted stroke of added distraction. (Think barely dressed stage assistant keeping focus away from the magicians slight of hand.)
Then of course we can remember that everso NOW YOU SEE IT – NOW YOU DON’T Stadium Vote Petition. Yep while the Petition itself didn’t go up in stagecraft flames it did really and truly by council vote land in the shredder before its final burial in the land fill never to provided again in response to a public record request. (Not to worry it won’t be lonely- the police abuse of force records are also shredded and in the landfill).
INGLEWOOD RESIDENTS WILL NEVER REMEMBER VOTING IN THE STADIUM ELECTION – guess why … come on we know this! It isn’t a case of senior memory lapse. Drum roll and Trumpets please – THERE WAS NO STADIUM VOTE BY THE PEOPLE. NOPE IT NEVER HAPPENED !
The stage-crafting which cleared the way for Stan Kroenke and the NFL to receive multiple Benefits at taxpayer expense and negative community impact is very worthy of acknowledgement …
Perhaps those 500 people who will set up the stage for the SuperBowl half time show or the stars themselves will somehow be deemed worldwide ambassadors and paid out of the funds meant to benefit Inglewood residents…..after all at $5,000 -$10,000 per seat we wouldn’t expect NFL to cover the show expense without our help would we?
How long will we let this Magic show of disappearing documents and our money go on?