Cities and counties across South Carolina will receive nearly $ 1.6 billion in direct financial aid from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Biden government’s historic coronavirus relief plan, after President Joe Biden signed the bill. on March 11th.
As the largest county in the state, Greenville County will receive approximately $ 101.5 million, while the city of Greenville will receive approximately $ 19.7 million. Unlike previous rounds of federal funding, the aid plan allows for more flexibility in the way the money is spent.
Each county will receive population-based money, a change to the Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) passed last March, in which Greenville was the only county in South Carolina with a population large enough to qualify to receive your own. part of the funds. Greenville County received $ 91 million in CARES funds and distributed almost all of them by the end of 2020. No city in the state received dedicated funding under the CARES Act.
All municipalities will receive population-based funds through the most recent financial relief measure, although the funding comes from two separate buckets of money, some for metropolitan cities and others for smaller cities.
In all, South Carolina counties are expected to receive nearly $ 1 billion in aid. South Carolina towns and cities will receive $ 587.06 million.
According to the American Rescue Plan, counties will receive half of their allocation in the next 60 days and the rest in one year.
Broadly defined, according to analysis by the National Association of Municipalities and National League of Cities, the money can be used to respond to the public health emergency of COVID-19 or its economic impacts. This could include more assistance to families, small businesses and non-profit organizations, or to help industries affected by the pandemic, such as hospitality, tourism or travel.
Counties and cities can also choose to use funds to provide extra pay for essential county workers, up to $ 13 per hour overtime limited to $ 25,000. This could include paying a premium to police, sheriff’s delegates and emergency medical personnel. Counties can also provide grants to companies with employees who perform essential functions to provide the extra payment.
Cities and counties can also use the funds to make up for their own financial losses from the pandemic, including unpaid property taxes or lower income from lodging and lodging in the last fiscal year.
Finally, they can also choose to spend funds on necessary infrastructure projects, such as water, sewage or broadband internet.
Aid to cities and counties is part of a total of $ 350 billion in the $ 1.9 trillion aid package that marked the first major legislative effort by the Biden government.
The bill became a party affair and Republicans attacked the $ 350 billion in aid to states, tribal organizations and local governments as a “blue state bailout” to make up for the deficits of Democratic-ruled states that, in general, took action. more drastic to close their savings and suffered financially during the pandemic. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said the funding formula “would direct money to the big blue states”.
Congressman William Timmons, R-Greenville, said the bill has spent a lot of money on “irrelevant Democratic priorities that will not help in our recovery efforts. It’s the wrong account, at the wrong time, for all the wrong reasons. ”Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-Anderson, said the $ 350 billion bill would save” blue states that mismanaged their budgets. “
Funds, however, will go to the red and blue states in the same way, and in South Carolina, millions will go to cities, towns and counties in the countryside with largely conservative elected officials.
The authorities are just learning some of the details of the unprecedented federal allocation to local governments across the country.
In the coming weeks, Greenville County will assess your needs and formulate a plan between the team and the county council on how best to use the money, said Bob Mihalic, a Greenville County spokesman. Although the county acted as an organization that grants much of the spending under the CARES Act, that money will be sent directly to the county for its employees to determine its use, he said.
The city of Greenville is working on a usage plan that focuses on restoring the lost revenue needed to provide essential services, said Beth Brotherton, a city spokesman.
Municipalities and counties have until December 31, 2024 to spend the money.
The US Treasury Department will release official values and will be tasked with distributing the money across the country.
In Greenville County, in addition to the city of Greenville, the following cities will receive a shared total of $ 36.9 million based on the National League of Cities estimates: Greer, $ 12.46 million; Mauldin, $ 9.49 million; Simpsonville, $ 9.05 million; Fountain Inn, $ 3.9 million; Travelers Rest, $ 2 million.
Follow Nathaniel Cary on Twitter at @nathanielcary