County, municipalities set to receive American Rescue Plan funds

Published 5:43 pm Wednesday, May 12, 2021

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Beaufort County and its municipalities will soon receive half of their allotments from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, which is part of the American Rescue Plan Act.

According to estimates provided by the North Carolina League of Municipalities, Beaufort County will receive approximately $9.11 million. That money will come in two installments. The county will receive its first allocation, which is estimated at approximately $4.55 million, by May 15. The rest of the money will arrive one year from now.

Local municipalities will receive half of their allocations by June 15. Similar to the county, the municipalities will also wait one year to receive the other half of their allotments.

Washington’s estimated total allocation is $2.78 million. The estimates for the rest of Beaufort County are as follows: Belhaven, $460,000; Chocowinity, $230,000; Aurora, $150,000;  Washington Park, $130,000; Bath, $70,000; Pantego, $50,000.

Those entities have known about their estimated allocations for a while, but until earlier this week they were waiting to receive guidance from the United States Department of the Treasury as to how that money could be spent. That guidance was published Monday.

The ARP money can be used to “respond to acute pandemic-response needs, fill revenue shortfalls among state and local governments, and support the communities and populations hardest-hit by the COVID-19 crisis,” according to the Treasury.

Click here to view a fact sheet detailing how the funds can be spent.