Public input meetings scheduled for county’s American Rescue Plan funds

Published 6:21 pm Wednesday, June 9, 2021

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The Beaufort County Board of Commissioners has scheduled three meetings during which it will hear public input on how it should spend the county’s American Rescue Plan funds.

At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15, the first meeting will be held at Blounts Creek Fire Department, located at 13965 N.C. Highway 33 in Blounts Creek; on June 22, another meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at Old Ford Fire Department, located at 6050 U.S. Highway 17 in Washington; and at 6 p.m. on June 28, a meeting will held at 7262 N. Boyd Road in Pinetown.

Beaufort County is set to receive $9.11 million from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, which is part of the American Rescue Plan Act. That money comes in two installments, the first of which arrived in May. The second installment will arrive next May.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has published guidance on the eligible uses of that money. The treasury says the funds 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.”

A eight-page document detailing the permitted uses of Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund money can be found here.