The National Association of Counties is pushing to change federal guidelines for how the money will be distributed to states and larger-sized local governments.
The Treasury Department’s plan for divvying up billions of dollars in federal coronavirus relief between large counties and the cities within their borders isn’t fair and should be changed, a group that advocates on behalf of counties is arguing.
Treasury issued guidelines this week for how it will dole out $139 billion from the “Coronavirus Relief Fund,” a pot of money that is meant to assist state and local governments with covering costs tied to the pandemic. The relief fund was created under the broader, $2 trillion coronavirus aid package known as the “CARES Act,” which Congress approved last month.
The National Association of Counties says Treasury’s formula for dispensing the relief fund dollars favors cities at the expense of counties and channels money to state governments that should instead be controlled at the local level.
Route Fifty
by Bill Lucia
APRIL 15, 2020