Arizona to share $441M of virus aid

Cities, towns, counties to get federal funding

Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday announced that Arizona cities, towns and counties will receive $441 million of the $1.86 billion in federal coronavirus relief funding that the state received.

The money, dubbed the “AZCares Fund,” is meant for smaller and midsized cities, towns and counties that haven’t already received the federal aid. These locales are only getting a slice of the $1.86 billion because it’s not clear what the future holds and the state doesn’t want to prematurely dole out all of its aid, Ducey said.

“There are going to be needs that are yet unforeseen,” he said. “We’re all trying to get a handle on our revenues and where our economy is.”

The governor sat between mayors and county supervisors from Kingman to Sahuarita during a news conference in which he touted “flexibility” and “minimal red tape” attached to the funding.

Municipal and county leaders around the state have been calling on Ducey to distribute the funds since at least early May. Pinal County Supervisors recently voted to sue to force the state to act. The county has not yet filed the lawsuit, spokesman James Daniels said.

The Pinal County Board of Supervisors had a board meeting scheduled Wednesday. None of the supervisors were at Ducey’s announcement.

Funding should flow this week

Arizona communities will receive the funding within the next couple of days, Ducey said. The funding will be doled out based on 2019 Census population estimates.

The state’s $1.86 billion was part of Congress’ $2.1 trillion CARES Act.

Arizona’s largest cities and counties — Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Maricopa County and Pima County — received relief funds directly from the feds, but cities, towns and counties with fewer than 500,000 residents were not eligible for direct funding. They had to wait for the state to allocate the funding.

Mid-sized Valley cities such as Chandler, Scottsdale, Gilbert and Glendale will receive between $29 million and $30 million, according to a state document.

Chandler, the third-largest city in metro Phoenix with a population of more than 257,000, is expected to receive the largest sum at nearly $30 million. Councilman Mark Stewart, who had earlier raised concerns that smaller cities like Chandler would be at a disadvantage compared to Mesa and Phoenix, said Wednesday that he was satisfied with the amount the city will get.

“If the feds are delivering cash, hopefully it’s fairly distributed, and it sounds like we’re getting closer to that,” he said. “I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.”

He said hopes the money can help small businesses and nonprofits recover from a month-long closure.

Glendale, which is roughly half the size of Mesa, is getting about a third of the amount Mesa received directly from the feds. Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers said he would like more money for his city, but isn’t going to complain.

“I’m happy we’re getting it. It’s going to help us out tremendously,” Weiers said. “I’m not complaining. It would’ve been nice to get more, but it’s certainly a whole lot better than what we had an hour ago.”

Weiers said the money came at a good time as cities are gearing up to adopt budgets for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1.

Smaller cities such as Tempe will receive $22.5 million, Peoria will receive $20.2 million, Surprise will receive $16.3 million and Goodyear will receive nearly $10 million.

Pinal County is slated to receive $27.2 million. Anthony Smith, chairman of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors, in a statement said he’s thankful for the funding but hopes there’s more aid to come.

“We’re hoping for an additional distribution,” Smith said. “The meter is running for us as far as cost. We believe an additional distribution would be very much welcome ... we believe that (Ducey) will do the right thing in the long run.”

How communities can use money

The funding isn’t meant to pad city coffers; it’s meant to recoup costs related to the pandemic and to help struggling business and nonprofits.

Phoenix and Mesa together already received nearly $400 million from the feds and used it in part to support small business and food banks.

Speeding up reimbursements

Ducey also announced a $150 million fund to expedite FEMA reimbursements for coronavirus-related expenses to:

❚ Local governments.

❚ Tribal communities.

❚ State agencies.

❚ Nonprofit hospitals.

❚ Nonprofit long-term care, skilled nursing and assisted-living providers.

❚ Traditional school districts and charter schools.

❚ Fire districts.