Pandemic relief funding coming, but details uncertain
The lack of Iditarod was a major hit to Nome’s economy after a full year of intermittent business closures and the looming uncertainty of what is to be expected this coming summer. However, the newly passed American Rescue Plan aims to address that. Large amounts of funding may soon be available to individuals, businesses and local governments, but it’s not yet clear exactly how much will be available when.
The state of Alaska is set to receive about $1 billion in stimulus funds, which can be used for a wide range of purposes. In addition to funding state-level public health measures like testing for COVID-19 and vaccination campaigns, the state may choose to allocate extra funds to specific regions or economic sectors that have been particularly hard-hit by the pandemic.
The state has yet to make any official announcements on how it plans to spend the funds, according to Glenn Hoskinson, Special Assistant to the Commissioner in the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. The DCCED is unable to provide information until an official announcement is made, Hoskinson said in an email to the Nugget.
Corey Young, Deputy Press Secretary for Governor Mike Dunleavy, said the Treasury Department has 60 days to provide clarification and answer states’ questions about how the funds can be used.
The governor’s office is working with the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers to figure out what the exact rules are for allocating the funds, but those conversations could extend all the way into May.
“As we are better understanding these requirements, we are also working on a plan for the most advantageous deployment of these funds for the state,” Young said. “Given the formal budget amendment deadline has passed, the administration will be working with the legislature in the next few weeks on budget amendments that reflect that plan.”
In addition to the funding going to the state government, Alaska will also receive almost $359 million through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund. That money aims to support “efforts to reopen K-12 schools safely this month and equitably expand opportunity for students who need it most,” according to statement from the Department of Education. The funds will be allocated through the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development, but no announcements have been made about how much of the funding will go to which school districts.
More than $22 million will also be coming into the state from the federal Department of Health and Social Services to improve testing efforts. But again, the state has yet to announce a plan for where exactly those funds will be allocated.
In addition to state-level funding, the American Rescue Plan allocates funds for individual counties, boroughs, cities and towns. More than $1.9 million has been allocated to the “Nome Census Area” and $802,000 to the City of Nome. City Manager Glenn Steckman said he still wasn’t sure which entities would be in charge of which funds. In other places, the borough or county government would handle the regionwide funding, but he said it seemed likely that the $1.9 million allocated to the Nome Census Area would be managed by the City of Nome, since the area is an unorganized borough without its own regional government.
A number of measures have also been put in place to provide relief for individuals and businesses, including $1,400 relief checks for individuals and expanded Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) for small businesses.
While the exact amount of funding coming into Nome and the region is still unknown, it’s clear that the region needs economic support. Steckman said the City was expecting a loss of $40,000 to $50,000 in tax revenue this year because of the lack of Iditarod-generated business, corresponding to $800,000 to $1 million less in sales.
The success of the summer tourism season remains in doubt as well.
Five cruise ships are currently scheduled to stop in Nome this summer. That’s better than no ship arrivals last summer, but fewer than the 14 that were originally scheduled for 2020.
The largest cruise ships have already cancelled because Canada has banned international cruises from stopping in its ports for the entire summer, throwing off many Arctic routes that would normally stop in Nome.
Steckman said he expects state funding to go to the hospitality industry and restaurants as well as infrastructure, but the timing and amount of those funds remains to be seen.