‘HELP IS ON THE WAY’
Local officials react to American Rescue Plan funding and benefits
CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. » Delivering on his promise of robust relief for New York state and localities, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, declared that “help is on the way” and detailed the contents of the $23.8 billion in state and local fiscal aid, including $12.56 billion for New York state’s government and more than $10.8 billion for counties, cities, towns, and villages, he secured for New York in the American Rescue Plan he led to passage in the Senate.
Upon President Joseph Biden’s signature, officials said the American Rescue Plan will provide a vital and substantial injection of funding for cashstrapped localities that can be used to pay for essential services, retain vital frontline workers, and offset lost revenues and increased costs from the COVID-19 emergency.
Funds can also be used for relief to small businesses, hard-hit industries, and infrastructure investments to help rebuild local economies. Schumer says the state and local funding will keep local economies afloat and essential services running for communities, including the rollout of vaccines. It is estimated that New York state’s agencies and authorities will receive over $30 billion from the American Rescue Plan, on top of the funds from the state and local fiscal relief fund.
“After fighting this pandemic on the frontlines, New York’s counties and municipalities were loud and clear: they needed help and they needed it now to keep frontline workers on the job and prevent brutal service cuts. And today, to all towns, villages, cities, and counties throughout New York I say: help is on the way,” Schumer stated.
“As majority leader, I was proud to make state and local funding my top priority as municipalities throughout New York and The American Rescue Plan will deliver the much-deserved relief for New York’s local governments – to the tune of $23.8 billion – to get New York’s municipalities the resources and funding they need to prevent layoffs, to keep essential services running, and to keep our Main Streets
“Politics aside, it’s [a] great thing for the city of Rensselaer in a city that is in desperate need of support and additional funding.” — Rensselaer Mayor Michael Stammel
alive and able to rebound when we emerge from the pandemic,” Schumer added.
The senator explained that the nation’s economic recovery depends on the survival of state and local governments, which have been forced to make substantial layoffs across the nation as they struggle with revenue shortfalls caused by the COVID downturn. New York State lost billions of dollars in revenue compared to pre-pandemic years and counties and other municipalities across the state have already had to cut thousands of jobs due to massive budget shortfalls.
Concerned about the layoffs of public health care workers, firefighters, sanitation workers, teachers, and other vital public servants across New York, Schumer has fought since the beginning of the pandemic to deliver financial resources to help all counties, cities, towns, and villages recover.
In addition to securing $150+ billion for New York in previous COVID relief bill negotiations, Schumer visited the Southern Tier and Western New York and pushed the previous administration to provide robust state and local aid that would benefit all Americans.
After months of effort, the senator also successfully called for FEMA to provide 100% cost-sharing to New York state, delivering billions more for the state to cover costs related to the pandemic.
The state and local allocation for New York in the Schumer-driven American Rescue Plan will help local governments avoid further layoffs and local tax and fee increases that would place a heavier burden on families and small businesses in crisis.
Breaking down some of the $23.8 billion going to New York state and localities in the Capital Region, the City of Troy is projected to receive more than $45 million, East Greenbush nearly $2 million, City of Rensselaer $1 million, the City of Cohoes $1.83 million, City of Watervliet $1 million, the Village and Town of Green Island around $400,000. Rensselaer County is projected to receive around $30 million.
According to Schumer, $23.8 billion for New York –Total amount of funding provided to New York state through the state and local fiscal relief fund, to keep first responders, frontline health workers, and other providers of vital services safely on the job as states and local governments roll out vaccines and fight to rebuild Main Street economies.
Funding can be used for assistance to households, small businesses, nonprofits, aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel, and hospitality, investments in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure, and to provide premium pay to frontline workers. Local governments of every size, including all counties, cities, towns, and villages, receive dedicated federal aid awards.
A new $10 billion capital projects program also supports state broadband deployment efforts. Funds are allocated in New York as follows:
• $12.569 billion for New York State Government
• $6.141 billion for New York metro cities
• $3.907 billion for New York’s counties
• $825 million for New York’s small cities, towns, and villages
• $358 million for a New York State Broadband Investment Program
Eligible uses for the state and local funds as detailed in the American Rescue Plan, appear below. This information is subject to change:
Funds may be used by state and local governments for:
• Costs associated with responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency or its negative economic impacts, including but not limited to, assistance to households, small businesses, and nonprofits or aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel, and hospitality.
• To support workers performing essential work during the COVID-19 public health emergency by providing premium pay to eligible workers or by providing grants to eligible employers that have eligible workers who perform essential work.
• To cover revenue losses caused by the COVID-19 public health emergency.
• To make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure.
Local reaction poured in from city and town officials alike.
“Politics aside, it’s [a] great thing for the city of Rensselaer in a city that is in desperate need of support and additional funding,” Rensselaer Mayor Michael Stammel said.
“We’re pretty much running in the red right now from budgets that haven’t been well managed over the last few years and this will definitely help save jobs, plus build into the city some strength and some good fiscal management for the future,” Stammel explained.
Stammel noted he anticipates some of that funding will go toward the city’s police, fire, and DPW costs incurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think one of the first things is to replenish our accounts so that we can operate the city in the black and as well as look toward matching grants that are coming forward that will benefit the city in future development,” Stammel added.
Stammel, who also serves as Rensselaer County Legislature chairman, also commented on what some of the funds could mean for the county as well.
“I know that we’re very conscious about repairing and placing roads throughout the county, been doing a great job with that and I think we’re going to continue that with some of this additional money, as well as some infrastructure problems with some of our buildings such as where we keep our social services department and things to that nature in Troy,” Stammel remarked,
“Those buildings still don’t meet the needs I don’t think of the community as a whole. So we need to find a way to both meet the needs of the community as well as the employees who work at them,” Stammel added.
Sticking in the Collar City, Troy Mayor Patrick Madden issued a statement on the importance of the federal funds.
“We appreciate the tireless efforts of Senator Schumer, Senator [Kirsten] Gillibrand, and Congressman [Paul] Tonko to secure financial assistance for local communities, including the city of Troy,” Madden stated.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a significant financial toll on our community, impacting essential operations and services while reducing muchneeded revenues. We eagerly await final passage of the American Rescue Plan, and applaud President Biden and our federal representatives for their commitment to rebuild our economy through this direct emergency assistance program,” Madden added.
Across the river in Albany County, Watervliet Mayor Charles Patricelli and Cohoes Mayor Bill Keeler also spoke about what the funding would mean for their cities.
“The stimulus money will certainly relieve some of the financial stress in helping restore some of [the] reserves we had to draw from,” Patricelli said. “We had to delay purchasing some needed outdated vehicles for our fire, police, and DPW. This will also ensure that our pool will be open and be ready unless there are COVID-19 restrictions.
Many capital improvements that were placed on hold now can move forward.”
“Cohoes took a $1.4 million hit in 2020 from the economic impact of COVID19, and we budgeted for similar losses in 2021,” Keeler said. “Though there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, no one knows how quickly the economy will recover.
“Given that the federal rescue package also includes significant money for the state, we expect the governor will release the $550,000 state aid payment Cohoes is owed from the approved 2020-21 New York State Budget, along with $700,000 in approved state grant funds the city is waiting to get reimbursed for,” Keeler added. “A combination of the federal stimulus payment to the city, and getting the 2020 state payments that have been withheld would go a long way to stabilizing the city’s finances, as we work our way out of this pandemic.
“I strongly agree with the New York State Conference of Mayors that the upcoming infusion of federal funding should not be used as an excuse to reduce state aid to municipalities in the 202122 New York State budget.”