NEW BOSTON, Ill. — The deadline for local municipalities to claim federal-allocated Covid relief funds is Thursday, Sept. 30. U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos warns that several local villages are at risk of missing that deadline, and, consequently, the money.
As of Sept. 29, her office reported three villages, throughout the 17th district, that have not yet applied, or have denied their Covid funding.
- Gulfport (Henderson County): $6,389.38
- Media (Henderson County): $12,778.76
- Wataga (Knox County): $106,852.15
That list is down from 15 area cities and towns that Bustos said hadn't applied yet by Monday evening.
Bustos's office also noted that the Village of Wataga had originally applied for its money, only to deny the funds on Wednesday afternoon. Officials from Wataga have not yet responded to our request for comment.
The American Rescue Plan Act funneled $19.53 billion federal dollars into local towns and cities across the country. The city of Davenport received nearly $41 million, Rock Island was given $27.5 million, while Moline was granted nearly $21 million, to name just a few of the local awards.
Money from this act can be used to cover a variety of Covid-related losses, including lost wages, help for first responders, and water, sewer and broadband infrastructure. The full list of eligible spending opportunities can be found here.
Municipalities do not need to have a spending plan in place before claiming these funds. Any town wishing to apply before the Sept. 30 deadline can learn more here.
If funds are not claimed, Bustos says the money will not return to the treasury, but instead be allocated out to other towns in need.
"It means that their taxpayers, their residents of these towns in and around our congressional district, they are not getting the benefit of the dollars that are sitting there waiting for them," said Bustos. "This isn't money to be sneezed at. This is money that's available and should be taken care of."
In the town of New Boston, along the Mississippi river, city officials were able to successfully claim their $88,363.74 a few weeks before the deadline. Mayor Chris DeFrieze says that money can go far in a town of around 600 residents.
"That's huge. We can pay lost wages that we had. It can help with our water lines," he explained. "You can use it on maintenance, you can give the workers bonuses out of it. There's many things that you can do with it."
While his city council hasn't quite decided how to allocate their funds, DeFrieze hopes to address aging water mains throughout town.
"It's just sometimes kind of hard to believe that we're actually getting free money," he laughed. "Just a little shocker. But we'll use it. We'll put it to good use."
It's a mindset Rep. Bustos couldn't agree more with.
"Those are dollars that can be hard to come by if you're a small town," she said. "There is not a legitimate reason to leave this funding on the table. It is there for these towns and for the residents in these towns."
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