Mental health, affordable housing top priorities for Greene County ARPA coronavirus relief
Following the results of a community survey, last week the Greene County Commission laid out its priorities for spending their latest federal coronavirus relief.
While the county has been reluctant to allocate any of these funds while waiting for final federal guidance, they assure that those who struggled in the pandemic “will not be left alone.”
“Individuals who have experienced exacerbated difficulties during these tumultuous times need a proper and effective response. Economic insecurity, housing inequities, and poor health outcomes continue to present citizens with seemingly insurmountable obstacles,” reads the report detailing county priorities for their federal relief.
The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into law by President Joe Biden in March. More than $673 billion of those funds were set aside for state and local governments.
Of that, Greene County is getting $56,842,225 to be spent on the county's recovery effort.
A September survey conducted by the county found that mental health services, affordable housing, and services to the unhoused got the best marks. Asked to rank 22 possible priorities, the commission received 1,719 survey responses.
“The input received from survey participants will help direct where resources are allocated and ensure that solutions are crafted to alleviate immediate concerns and promote sustainable, long-term growth,” read the report.
In his annual “State of the County” address in September, Presiding County Commissioner Bob Dixon said county government would use the survey “as their guide” for distributing the funds.
“We want to be responsive to our local citizens and understand how citizens want us to allocate these resources,” he said.
Here are how residents ranked their top priority in the non-scientific survey.
834 responses – Mental Health Services
531 responses – Affordable Housing
528 responses – Services for Unhoused Persons
526 responses – Vaccinations
485 responses – Small Business Economic Assistance
418 responses - Assistance to Nonprofit Organizations
390 responses - Household Food Programs
370 Responses – Broadband
364 responses – Childcare
339 responses – Services to Foster Youth
Comparing those inside Springfield to those living in outer Greene County, mental health retains the top spot, but small business assistance and broadband take the next two slots.
While this survey was the most influential factor, the county did consult with other surveys, reports, and listening sessions to create their final list of priorities.
Mental Health Services
Affordable Housing
Services for Unhoused Persons
Small Business Economic Assistance
Assistance to Nonprofit Organizations
Household Food Programs
Broadband
Childcare and Services to Foster Youth
Water and Sewer
Substance Use Services
Aid to tourism, travel, and hospitality industries
Education Assistance to early learning
While the final set of recommendations closely resembles the survey, the priority of vaccines was dropped because of their widespread availability in Greene County.
“Vaccination was omitted from this final list as the health department has allocated funds for Springfield and Greene County to set aside for its citizens. As of today, vaccinations are readily available throughout the county and at this time no additional funding is needed or recommended,” read the report.
In its place, the County moved up the assistance of nonprofit organizations to “underscore the importance of service providers and the valued comments left by their respective representatives at the listening sessions.”
The county received its first installment of $28,464,260 on May 19. Of that, $14 million will go towards an ARPA application process. The county will continue to receive applications for the next few months and will allocate the first round of funds in May and June of next year.
These applications will be chosen out of three broad categories of community, collaboration, and county.
The community category “prioritizes and responds to the requests of nonprofit organizations and small businesses.”
As of November, the county has received proposals from 26 businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations for consideration of ARPA funds. Project requests have added up to an estimated $80,907,907.
“An application process will be used to award the funds. We will use the top priorities as the primary way to rank and recommend grants.”
The collaboration category will be set aside for collaborative projects between the county, city, and/or state.
While the city government has spent $14 million of its $40 million ARPA allocation, they have held off on spending more in hopes of collaborating with the county.
"My preference all along was to do a comprehensive package, but as it turns out, I think that's going to take more time than any of us thought. There's a lot of different buckets of money out there than we thought at the start, so coordinating is difficult," said Springfield Councilman Andy Lear at a meeting earlier this month.
So far, the county has not allocated any funds while they waited for federal guidance.
“(ARPA) will bring even more opportunities to collaborate with cross-jurisdictional aid, and we will begin deliberating about what can be done with our portion of those funds,” Presiding Greene County Commissioner Bob Dixon said in September. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We aim to make the best of it together, even though we still await final federal guidance.”
Lastly, the county category will be utilized for “the requests of county officeholders and possible county facility and operational needs.”
But in their report, Greene County's government assures residents they will hasten to get relief to those in Greene County who need it.
“Greene County recognizes the unique opportunity ARPA funding has to reverse the negative trajectory and improve the conditions for all citizens. By conducting a thorough, comprehensive, and richly detailed Needs Assessment report, Greene County has placed itself in an opportune position to allocate funds to small businesses and nonprofits that will best address the needs of their constituents,” the report’s conclusion reads.
“County officials and leaders believe that the distribution of immediate relief combined with investments in long term capital improvement projects could set Greene County on the road to unheralded advancements. The end of the global pandemic continues to be the ultimate goal, but for many citizens in Greene County, their struggles could soon see some much-needed relief.”
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Mental Health, affordable housing priorities for Greene County ARPA relief
