A combined meeting of the Fulton County Commissioners and Fulton County Council Tuesday was scheduled to discuss future uses for funds available through the American Rescue Plan.

Fulton County is eligible for $3,873,834 through the Federal ARP Act Grant.

Counties, cities, and towns throughout Indiana are getting ready for the massive infusion of funds coming from the American Rescue Plan Act, the $1.9 trillion bill signed into law in March to provide additional federal COVID-19 relief to mitigate the fiscal impact of the pandemic.

One-fifth of the bill’s total funds – about $350 billion – will be deployed to state and local governments in two tranches, with half expected to come in May and June of this year, with the second a year after the initial allotment. An estimated $7 billion will be distributed to Indiana’s state and local governments, with the requirement that the funds must be spent by December 31, 2024.

These funds, as outlined by the federal law, may be used for the following purposes:

• To respond to the pandemic or its negative economic impacts, including assistance to households, small businesses, and nonprofits, or aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel, and hospitality;
• For premium pay to eligible workers performing essential work (as determined by each recipient government) during the pandemic, providing up to $13 per hour above regular wages;
• For the provision of government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue due to the pandemic (relative to revenues collected in the most recent full fiscal year prior to the emergency);
• To make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure

Suggestions of projects from the meeting included:

? Broadband and internet access for all students

? Fulton County Y.O.U.T.H. Center

? Courthouse windows

? Help small businesses

? Paving the museum parking lot for ADA compliance for a future testing and / or vaccination site

? County parks

? 4?H Fair Board (grounds maintenance)

? Fulton County H.O.P.E.

? Drug and alcohol rehabilitation

Bryan Lewis, Jim Showley, Phyl Olinger and Randy Sutton will belong to a committee to review and explore projects. The committee can consult with other businesses and non?profits.

Jim Showley and Rick Ranstead will attend the Regional Planning Council meeting in Kokomo on May 27.