Governor Whitmer Supports Local Communities by Distributing Funding to More Than 1,650 Cities, Villages and Townships Across the State

Statement

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer today announced that the Michigan Department of Treasury has distributed more than $319 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to more than 1,650 communities in Michigan.

These ARPA dollars provided to cities, villages and townships across the state can be used to respond to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, bring back jobs, provide premium pay to essential workers, make up for lost revenue or invest in water, sewer or high-speed interest infrastructure. Local units of government have until 2024 to identify projects and obligate funds.

"This funding represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Michigan's communities to make investments in local economies, services, infrastructure, and so much more," Governor Whitmer said. "I encourage our dedicated local officials to look at how they can effectively utilize these dollars to invest in aging roads and bridges, replace lead-service lines or provide broadband to underserved communities. We can use this funding to put Michiganders first and make investments today that will benefit generations to come."

"These ARPA funds will facilitate transformative growth in Saginaw and provide opportunities to build our economy, uplift our residents, and strengthen our community," said Brenda Moore, Mayor of Saginaw.

"The American Rescue funds will allow Marquette County to address some of its local challenges and priorities such as affordable housing, homelessness, childcare challenges, as well as the opportunity to partner with others to address County wide matters," said Marquette County Commission Board Chair Gerry Corkin. "It will also provide an opportunity to focus on long term facility infrastructure challenges that the County has not been able to fund. These dollars will be spent in many different ways that will benefit Marquette County, its business, and residents."

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