Gov. Tony Evers has announced a $200 million "Routes to Recovery: Local Government Aid Grants" program to help local leaders.
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The grant program will help local leaders address urgent COVID-19 recovery needs, and will be allocated to every Wisconsin county, city, village, town and federally recognized tribe.
The $200 million is funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Of the $200 million, $10 million will be dispersed to Wisconsin's tribal nations.
“Our local government partners are on the frontlines of supporting their communities through the COVID-19 health crisis and into economic recovery,” said Gov. Evers. “The Route to Recovery Grants will provide financial flexibility to communities because they know what they need and how to best address the unique recovery needs of their friends, families, and neighbors.”
Routes to Recovery Grants will provide reimbursement for costs incurred throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in multiple categories. Those are:
- Emergency operations, i.e. public health and safety response
- Purchases of personal protective equipment
- Cleaning/sanitizing supplies and services
- Temporary isolation housing for infected or at-risk individuals
- Testing and contact tracing costs outside of those covered by existing State programs
- FMLA and sick leave for public health and safety employees related to COVID-19 precautions
- Meeting local match requirements or expenses submitted for reimbursement by FEMA
Each local government's grant size is determined based on the jurisdiction's population; however, the state is making it a priority to give local governments no less than $5,000 regardless of population size.