No doubt, Nassau County residents — especially elected leaders — are breathing a sigh of relief after passage of the American Rescue Plan. Here’s my #LIHerald.com editorial:
Nassau County got some very good news last week after passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan: The county will receive $397.7 million in federal aid to pay for expenses after it fell into a deep budget hole caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Covid-19 has not only killed more than 530,000 people in the United States, but also has ravaged the finances of our state and local governments and school districts. States and counties — which depend heavily on sales taxes for funding — were particularly hard hit over the past year. People haven’t been shopping at local businesses the way they did before the pandemic, in part because many fear contracting the virus in public, and many simply haven’t the money to shop.
We hope and trust that the ARP will be a vital shot in the arm to reignite the economy, both here in New York and across the country. It is certainly giving local elected leaders the opportunity to breathe easier, knowing they won’t have to lay off essential workers, including police officers and emergency medical technicians.
In total, New York state will receive $12.6 billion in aid, which will be used to mitigate the spread of the virus and enhance the vaccination effort, as well as balance the state’s budget so it, too, can avoid layoffs. School districts will also benefit from the funding allocation.
To read the full editorial, click here.
