Popular Searches
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Share
County to get $45.7M in stimulus funds
By Francesca Olsen
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
HUDSON — Governor David Paterson announced Nov. 2 that a county-by-county report has been released delineating American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), also known as stimulus, funds distributed throughout the state. Columbia County is slated to receive $45.7 million in funds over two years.
The report doesn’t announce additional stimulus funds but lays out what has been given, and what will be given, county-by-county for residents who want to see more specific information.
Among the highest payouts of stimulus money are $9,322,000 for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, an Environmental Protection Program which funds water quality protection projects for wastewater treatment and watershed/estuary management; $7,700,000 in unemployment funding; and $12,523,000 for supplemental highway grants.
Columbia County will also receive $2,072,000 in program costs and administrative expenses for the Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program, which will provide another temporary increase in benefits for county residents receiving food stamps.
The county’s share of Federal Medical Assistance Percentages in this round of stimulus money is $3.74 million paid out over the next 27 months.
An emergency fund for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program will get $205,000.
School districts in the county will receive a substantial cut in stimulus funding, with a grand total of $8,209,000: $4,989,000 will go to fiscal stabilization for education and $2,932,000 will go to state grants to supplement or increase special education programs for local education agencies.
Columbia County will also get $798,000 in Title 1 grants for Education for the Disadvantaged, which gives financial assistance to educational agencies that have high percentages of children from low-income families.
The Hudson Valley Region, including Columbia, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster and Westchester counties, is expected to receive at least $1.2 billion in stimulus funding when all stimulus money is paid out.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Art Baer, R-Hillsdale, said he was familiar with the report, but had some additional concerns as to whether the stimulus money the county is receiving is to be used in place of county budget money, or in addition to it.
For example, he said, “The number that’s been identified as federal medical assistance percentages, or Medicaid — is that $3.7 million of federal assistance able to replace the county’s local share of our medical programs?”
He is also concerned about funding for the disabled.
“I don’t know whether these are monies that are replacing other monies, or are replacing what would otherwise be a local share of participation,” Baer said, adding that he planned to ask Planning and Development Director Ken Flood and Social Services Commissioner Paul Mossman to help “really determine what the benefit is to the county.”
Columbia County also received $135,000 for new buses.
“That’s very positive,” the chairman said. “That’s definitely going to help us out, but there are some others that are just unclear. The real question is, are there any of the other projects we specifically requested? None of those have been adjudicated yet.”
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com. To comment directly on this story, visit www.registerstar.com.
The report doesn’t announce additional stimulus funds but lays out what has been given, and what will be given, county-by-county for residents who want to see more specific information.
Among the highest payouts of stimulus money are $9,322,000 for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, an Environmental Protection Program which funds water quality protection projects for wastewater treatment and watershed/estuary management; $7,700,000 in unemployment funding; and $12,523,000 for supplemental highway grants.
Columbia County will also receive $2,072,000 in program costs and administrative expenses for the Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program, which will provide another temporary increase in benefits for county residents receiving food stamps.
The county’s share of Federal Medical Assistance Percentages in this round of stimulus money is $3.74 million paid out over the next 27 months.
An emergency fund for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program will get $205,000.
School districts in the county will receive a substantial cut in stimulus funding, with a grand total of $8,209,000: $4,989,000 will go to fiscal stabilization for education and $2,932,000 will go to state grants to supplement or increase special education programs for local education agencies.
Columbia County will also get $798,000 in Title 1 grants for Education for the Disadvantaged, which gives financial assistance to educational agencies that have high percentages of children from low-income families.
The Hudson Valley Region, including Columbia, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster and Westchester counties, is expected to receive at least $1.2 billion in stimulus funding when all stimulus money is paid out.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Art Baer, R-Hillsdale, said he was familiar with the report, but had some additional concerns as to whether the stimulus money the county is receiving is to be used in place of county budget money, or in addition to it.
For example, he said, “The number that’s been identified as federal medical assistance percentages, or Medicaid — is that $3.7 million of federal assistance able to replace the county’s local share of our medical programs?”
He is also concerned about funding for the disabled.
“I don’t know whether these are monies that are replacing other monies, or are replacing what would otherwise be a local share of participation,” Baer said, adding that he planned to ask Planning and Development Director Ken Flood and Social Services Commissioner Paul Mossman to help “really determine what the benefit is to the county.”
Columbia County also received $135,000 for new buses.
“That’s very positive,” the chairman said. “That’s definitely going to help us out, but there are some others that are just unclear. The real question is, are there any of the other projects we specifically requested? None of those have been adjudicated yet.”
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com. To comment directly on this story, visit www.registerstar.com.
Share this Article
 |
 |
|
| PHOTO: Mario's building center building | House passes health reform bill; Murphy votes with opposition |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of registerstar.com.
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
