The town of Gilbert, Arizona, received $24 million in federal pandemic aid but has only obligated one-quarter of it. While most of the funds are slated for a new crime victims center, other projects remain unrealized. The Treasury Department requires all funds to be obligated by year's end.
The lot of the future victims’ advocacy center is shown, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024 in Gilbert, Ariz. The town has obligated only one-quarter of funds received through the American Rescue Plan for projects, according to the most recent data from the federal government. Construction on the dirt lot near its fire department for the advocacy center remain unrealized. From the looks of it, the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert hasn’t done too much with the $24 million it received in federal pandemic aid .
Gilbert officials decided to devote almost all their American Rescue Plan funds to a single project — a $43 million facility where victims of sexual assault, child abuse and domestic violence can undergo forensic exams and interviews needed for prosecution while also receiving counseling and therapy services. Officials identified a need for the center several years before the pandemic but didn’t have a funding source.
Under Treasury rules, an obligation generally requires a government to place an order for services or property, enter into a contract or award a grant to another entity. Governments that meet the obligation deadline then face a second deadline to finish spending the funds by the end of 2026. Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi said the federal funding arrived shortly after he took office, making it challenging to simultaneously “get a grasp of what the city needs” and assemble staff to administer it. The city plans to use the money for stormwater, sewer and water main projects, among other things, and should have most of it obligated soon, Bazzi said.
This spring, Missouri told the Treasury it had obligated 99% of its nearly $2.7 billion allotment. But some projects have fallen through or appear unlikely to need their full funding. “I’m fine if we were to give it back,” Republican state Sen. Rick Brattin, the Freedom Caucus chairman, told the AP. “We could at least hold our head high and say that we didn’t continue to contribute to the financial collapse of the American dollar.”
American Rescue Plan Pandemic Aid Gilbert Arizona Crime Victims Center Uncommitted Funds
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