Montgomery Village Board moves to secure federal COVID-19 relief funds

The Montgomery Village Board took the first step this week to secure more than $2.6 in federal COVID-19 pandemic relief funds.

The board voted 5-0 Monday evening, Aug. 23, to pass a resolution authorizing village staff to apply for and use American Rescue Plan Act Coronavirus State and local Fiscal Recovery Funds.

Justin Van Vooren, the village’s director of finance, told board members in a memo that the village will receive a total of $2,669,672 in federal recovery funds, in two installments.

The village would receive the first installment of $1,334,836 later this month or in early September with the balance to be received approximately 12 months later, according to Van Vooren.

The village will be able to use the funds to cover a wide-range of expenses resulting from the continuing pandemic, according to U.S. Department of Treasury information. Among the eligible expenses the village could use the funds include support for the public health response, replacement of lost revenue, water and sewer infrastructure improvements and premium pay for essential workers.

On Aug. 13, Gov. JB Pritzker announced that $40 million in payments had been made to 74 local governments, representing the first wave of federal American Rescue Plan Act aid to 1,250 small cities, towns and villages across the state.

With the first payments now made, the governor’s office is urging other local governments who have not yet done so to take steps to apply for funding before the Sept. 30 deadline.

If they apply for the funding before Sept. 30, other Kendall County municipalities will receive the following amounts of federal relief funds: Oswego, $4,928,249; Montgomery, $2,669,672; Plano, $1,585,798; Newark, $139,750; Millbrook, $44,589; Lisbon, $41,870; and Plattville, $34,801, according to state data.

According to information provided by the governor’s office, the city of Yorkville received a first payment of $1,401,108 Aug. 13. The city is eligible to receive a total of $2,802,217.

In a statement, Pritzker said, “With the [Sept. 30] deadline for funding quickly approaching, I urge all eligible communities to apply for their share of funding as we work together to build a strong economic recovery across Illinois.”

Eligible local governments can claim their allotments and receive technical assistance at https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/CURENEU/Pages/default.aspx, a web portal created by the state.

Municipalities completing the portal submission, including all of the documentation required by the U.S. Treasury, can expect to receive half of their funding in about 30 days with the remaining half about a year later. With these payments, a total of $80 million of the funding has been claimed.

There will be no opportunity for municipalities to apply for later distributions, according to the state.