Nashville, TN – Today, Monday, April 6th, 2020, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced $200 million in grants to be distributed to every county and city government across Tennessee for one-time, local expenses in fiscal year 2021.
“Capital maintenance, public safety and road projects don’t pause for disasters like the March tornadoes and the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Governor. Lee. “This grant fund will ease the burden on local governments as they work to meet infrastructure and safety obligations.”
Funding is based on population as published by the U.S. Census Bureau. Each county will receive at least $500,000, and each city or municipality will receive at least $30,000. The three Metro governments (Davidson, Moore and Trousdale) will receive one allocation, whichever is largest. The application will be made available by April 30th, 2020, and the funds will be made available after July 1st, 2020.
Funds may be used for road projects, I.T. upgrades, capital maintenance, utility system upgrades, and public safety projects. Certain disaster-related expenses are also eligible for funding.
One-time expenses related to Coronavirus (COVID-19) are eligible including supply and equipment purchase, cleaning, emergency food and shelter programs. Counties impacted by the March 2020 tornadoes including Benton County, Carroll County, Davidson County, Gibson County, Putnam County, Smith County, and Wilson County may also use the funds for tornado relief efforts.
Additional information on the application and appropriation process is available here.
