ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In March, President Joe Biden signed into law a $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan.
Part of that plan includes the child tax credit which makes 39 million families eligible to receive monthly child payments beginning on July 15.
The relief package called the American Rescue Plan pumped billions of dollars into the State of Florida.
When the plan passed, 10 Tampa Bay obtained the State and Local Allocation Estimates spreadsheet developed by the House Oversight & Reform Committee.
Here's what we found:
State of Florida: The Sunshine State should get $17.6 billion. $10 billion of that will stay in Tallahassee and be distributed according to decisions made by the state legislature. The remaining $7 billion will be split up between county and city governments around the state.
Of that $10 billion going to county governments, here's the estimated breakdown in Tampa Bay:
Hillsborough: $285.48 million
Pinellas: $189.09 million
Polk: $140.57 million
Pasco: $107.43 million
Sarasota: $84.12 million
Manatee: $78.21 million
A spokesperson with Hillsborough County confirmed they received half of their designated portion equaling $142,956,264 from the U.S. Treasury on May 19.
The county expects to get the rest of the money from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) in May of 2022.
Michelle Van Dyke, a Hillsborough spokesperson said this by e-mail, "Our leadership team is developing an ARP investment plan that will lay out intended and allowable allocations in line with the guiding principles provided to the BOCC on April 7 and in subsequent briefing materials. We expect to present our ARP investment plan to the BOCC in late August."
A spokesperson with Pinellas County said they're still working on plans for investment and declined to provide details at this time.
Eight cities in the Tampa Bay area will also get direct funds from the stimulus package. Here's the breakdown:
Tampa: $80.29 million
St. Petersburg: $46.66 million
Lakeland: $24.38 million
Clearwater: $20.87 million
Largo: $13.91 million
Sarasota: $10.92 million
Bradenton: $10.90 million
Pinellas Park: $9.98 million
Now, nearly four months since the law passed, 10 Tampa Bay is asking questions about how the money is being spent in our area.
A spokesperson with the city of St. Petersburg confirmed that leaders received roughly half of their portion, about $22.5 million. They'll receive the second half in 2022.
Mayor Rick Kriseman said the money is sitting in the bank until they allow time for the public to offer opinions as to where that money should be spent.
"We’re really interested to get a sense and flavor from the community of you know, is resiliency and sustainability to most important thing? Is health equity the most important thing? Is transportation the most important thing," said Kriseman.
Kriseman and the city council developed a series of workshops for community feedback to help prioritize which areas of impact receive funds.
Community members can offer input on the following eight areas of impact eligible for the funds:
- infrastructure
- housing affordability
- health equity
- economic development
- leisure services
- public safety
- transportation
- resilience & sustainability
The three public workshops will include presentations outlining the state of affairs for each area of impact followed by breakout sessions where community members can offer feedback.
Dates/locations for workshops include:
- Monday, 7/26, 6-8 p.m. - Enoch Davis Center (1111 18th Ave. S.)
- Tuesday, 7/27, 6-8 p.m. - JW Cate Rec Center (5801 22nd Ave. N.)
- Wednesday, 7/28, 6-8 p.m. - Willis S. Johns Rec Center (6635 Dr. MLK Jr. St. N.)
Another big aspect of the American Rescue Plan revolves around supporting American schools. The package designates $130 billion for K12 education. Tampa Bay school districts were supposed to get the following:
Hillsborough: $500 million
Polk: $293 million
Pinellas: $178 million
Pasco: $131 million
Manatee: $86 million
Sarasota: $69 million
So far, spokespeople with Pinellas and Polk districts said they haven't received any funding yet.
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