With $31 million coming into the City of Jackson from the American Rescue Plan (ARP), two community meetings are planned this month to engage residents on the federal COVID-19 relief funds. Residents may attend the meetings in-person or virtually on Tuesday, July 6 and Tuesday, July 27 at 6:30 p.m.
Mayor Derek Dobies is holding the meetings for residents to learn about how the funds could be used in Jackson and to get input from residents. $31,444,000 in ARP funds is available to the City through 2024.
City Manager Jonathan Greene is proposing using the money for a broad spectrum of programs and projects. Greene’s proposal creates five priories for the funds and assigns a percentage of the total amount to each priority. The following is a breakdown of each priority and examples of what the money would go to:
- 25% Water Infrastructure ($7,861,000): Lead service line replacements, undersized water main replacement, plant improvement projects, water access.
- 25% Wastewater Infrastructure ($7,861,000): Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrades, sewer repairs.
- 25% Operations/Budget Stabilization ($7,861,000): Income tax revenue replacement, hazard pay, motor pool investments.
- 20% Public Improvements ($6,288,800): Park improvements, Nixon Park rehabilitation, trails, community kitchen, tree trimming.
- 5% Community Promotion ($1,572,200): Economic stabilization and support for Jackson families and individuals.
Mayor Derek Dobies says he’s looking forward to hearing from residents on how the City should use the money. “This funding will be a big boost to us investing in the City and taking care of the community as we come out of the pandemic,” Mayor Dobies said. “The first step in allocating these funds is hearing from the community and looking at our biggest needs.”
Those wanting to comment on the funds or participate in-person may join the meeting from the City Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of City Hall. Residents who want to participate virtually may watch live-streams on the City Facebook page and website.