City anticipates "Biden Bucks"

The City of Sundance is expecting to receive a chunk of funding through the American Relief Fund (ARF), the second round of federal funding to assist communities and individuals in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Jokingly referred to as “Biden Bucks”, the distribution to cities and counties is set to include $200,000 for Sundance.

“The City of Sundance will receive about $200,000, but in two payments,” Clerk Treasurer Kathy Lenz explained to the council. “You will get $100,000 after July and another $100,000 next year.”

Projects that are being investigated with the help of Trihydro, City Engineers, so far mainly focus on street repairs, Lenz said.

“It’s really hard to find funding for streets…so that might be where that needs to go,” said Lenz.

There is also ARF funding of $1.1 billion coming to the State of Wyoming, said Lenz. This funding, said Mayor Paul Brooks, is a direct allocation to towns and counties and is separate from the money going to the governor.

“They are two separate pots of money,” said Brooks.

A special session of the legislature is expected in July to establish the rules on how that $1.1 billion will be distributed, said Lenz.

“It looks like that would [include] infrastructure,” she said. There may be up to 100% forgiveness on those loans given out through ARF funding, she added, “so we will be ready when they get those rules out.”

Brooks took a moment to commend the city staff for their willingness to take on the extra work of securing the upcoming funding opportunities.

“You have to understand this is putting a tremendous amount of pressure on the people that work here because most towns do [grants of] $150,000 a year and that’s for a town that’s pretty effective,” said Brooks. Sundance, on the other hand, gets around $1.5 to 2 million per year.

“Make no mistake, these people work hard for this community and that’s why we have a nice community.”

Rescue Funds

Governor Mark Gordon announced last week that he has asked “a diverse group of stakeholders” to figure out the best way to invest the $1.1 billion in federal funding that is expected to arrive in Wyoming later this year.

Unlike the CARES Act funding that was distributed in 2020, ARP funding doesn’t need to be spent by the end of the year. Instead, Wyoming will have four years to spend the funds.

Guidance on how the funds may be used is expected from the federal government in May. Meanwhile, Gordon has clarified three top priorities for the funding: health and social services, education and workforce and economic diversity and development.

Each area of focus will be led by a member of Wyoming’s executive branch in collaboration with Gordon’s office. Gordon has said that there will need to be collaboration between the executive and legislative branches to make the best use of the funds.

“Wyoming will survive the impacts of COVID, drive through our period of recovery and set up the conditions for us to thrive in the long-term,” Gordon said.

“It is imperative to emphasize long-term benefits because this funding has increased the debt for future generations.”