Gov. Doug Ducey is distributing $441 millionin federal funding to Arizona cities and towns. But some mayors say that won’t be enough.
When the CARES Act was passed by Congress in March, it allowed cities with more than 500,000 residents to apply directly to the federal government for relief. Smaller Arizona towns have waited more than a month for the state to distribute some of the federal funding it received.
Tolleson Mayor Anna Tovar said she’s grateful for the money the governor is now distributing, but said, per capita, it’s only 67 cents on the dollar of what bigger Arizona cities received at a time when small town budgets are taking big hits.
“We’ve been anxiously awaiting this plan from the governor for over a month, and as you know, cities are at the frontline of COVID-19 and are providing essential services for our community,” Tovar said. “The last thing that I want to do in my city is cut any of these programs or any of these services that provide safety as a number one priority."
Tovar, and several other Arizona mayors are calling for Congress to allow small towns to apply for direct federal funding in the next coronavirus relief package.
