State And Local COVID Aid Money Is On The Way. This Is What Each Colorado County Will Receive

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Hart Van Denburg/CPR News
A pedestrian walks past the boarded-up windows and front door of the Satellite Bar on Colfax Avenue in Denver, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020. A new surge in the coronavirus pandemic brought forced closure of all indoor seating at bars and restaurants.

Colorado governments will receive their first round of state and local aid through the American Rescue plan this week.

On Monday, the Treasury Department released the amounts and the rules around how the funds can be used.

“With this funding, communities hit hard by COVID-19 will able to return to a semblance of normalcy; they’ll be able to rehire teachers, firefighters and other essential workers – and to help small businesses reopen safely,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

Colorado will be getting $3.8 billion in state aid and $265 million in non-entitlement funding. Nineteen of the state’s metro areas will also receive direct aid. The Denver metro area will get $166 million, Fort Collins will get $28 million, Grand Junction $10.4 million, Greeley $20.9 million and Colorado Springs will receive $76 million.

Other metro areas getting direct funds include Arvada, Aurora, Bouder, Broomfield, Castle Rock, Centennial, Commerce City, Lakewood, Longmont, Loveland, Parker, Pueblo, Thornton and Westminster.

All 64 Colorado counties will also receive direct aid, ranging from $159,275 for Hinsdale and $399,160 for Dolores County to $63 million for Weld and $127.5 million for Arapahoe County.

The funds are intended to support COVID-19 response efforts to bring the pandemic under control, replace lost revenue to help keep up vital services and jobs, support economic stabilization for businesses and households, aid communities and populations hit hardest by the crisis, and invest in infrastructure — specifically water, sewer and broadband.

The money cannot be used to offset declining tax revenue or for pension funds.

State leaders held a listening tour earlier this year to collect ideas on how to spend the money coming from the American Rescue Plan.

Lawmakers from both parties have already outlined broad priorities, like infrastructure and education. Now that they have more precise dollar amounts, the plan is to make some spending decisions during the current legislative session. But lawmakers may still need to return for a special session in the fall to finalize their plans, or they could delay their final allocation decisions to next January when they’re back at the Capitol.

Here are county-level breakdowns for the federal money:

CountyAmount of aidCountyAmount of aidCountyAmount of aid
Adams
$100,502,964Fremont$9,292,165Morgan$5,646,118
Alamosa$3,153,070Garfield$11,666,145Otero$3,550,287
Arapahoe$127,534,910Gilpin$1,212,630Ouray$961,868
Archuleta $2,724,969Grand$3,056,145Park$3,660,420
Baca$695,567Gunnison$3,391,789Phillips$828,426
Bent$1,083,267Hinsdale$159,275Pitkin$3,451,031
Boulder$63,359,749Huerfano$1,339,661Prowers$2,364,268
Broomfield$13,687,000Jackson$270,380Pueblo$32,714,388
Chaffee$3,953,914Jefferson$113,217,801Rio Blanco$1,228,363
Cheyenne$355,650Kiowa $273,099Rio Grande$2,188,483
Clear Creek$1,884,111Kit Carson$1,378,509Routt$4,979,881
Conejos$1,593,725La Plata$10,920,270Saguache$1,325,482
Costilla$755,004Lake$1,578,574San Juan$141,405
Crowley$1,177,278Larimer$69,323,447San Miguel$1,588,675
Custer$984,400Las Animas$2,817,620Sedgwick$436,648
Delta$6,052,853Lincoln$1,107,352Summit$6,023,523
Denver$141,252,212Logan$4,352,686Teller$4,931,321
Dolores$399,160Mesa$29,953,485Washington$953,321
Douglas$68,207,548Mineral$149,369Weld$63,028,767
Eagle$10,707,773Moffat$2,580,067Yuma$1,946,073
El Paso$139,929,837Montezuma$5,085,741
Elbert$5,191,795Montrose $8,305,240

CPR’s Bente Birkeland contributed to this story