Flint Officials Asking Residents How The $99 Million In Covid Relief Aid Should Be Spent
Flint is getting massive amount of money as part of President Biden's 'American Rescue Plan' and city officials are asking for your input.
Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley is spearheading the initiative to get input from the community about how the money should be spent. The money is aimed at helping communities that have been hit the hardest by the Covid-19 pandemic. The good news is that it is up to each individual community on how it will be spent. That's why Flint leaders are making the smart decision to let residents weigh in on the decision.
According to the American Rescue Plan, this is just the first step toward helping cities all around the country recover from the pandemic. I don't know how other community leaders across the country are handling the money, but I hope they are all taking notice as to how Flint is doing things.
Mayor Neeley describes the $99 Million as a game changer for the community, and he is absolutely right.
City officials have set up an online portal for you to offer some input on where the money should be spent. Some of the options you can select from are blight, infrastructure, job and business development, public safety, and a few others. There is also a section for you to fill in your own suggestion.
You can fill out the survey to get your opinion to Flint city officials here.
If you are not able to fill out the survey online, you can also visit city hall, call 237-2000, or email input @cityofflint.com.
Obviously community input it great, but it doesn't mean anything if there is no accountability on how the money is spent. That's why it's important to point out that the city set up an online portal for anyone to check in and see where the money is going. You can access the Check Registry here.
I know we have had some trust issues with elected officials in Flint in the past, but this feels different. I don't want to sound naïve enough to think that everything is going to be rainbows from here on out, but the transparency here is refreshing.
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