Jeannette to sit on stimulus money for now

Jeannette is set to receive more than $900,000 in federal funds through the American Rescue Plan, but it may be sitting in the bank for a while.

The city got half of its allocation this summer and the rest is expected to come next year, said City Clerk Nathan Bish. The money comes with a variety of restrictions on how it can be spent.

“It might take us a little bit until we can spend this money,” said chief fiscal officer Ethan Keedy.

The American Rescue Plan is a $1.9 trillion stimulus package approved in March that includes funding for counties and local municipalities. The money must be spend by the end of 2024.

Expenses related to the coronavirus pandemic would qualify for the funds as would grants to help small businesses, nonprofits and industries that have suffered during the last 18 months. It can be spent on water, sewer and broadband projects but it cannot be used to lower taxes or bolster municipal pension funds.

Jeannette didn’t get hit by the pandemic as much as other municipalities, so an option for using the funds to replace lost revenue doesn’t apply, said Bish and Keedy.

“There’s talk for wanting to put that money toward infrastructure,” Bish said, but it is unclear whether specific projects would qualify. There was no public comment on the issue at council’s August meeting, when the board approved a resolution creating a bank account for the money, he said.

“Everything has to be approved by council with this money,” Keedy said.

Westmoreland County is receiving $105.3 million but the county commissioners have not identified a plan for its spending. Greensburg plans to use some of its first allocation to build a new public works building that was destroyed in a 2019 fire.