American Rescue Plan: How Much Will Conroe Receive?

CONROE, TX — The U.S. Department of Treasury on Monday released a breakdown of the allotment cities and counties across the country will see from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.

Conroe was the only city in Montgomery County that met the criteria for the emergency funds and will receive just above $15.8 million from the $350 billion fund established in the America Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Montgomery County will receive over $117.9 million.

Conroe is one of 75 cities in Texas that was allocated funds through the program.

Ken Kreger, fire chief and emergency management coordinator for the City of Conroe, said he held a meeting with the emergency management team Tuesday morning regarding the funds and hopes to discuss the city's allotment with Conroe City Council members over the next couple weeks before ideas for the use of the money are discussed in a future City Council meeting.

Conroe City Council meets Tuesday and Wednesday, but the agenda is already finalized for those meetings. The next meetings will be a May 26 workshop and a regular council meeting May 27.

"The good news is it's lenient on options as far as what you can do with the money," Kreger said. "I'll be sending some information to the City Council this week, and we'll go from there."

Kreger suggested some possible uses for the funds could be to improve water and sewer infrastructure, aiding residents and businesses negatively impacted by COVID-19 or supporting the city's pandemic response, but he emphasized it was too early to talk about specific uses for Conroe's allocation.

In addition, the U.S. Treasury's examples of projects the funds can be used for include:

• Public health expenses, including COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses, behavioral healthcare, and payroll for certain public health and safety staff
• Premium pay for essential workers, offering additional support to people who bear the greatest health risks because of their service in critical infrastructure sectors.
• Broadband infrastructure, to provide unserved and underserved locations with new and expanded broadband internet access.
• Equity-focused services, to address health and educational disparities, invest in housing and promote healthy childhood development in the hardest-hit communities.