The Montgomery County Commissioners’ plans to spend American Recovery Plan funds from Washington are still under consideration. But additional details are informing them on how much they have and how many requestors believe they should share in it. Gregory Purcess covered the update for WFMZ 69 News.

Board Chair Val Arkoosh set the context: The American Recovery Plan has allotted $161.4 million to get the county back on its feet from the economic setback of COVID-19 and its related fallout.

With those resources set, the leaders then asked residents where and to what extent disbursements should be made.

The public responded with 426 projects and 157 additional ideas for the stimulus.

The who-gets-what decision will be up to a committee of self-nominated residents.

Arkoosh provided an update on that group, saying, “The 30 citizens selected as final reviewers are representative of a variety of community sectors, including individuals who identify as Black or African Americans, Hispanic or Latino, Asian American or Pacific Islander, individuals living with disabilities, living with recovery, living with low income, and other populations that were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.”

Next steps include a draft recovery plan made available for the public to access online (July 18) and two Zoom-hosted town halls (July 20, 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.).

From there, the commissioners will vote on the final recommendations on Aug. 18.

More on this story is at WFMZ 69 News.