Since a state of emergency was declared March 13, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country has benefited from federal legislation meant to stimulate local economies in light of forced shutdowns. The American Rescue Plan was a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill passed in March 2021.
So, with trillions of dollars floating around from the legislation, the Greenville Journal asked several Upstate agencies what they’ve done — or plan to do — with their share of it.
City of Greenville – $18 million
Though Greenville was granted nearly $18 million, it doesn’t offset the $24 million the city says it lost due to the pandemic. But, there are strings attached to these funds and the city wants to be deliberate about where they will best be used.
According to Greenville City Council, the money can:
- Support public health expenditures
- Address negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency
- Replace lost public sector revenue
- Give premium pay for essential workers
- Invest in water, sewer and broadband infrastructures
The money cannot:
- Offset lost revenues caused by an intentional tax cut
- Boost pension funds
- Pay for legal settlements
- Service debt
Beth Brotherton, a spokesperson for the city, said the allotment of $18 million could be used to cover revenues lost by the city either from hospitality and accommodations taxes or from decreased zoo visitors and convention center bookings.
“Because of the pandemic, we scaled back and adopted a budget for FY21 that focused on status quo and maintenance of vital services,” she said.
Thanks to the influx of ARP funds, the city was able to cover public service funding and utilize the funding for public infrastructure investments like the new public safety building and the upcoming neighborhood infrastructure bond.
When it came to addressing negative economic impacts and disbursing assistance to households, businesses and nonprofits, the city wasn’t established as a social services provider, so it would have been administratively difficult.
The city would, however, be able to replace a good chunk of the money lost relative to the fiscal year before the pandemic, which would have been FY2019. Certain groups of essential workers would get boosts in pay.
A plan has to be in place by Dec. 31, 2022, and funds must be disbursed by Dec. 31, 2026, or the money reverts back to the U.S. Treasury.
City of Simpsonville – $12 million
Simpsonville will spend $12 million on:
- Revenue replacement for lost revenue due to COVID-19 — over $1.7 million
- Downtown tree and green infrastructure — $3.8 million
- HVAC system in city hall, police department and fire department headquarters — $2.5 million
- HVAC units in fire stations 2, 3 and 4 and ionization unit in Station 6 — $65,000
- Storm water management in city park — over $2.7 million
City of Fountain Inn – $5 million
Fountain Inn recently released its plan for the $5 million it was allotted:
- Premium pay to city employees – over $770,000
- Woodside Streetscape project – $400,000
- Financial ERP Software upgrade – $50,000
- Sewer system survey – $300,000
City of Mauldin – $12 million
Mauldin’s cut is $12 million, and the city also released its plan to spend the money:
- Premium pay for essential workers – $840,000
- Revenue recovery – over $1.7 million
- Sewer infrastructure – over $1.3 million
- Stormwater infrastructure – over $1.1 million
South Carolina Business Development Center – $5.7 billion
The South Carolina Small Business Development Center disbursed more than $5.7 billion to small businesses in the first few months of the pandemic and has continued to offer support.
Initially, the SCSBDC gave businesses a concise, curated report of what information was most relevant. As aid rolled in, they helped state businesses access assistance they were eligible for, including from plans like the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan. The PPP was a program that helped companies keep their workers employed through a system of loans, and the EIDL was another small business loan program that provided funding directly to businesses affected.
Local businesses like Cassy Electric LLC, a local female- and minority-owned Greenville company that provides electrician services, received tremendous help from the stimulus programs, said Ebony Sullivan, chief operating officer. She said the first round of the PPP came as the business was unsure what its next steps would be.
With 80% of Casey Electric’s customer base being residential customers who likely feared face-to-face contact, the company was struggling when the phones stopped ringing. However, with the programs that became available, the company was in a lot better position than they would otherwise been. They were able to keep their employees, and both rounds of PPP were later forgiven.
“All three funding sources helped to leverage our business into a successful financial position at the end of the year,” Sullivan said.
United Housing Authority and United Housing Connection – $554,000
The ARP and CARES Act provided assistance for housing, but the CDC moratorium on evictions ended on Aug. 26, 2021. In Greenville, there have been 14,603 filings for assistance since Mar 15, 2020, according to Princeton University’s Eviction Lab.
Shawn Williams, CEO of Greenville Housing Authority, says the organization has received about 54 emergency vouchers for housing programs. She said they’ll provide help to families facing homelessness or are in danger of it. They’re also able to help distribute funds for moving, security deposits, and anything else that may be a barrier to people getting rehoused.
She said her group also works closely with the United Housing Connection, a group that refers clients to her organization.
UHC, according to COO Paulette Dunn, has focused on areas underserved by the CARES Act and since October they’ve paid out $554,000 in aid.
“(The first time around), there were some pockets of our community that didn’t know assistance was available,” Dunn said. This time, she’s developed a system whereby she organized a grassroots information campaign that would reach residents through meetings and door-to-door “navigators,” or members of that community who could help spread the word to neighbors.
They’ve also hired a landlord specialist to assist property owners who may have been affected as well. They’ve spared about 210 families directly from eviction, and they’ve paid out thousands more in utility assistance, likely driving up that number more.
“We’ve come together pretty strong as a community on making this happen,” Dunn said.
Eligible uses for ARP funding
- Support for public health expenditures
- Addressing negative economic impacts caused by the public health emergency
- Replacing lost public sector revenue
- Premium pay for essential workers
- Investing in water, sewer and broadband infrastructures
Ineligible uses
- Funding cannot be used to offset revenues lost to an intentional tax cut
- Funding cannot be used for extraordinary deposit to a pension fund for the purpose of reducing accrued liability
- Funding cannot be used for debt service, legal settlements, deposits to financial reserves or general infrastructure spending above the amount allocated under the revenue loss provision
Greenville County PPP loan information
Number of Loans Approved: 17,483
Sum of Initial Approval Amount: $1,294,068,671
Sum of Current Approval Amount: $1,285,321,491
Sum of Undisbursed Amount: $13,859,314
Number of Loans Forgiven: 6,638
Sum of Forgiven Amount: $716,584,996
