$31 Million Earmarked For Rensco In House COVID-19 Bill
by Doug La Rocque
Last week, the Office of Representative Antonio Delgado announced he had secured $438 million in direct federal funding to counties, town and villages across the 19th Congressional District. On Monday, February 22, the Congressman sent out a press release that broke the funding figures down by towns within the county as well. In Rensselaer County the breakdown is as follows but please note, estimates reflect the total non-entitlement that underlying population generates. Overlapping jurisdictions may reduce amounts provided to governments, and town totals will not sum to total allocation. “No Overlap” calculations assume that, in some states, certain township and city governments have entirely distinct populations: “All Overlap” calculations assume those populations have maximum overlap
No OverlapAllocation All Overlap Allocation
Brunswick $2,399,971 $2,884,878
Village of East Nassau $105,520 $126,840
Village of Castleton $272,207 $327,206
Grafton $399,348 $480,036
Hoosick Falls: $623,323 $749,264
Hoosick $1,250,343 $1,502,871
Village of Nassau $204,202 $245,460
Nassau $883,888 $1,062,476
Petersburgh $274,610 $330.094
Pittstown $1,041,891 $1,252,402
Poestenkill $832,884 $1,001,166
Sand Lake $1,563,206 $1,879,047
Schodack $2,440,811 $2,933,970
Stephentown $532,957 $640,640
In Columbia County
New Lebanon $401,381 $482,479
“For nearly a year now, I’ve met with local upstate leaders – both Republicans and Democrats – struggling to meet the needs of their communities during a pandemic without adequate federal support,” said Rep. Antonio Delgado. “Direct federal funding has only gone to densely populated cities and localities, leaving the majority of local governments without a single cent of direct federal dollars. Since last May, I’ve been working with Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to include my funding formula in congressional packages to directly aid local governments of all sizes. An estimated $438 million in NY-19 relief would ensure local governments can continue to provide essential services, get shots in residents’ arms, and keep firefighters, law enforcement officers, and frontline workers employed. Getting federal COVID-19 dollars in the hands of local governments has been and will continue to be my top priority. I won’t stop fighting until this package passes the House, Senate, and is signed into law by the President.”
It is also a top priority for two Rensselaer County Leaders. County Executive Steve McLaughlin tells The Eastwick Press, “we have all felt the initial allocation of federal COVID-19 aid was unfair to Rensselaer County. I made my feelings known early on and had some productive discussions with Congressman Delgado. Rensselaer County has incurred considerable expense due to COVID-19, including being possibly the only county to pay for testing. We need funding to help recover expenses incurred by our taxpayers and to help rebuild following the pandemic.”
Rensselaer County Legislative Minority Leader Peter Grimm told us “I hope to hear that these monies may become a reality for our local communities. The cost associated with the COVID-19 crisis has burdened and may potentially cripple our local communities. The time is now for this much needed relief.
I would have liked to see Rensselaer County receive more of its fair share. Some other local counties and municipalities with similar populations are slated to receive more. In the end, it’s good to see relief may be coming.”