LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – One of Lake County’s members of Congress hosted local and regional leaders on Thursday in a discussion to update community members on the rollout of the American Rescue Plan.
Congressman Mike Thompson said during the online panel discussion that help is on the way for Americans thanks to the legislation, signed into law earlier this month by President Joe Biden.
In addition to $1,400 stimulus checks, the American Rescue Plan extends unemployment, subsidizes COBRA health insurance and extends the child tax credit, which Thompson said economists are reporting will cut childhood poverty in half.
The bill also will put children safely back in school, with $130 billion to fund school reopenings and help children regain lost learning.
He said it also will help ensure essential workers such as first responders, teachers and health care providers stay on the job.
A key priority in the bill is the vaccine rollout, according to Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace, who joined Thompson in the virtual meeting.
Pace said the bill gives a lot of hope that the community can finally move on to a life that’s not controlled by fear of the virus.
He said the vaccine distribution and rollout in California is the most exciting and impactful part of the bill, noting that for many months it’s been an “all hands on deck” approach with all staffing and resources going to vaccinations.
In Lake County, more than a third of all people age 16 and older have been vaccinated, with two-thirds of those age 75 and older receiving the vaccine, Pace said.
He said all residents of the county’s skilled nursing facilities are now vaccinated. Those facilities give an example of what the future can look like.
“Those places were a disaster in the fall,” he said, explaining that they were locked down and people were dying.
However, with residents now vaccinated, they are accepting visitors and it’s starting to look like normal life, with no new cases reported, he said.
Pace said the more people are vaccinated, the more we can get back to normal, with less suffering.
He said the funding will help get out the vaccines and also will help with communications, including educating people to address vaccine hesitancy.
“I believe we’re through the worst of the pandemic but it’s not over,” said Pace, adding that the vaccine is the best tool to address the coronavirus.
Critical help for local governments
Besides offering help to individuals, the American Rescue Plan is providing financial assistance to counties, cities and school districts.
The county of Lake is expected to receive $12.4 million, the city of Lakeport just over $900,000 and the city of Clearlake approximately $2,873,678, officials reported.
Local school districts are anticipated to receive the following amounts: Kelseyville Unified, $5,054,000; Konocti Unified School District, $13,835,000; Lakeport Unified School District, $3,239,000; Lucerne Elementary School District, $944,000; Middletown Unified School District, $2,454,000; and Upper Lake Unified School District, $2,848,000.
Officials on Thompson’s panel said the funding is supposed to arrive for local governments in two payments, with 50 percent expected to be disbursed by May 10.
Napa Mayor Scott Sedgley said the bill is great news for small cities like his.
“It’s going to make all the difference in the world,” he said, explaining they had to cut back on services.
Sedgley said cities are seeking to get payments directly from the federal government and not funneled through the state, an effort on which he said Thompson is working.
Separately, Lake County News checked in with Clearlake City Manager Alan Flora about the funds the city expects to receive.
“There has been little detailed information at this point. We are all still waiting on Treasury guidance,” Flora said Thursday.
“As we currently understand, the feds have 60 days from bill signing to pass the funds to the state and the state has 30 days to pass the funds to us,” he said.
That is consistent with the timeline given during the Thursday press conference, with Flora confirming the funds are to come in two payments.
Flora said the main categories for spending the $2,873,678 the city is set to receive include providing government services affected by revenue loss, providing premium pay to essential employees, addressing economic impacts through aid to households and small businesses, or investments in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.
“This is pretty much all we know at this point,” Flora said. “We believe the biggest long term impact with this ‘one-time funding’ is likely best invested in local infrastructure, but we will need to see the actual guidance when it is released to determine for sure.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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March 26, 2021 at 06:34PM
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Thompson and local leaders discuss American Rescue Plan rollout - Lake County News
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