City Seeks Up to $72,000 in State Grant Funds Under COVID-19 Relief Program

August 29, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The City of Smithville is eligible to apply for up to $72,000 in grant funding under a coronavirus relief effort called the Tennessee Local Government Reimbursement Program.

Last month Governor Bill Lee and the state’s bipartisan Financial Stimulus Accountability Group announced that an additional $115 million in coronavirus relief funds would be made available to local governments to offset costs incurred from responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This program comes in addition to the $210 million in grants for county and municipal governments approved by the General Assembly in the state’s 2021 budget. The City of Smithville’s portion from that grant is $135,000 and specific projects have already been identified and budgeted for this year.

During Thursday night’s special city council meeting, Mayor Josh Miller said the city could apply for this latest grant program and the money be used for things that meet the grant eligibility requirements. The city would have get pre-approval for the expenditures and then spend the money and be reimbursed.

For example, Mayor Miller said the city might be able to purchase vehicles to keep coworkers such as water and sewer employees from having to travel to job sites together in the same vehicle to reduce the threat of catching and spreading the coronavirus.

“This pandemic has required a high level of coordination and support across all levels of government to ensure local needs are met and the health and wellbeing of Tennesseans are protected,” Governor Lee said. “The Financial Stimulus Accountability Group has provided another round of funding as we work to reduce any financial barriers in COVID-19 response.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has presented our local governments with unique challenges specific to the needs of their people. Giving local governments control over how to spend these dollars maximizes efficiency and ensures this money is deployed in the most effective way possible,” Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) said. “As we adjust to the new normal of living and working with COVID-19, it is important that local governments have the resources they need to attack the virus and address the issues it creates.”

Expenses paid for by the reimbursement program should fall within one of the following categories:
•Medical Expenses
•Public Health Expenses
•Payroll Expenses Related to COVID-19
•Public Health Compliance Expenses
•Other Reasonably Necessary Expenses Incurred in Response to the COVID-19 public
Health emergency.

The funding will be allocated from the Coronavirus Relief Fund to eligible local governments on a per capita basis.

“Directing additional funds to local governments will ensure they can continue to effectively meet the needs of their residents,” House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) said. “COVID-19 related decisions and expenses whether in health care, education, or in other areas will be with us for the foreseeable future.”

Funds from the CRF may not be used to replace lost government revenue. Funds also may not be used for expenses that have been or will be reimbursed under any other federal programs.

August 28, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The unemployment situation in three-quarters of Tennessee’s 95 counties continued to improve in July following business closures earlier in the year due to the COVID-19 health emergency.

DeKalb County’s jobless rate for July was 10.3%, down from 11.5% in June but still higher than 4.8% in July, 2019.

The Labor Force in DeKalb County for July was 7,162 and 6,426 were employed. A total of 736 were unemployed.

Seventy-two counties had lower unemployment in July compared to the previous month. Rates in four counties mirrored their rates from June. Nineteen counties did experience a slight uptick in unemployment during the month.

Pickett County recorded the state’s lowest unemployment rate for the month. At 6.3%, the county’s rate dropped 0.7 of a percentage point compared to June’s rate.

Williamson and Moore counties had the second-lowest unemployment rates in July. Williamson County’s rate decreased 0.3 of a percentage point to 6.4%. In July 2019, its rate was 2.9%. Moore County’s June rate of 7.5% dropped to 6.4% in July. One year ago, it was 3.5%.

Shelby County continued to have the highest unemployment rate in Tennessee. The county’s number of jobless individuals in July jumped by 1.3 percentage points to 14.4%. In July 2019, Shelby County’s rate was 4.6%.

With a rate of 12.7%, Haywood County had the second-highest rate of unemployment in the state. The new rate increased 0.9 of a percentage point when compared to the previous month. One year ago, the rate was 5.3%. Hancock County’s unemployment jumped 1.8 percentage points to 12.5% in July. In July 2019 the county had a rate of 7.3%.

When surveying unemployment in Tennessee’s three largest cities, Knoxville had the lowest rate in July, which held steady at 9.4%. Nashville’s unemployment saw a slight uptick of 0.1 of a percentage point to 12.1%. Memphis experienced the biggest increase in July. Its unemployment rate grew by 1.6 percentage points to 16.9%. In July 2019, Knoxville had a rate of 3.8%%, Nashville was at 2.9%, and the Memphis rate one year ago was 5.1%

The statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Tennessee decreased for the third consecutive month in July from 9.6% to 9.5%.

Nationally, unemployment also decreased in July. The preliminary, seasonally adjusted national unemployment rate is 10.2%, a 0.9 of a percentage point drop from the previous month’s rate.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development has a comprehensive report detailing the unemployment situation in each of the state’s 95 counties. You can access that report by clicking here.

Unemployed Tennesseans can find free job search assistance and career development opportunities at any of the more than 80 American Job Centers across the state. You can find the center nearest to you through this interactive map. Online, more than 200,000 active job listings are currently available on the state’s workforce development website.

August 28, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Although he would not confirm whether its students or faculty or how many, Director of Schools Patrick Cripps told WJLE Friday that individuals have come forward to report symptoms or positive cases of COVID-19 among stakeholders of the school system.

“We’ve had some positive cases and we are just following Centers for Disease Control and the Tennessee Department of Health guidelines and protocols”.

Asked if schools would close because of the reports, Director Cripps said “not at this time”.

Meanwhile, in its latest report, the Tennessee Department of Health says DeKalb County (not schools) had 109 active cases as of Friday, August 28. A total of 443 confirmed or probable cases have shown up in DeKalb County since March and while there have been five deaths 329 have recovered.

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