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As natural disasters hit the mountainous region more than ever, rural communities face significant financial barriers to recovery. But these communities don’t always have access to federal funding. climate resilience, according to Headwaters Economics research.
The federal government has offered competitive subsidies bipartisan infrastructure lawHowever, researchers have found that over 60% of funding requires local matching. This means the local has to pay part of the cost.
Many of these grants require the community to pay 20% to 30% of the cost. And with multi-million dollar subsidies, it becomes harder to find that local match, making it harder to stay competitive with the metropolitan areas.
Kristin Smith, Principal Investigator of the Headwaters Economics study, said: “One of my big questions is how can rural and disadvantaged communities ensure that they have only the funding, staffing, capacity and resources they need for the future?”
Headwaters cites Three Forks, Montana as an example.In a town of about 2,000 people $4 million from FEMA Last year we helped mitigate floods. But it had to come up with a 25% match, which is about $1.4 million.
Even if the community secures grants, interest, labor, and resources can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars on top of that match. It also happened with Three Forks. Engineering and planning costs cost him an extra $30,600. Interest on his 20-year bonds issued to cover the local costs associated with the project came to nearly $850,000. These types of costs often prevent communities from even applying for grants.
It’s not as easy as saying, “I have $1,000,000 in my bank account and I’m just going to pay it.” Of course, he doesn’t have $1,000,000 in a bank account in a small town of 2,000 people,” Smith says. He said. “And since Three Forks cannot impose a sales tax under state law and doesn’t have a lot of flexibility to raise property taxes, there’s a big question of where this money is coming from.”
Some of these federal grants also highlight inequalities in the system itself. of FEMA Programs for Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC, is a competitive grant program that funds communities to address the risks of natural disasters. Still, research shows that communities rank higher when they pay more than they match.
Smith said this creates a downward spiral for rural communities.
“These are probably already marginalized places, maybe depopulated, and they don’t have to be places like that,” she said. There are other ways we can better support you to ensure that
Some states are trying to help with this issue.Colorado has about $80 million Infrastructure Investment and Job Law Cash Fund Helps provide local matches. new mexico, Utah When Nevada Offer money for the same purpose.
In addition to lowering local game costs and increasing state funding for games, Smith says he’s reimagining this model for rural communities and offering other ways to fund local governments. I said it might be time.
“We know the local game is part of the problem and creates unfairness,” she said. “Federal agencies are rethinking these systems and should consider ways to amend local her match requirements so that resources are easily accessible to all communities.”
This article was written by Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio, Idaho, KUNR, Nevada, Rocky Mountain West O’Connor Center, Montana, KUNC, Colorado, and KUNM, New Mexico, for regional coverage. I have support from the agency. The Mountain West News Bureau is partially funded by the Public Broadcasting Corporation.
Copyright 2023 KUNC. See KUNC for more information. 9(MDAyMjQ1NzYwMDEyMjU5MjA0MjE0Yzg1Mg004))
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