JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — From small towns to big cities, every government across the U.S. was offered a slice of $350 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds to help shore up their finances, cover pandemic-related costs and invest in community projects.
Officials in 1,468 local governments effectively said “no,” turning away a potential total of $73 million, according to an Associated Press analysis of data compiled from every state. The declined money ranged from $177 for the one-person village of Monowi, Nebraska, to $3.9 million for DeWitt County, Texas, population about 20,000.
The city of West Alton, Missouri — a community of more than 500 at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers — turned down a potential $106,341 in federal aid. Though the rejected amount was almost half the size of the city’s budget, there wasn’t much discussion about accepting it during a city council meeting.
“The conversation probably lasted 15 seconds. Without having really any need for it, it wasn’t something we felt like we wanted to get in the middle of,” Mayor Willie Richter said.