Following the lead of our partners at the National League of Cities, MML staff have been reaching out to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and members of Michigan’s congressional delegation requesting flexibility as Treasury develops guidance on “necessary expenditures” related to the authorized use of Coronavirus Relief Funds within the recently passed CARES act stimulus package.

We are very concerned that the state and local stabilization funding within the CARES act will not be authorized for local government budget relief.  Flexibility in eligible reimbursements will be needed as state and local revenues drastically shrink while service demands spike during this period.

Conversations in Washington, DC are also shifting towards a next stimulus package and what such a package could include.  The National League of Cities has forwarded a letter to congressional leaders with critical funding priorities for cities around the country and corrections to some of the issues that NLC has identified within the previous stimulus bills.  The letter can be viewed here – NLC COVID19 4th Supplemental 4.2

League members are urged to contact their congressional representatives to inform them of the need for maximum flexibility within the CARES act funding and to request their support for the listed priorities in any forthcoming additional stimulus proposals.

Chris Hackbarth is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at 517-908-0304 and [email protected].