County gets $10M in Emergency Rental Assistance

Beaver: “You screw this up, we don’t get any more federal money”

Hamilton County officials announced that they have been awarded a $10 million dollar Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) grant from the U.S. Department of Treasury for COVID-19 assistance. Specifically, the funding will assist renter households unable to pay rent and/or utilities due to loss of income from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The County Commissioners selected the Hamilton County Trustee Association (HCTA) and Danielle Carey Tolan, Hamilton County Trustee Association President and Westfield Washington Township Trustee, to oversee and distribute the grant; however, the commissioners and trustees needed county council approval before moving forward.

Altman

Tolan

During the most recent county council meeting, Commissioner Christine Altman and Westfield Township Trustee Danielle Carey Tolan presented the details of the grant.

Councilman Brad Beaver expressed his concern to Tolan: “You realize the gravity of what you are doing here? You screw this up, we don’t get any more federal money. That is a big weight on your shoulders.”

Beaver cautioned Tolan by saying, “We get lots of federal money. If you interrupt the pipeline, we will be unhappy.”

Tolan responded to Beaver’s concerns by stating she already has an implementation team in place, in addition to an advisory team, and she has previous experience with federal grants.

Massillamany

Beaver

“The concern becomes the complexity of federal grant compliance, the reporting side, and how intricate and detailed that needs to be,” said County Council President Amy Massillamany. “If you are confident in your abilities, then we ultimately trust the decision.”

“We are very proud and excited to have been awarded this grant,” Altman said. “Not only are renters who lost income due to COVID hurting, but our many landlords are struggling as a result. This grant will assist with lost income and provide the ability to keep renters housed in 2021.”

“One of the main functions of the Township is to provide financial assistance to our residents facing emergency situations,” Tolan said. “We are extremely grateful for this funding and providing much-needed COVID-19 relief to our residents in need. The grant does allow us to assist renters with past due rent/utility bills beginning in April 2020.”