Originally published in the Reading Eagle.

The coronavirus has crippled the American economy.

Businesses have closed. People have lost their jobs.

Local municipalities have been dealt a blow, too. Revenues have dropped while costs related to the pandemic have soared.

Quite simply, times have been tough.

President Joe Biden stopped by Delaware County on Tuesday to spread the message that the federal government is trying to ease some of those financial pains.

Biden touted the sweeping $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan he signed last week on the first stop of his Help is Here tour. The plan pumps funding into small businesses, provides $1,400 checks to millions of people, extends federal unemployment benefits and helps cover the cost of vaccine distribution.

It also includes $350 billion in aid to state and local governments and $130 billion to assist schools with reopening.

The plan will have a big impact on Berks County.

"I'm really excited about this package," U.S. Rep Chrissy Houlahan said. "This is something that, frankly, I have been working on since May of last year when I heard from people in my district about the need for local support."

The Chester County Democrat, who represents Reading and many southwestern communities in Berks, joined Biden on Tuesday to highlight the local impact of the COVID-19 relief package.

"This is a really holistic and comprehensive package that is designed to try to be a shot in the arm — hopefully a final shot — to restore our lives and begin the process of rebuilding a better economy," she said shortly after the president's visit.

The numbers

The American Rescue Plan could pump at least $178 million of pandemic relief assistance into local governments across Berks County.

The map below shows how much aid each municipality in Berks, Chester, Montgomery and Delaware County will receive. Click on the map to get more details.

The National Association of Counties estimates that the Berks County government will get $81.7 million.

Reading is looking at an estimated $63.8 million in direct relief, according to the National League of Cities.

And boroughs and townships in Berks will receive a combined $32.9 million. Those amounts, which are based on population, range from $10,000 in New Morgan to $2.73 million in Spring Township.

The money is expected to be distributed to municipalities by the end of May. The amounts may change slightly as the Census Bureau updates population figures sometime next month.

Municipalities will have longer to spend the funding they get from the new plan than they did for previous COVID-19 relief bills. While the CARES Act required money to be spent by the end of 2020, the American Rescue Plan sets a deadline at the end of 2024.

It also appears that fewer strings will be attached to the funding, with recipients able to spend it on more things.

The plan will provide $6.5 billion in education funding to Pennsylvania, $5 billion of which will go to kindergarten through 12th grade education.

It isn't yet clear how that money will be dispersed to local schools, however.

Officials from the state Department of Education said Tuesday that information will likely be available later this week.

'Big sigh of relief'

Local officials say the American Rescue Plan will provide a much-needed bit of relief after 12 months of financial difficulties.

Jeanne Johnston, Cumru Township manager, said the $1.5 million the township is getting will come just in time to help fund a big project. The township is about to start a water and sewer project at the municipal campus that will replace an outdated system and allow for the future building of a new fire station.

"These funds are very much appreciated," Johnston said.

Johnston said township officials have been concerned that because revenues have been down during the pandemic a big project like that would tap the township’s resources and leave little to nothing for things like paving roads.

"This is a big sigh of relief," she said. "The receipt of these funds will allow us to free up money for this project."

Exeter Township Manager Jeff Bartlett said having that extra time, as well as flexibility on how the federal dollars can be spent, is crucial. After all, the needs of each municipality are often different.

"It’s pretty wide open, the way it can be used," he said.

Exeter is expected to get about $2.5 million, an amount Bartlett called a pretty significant chunk of money.

Bartlett said there are no plans in place quite yet for how to spend the money, but he suspects the supervisors will want to spread the funds out through several community programs so they can ensure everyone will benefit.

"We haven't even sat down with our board at all to think about how we'll spend this," he said. "It will happen soon."

Reading Mayor Eddie Moran said the city has likewise not yet decided how to spend the $63.8 million.

"Our administration is thrilled to learn of the American Rescue Plan and what it will mean for the City of Reading," he said. "We will begin the process of internal meetings, along with our Act 47 coordinator, to determine how funds may be spent."

Moran said city officials will focus on infrastructure needs, downtown redevelopment and debt reduction, if possible.

"We will proceed cautiously, but also in a transparent way to ensure that our residents are fully aware of how these funds will be spent," he said.

'Reach unmet needs'

County officials also said they are thrilled to be receiving financial assistance, particularly how it’s being doled out this time around.

County commissioners have said they were disappointed with the distribution of the CARES Act, which provided $38 million to the county.

Berks was one of 60 Pennsylvania counties that did not get direct cash from the federal government and was instead given the money after it was funneled through the state.

Only counties with populations of more than 500,000 received direct federal funding.

The commissioners have repeatedly criticized the process in which the first round of funding was distributed, pointing out that counties that got direct federal payments received much larger amounts.

This time around, those discrepancies seem to have been eliminated.

Commissioner Michael Rivera said the fact that the amount of money given to local governments is based on population makes the distribution of the funds more equitable and will give smaller counties the same benefit as the larger counties.

"While we have not yet determined how this money will be used, I want to make sure we make the best use of it and reach unmet needs," he said. "I also want to make sure that it is used in a way that will have a positive impact on the county now and in the future."

Commissioners Chairman Christian Y. Leinbach agreed with his colleague, saying getting the money is only the first step. Spending it properly and letting taxpayers know how it's being used is critical.

"The first and most important point is that while this is federal money, it is still taxpayer money and we owe it to our taxpayers to utilize these dollars in a transparent and responsible fashion," he said. "The commissioners plan to make sure the public can track the spending of these dollars. They deserve to know how taxpayer money is being spent."

Leinbach said the county plans to use a distribution process similar to the one it used to allocate funds it received last summer from the CARES Act, surveying the need in the county to make sure the money gets to the right places.

Leinbach said the board will pay special attention to the costs fighting the pandemic created for county taxpayers. He noted that significant amounts of money were spent on fortifying the Berks County Services Center, the Berks County Prison, the Berks Heim and courthouse against COVID.

Commissioner Kevin S. Barnhardt said the extended time frame in which to use the funds will give the county ample opportunity to allocate the funds in a coordinated approach.

"We utilized community volunteers for the CARES Act funding to review applications and recommend disbursement, with this amount of funding it will require a much more expansive size and scope," he said. "We know that many businesses, social services and nonprofits had much more significant needs than the previous monies could cover and yet there are still organizations in significant need of financial support."

Barnhardt said he believes a portion of the money should be used to hire an outside firm to evaluate the viability of a county health department and potential startup costs that would be associated with a county health department.

And, he added, contact tracing, vaccinations and mitigation measures will continue into the foreseeable future and the costs associated with these activities can also be captured in this funding.

The school districts

Local school districts are also optimistic about the potential impact of the American Rescue Plan. But they're still waiting to hear all the details about the plan to figure out exactly what that impact will look like.

"Any additional funding is appreciated and is a gift," said Diane Richards, chief financial officer for the Gov. Mifflin School District. "However, right now, there is still a lot we do not know regarding the American Rescue Plan, including the amount of this one-time funding for school districts and how much time we have to spend it.

"If we are able to spread it out over multiple years, it will provide a greater impact and allow for more strategic allocation."

Richards said one thing that is known is that at least 20% of the funding schools receive has to be used to address student learning loss caused by the pandemic.

"That is an issue facing all schools this year, and so this additional funding will support some initiatives that we could not support with our district budget so we look forward to learning more in the coming days," she said.